Gilbert continued his labours till November 1863, when he was invited by the committee of the Bethel Union Mission to become their missionary at Port Chalmers. The Session, though greatly regretting the prospect of losing Mr Gilbert's services, resolved to relieve him from his engagement with Knox Church because of the great importance of the field he was called on to occupy and his fitness for the work. "The Session commended him to God in prayer, and wished him God-speed as Bethel missionary." It will be gratifying to his friends to know that he is still a worker in the vineyard at Lovell's Flat and in neighbouring localities. It may be mentioned that for a considerable time a collection, usually amounting to about £20, was annually made by Knox Church congregation in aid of the Bethel mission.
In January 1863 a resolution was passed by the Session and Deacons' Court to the effect that there existed a necessity for making further provision for the spiritual wants of the district occupied by the church, and that this could best be done by the erection of a church in the neighbourhood of North-East Valley, under the charge of a minister who might for a time co-operate as far as practicable with the minister of Knox Church. In the following year the Session obtained the use of the North-East Valley District School-house for Sabbath evening services and for a weekly prayer meeting.
In August 1863 the Session and Deacons' Court, "taking into consideration the state of the population in respect to the want of a sufficient supply of the Word of God, were of opinion that a Bible Society should be formed, and with that view recommended the minister to make arrangements with the other clergymen of the town for the formation of such a society."[1]
The following is an extract from the Annual Report for the year 1864:—"We rejoice that so many additional churches have been erected in this city, where the Gospel of the grace of God is proclaimed from Sabbath to Sabbath. These several churches necessarily with-
- ↑ Shortly after the diggings broke out, and people flocked to them from all quarters, I reported that the demand for the Scriptures was increasing, and far ahead of the supply. On its becoming known that the Provrncial Government had some five hundred copies on hand that had been procured for school use, an application for a number of them was favourably entertained, and these were supplied at wholesale price. The Testaments, with Psalms and Paraphrases, were speedily sold. In this experiment we have the genesis of the Otago Bible Society, which has been the means of putting 88,966 copies, in whole or in part, into circulation. The National Bible Society of Scotland offered, through the late Mr John McGlashan, of Balmacewan, to supply our wants on the most liberal terms.—D.M.S.
