Square; the College to receive £1,200 by way of compensation. At first sight the amount does not appear to have been excessive, even at the current value of land at the time, hut it should be remembered that the College also received a grant of ten acres of the Government Domain. The ordinance also provided that Colombo Street should be carried through the Square, at a width of ninety-nine feet, and reserved a site for the Cathedral on the western side of this roadway. But at the instance of Bishop Harper an amending ordinance was passed in November, 1859, transferring the site reserved for the Cathedral to the eastern side of Cathedral Square, in order that the western, or principal entrance, might face Colombo Street. Still another Cathedral Square Ordinance was passed in August, 1864, altering the road way and boundary of the Cathedral reserve, by curving the road in front of the site, in order to allow the Cathedral to be visible from Colombo Street at a distance.
It was in 1858 that the building of a Cathedral began to be looked upon as a work to be then undertaken instead of a dim possibility for the future. At a meeting of members of the Church of England, held on October 21 of that year, and presided over by Bishop Harper, it was moved by Mr. Justice Gresson, and seconded by Mr. C, C. Bowen, “That in order to meet the growing wants of the diocese, it is expedient that a central Church or Cathedral be erected in Cathedral Square, so soon as a sum of money, not less than £2,000, has been raised.” This was a modest estimate of the cost of a Cathedral, but was followed up by a grant passed by Provincial Council (December 1, 1858), of £10,000 for building and enlarging places of worship. The grant was apportioned among the various denominations as follows:-
| Bishop of Christchurch (Church of England) | £7,800
| |||
| Acting Head of Wesleyan Church | . . . |
800
| ||
| Acting Head of Presbyterian Church | . . . |
1,000
| ||
| Roman Catholic Church | . |
. . . |
. . . |
400
|
