was obtained, and Messrs. W. F. A. Rucker and P. W. Welsh were elected Church Wardens, Mr. Ralph Walton being thefirstto hold the office of Clerk. In 1838 trustees had been appointed, but they resigned, and there was a meeting of subscribers in the temporary building on ioth June, 1839, Mr. D. C. M'Arthur presiding, when, on the motion of Mr. William Meek, seconded by Mr. James Smith, it was resolved "that the Lord Bishop of the Diocese be respectfully requested to become sole trustee of the intended Church of St. James." At this period it was estimated that the Episcopalians in the district numbered about 900, a third of w h o m were located in and near Melbourne. T h e temporary church would hold only 90, and as an outlay of ,£200 would render it twice as commodious, it became a question for consideration, whether it would be better to incur this expense, or wait a little longer and put up a new one. T h e latter course was the more desirable, and tenders were invited. O n the 7th September a meeting was held, when it was decided to adhere to the original plan to build with brick upon a stone foundation—only a portion of the structure (the nave) to be proceeded with, though the whole building was ultimately of the ugly brown stone, of which some of thefirstpublic buildings in Melbourne were erected. There was a sum of between .£500 and ,£600 available, and as m u c h more, it was believed, could be obtained from the Government. It was stated that Mr. Latrobe (the new Provincial Superintendent) had raised ,£500 before leaving England, and this £ t i o o , with the official subsidy, more than justified a beginning in a work which, as proposed, would cost ,£1500. T h e 3rd October, 1839, should .be marked as a dies notanda in the old annals of Mebourne Episcopacy, because the minister performed a marriage ceremony at 10, a burial service at 11, and a christening at 4 o'clock—a remarkable trio of events at the remote era of which I a m writing. T h e foundation stone of St. James' was laid with many of the usual formalities, on the 9th of November, 1839. At n o'clock the temporary church was crowded, and the service was characterised by a somewhat unusual vocal display of psalms and hymns, accompanied throughout by a Mr. Puller, w h o worked a seraphine with the most praiseworthy perseverance. The-Rev.. J. C. Grylls read the, Collect, "Prevent us, O Lord," & c , and, as a Lesson, the 1st chapter from the Prophet Haggai. At the close of the service His H o n o r M r . Latrobe read aloud from a slip of parchment the following inscription engrossed thereon :— r SAINT JAMES' C H U R C H , M E L B O U R N E . THE FOUNDATION STONE 01- THIS CHURCH, W a s laid this 9th day of November, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, and in the third year of the Reign of H E R M O S T G R A C I O U S M A J E S T Y Q U E E N V I C T O R I A , by His H O N O R C H A R L E S J O S E P H LATROBE, ESQ., Superintendent of Port Phillip, His E X C E L L E N C Y SIR' G E O R G E GIPPS, K N I G H T , Bein-r Governor of the Territory of New South Wales and its Dependencies, T H E R I G H T R E V E R E N D WILLIAM G R A N T B R O U G H T O N , Lord Bishop of Australia, Sole Trustee. This Church is erected for the worship of Almighty God by the members of the United Church of Great Britain and Ireland. R O B E R T RUSSELL, ARCHITECT.
This, with some gold and silver coinage of the (then) year of the Queen's reign, was enclosed in a bottle and deposited in the cavity prepared for it, in the understone. . T h e upper stone was slowly lowered from its suspensive position and placed. A mallet was handed to Mr. Latrobe, with which he knocked thrice on the stone, and. then looking around declared it to be laid in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. T h e Pastor next offered a short and appropriate prayer, after which a h y m n was sung, and the proceedings terminated with a benediction. T h e Rev. Mr. Grylls departed for England in the beginning of 1840, and efforts were made to procure funds to haste with the church, and some of those pious subterfuges—means supposed to be justified by the end—were resorted to, in the extraction of cash from pockets not always assailable by a more direct mode. Amongst these, was a concert, for which the patronage of the Superintendent was solicited, which Mr. Latrobe withheld from conscientious motives—for which he was not easily forgiven, especially when
