Band playing sacred music, and closed by the Bishop and his attendants. After making a circuit of the church ground, and returning to the starting point, the stone wTas laid with the customary formalities. U p o n it the Bishop placed a purse containing the donation of a lady, and those present subscribed ,£70 A n adjournment was then m a d e to an adjacent marquee, where mass was celebrated, and a sermon preached by his Lordship, after which the band outside gave the National Anthem, followed by " St. Patrick's Day." T h e Rev. P. Dunn, a new arrival, had been recently inducted as pastor of Pentridge, where he was soon succeeded by the Rev. C. A. O'Hea, w h o continued his ministration there for some time. H e is now Dean O'Hea, and has always been a painstaking, indefatigable clergyman, and, what cannot be said of all his order, has been ever held in high esteem by such of the Dissenting denominations as were resident in his extensive district. During this interim the important business for which Dr. Geoghegan had gone home, showed some of the results of his priest-hunting expedition. Amongst thefirstarrivals were the Rev. G. A. W a r d (practically the founder of the R o m a n Catholic Orphanage at Emerald Hill), P. Dunn, M'Sweeney, and Holohan. They were followed by a shoal of others in the early part of the next year, to w h o m further reference will be made. THE BELLS OF ST. FRANCIS'.
In some way or other originated a notion that it would be a very agreeable and useful acquisition to St. Francis' to be surmounted by a peal of bells, and steps were taken to m a k e it a reality. Of course, a subscription list, the only true talisman in such a case, was started, and contributions and promises were abundant. T o give public sanction to the proceeding, a meeting was convened for the evening of Sunday, 26th January, 1851, at St. Francis'. T h e Bishop was in the chair. There was a good attendance, and the occasion was turned into quite a musical event by the presence of Mr. H e m y , a newly-arrived musician from Sydney, a performer of considerable merit, and the new organist of the church. By means of the then choir, and the aid of a couple of amateur friends, the following programme was got through to the great delight of those present, and the benefit of the bell fund :—" List to the Chimes of the Vesper Bell," " T h e Vesper H y m n , " " T h e Old Abbey Tower," " A l m a Redemptoris," "England in the Olden Time," and " A n O d e to Pope Pius the 9th, as sung by the Romans." T h e Bishop did the greater part of the speaking, italicising his oratory with a cheque for ,£5 ; £ 1 0 0 was paid down, and the cost of the bells was estimated at ,£700. This appeal for a peal of bells was carried out with m u c h spirit, and responded to with such ringing readiness, that the sum total of the coin required soon jingled in the Bishop's cash box. His Lordship, on his departure for Europe (which soon followed), took h o m e both the money and the order; and the bells subsequently purchased, were procured from Murphy, an eminent bell-founder, in Dublin, and formed an exhibit at the great show of All Nations, inaugurated by Prince Albert, in London, in 1851. In due course the bells were transported to their destination, though never placed in the church, for which it was originally intended; for it came to pass that St. Francis, by a verification of the frequently applied adage of sic vos non vobis, was deprived of the chimes purchased for his delectation, and St. Patrick finally monopolised all the honour and glory of the campanology, whose chimes are n o w diffused from the Eastern Hill. In March, 1851, another instalment of new priests arrived from home, and with them returned Dr. Geoghegan in charge. Their arrival was a source of m u c h satisfaction, and afforded strong testimony of the efficiency of the Catholic Association in procuring funds for what must have been a considerable outlay. T h e new comers were the Rev. Messrs. Bleasedale, Martin, and Stack, and others were under sailing orders to follow. T h e Rev. Mr. Stack was sent to Belfast, as a colleague to the Rev. Slattery, whilst Messrs. Martin and Holohan were assigned to Gippsland, and W a r d to Geelong. O n the 21st April the foundation of the Church of St. Monica was laid at Heidelberg, where mass used to be for some time previous offered in a small wooden shed. T h e R o m a n Catholics of the locality behaved very liberally considering their means, but they were helped in a most praiseworthy manner by their more wealthy Protestant neighbours. T h e return of Dr. Geoghegan afforded the Bishop an opportunity to visit the H o m e Country. Though Dr. Geoghegan's trip to Europe had been very successful, it was considered that the Bishop's visit to R o m e and Ireland would give a prominence to the R o m a n Catholic Mission in Victoria, which it would
