persuasion. It was understood that on returning to Sydney, he would take steps to give the province the benefit of a clergyman and a school-master. His Lordship had not m u c h idle time of it whilst in the new settlement; and yet did not give unmixed satisfaction, for he is thus gently rated in the Advertiser of the 23rd, for performing an important religious ceremonial without giving, what was deemed to be, proper public notice:—"On Tuesday and Wednesday the Bishop of Australia christened six children. W e are sorry that w e cannot recount one, no, not even one solitary marriage. O n Wednesday, pursuant to notice, (but an hour later than the time announced) the Bishop proceeded to the burial ground, and in the presence of a very few persons, consecrated a piece of ground for the reception of the bodies of the Melbournians and others w h o m a y depart this life. W e think that publicity seemed to be avoided, for no public notice was given as to the Bishop's motions, except a few words read on a rainy day in the church. T h e Press is the proper organ for publicity, and in this case would have answered well. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday wrere the days on which the Bishop was prepared to christen, to wed, and to consecrate. W e k n o w that persons, very many persons, would have attended the consecration, had the time of consecration been m a d e public in a proper manner." O n the 30th July, another meeting was held "to consider the means to be adopted for procuring a church and a clergyman." It was proposed to collect by subscription ,£200, as the nucleus of a building fund, and hopes were entertained of receiving some help from the Government. T h e cash, however, did not roll in as freely as expected, and the proposed erection was modified into repairing the original concern. Tenders were called for the alteration in November, 1838, but still the needful was needed. B y the end of February, 1839, the public liberality had been so far quickened, that the "repairs" were completed and merely consisted of a cedar pulpit, and eight cedar pews for the gentry, executed by Mr. T h o m a s Napier. O n the 12th October, 1838, the much-wished for minister arrived, and he had as shipmates Arden and Strode, with an old wooden printing-press and a heap of discarded Sydney Herald type, the debris from which the Port Phillip Gazette was to arise like a Phoenix, from " p y e " instead of ashes. T h e Reverend J. C Grylls, of the Universities of Cambridge and Dublin, is represented as being " of small stature, with a gentle and amiable disposition," and as a preacher it is writ of him " that his sermons were read with solemnity, and were not without their influence upon some of the audience." H e officiated on the following Sunday, taking his text from St. Paul: " I desire to know nothing a m o n g you, save Jesus Christ and H i m crucified." His elocution was marred by a stammer, or as Bonwick euphuistically puts it, " an incoherence of speech troubled the good man," for which, however, Providence vouchsafed him the compensation of a "general demeanour, kind and consistent, which gained him the good-will of the colonists." Before leaving England, his reverence laboured under the delusion that Australia was a country of cut-throats and cannibals, and he left his family, including five fair daughters, until he should hava an opportunity of reporting progress. T o his agreeable surprise, he found that, though not quite an elysium, Port Phillip was far from being pandemonium, and that he and his family ran small risk of being murdered by bushrangers, or " grilled" into entremets for-a corroboree banquet. Consequently he soon became desirous of returning h o m e for the lares remaining after him, and his good-natured parishioners not only provided him with a "testimonial" (thefirstof the kind on record) but threw in a twelvemonths' leave of absence. H e was succeeded by the Rev. J. Y. Wilson, so well-known for m a n y years at Portland. O f Mr. Grylls it may be mentioned that after his return to the colony, he did not resume his missionary labours, but thefivefair daughters were as welcome as a treasure-ship. T h e Gazette in alluding to thefirstarrival of Mr. Grylls as " Surrogate of Melbourne " exclaimed in quite a dispirited style " there seems to be a desperate want though of marriageable ladies," but the writer little thought that his ex-fellow-passenger would in a comparatively short time, import a very valuable consignment for the Hymeneal market. T h e girls did not remain long unwedded ; they all married into the upper-crust of society, and with one exception, lived to see not only olive branches, but grand tendrils blooming like young peach-blossoms around them. Pursuant to the provisions of the Act of Council 7 William I V , N o . 3, the Executive on the 28th February, 1839, issued regulations for grants of money to religious establishments, subject to the conditions that no minister's stipend could be made until there were at least one hundred adults attending the services; and no allowance for a place of worship or a pastor's house, until ,£300 had been not only subscribed, but paid. These requirements could now be complied with ; the stipulated sums were available, a church site
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THE CHRONICLES OF EARLY MELBOURNE.
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