communion, and even within, there was by no means a consensus of opinion that he had done the right thing. M a n y a conscientious Protestant believed that His Lordship had done what was egregiously wrong, but shook the head and said nothing. T h e religious discordfirstaroused at the elections of 1843 was supplied with fresh fuel by the Bishop's action, and strengthened the sectarian rancour which broke out at intervals amongst the religious denominations in after years, and has never died out. T h e ungodly flame was subsequently well fanned by a religious publication started under the auspices of the Bishop ;— the Church of England Messenger—The reverse of a Messenger of Peace and Good-will, and very different from another periodical of the same type—the Presbyterian Messenger, conducted by the Rev. James Forbes. T h e Rev. Daniel N e w h a m was forthwith appointed to the Cure of St. Peter's, and the Rev. H . B. Macartney to that of M o o n e e Ponds. O n the 30th January the Bishop preached at St. Peter's, and the Rev. H . B. Macartney at Woodlands. M r . Henry M o o r was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese, and on Sunday, the 13th February, at the close of the service at St. Peter's, the new Chancellor read H e r Majesty's Letters Patent, previously mislaid. A chronicle of the time records "that the ceremony took nearly an hour, and Mr. M o o r seemed well pleased when it was over." This valuable Charter of the Bishop's appointment had been found some time before, and the N e w South Wales Government Gazette, 5th February, 1848, contains the "Letters," bearing date 26th June, 1847, a n d in which the Q u e e n has been graciously pleased to appoint the Right Reverend Charles Perry to be Bishop of the See of Melbourne, and further ordaining " that the said town of Melbourne shall be henceforth a city, and be called the city of Melbourne." Further changes were soon made, amongst which it was announced that the Rev. Mr. Macartney was to be stationed at Heidelberg, and a Mr. Bean shortly to be admitted a minister of the Church, was to officiate twice a week at Williamstown. Occasionally, occurrences, ludicrous and sometimes very unbecoming, used to happen. Once on a time, before the arrival of the Bishop, during a hot-wind Sunday, a settler, fresh from the bush, rushed into St. James' in the midst of the service. Thirsting for the W o r d of God, which he had been for some time without hearing from lips duly accredited, he attended little to his toilette, and so it happened that he was garbed in a short jacket, leather-belted, and displayed a periphery of bleached linen in an interstice presented between the extremes of the jacket and another indispensable garment, which is supposed to be unmentionable. H e entered a pew near which was a pompous medico of the period, who, disturbed in his devotions by some brusquerie of the other, affectedly turned round and looked as black as thunder at what he conceived to be an unauthorised intrusion. His indignation would no doubt have soon evaporated under the influence of the place, but unluckily, his eye was caught by the circlet before mentioned ; and such a trim in a temple of worship, and on the Sabbath, and in the presence of the elite of Melbourne, appeared to be such an appalling act of desecration, that after vainly requesting the intruder to withdraw, he actually had the temerity to give him in charge to a constable for unbecoming conduct in a house of prayer. The matter was, however, amicably arranged by the intervention of friends and an ample apology. It was a pity it did not go into Court, where a swingeing verdict of false imprisonment would have taught the vEsculapius that if pharisaical snobbery is to be indulged, it m a y sometimes be carried to an unreasonable extent, and should be enjoyed only as a very high-priced luxury. A scene of an altogether different kind was enacted at the afternoon service in St. Peter's, on Sunday, 27th February, 1848 ; and, though in a certain sense, more excusable than the former one, was a most disgraceful exhibition. T h e Rev. M r . T h o m s o n was officiating, and a numerous congregation were absorbed in their devotions, when they were suddenly electrified by someone bellowing out an " Amen," which rang through the building, and it was immediately ascertained that the public executioner ("Jack Harris"), was standing in their midst, in an advanced stage of intoxication, vociferating " aniens" and hammering away on thefloor,with a big stick, as if keeping time with the organ. H e was called upon to desist, and replied byflourishinghis cudgel, and, as he had not sufficient control of his muscular system, the weapon flew backward out of his hand, and went very near disfiguring an exquisitely got up young gentleman connected with the choir. T h e sexton procured the truncheon and tried to make peace, but the offendor threatened to break both his and the parson's heads, and pulling from a greasy pocket a well-thumbed edition of Cooper's novel, " T h e Bravo of Venice," coolly commenced to give out a text from
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THE CHRONICLES OF EARLY MELBOURNE.
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