In addition to this essay there were also stowed away in the hollowed stone no less than three printed pamphlets, all the brain work of the Rev. Mr. Ramsay, viz.: (1) Minutes of the first Synod of the United Presbyterian Church of Victoria, 1850; (2) The third Annual Report of the United Presbyterian Church, under the pastoral care of the Rev. A. M . Ramsay; (3) An Address delivered to the Presbyterian congregation, assembling in the Protestant Hall, Stephen Street, by their pastor, A. M. Ramsay, on the 17th June, 1849, on the subject of Church sites.
The evening was signalized by a congregational soirée at the Protestant Hall, where some 150 persons attended. Several clerical and lay speakers held forth, and the collection amounted to £18 0s. 10d. The church was opened for Divine service on the 30th March, 1851, when sermons were preached at eleven in the forenoon by the Rev. Mr. Ramsay, and at 3 p.m. by the Rev. Mr. Jarrett.
A second United Presbyterian Church was formed on the 9th May, in a school-house built in Lonsdale Street, opposite the Hospital, under the pastoral care of the Rev. W . Jarrett, when the latter and the Rev. Mr. Ramsay preached. The second day after being a Sunday, the Revs. W . Ross and T. O'Dell officiated, and on the second day after again (Tuesday) a congregational soirée was held, when £40 was raised towards liquidating a liability of £200 on the building.
On the 14th May an Ordination was held in the Collins Street Church, when the Revs. Ramsay, Jarrett, Ross, and M'Nicholl (of Geelong) officiated, and Messrs. David Chapman and David Ballantyne were received into the Ministry.
There were now three branches of Presbyterianism in the new colony of Victoria, and though divided, it could not be said they were antagonistic; but their respective careers it is not for me to follow further. In 1880, the Presbyterian community, as a whole, numbered over 140,000, ministered to by 161 registered clergymen, with 860 places of worship, accommodating 82,730 persons, on the average attended by 72,839, and with an annual approximation of 44,000 services. Population in 1886-7, 151,712; number of ministers, 203; number of churches, 945—affording accommodation for 93,495 persons; number of services, 47,066; average attendance, 77,297.
