Mr. David Lord gave Mr. Horton a plot of ground, and he resolved to build. He was indefatigable in his collections; and by contributions, then thought liberal, obtained £400.; but chapels are not built by cautious men. Having raised the walls his money was gone; and they remained long uncovered: a reproach to his calculation, but not to his faith. The Rev. R. Mansfield, two years after, obtained timber and labor from the government: gifts and loans were provided by the society in England, and the building was completed.[130]
In 1822, a considerable religious immigration took place. Carvosso transmitted accounts of the material and moral prospects of the colony, which determined several of that class to settle in this island. They embarked in the _Hope_, and encountered great dangers in the British channel. On their complaints the vessel was seized, under an act for the protection of passengers; and the _Heroine_ being chartered for the purpose, they were transmitted at the expense of the government. The owners successfully appealed against the seizure, and accused the passengers of conspiracy; who, however, themselves suffered considerable detention and loss.[131] Many still survive, having largely contributed in their various spheres towards the social improvement of the country.
Mr. Knopwood was superseded, as principal chaplain, by the Rev. William Bedford. This gentleman received his appointment by the recommendation of persons who had been impressed by his zealous attendance on criminals awaiting execution in the metropolitan gaols.
The presbyterian church was founded the same year by the Rev. Archibald Macarthur. He was cordially received as a representative both of his country and his religion: though not himself of the national church, most Scottish names are appended to the first subscription for his stipend.
The co-operation of the various bodies was not prevented by their differences. Of the first annual meeting of the wesleyan mission, Mr. Bedford was president, and the whole community joined in the support of a bible society, the first religious institution of the colony.
The missionaries who fled from Tahiti a second time, formed at Sydney a bible society, under the patronage of Macquarie, and transmitted a considerable supply to the care of Mr. Knopwood. In return for the liberal gift, an auxiliary was formed, of which Messrs. Birch and Dry were the lay officers. The meeting held in May, 1819, contributed £100 on the spot: £300 during the year. This munificence was avowedly for the credit of the settlement. Not only did the institution unite all sects, but it was the first instance of friendly co-operation between the emigrant and emancipist classes.[132] Among the contributors were twelve who, giving 5s. each, designated themselves the "members of the free and accepted masons of St. John's Lodge, Hobart Town." An early general meeting of the society was an example of dispatch: the governor took the chair, the report was read, the resolutions passed, and the meeting dispersed within ten minutes. With such celerity were pious labors finished in those days.