Page:History of Knox Church Dunedin.djvu/87

Rh the last year or two very vigorous and successful exertions have been made by the committee of the Association to promote more general interest among the members of the congregation in the mission schemes of the Church, with the result that a marked increase in the number and amount of the contributions to the cause has taken place. The following extract is taken from the report of the committee submitted to the annual meeting in 1890:—"Your committee have to report that they have been enabled to carry on the year's operations with a gratifying measure of success. At the outset it was resolved to reorganise the districts, making them co-terminous with the Sustentation Fund districts, and appointing a collector to each; and to render the work of collecting as complete as possible, a full list of the members and adherents was prepared, so that each might be called on and have an opportunity of contributing. This has led to a satisfactory increase in the number of subscribers." The number of subscribing members for the year was 285, while for the previous year it was only 169. The total amount raised for missions for the year ending September 30, 1890, was—

In the year 1870, the quarter-acre section in King street adjoining the original church site was offered for sale. With a view to keep the church isolated as much as possible from the other buildings, the Deacons' Court purchased the section, with the house upon it, for £240. At an additional cost of £80 the section was suitably fenced, and the house enlarged and fitted up as a residence for the church officer.

Through the efforts of the late Mr Robert Gillies, and the liberality of that gentleman and other members of the congregation, a scholarship of the annual value of £30, tenable for three years, was established in 1871 for the benefit of young men intending to study for the ministry in connection with the Presbyterian Church of Otago