374 Timehri. 
Barbados, including Guiana. In 1831 William Piercy Austin landed in 
the colony and was for a short time curate of St. George's. Im 1835 he 
returned to the colony and acted for Mr. Lugar. In 1836 he was 
appointed Rural Dean of Essequibo and in 1838 Archdeacon of Guiana. 
In the meantime in 1836, the Rey. J. Lugar and Vestry obtained per- 
mission from the Court of Policy to raise 50,000 guilders to build a new 
Church : the foundation stone was laid on a site 40 feet west of the first 
Church, in 1838, completed in 1842 and consecrated by Bishop Austin, 
shortly after his own consecration, on December | in the same year, as 
the first Cathedral. (The first Church was sold to the Vestry of St. 
Matthew's Parish and was erected on Pln. Peter’s Hall as the Parish 
Church and there it still stands.) But this Church had a short and 
unfortunate career: the building was built on bad foundations and as 
Archdeacon Jones said, it began its life with a broken back : at last it 
became dangerous : on one occasion tradition reports that a large piece 
of plaster almost brought to an untimely end the life of the father of 
our present acting Government Secretary and with it the day’s offertory 
which he was then presenting. Consequently a Chureh which should 
have lasted a century was condemned in less than thirty years and was 
taken down in L878 by Arehdeacon Wyatt who at the same time erected 
the Pro-Cathedral. 
As early as 1872 a public meeting was called by Archdeacon Jones 
to consider the question of a new Cathedral. The meeting was 
enthusiastic : the colony was flourishing: men’s hearts were generous 
and the meeting was a success in promises and performances. As an 
outcome of this meeting in 1875 negotiations were entered into with Mr. 
Cockerell, a London architect, but when matters were far advanced he 
died. Then Sir A. Blomfield was asked to submit plans and very beautiful 
was his proposed editice but much too heavy : consequently they had to 
be reconsidered and new plans, based on principles of lightness and 
economy, with due regard to ecclesiastical art, were submitted and 
accepted, and Sprostons undertook to build the foundations for $20,000, 
there being then in hand only $48,000. 
About this period in 1885 the Bishop took another step forward in 
Diocesan organization by instituting by mandate a Dean and Chapter as 
follows :— 
Dean: F. H. Austin. Precentor: W. G. G. Austin. 
Canons. —Stall of St. Angustine, H. J. May Stall of St. Andrew, 
D. Smith 
» 3) oot: Davids 
H. T. S. Castell 
1 og WU Paolo 
G. H. Butt 
and they took a leading part in collecting the necessary funds for building 
the Cathedral. 
, St. George, W. 'T. Veness 
,, st. Alban, T. Farrar 
