Among the five new sees thus recently established, the pressing necessities of Australia have not been overlooked; and Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land, an island equal in size to Ireland, has been thought to claim justly a separate bishop for itself. The capital of this island is not less than 600 miles distant from Sydney, the seat of the bishopric of Australia; and with a population of 50,000, rapidly increasing, a large majority of whom are churchmen, its claims to have a bishop of its own are undeniable. And to these just claims the British government have listened so far as to devote the 800_l._ per annum formerly assigned to an archdeacon of Van Diemen's Land towards the endowment of a bishop there, in addition to which sum 5000_l._ have been set apart from the Colonial Bishoprics Fund, and the remainder of what is necessary to provide the occupant of the new see with a decent maintenance is now being raised among those that feel interested in that particular colony, or in the general good work whereof this endowment forms only a part. Nor is it the intention of the promoters of this noble design of founding in our Australian and other colonies the complete framework of a Christian Church to stop short here. South Australia, a province even more thoroughly separated from Sydney than Tasmania is, has appeared well deserving of the attention of those that have the direction of this important work; and the zeal of some of the landed proprietors of the colony has already prepared the way for the establishment of a bishopric in South Australia. The following extract is from the letter of a layman residing in the last-mentioned colony:--"At present, we are pronounced to be in a diocese, whilst the head of that diocese is living nearly 1200 miles away, and has never been here, and, in all probability never will be." One person has offered to build, at his own cost, with the tenth part of his property in Australia, a church at Adelaide, to endow the see with land to the amount of 270_l._ per annum, and to furnish plans, &c. for a bishop's residence; other gifts of land have likewise been contributed to the amount of 100_l._ per annum more. A grant of 5000_l._ has been obtained from the Colonial Bishoprics Fund, and it is hoped that, by the efforts of the friends of sound religion, an endowment of 1000_l._ per annum may speedily be completed for the intended bishopric.[179] And since the experience of the past forms a stable foundation of hope for the future, we may form a judgment of what _will be done_, under the Divine blessing, in Tasmania and South Australia, by what _has been done_ in the diocese of Australia. In the charge of the bishop of the last-named see, delivered by him to his clergy in 1841, it is stated, that, before 1836, the date of his consecration, there were in the colony of New South Wales nine churches, eight chapels, or school-houses used as such, and five parsonage-houses;