The first care of the voluntarily disestablished church was to provide incomes for her clergy and places of worship for her people. As early as 1841 indeed the leading principle of a "sustentation fund" for the support of the ministry had been announced by Dr Robert Smith Candlish; and at "Convocation," a private unofficial meeting of the members of the evangelical or non-intrusion party held in November 1842, Dr Chalmers was prepared with a carefully matured scheme according to which "each congregation should do its part in sustaining the whole, and the whole should sustain each congregation." Between November 1842 and May 1843, 647 associations had been formed; and at the first Assembly it was announced that upwards of L17,000 had already been contributed. At the close of the first financial year (1843-1844) it was reported that the fund had exceeded L61,000. It was participated in by 583 ministers; and 470 drew the full equal dividend of L105. Each successive year showed a steady increase in the gross amount of the fund; but owing to an almost equally rapid increase of the number of new ministerial charges participating in its benefits, the stipend payable to each minister did not for many years reach the sum of L150 which had been aimed at as a minimum. Thus in 1844-1845 the fund had risen to L76,180, but the ministers had also increased to 627, and the equal dividend therefore was only L122. During the first ten years the annual income averaged L84,057; during the next decade L108,643; and during the third L130,246. The minimum of L150 was reached at last in 1868; and subsequently the balance remaining after that minimum had been provided was treated as a surplus fund, and distributed among those ministers whose congregations have contributed at certain specified rates per member. In 1878 the total amount received for this fund was upwards of L177,000; in this 1075 ministers participated. The full equal dividend of L157 was paid to 766 ministers; and additional grants of L36 and L18 were paid out of the surplus fund to 632 and 129 ministers respectively. To provide for the erection of the buildings which, it was foreseen, would be necessary, a general building fund, in which all should share alike, was also organized, and local building funds were as far as possible established in each parish, with the result that at the first Assembly a sum of L104,776 was reported as already available. By May 1844 a further sum of L123,060 had been collected, and 470 churches were reported as completed or nearly so. In the following year L131,737 was raised and 60 additional churches were built. At the end of four years considerably more than 700 churches had been provided.