It is for his labours in connection with the formation of the Sustentation Fund, of which he has for many years been convener, that Dr. Buchanan is most prominently known. Indeed, we are not sure but the idea of a Sustentation Fund was entirely his own--at least he had a great deal to do with its development. The great object of the Sustentation Fund is the support of the ministry to the extent and effect of at least securing for each minister a certain minimum stipend. From the first it was the aim of the Church to bring up the minimum to L150, although that was not reached until the year 1863. The Sustentation Fund Committee, of which Dr. Buchanan has been convener and chairman ever since the death of Dr. Chalmers in 1847, is appointed annually by the General Assembly, and consists of about a hundred ministers and elders, in nearly equal proportion, nominated by the Assembly, and of one member, who may be either minister or elder, nominated by each of the fourteen Synods of the Church. The committee meets once a month in Edinburgh, and is usually attended by about 60 members. This is scarcely the time or place to enter into an exhaustive account of the finances of the Free Church, or we might pursue these observations until we had traced the mighty river that now is, to the small and comparatively insignificant stream from which it took its source. The Free Church has set an example to the world in fiscal arrangements, showing what steady determination, backed by courage and sound judgment, can eventually accomplish. Not only had the Free Church to provide means for supporting its ministers, but also for building places of worship, manses or parsonages, and elementary schools. Since the Disruption, the Church has built 920 churches, 719 manses, and 597 schools, the total amount raised towards the general and local building fund during the twenty-six years intervening between May, 1843, and 1869, being L1,667,714. Three Theological Colleges for the training of candidates for the ministry, and two large and flourishing Normal Schools have also been provided.