The relief resulting from the above receipts was of but brief duration. In November, 1848, the Governors had only the sum of £54 at their disposal. They divided it between the Bursar and the two Lecturers in proportion to the amount of salary in arrears, and as a result the Lecturer in French, M. Montier, received £2 14s. as his share from January 1st, 1848, to November 29, 1848. That was the full amount of salary received by him during the year; but he still had his cow and his garden! As if to increase the worries of the College authorities the College buildings caught fire on January 24, 1849. Fortunately the damage was only small, but any damage, however trifling, could at that time be ill-afforded. To add to the embarrassment, several of the few students enrolled failed to pay their fees, and the Bursar could not collect them. In February, 1849, he was in urgent need of funds, and on the 13th he sent out to the student debtors appealing letters of which the following is typical: "I beg that you will pay your fees this week if possible, as I have a heavy College claim to meet on Saturday without the wherewithal to pay it." He supported this appeal by letters to parents, "I beg that you would be good enough to pay your son's College fees on or before Saturday next, as I have a heavy College debt to pay on that day and not sufficient funds to meet it." These appeals were not always successful, and the revenue from this source remained indefinite. In the spring the students who had paid their dues were not given back the caution money they had deposited because "no funds were available." There is a record of one student, more persistent than the others, who was difficult to placate. He was finally promised that his "caution money would be refunded when possible," and he was assured that "funds would soon be available because the Statutes would soon be ratified."