Ferdinand von Mueller

1

The file also contains a typed copy of this letter, presumably made in the Chief Secretary's Department.

Melbourne,

31 Jan. 1892.

T. R. Wilson Esqr

Under Secretary.

Sir

After your kind communication of the favorable decision, arrived at by the honorable the Chief Secretary and his honorable ministerial Colleagues, that the designation of my office should be maintained as well as the Salary to myself, and that £400 will be allowed as annual working expenses,

2

Letter not found; the 'communication' may have been at a personal meeting, perhaps at the time Wilson and M discussed the staff to be retained (see n. 4 below).

I have the honor of expressing my best thanks for these arrangements made by the Government, and beg to assure especially the hon. Mr M'Lean, that nothing shall be left undone within my power, to merit the continued confidence placed in my administration In reference to the retaining of a portion of my staff, I beg to recommend, that Mr J. G. Luehmann at his salary of £325 be kept on, he having been in the Govern. Botanist's establishment now for 22 years 11 months uninterruptedly, so that by retaining him in this branch of the service his long experience can be further utilized, and also the claims of seniority will be respected. Further I would recommend, that Mr J. R. Tovey, who receives £66 annually now, be also left in the service of my institution, the fund available admitting of this, and he being able to exercise a continuous guardianship over the Herbarium, his sleeping place having already been since his engagement in the herbarium-Building.

3

On 15 January 1892, Wilson had instructed M that he should inform members of his staff that his department was to be abolished on 31 March, and it was presumably in response to this that, a few days later, M forwarded letters from Luehmann and Tovey applying to be transferred to another department (respectively U92/708 and U92/797, VPRS 1168, VA 475 Chief Secretary's Department, Public Record Office, Victoria). The subsequent decision not to abolish the department after all led to the present letter. Tovey had been appointed as Third Herbarium Assistant on 1 December 1890.

Thanking you also, Sir, for the great interest, which you have evinced in the maintenance of my researches in an official position, I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant

4

On 4 February Wilson minuted: 'Before submitting this proposal to the Chief Secretary, I desire to point out to the Government Botanist that the retention of the two officers he names will already absorb within £9 of the £400 available, while the annual increment to Mr Tovey is £6, and the next "long service" increment to Mr Luehmann is £25. I wish to impress on Baron Von Mueller the fact which I have already verbally mentioned, namely, that the £1200 to which it has been determined to reduce the expenses of the Government Botanist's establishment is not in any case to be exceeded; and, while I, of course, desire, as far as may be, to leave to him to judge how the available funds can be best expended in the public interests, I wish, for the reasons stated, to give him the opportunity of further considering the matter.

See M to T. Wilson, February 1892 (in this edition as 92-02-00e), in which M confirmed his recommendation and committed himself (though without explaining how he would do it) to not exceeding the £1200 budget he had been given. The Chief Secretary, A. McLean, minuted his approval on 3 March. It was forwarded to M the same day who replied on 7 March 'with best thanks'.

On 16 March, Wilson minuted that it had not yet been decided what was to be done with M's other staff.