Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne botanic Garden,

27 June 1862.

Sir

I have the honor to inform you in reply to your memorandum, dated 27 June,

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See footnotes to M to J. O'Shanassy, 14 May 1862.

that I cannot advise the Government to extend the concessions in reference to the distributions of plants from the botanic Garden further than indicated in the regulations, which I had the honor to submit on the 19. instant.

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On 30 June 1862 M minuted: 'Having had the honor of meeting the honorable the President of the Board of Land and works I was desired by Mr Duffy to explain my views on the distribution of plants more fully in a future interview, and therfore the honorable the Chief Secretary will perhaps be pleased to withhold the publication of these regulations in the meanwhile, altho' probably the Government will not find it requisite to amend the rules still further'. In a further minute of 2 July 1862, M continued: 'Having learnt from the hon. the Chief Secretary that these rules are now finally amended and passed by the executive Council, I beg to submit a copy of them for insertion into the Government Gazette'. The copy read as follows:

Regulations respecting the distribution of plants from the botanical Garden of Melbourne

1. For the Gardens or reserves of public institutions, plants, cuttings and seeds can be supplied, fruit trees excluded [excepted above excluded deleted, presumably by O'Shanassy].

2. Donors or Gentlemen, who have rendered services to the botanic Garden may on their special request be supplied in a proportion not exceeding the approximate value of their contributions or in a ratio approximate to the services rendered with such plants, seeds, cuttings or cutflowers as may be available, but no fruit trees will be distributed in such exchanges

3. Cutflowers may be supplied for benevolent or artistic purposes or for public festivals.

4. Plants for medicinal use, needed in a fresh state, may when available be supplied.

5. Plants, cuttings or seeds of any species, promising to be of extensive economical utility to the colony may when available be distributed in small quantities to private gardens without restrictions [final s deleted, presumably by O'Shanassy].

The regulations, published as 'D istribution of plants, etc . , from the Melbourne Botanic Gardens ' in Victoria Government Gazette , 7 October 1862, p. 1917, include several substantial changes to the draft; see Regulations, in this edition as M62-09-29.

Considering that whilst this matter was discussed in Parliament,

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The debate on Supply, Legislative Assembly, 3 June 1862, in Victorian Hansard, vol. 8, pp. 1251-3. See Argus, 4 June 1862, p. 7 for the same report; the Argus provided verbatim records of debates until 1865.

opinions were much divided in regard to the extent of distributions, which should take place at the botanic Garden in future, I feel, that the concession of supplying plants to the purchasers of crownlands would call forth a renewed and strenous

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strenuous?

opposition from the nurserymen, and that such extensive calls would be made on the resources and labour of the botanic Garden, as to render the progress of our own work retarded in the extreme if not impossible, whilst I should be equally reluctant to recommend to the Government, that in order to carry out the new propositions additional means should be placed at my disposal.

In reference to the suggestion, that the distribution of plants from this establishment should in future take place under the immediate authority of the honorable the ministers of the crown, I beg humbly to observe, that such an arrangement would be beset with the utmost practical difficulties, arising partially from the circumstance, that the responsible Director of the Gardens can alone at all times be precisely aware of the extent of the constantly fluctuating supplies available at any time for distribution, and partially from the difficulties and delays which unavoidably must be incurred by the proposed arrangements.

I take simultaneously the liberty to point out, that in all kindred institutions in the different parts of the globe, the Directors are invested with the duty to arrange with due regard to the establishments, over which they hold the control, the distribution of plants, available at any particular period; and that this branch of my duties has had its full share of attention is demonstrated by the fact, that our Garden has furnished during my Directorship much ampler supplies to public institutions than any other similar establishment under the British Crown

The honorable the Chief Secretary