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Physical location:
W70/12875, unit 674, VPRS 3991/P inward registered correspondence VA 475 Chief Secretary's Department, Public Record Office, Victoria. 70.09.30bPreferred Citation:
Ferdinand von Mueller to William Odgers, 1870-09-30 [70.09.30b]. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id//letters/1870-9/1870/70-09-30b-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026
Melbourne bot. Garden
30/9/70
Sir
I have the honor to transmit for the inspection of the hon. the Chief Secretary a
proofcopy of the 5th volume on the plants of Australia, issued very recently by the President of the Linean Society under my sole aid. My reason of sending this copy for Sir James McCullochs inspection is merely to show to the honorable
Gentleman, what the result has been of part of my labors in 1869. I beg to avail myself
of this opportunity to point respectfully out, that in submitting my estimate for
the botanic Gardens Department for 1871, I omitted to make provision for the continuance
of this work and entertain a hope, that the honorable the Chief Secretary will augment
the sum for publishing plants (in former years £320) by one hundred pounds, that being
the sum promised to Mr Bentham for each volume as a subsidy of hte Victorian Government, as that amount will be due
in 1871 for the 6th volume.
1
On 6 October 1870 the Chief Secretary, J. McCulloch, asked Mueller to 'give me particulars
of the arrangement made with Mr Bentham'. Mueller replied on 7 October: 'In the year 1861 Mr Bentham had a direct correspondence
with the hon. the Chief Secretary on the intended work.The subsidy was desired by
him (and by him alone) to render the work sufficiently cheap for general access, to
defray freights for the loan of continental collectionsas many of the species exist
not authentically in British museums, further for occasional travels of Mr Bentham
to the Continent of Europe for inspecting continental collections, for occasional
clerical aid, for expenses from going very frequently from London to Kew. The Victorian
Government receives free 30 copies of each volume, and these are distributed to Ministers
of the Crown, Gov. and public institutions and to principal contributors of plants
towards the work, and this distribution is effected according to a schedule previously
each time submitted for approval to the Minister of the Department.' McCulloch responded:
'I do not see any engagement on the part of the Colony [..] [any such [...] Get me
a copy of the work to look at.'
On 24April 1873 the Crown Lands office wrote to the Chief Secretary's office 'For
Correspondence re publication in England of Baron von Mueller's description of Australian
Botany'. The correspondence was forwarded to the Crown Lands office on 30 April and
returned to the Chief Secretary's office on 6 March 1874.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
your obedient servant
Ferd. von Mueller
The 30 clear copies furnished free of cost to the Victorian Government will likely
arrive at Melbourne in November of this year.
W. Odgers Esq &c &c &c
Undersecretary