Ferdinand von Mueller

1

The Secretary for Agriculture, A. Wallis, had sought information about the origin and extent of the public interest in the Library of the Botanic Garden. See also W. Odgers to M, 4 September 1873.

The Library was valued in 1865 by a professional Gentleman at £1200. By far the greatest portion, including nearly all the larger works was acquired by purchases of my own since 1840, including many exceedingly rare books. On the suggestion of the honor. Will. Haines I parted with it in 1865, but with a distinct understanding, that it should be left under my own control, for the undisturbed continuation of my researches. I asked and obtained for it or rather the extensive private portion of it only £600; and had my income ever been equal to that of any other officer of my rank, this arrangement would not have been made. These £600 have long since been spent again for additional works. The acquisitions obtained through interchanges consisted chiefly of small essays and journals, but contained also up to 1865 part of Martius Flora Braziliensis, part of Willkomm & Lange's Flora Hispanica, and part of Miquel's Museum bot. Leyden &c. My own works were not published for any extensive interchanges of books, but with a view of diffusing information, and thus called for by Parliament for distribution among the members of both Houses of the Legislature, Mechanics Institutes &c, just like the Exhibition essays, and numerous other Documents published by this Government are freely distributed, and just like the American Legislature distributes gratuitously 255,000 copies of the annual volume on Agriculture. Furthermore my own works had to be supplied to numerous amateur collectors, who furnished material for the volumes and contributed to the bot Museum. Irrespective of this many copies were sold at the Gov. Printing office, I myself having been an extensive private purchaser for the public benefit. I even bought on one occasion numerous copies of Harveys phycologia at a private expense of £60 to encourage Departmental Interchanges. The edition moreover was comparatively small. No votes whatever were provided or expended for books ever since the special grant was obtained from Parliament in 1865, nor were any votes whatever obtained before. The expenditure of £60 out of a vote for Books last year, the only vote for purpose since 1865, was disallowed altho' I respectfully asked for the timely transmission of the sum to the Agent General and specified the books urgently required for my Departmental researches and obtainable within that amount, and thus this sum, which in justice should be revoted, has lapsed, while the Observatory and indeed every other public Department, except my own, has votes for books, mine having to be provided for out of my already otherwise heavily taxed private means. As this correspondence is most harassing to me, after the full explanations prior to the arrangements in 1865, I should be willing to repurchase the Library, without which I cannot work, and effect the repurchase by instalments out of my salary, as my whole private property — once considerable — has been sunk in my scientific researches and the departmental service