Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne 21/1/79.

To the honorable Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, Bt,

M.P., Chief Secretary of Victoria &c

Sir

I have the honor to seek your permission for the reissue of my work on "select plants"

1

B76.12.04.

in an extensively supplemented form by the Government of India, as intended according to the byefollowing letter from the Undersecretary of India.

2

C. Tupper to M, 2 November 1878.

This proposition arose under the following circumstances. In a correspondence with the hon. Sir Andrew Clarke, whose friendship I have enjoyed during the last quarter of a century the question arose, whether the chances for renewed famines might be reduced by augmenting and diversifying the cultural resources of India; and on this occasion I suggested, that the "select plants" with additional notes, which I had gradually collected, might be reproduced in an Indian edition by the viceregal Government for the benefit of Upper India. Sir Andrew and his honorable colleagues seem to have gladly approved of my suggestion, and as the matter has now assumed an official form, I deem it my duty to seek your final ratification of this proposition. It is unnecessary to add, that I have no financial interest whatever in the reproduction of my work, though I feel greatly pleased, that one of the greatest Governments of her Majestys realms is anxious to avail itself of scientific information emanating from an Officer of the Victorian service. As the republication of this work will reflect credit on Victoria and in no way interfere with us here, I humbly trust, that this proposal will meet with your kind approbation, which of course would be fully acknowledged in the preface to the work.

3

On 23 January 1879, O'Loghlen minuted: 'Approved. I beg to congratulate the Baron Von Mueller in this appreciation of his scientific labors'. M replied with a minute on the file on 24 January: 'Returned with expressions of my best thanks to the hon. Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, Bart., M.P., for the ministerial sanction given for an Indian Edition of the "select plants" and for the graceful encouragement, bestowed by the hon. Baronet on my researches'. M to E. Ramsay, 21 June 1880 (in this edition as 80-06-21b) was a similar application, using the approval of this request as a precedent for a later Ministry to support the publication of an edition by the NSW government,which appeared as B81.01.04.

The Indian edition appeared as B80.13.07. It carried a dedication to Sir Andrew Clarke, 'an enlightened and generous patron of industrial progress', while in the Preface, M dutifully recorded that 'this reissue met with the ready concurrence of the Honourable Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, Bart., Acting Chief Secretary of Victoria'.