Ferdinand von Mueller

1

MS written by Georg Luehmann and signed by M.

Melbourne, 23rd April 1880

Copy

Sir

In compliance with instructions received from the office of the Honorable the Chief Secretary,

2

See W. Odgers to M, 19 April 1880 (in this edition as 80-04-19a).

I have the honor to submit my views of the requirements of my Department as regards buildings during the financial year 1880-1881. I may be allowed to remark that during the last seven years no additional provision for buildings has been made for my departmental service, though I have not even office-rooms nor laboratory buildings ever since. Four years ago the sum of £900.- was voted by Parliament, through the action of the Honorable J. Macpherson (then Chief Secretary) for the commencement of new building-accommodation in my Department,

3

Victoria , Votes and Proceedings of the Legis l ative Assemb l y, session 1876, vol. 1, 28 November, p. 174 (under 'Sundry works, Melbourne): ‘Extension and other Works, Botanical Museum, including fittings and furniture, £900-0-0’.

which sum I allowed to lapse, with a desire of seeing it doubled in the next financial year.

4

M had hoped to build a complete new building on 'new ground', (M to J. MacPherson, 17 February 1877), but was told that it was to be expended on an extension (W. Odgers to M, 12 February 1877). In M to J. MacPherson, 16 April 1877 (in this edition as 77-04-16a), he requested the sum of £1,800 for 1877/1878 estimates. No provison was made in the estimates for that year for any building work for the Government Botanist's Department.

May I therefore hope that I may at least now recover the £900.-, saved then by the lapse of that sum to the revenue. I leave the consideration of this however entirely to your judgement, as the additional claims on the Treasury during the Exhibition-year

5

International Exhibition, Melbourne, 1880-1.

may render it expedient to postpone the grant of building-votes for my departmental purposes for an other year.

6

MS annotation: 'Adhere to works'.

The Honorable the Commissioner of Public Works