Ferdinand von Mueller

18 Bridge Street

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Sydney.

28th Decr 92

Sir,

At the request of the President, Mr. E. C. Merewether, who regrets that he is unable through severe indisposition to reply in person to your letter of the 18th Inst.

2

Letter not found.

wherein you address him on the subject of securing the Government Grant of £1500 to this Society for the proposed Swedish Australian Antarctic expedition and to place it in the hands of Trustees for the object of forming the nucleus of a fund for future Antarctic exploration it having been previously intimated that the Expedition for which the money was specially voted had been abandoned.

I have the honor to convey to you, that the President, after consulting with the members of the Administrative Council, cannot see his way clear to comply with your Suggestion to ask the Government to place the money in Trust, especially as there is no new scheme formulated or definite period named to warrant such a course being adopted. He also desires me to intimate that he felt somewhat surprised at the action of the Hon. Secretary the Rev. Mr Potter in approaching the head of the Government of this Colony for the object of getting the grant placed as desired by him, having been informed at the time that he was acting contrary to the wishes of the Council, and without the sanction of the President, who, if he had been communicated with on the subject previous to Mr Potter's visit, would have sent a definite refusal to ask for such an unreasonable concession to be made and much trouble and misunderstanding would thus have been avoided.

With regard to the very kind offer of Mr Reid to supply out of the £1000 promised by him to the Victorian fund the balance of the money to make up the amount required to meet the conditions of the Parliamentary Vote. The President and the Council feel that it would not be in strict conformity with the conditions expected should be fulfilled by collecting that amount entirely within the Colony, and not out of sums already promised or donated, and might lead to questions being raised by the Treasury.

The mission of the Hon. Secretary for the purpose of laying the particulars and giving full information respecting the past and present state of the correspondence in connection with the Swedish Australian Antarctic expedition before this committee was so suddenly announced that intimation only reached us of his intended visit the day before his arrival, so that there was not sufficient time to enable the Antarctic Committee to be called together, but, at his suggestion the Council of this Society met on two occasions to receive his explanations which after careful consideration were not thought sufficiently clear to enable the Council to form a definite conclusion.

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For Potter's account of his visit and strategy, see W. Potter to M, 10 December 1892.

Again referring to the Grant of £1500 the Council have every confidence in the liberality of the Government of this colony in granting a similar sum for the same purpose should it be required on any future time.

Baron Mueller K.C.M.G. F.R.G.S.

President of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia

Melbourne