To Augustus Gregory   4 June 1855

Melbourne, 70. Collin Street East,

4. June 1855.

Sir

I do myself the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated 26. May 1855,¹ and to express my deepest gratitude to his Excellency the Governor General for selecting me as botanist for the proposed north-western expedition, giving also my best thanks to you for the confidence thus put in my services.

In a communication, which I had the honor of forwarding to you about two weeks ago,² I was obliged to inform you, that unexpectedly those members of the Legislative Council, which I consulted on the proposed plan, rose some objections against it.

In an other letter, forwarded to you about a month ago,³ conveying to you my first proposal of joyning the expedition, I expressed my readiness of joyning you as a volunteer under the auspices of the Victorian Government, and thought that under the stipulation of retaining half the collections formed by myself for this Government, I should receive the much desired permission of following you.

This was, however, on my side quite a matter of conjecture, — and if on the above basis an application were submitted for my services to the Governor of Victoria, I shall use all my power of inducing the Legislative Council to retain me as an officer of this Government during the time of our absence. With regard to the necessity of retaining half the Collections, formed by myself, I may mention, that this alone would be the recompense for remaining attached to the Governments staff, and that I alone could reconceal⁴ myself to the manyfold dangers, which we have to brave in such a country as we intend to explore, by having the reward of publishing my own botanical discoveries from the collected material; as I otherwise would sink to the position of a mere collector, whilst much of interest remains yet to be unveiled in our own colony.

Should you, Sir, believe, that the botanical vacancy will not be filled up in England, and should you also deem it proper to communicate under the above mentioned stipulations to the Government of this colony, I am as ready as ever to follow you, and I would humbly pray, that his Excellency the Governor General would be pleased to express his concurrence in my desire of continuing my position here to this Government, with which I had no communication yet on the subject.

I further would consider it as a favor to be permitted to bring an attendant with me, in order to gain the greatest use of time for collecting, and I believe, that his wages would be readily defrayed by the Victoria Government.

Finally I beg, in case of my being appointed under the above consideration, to express my desire of learning, wheather time enough will be yet afforded to me for visiting the Wide Bay⁵ districts for a few weeks previous to our departure, as a journey to that district would greatly improve my knowledge of the plants of tropical Australia.⁶

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

your most obedient servant

Ferd. Mueller.

A. C. Gregory Esq.

&c &c &c