18th June 1855
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant1 intimating the receipt of a communication from the Head of the party about to undertake the Northern Exploring Expedition offering you the appointment of botanist and requesting the Governors permission to have leave of absence for 18 months without pay to enable you to join the party resuming your duties under the Victorian Government after the expiration of such leave
Your application having been laid before the Governor I am directed to inform you that His Excellency has written to Sir Wm Denison enquiring by whom your services were to be paid should you join the Expedition but no answer has been received
His Excellency is pleased to accede to your request for leave of absence on the terms stated and for the period mentioned and under the circumstances of your services having been applied for by Mr La Trobe he considers you have a clear right to the consideration of this Government after your leave expires
(Signed) J Moore ACS2
Ferdinand Mueller Esq
Govt Botanist
70 Collins Street East
Melbourne3
On 13 June 1855 Moore wrote to the NSW Colonial Secretary, E. Thomson: 'I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 31st ultimo stating that the services of Dr Mueller the Government Botanist here would be most useful in the Northern Exploring Expedition and conveying the desire of His Excellency the Governor General that he might be allowed to accompany it In reply I am commanded by Governor Sir Charles Hotham to inform you that His Excellency sees no objection to Dr Mueller joining the Expedition if his expenses are paid from the funds provided for the purpose from the time of his arrival at Sydney and that it is desirable information should be received as to whether the suggested payment will be made prior to any instructions being issued to Dr Mueller on the subject' (No. 55/5779, 4/3351 letters received, Colonial Secretary's Department, Archives Authority of New South Wales, Sydney).
Denison commented, 19 June 1855: 'The payments will of course be made to Dr Mueller who will be borne on the strength of the Expeditionary party as soon as he arrives here'. The Victorian Colonial Secretary, W. Haines, was duly informed on 20 June: 'I have laid before the Governor General your letter of the 13th Instant, stating that His Excellency the Governor sees no objection to Dr Mueller joining the Northern Exploring Expedition, if his expenses are paid from the funds provided for the purpose from the time of his arrival in Sydney. | 2. I am in reply to acquaint you for His Excellency's information that Dr Mueller will be borne on the strength of the Expeditionary Party as soon as he arrives here, and his expenses will thus be paid from that date' (O55/8098, unit 262, VPRS 1189, PROV). Haines instructed, 29 June, that the information in this letter was to be conveyed to M, but Moore noted that Mueller had already sailed for Sydney on 29 June. (In fact, it appears that M did not leave Melbourne until 4 July; see M to R. Gunn, 3 July 1855.)
See also M to A. Gregory, 9 July 1855.
Please cite as “FVM-55-06-18,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 20 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/55-06-18