To William Haines   15 February 1858

Melbourne bot. Garden

15. Febr. 1858.

Sir

In obedience to the request, contained in your communication of the 12. instant,1 which reached me this day, I have the honor to submit to your consideration the following arrangement for the employ of gardeners and labourers and for the distribution of their respective wages during the current year.


£

s

First foreman without quarters


13/

Second foreman with "


11/

Third foreman with "


10/

Fourth foreman with "


10/

Fift foreman without "


11/

One builder of drains with "


10/

One builder of drains without "


11/

One gardener superintending the seed-department &c without quarters


11/

five gardeners without quarters


10/

one gardener with "


9/

one carpenter supplying his own tools without quarter


12/

one painter for writing labels &c without quarters


9/

one itinerant collector of seeds &c


10/

one Carter without quarter


9/

one Bailiff with quarter.


10/

This amounts to an expenditure of £9.16 daily wages or to £254.16/ monthly wages at the average of 26 work-days in every month.

To this sum is to be added a gratuity for four or five men on Sunday-watch at the rate of 8/, increasing the average monthly expenditure to £262.16/, which exceeds slightly that at our command (£250 pr month) but it becomes generally reduced to the correct standard by occasional illness of some of the men or their absence on other reasons. Otherwise it may be reduced at any period as all our engagements are temporary.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

your most obedient and humblest servant

Ferd. Mueller,

Gov Botanist & Director of the bot. garden.

 

The Honorable the Chief Secretary &c &c &c

Letter not found.

Please cite as “FVM-58-02-15,” 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 28 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/58-02-15