Melbourne botanic Garden,
6 June 62.
Sir
I have the honor to solicit, that you will be pleased to authorize the transmission of the sum of one hundred pounds Sterling1 to the Agent General of Victoria in London, which sum I beg to propose should be devoted from the amount of £320.- .-, voted for the publication of works on Australian plants.
In submitting this application to your favorable consideration, I beg leave to draw your attention to the circumstance, that the Governments of South Australia New South Wales and Queensland have guaranteed also an annual subsidy to a work on the plants of all Australia, to be elaborated by G. Bentham Esq, the President of the Linnean Society of London.
This work will be vastly augmented by my own literary labours & contain the elucidation of all the Australian plants preserved in our botanical Museum and will thus have even a greater claim on the support of the Victorian Government, as on the aid of the surrounding colonies, where such collections not exist.
In my official capacity as Botanist to the Victorian Government I have taken a collateral share in the elaboration of the work, a position which I regard as highly honorable to the office which I hold.
It being the intention of Mr Bentham, to render this publication as cheap and thus as accessible as ever possible, aid has been sought from the Australian Governments, neither that Gentleman nor myself deriving any profit from this publication whatever.
As Australia will be prominently interested in this work and such publications cannot be brought out without aid of Government, I beg to recommend my proposition to your favor, especially since the vote passed for the literary work in my establishment will be sufficiently ample to provide after the deduction of the amount named, for the progress of the work here specially published on the Victoria flora.
Should you favor my proposition with your approval, I beg to state, that as the printing of the work already has commenced in London & as the aid of the Governments of the other colonies to the best of my knowledge has already been afforded for this year, you will perhaps permit the byefollowing voucher to pass in such time, that the money may be transmitted by next overland mail.
Appended to this letter I have the honor to submit a letter of Mr Bentham.2
I have the honor to be,
Sir
your obedient & humble servant
Ferd. Mueller
The honorable the Chief Secretary3
Marginal annotation: £100.- .-.
Bentham's printed proposal, 'A Proposed Flora of the Australian Colonies', i.e. G. Bentham to W. Hooker, 6 May 1861 (in this edition as M61-05-06).
On 20 June 1862 the Under Secretary J. Moore, minuted: 'Account in favor of the Honble the Minister of Finance enclosed to enable him to remit the sum of £100 to the Agent General, whom he will be good enough to instruct to place the amount to the credit of George Bentham Esqre President of the Linnean Society, London. The Director of the Botanic Gardens advises Mr Bentham of the remittance by the outgoing mail' (see M to G. Bentham, 24 June 1862 (in this edition as 62-06-24b)). On 3 July the Under Treasurer, E. Symonds, noted that the remittance and instructions had been forwarded. Moore informed M of the transaction the same day. M replied on 4 July: 'Thankfully returned'.
See also M to J. O'Shanassy, 29 April 1863.
Please cite as “FVM-62-06-06,” 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