Melbourne bot. Garden
3 Sept. 1866
Sir
I have the honor to solicit, that you will be pleased to sanction the transfer of the following votes available for expenditure in the botanic Garden during the remainder of the year.
| From the vote for publishing plants to that of wages |
£308 |
| From the vote for travelling expenses to that of stores |
£35 |
| From the vote for food and forage to that of incidental expenses |
£45 |
In asking this favor for the establishment I feel it incumbent on me to explain, that the enormous extent of earth-work carried out under the singular facilities of the dry season of last summer and autumn have taxed the wages vote far beyond the ordinary extent; and were I now to discontinue the services of several of the more permanently employed gardeners, labourers and garden boys during the remainder of the year, no justice could be done to all the valuable and extensive plantations during the trying part of the coming summer. With a view of strengthening my labor vote for the latter months of the year, I purposely have sacrificed during 1866 all scientific considerations so far as to have no illustrations prepared for my works, though it is my intention, that such works as are connected with publishing plants shall be resumed in the commencement of 1867.
In husbanding the forage vote to the utmost extent I have saved so much as to supplement, if it pleases you, the incidental vote; the latter became already exhausted in July, so great has been the extent of communications to the department, involving many heavy transit expenses. Moreover in carrying out all the great new works of the last season many not ordinary incidental expenses had to be incurred.
As no journeys for the establishment are urgently called for during the remaining months of this year, a transfer of the available fund to the Storevote will enable me to get the material for painting the seats, gates and several forcing houses, which stand very greatly in need of the operation, and I could then also obtain a few tools &c urgently wanted and for which actually no fund whatever is left.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
your very obedient servant
Ferd. Mueller
The honorable the Chief Secretary
3/9/66
If the propositions for transfer should meet with the approval of the hon the Chief Secretary then the Authorities C.S. 43 (against which only £3.1/— are charged) and C.S. 136 need to be cancelled.
Ferd. Mueller1
On 6 September 1866 the Under Secretary, J. Moore, observed: 'There is but £230 at present to the credit of the vote for publishing. Does the Director of the Botanic Gardens desire authorities 39 and 139 to be cancelled? If so how much in each case?' M replied on 7 September: 'In soliciting that the whole available fund voted for publications on plants might be rendered available for general disbursement in wages for labor I beg now that the authority N. 139 may be cancelled and that £18 still unexpended from authority 39 may be transferred.' M's requests were approved. See also J. Moore to M, 19 September 1866, which probably relates to these matters.
Please cite as “FVM-66-09-03,” 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