To Marcus Clarke   12 February 1871

71.02.12a

Melbourne botan Garden

12/2/71

Sir

In reply to your letter of the 7. inst.¹ I beg to inform you, that a full catalogue of the vegetable products, as far as then done up for the industrial museum, was handed by myself some months ago to the Manager of the Museum, and that prior to your request the second section of the catalogue, comprising the sets of articles recently put up, was under elaboration and is now herewith transmitted. I cannot understand why in your demand my spontaneous offer of the first section of the catalogue was ignored. Your statement, that the labels came off from the woods "as fast as put on" is incorrect as regards the majority of labels. It was a mere trial to use glue and I am trying paste now. The linseed oil used along with the polish prevents in some woods more then² in others the adherence of any labels.

I cannot understand what is meant by your saying that no more wood-labels were required, as for want of fund to print more labels or to get new ones for the rest of the woods written by hand, many of the polished wood specimens remained yet unnamed. I have no leisure to do mechanical work of this kind with my own hands. If the Committee however will grant any small sum for the purpose or allow me to engage an amanuensis at two guineas a week, the labeling of the woods can be completed and progressive work could go on. The unfinished state of the woods has also prevented me to offer a complete catalogue of them; but if for any printed catalogue or any other documents the Committee wishes to have the woods catalogued in the unfinished state, I will give my attention to it at any early leisure hour, and could best attend to it on Sunday mornings or at evenings between 5 & 7, if the museum is made to me accessible at such time.

You would oblige me by informing me, whether your expression "the Committee can incur no further expense, until what has been done has been listed and arranged" is to convey an expression of distrust.

Any one who has any knowledge of professional matters of this kind will at once admit, that things cannot be arranged, until the bulk is labelled and otherwise converted from the crude state to a presentable one. Besides the Committee got through their Manager one section of the catalogue months ago, on my own accord, and as I never was asked even for any more lists until your letter came last week, I consider the expression in reference to the list wanted, quite uncalled for. The want of the most ordinary consideration and of gratitude for gratuitous labor, for which to the benefit of the Industrial Museum I spent much time in 1870, should have prompted a different action towards me in this matter.

I am also at a loss to understand, what is meant by your saying, "that a great bulk of what has been exhibited, has been contributed by Mess Felton Grimwade & others". In the index already sent months ago every donors name is recorded. To print it on each label would have increased the expense and taken up the space for other notes on the labels. Tickets, giving the donors name, are sent in loose with each lot, and therefore indicate publicly the source of the donation. The Committee is perhaps not aware that every donor was can[vassed] by a spontaneous personal call from my Department and under my direction for donations, so lively was the interest, which notwithstanding much discouragement and personal outlays I took as a professional Officer of the Government in the vegetable branch of the Museum. I wish also that you bring under the notice of the committee, that in no instance any of the various donors called on by me gave the articles in show-bottles, or with show-labels, or with professional notes. Indeed in very many instances the value of glass, labelling and notes exceeds far the value of the crude article, obtained from the donor. Nevertheless I shall never withhold from them any praise due to them.

I now sent the remainder of the articles, which Mr Hoffmann under my directions has up to date finished for the Museum, together with crude duplicates and partly worthless articles; the duplicates will serve for interchanges and might for the present be stored in any lumberchamber in the annex. I am quite willing to aid the Museum by foreign interchanges, if the trifling expenditure for labor and freight is voted for the purpose, and if the Committee will entrust me with the task without my being placed in the false position, as if I endeavoured to intrude or arrogate to myself executive functions at the Museum. All I wished was to help in a good cause, but my professional status and my social dignity should be respected. I would have attended the Committee meetings, as once invited, but have lately not done so, as frequently no quorum was formed and as I do not like to sacrifice time by going without doing any good from my place to the city.

The printed labels will all be sent in, when the cutting of them out of the sheets shall have been completed. To tack cardboards on the polished wood slabs would injure the specimens.

In reference to Mr Hoffmanns pay for Sept, Oct and part of November, alluded to in you letter, I beg to inform you, that I have prepaid it now myself out of my private purse,³ in order that Mr Hoffmanns just claim may not remain any longer unsettled, now at his departure for Europe. The payment rendered by me is £31.7/- and it is my intention to place for further consideration the case before the General Board of the trustees. Destitute as I am, I should not feel so much for the loss of this sum (after other heavy personal expenses of mine for the Museum⁴), but I feel hurt that the Committee places me in the position as if I had advanced on Mr Hoffmanns behalf a claim that was not equitable. If the expenditure for want of quorums of the Committee was not incurred legally it was certainly with every moral right incurred. I presume there will be no difficulty to provide for the repayment of this outlay of mine on the supplementary next estimates or to recoup it in contract form.

I now beg to send Mr Hoffmanns paysheet for February, for the final work done by him. I have paid him these £6.12/- also out of my private purse, to cause no hindrance to his future plans of life for want of that, which he legitimately earned.

You would oblige me by sending me the two portions of the indices of the articles (the one now sent and the one sent some months ago) back for a few days, that I may have made a complete copy, to be retained at my office.

Please, assure the Committee, that which I frankly expressed myself on various points, about which no consonance of opinions exists, or about which yet misunderstandings prevail, I shall feel always — as I have done during the 24 former years of my uninterrupted stay and work in Australia, a deep interest in the objects, now entrusted to their care.

Very obediently

Ferd von Mueller,

C.M.G., M.D.,

Direct. bot. Garden & Gov. Botanist

Marcus Clarke Esq.

Secretary to the Industrial Museum.

If the Glass bottles are now counted over with the contents in the Museum, it will be found that they correspond in number with those for which vouchers were presented.

At the occasion of the printing of any catalogue I would ask for the opportunity of revising the proof.

Having heard that it is intended to remove part of the polish of the wood-specimens to show the planed surface, I would beg to remark, that such procedure would spoil the elegance of the specimens, and that the planing of the back side will effect all that may thus far be desired.