Melbourne bot. Garden
6/3/71
Sir
In compliance with your instructions I have the honor to submit an estimate of the expenditure, which I would recommend for the service of the botanic Garden during the next financial year (from 1 July 1871 til 30 June 1872)
| Governments Botanist and Director of the botanic Garden |
£610.- .- |
The Director is obliged to provide scientific books, journals, instruments, office light, expenses for foreign agencies, many transit expenses abroad, nearly all the means for his conveyance, a horse and many other outlays from his salary, no allowances of any kind having ever been granted. Though in successive years records of quarters to the Director did appear on the estimates, such quarters are not really provided, the building, in which he endeavoured to accommodate himself being entirely required for the departmental service, and thus not even a single private room available to the Director.
| 2,1 Wages for Gardeners, a travelling collector of plants and seeds, various labourers, an enginedriver, a mechanic, a carter, a messenger, also remuneration for Office assistance, Museum assistance and Laboratory assistance &c. |
£2691.- .- |
|
| 3, Purchase of Museum material, of plants and seeds |
£130.- .- |
|
| 4, Victorian Governments contribution towards the publishing fund of the work on Australian plants, issued in London, for the 6th volume |
£100.- .- |
|
| 5, Stores, timber, bricks, tools, stationery, drain pipes, waterpipes |
£250.- .-2 |
|
| 6, Forage for one cart horse, aviary and waterbirds |
£85.- .-3 |
|
| 7, Transit and incidental expenses, including outlays for minor purchases and small repairs |
£120.- .-4 |
|
| 8, Travelling expenses |
£40.- .-5 |
|
|
Total |
£4026.- .-6 |
|
In comparing this proposed estimate with that of the last 1½ years it will be observed, that a saving of £250.- is proposed, by abolishing the functions, which the forest Inspector exercised at the bot. Garden during the above period, it being respectfully recommended that the duties of this officer may be restricted to forest work under the hon. the Minister of Lands solely. An addition of £100.- .- cannot be avoided in the new estimate under publishing works, the above sum being due since the beginning of the year to the President of the Linnean Society of London, in continuance of an official stipulation entered into some years ago.
I deem it also advisable to bring under the consideration of the ministerial Chief, that my Department should refund henceforth to the Industrial Schools the actual expenditure for the maintenance of the orphan-boys, which the hon. the Chief Secretary may allow to work here also in future, and for this purpose perhaps a rate of payment by the week or month might be fixed. It is almost superfluous to remark, that for such payment to the orphan boys a special sum would require to be additionally provided .7
I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant
Ferd. von Mueller, M.D.,
Direct. botan Garden
The honor. the Chief Secretary.8
There is no number 1 in the MS.
250 deleted and 200 interlined in an unknown hand.
0 superimposed over 5 in an unknown hand.
120 deleted and 140 interlined in an unknown hand.
8, Travelling expenses £40 deleted. The document has been initialled: 'McC' at this point, probably applying to all the changes marked.
The total has been deleted, but no alternative substituted.
The final sentence is a marginal addition with its intended position indicated.
There is an annotation, probably by McCulloch: 'Provide for Inspr of the Forests'.
Please cite as “FVM-71-03-06a,” 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