Chief Secretary's Office
Melbourne 27 July 1871.
Sir,
I have the honor to enclose a letter to Mr Ferguson returning him his report on the State Forests for 1870, and directing him to forward it in the regular official manner.
You will be good enough to cause it to be delivered to Mr Ferguson; instructing the messenger who hands it to him to report to you the hour he does so.1
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant
W. H. Odgers
The Director
Botanic Gardens.
M to C. Gavan Duffy, July 1871, registered on 27 July 1871, indicated that the Forest Inspector, William Ferguson, had submitted his report direct to the Lands Department. In a previous letter to the former Chief Secretary, M had complained that Ferguson was bypassing him in communicating to Government (M to James McCulloch, 15 June 1871). There had been similar difficulties earlier in the year concerning Ferguson's suppling fish from a pond in the gardens to the Lands Department (M to C. Hodgkinson, 25 March 1871).
The report of the Inspector of Forests (William Ferguson (1871)), dated 14 June 1871 was requested via an order of the Legislative Assembly of 31 May 1871, and printed as a Parliamentary paper.
Please cite as “FVM-71-07-27b,” 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