From Thomas Wilson   8 March 1882

Chief Secretary's Office,

Melbourne, 8th March 1882.¹

Sir,

I have the honor to request you will be so good as to furnish to this office, not later than the 17th instant, Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for your Department during the financial year 1882-3.

In the preparation of the latter you will please follow as closely as possible the form of the Appropriation Act for 1881-2, and in regard to Public Works and Buildings, an estimate should be transmitted to the Honorable the Commissioner of Public Works by the date mentioned, and a copy of it forwarded to this office.

If you require that provision be made for any item which has already, either wholly or in part, been defrayed or provided for by means of "Advances" already made, the fact should be specially stated.

I have also to point out that as the votes taken on account of the current year (1881-2) will, if not expended, lapse at the end of August next, your Estimates of Expenditure for 1882-3 should be accompanied by a statement of those amounts which it is anticipated will so lapse, and by an estimate of the amounts of such lapsed votes for which it may be found necessary to obtain revotes, such estimate to be arranged in the same order as regards division and sub-division numbers as that in which the corresponding votes appear in the Appropriation Act of 1881-2.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

T. R. Wilson

The Government Botanist