Melbourne,
19/7/83.
T. R. Wilson Esqr,
Undersecretary
Sir,
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Circular 2828,1 conveying instructions of the honorable the Premier, that any presentations of works printed by the Government and bestowed on its behalf, should receive special approval from the Premier.
In acting on this instruction, I anticipate that I am right in drawing the broad distinction between actual donations of presentation-copies, (such as occasionally take place through foreign Consuls, Exhibition Commissioners, the trustees of the public Library) and the mere minor departmental interchanges, which latter are never of an extensive kind and of elegant costliness, and for which a quid pro quo is received.
I have the honor to be,
Sir, your obedient servant
Ferd. von Mueller.2
Circular not found.
On 9 January 1884, E. J. Thomas, Secretary to the Premier, minuted on this file: 'I beg to state in reply that it is not intended to draw the distinction indicated by the Government Botanist. On the contrary it is desired that a List of both classes of presentations should be submitted for approval.' Wilson forwarded this minute to M for his 'information & guidance' on 11 January and M returned it on 14 January 'after noting instructions on which I shall promptly act'. Nevertheless, Wilson followed this up on 28 January 1884 with: 'I beg to forward for the further information of the Govt Botanist the enclosed extract from a letter from the Honorable the Premier'. The enclosure, headed 'Extract from Premier's letter dated 18 January I884' read: 'Of the papers relating to donations of Government publications forwarded by your letter no 5993 of the 20th ult, I have already returned with the Premier's decision the enquiry of the Government Botanist as to whether the Premier's instructions of the 3rd of July last related to ordinary departmental presentations. I beg now to emphasize the decision conveyed, and to explain that it is considered by Mr Service [the Premier] that to omit as proposed by the Government Botanist a class of presentations from the Systematic Supervision that has been established would be to leave the door open to objectionable practices. If distributions are to be made purely in the public interest, there can of course be no objection to submitting them in detail for the Premiers sanction.' M replied on 30 January: 'Returned with acknowledgment of the information conveyed'.
Please cite as “FVM-83-07-19,” 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