From Ferdinand von Mueller to Alexander Macdonald   16 Apr 1886

16/4/86

May I advise you, dear Mr Macdonald, to let Sir Edward¹ know in reply to his very curteous letter, that when we urged the £500 to be given to Mr Forbes's Expedition, it was at the early time of all the arrangements, and it was then believed, that the expenditure for Capt Everill's enterprise² would then be limited accordingly; furthermore an idea prevailed, that South Australia and N. Zealand would contribute, particularly the former, as its Port Darwin Territory is so near to New Guinea. I would urge also, that Sir Edward make an application to the West-Australian Government for a subsidy now, more particularly so, as the opening up of the Fly-River System must much benefit hereafter the Kimberley Country. The W.A. treasury is overflowing, and I have no doubt that Sir Edward could obtain a few hundred £ from thence. Surely no one will regret our support of Forbes,³ as otherwise Australia would have been entirely shut out of the enterprise of his to the highlands. I am glad, that the Report will soon appear now, as it will put us in a better position to invite more members to join.

I dread the idea that members get hold of the fact, that possibly any new vote would not be altogether used for new explorations but for liquidating outstanding accounts. Indeed this would jeopardize the vote.

Kindly tell Mr Griffith⁴ that⁵ intended to be at the R.S. meeting, to hear him on antarctic exploration,⁶ but made a mistake in the date.

Regardfully your

Ferd von Mueller