Private
1/8/89
It does not seem, dear Mr Macdonald, that either the Austral. Assoc.1 or the RGS.A.2 will receive a grant from Government, according to the estimates just placed before Parliament.3 I may however have overlooked the items, and will make special enquiry at the Chief Secretarys Office on Saturday. Tomorrow I shall be very busy for the mail.
I would advise not to press Sir Will Macgregor too much; he must be very busy in his administrative duties; if we ask nothing from him, he may not charge us anything either, which would be all the better, as nothing for us is forthcoming, so that we must try to keep our fund together. Sir William is also under particular restrictions to Queensland, so not so free to act as he likes.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
Sir W. MacGregor may not have received your telegram. That, received by me yesterday, was in reply to one sent to Brisbane apprizing him of the safe arrival of the plants.4 For these specimens I will offer payment through my Department.
The enclosed papers have just arrived. I will come to your office on Saturday morning to consult about them.
The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science.
Victorian Branch, Royal Geographical Society of Australasia.
'Estimates of the revenue and expenditure for the year ending 30th June 1890', Victoria, Parliamentary paper B-5; pp. 23 and 24 include 'Grants'; the RGSA was not one of the societies included in the estimates.
Telegrams not found.
Please cite as “FVM-89-08-01,” 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