12/2/93.
After your kind visit, dear Mr Macdonald, I have further thought about your proposal, to send a note about the Lesseps-Telegram1 to the daily press. It seems to me, that at this stage we should not communicate with the public papers, as adverse comments on our action might be made here and even in European papers, we being as yet not fully informed, how far poor Count Lesseps actions can be defended.2 A telegram to himself seem to serve all present purposes. I give this however only as my individual advise, but believe, it would be best to wait a while.
Will you kindly obtain concurrence of some other members of our Council for sending a telegram of sympathy to Mr Thomson, the hon geogr. Secr in Brisbane?3
Always regardfully your
Ferd von Mueller.
The 'special telegram' reporting the verdict in the trial of Count Ferdinand de Lesseps (see below)? See Argus, 2nd edition, 11 February 1893, p. 7.
After the failure of Ferdinand de Lesseps's attempt to build a canal through the Isthmus of Panama, it was alleged that 150 French politicians had received bribes to vote financial aid to the Panama Canal company. De Lesseps and others faced trial and in February 1893 were found guilty. The allegations and trial were widely reported: see for example, Argus, 29 December 1892, p. 3, which provides the background to the canal attempt, and for the verdict and reaction, Argus, 11 February 1893, p. 7, where de Lesseps was said to be 'in a state of imbecility, ... completely unconscious of the sentence passed on him'. The politicians were tried later, some found guilty and others acquitted; see Argus, 23 March 1893, p. 5.
James Park Thomson. Among the reports of support for the victims of floods in Brisbane, the 'sympathy' of the Royal Geographic Society, Melbourne is listed between a gift of £200 from the town of Mackay and £20 from Cooktown ('Latest flood news', Brisbane courier, 16 February 1893, p. 5).
Please cite as “FVM-93-02-12,” 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