116 



Appendix I. 



also contains manuscripts, mostly botanical, and relat- 

 ing to the plants in the herbarium ; but also zoological, 

 which are chielly descriptions of the animals observed 

 by Sir Joseph Banics and Dr. Solanaer, in Cook's first 

 voyage. Of drawings there are, first, both those of plants 

 and animals made by the natural fiistory draughtsman 

 employed by Sir JosejDh Banks, in Cook's first voyage, 

 amounting to 1,163 ; and of Cook's second voyage, a 

 smaller number, 301, made by the younger Forsiter, the 

 assistant-naturalist in that voyage. A volume of draw- 

 ings, 48 in number, by the late Mr. Francis Bauer, illus- 

 trating the structure and diseases of wheat. Miscellaneous 

 finished drawings and sketches of the same artist, chiefly 

 of the more remarkaJble plants which had flowered in the 

 Bioyal Gardens at Kew during half a century — ^that is, 

 froan the date oif Mr. Bauer's oonnection with that 

 establishment in 1789 to the time of his death in 1840, 

 amounting to 1,484 ; all of which were made at the ex- 

 pense of S'ir Joseph Banks. A collection of finished 

 drawings of New Holland plants, 203 in number, made 

 dluring the voyage of Captain Flinders, by the late Mr. 

 Ferdinand Bauer, who was employed as natural history 

 painter in that voyage. A volume containing 510 drawings 

 and sketches by Ehret, the most celebrated botanical 

 painter of his time, chiefly of plants which had flowered 

 in the gardens in the vicinity of London, about the middle 

 of the last century ; and a considerable collection of draw- 

 ings of Guiana plants by Sir Sobert Schomburgk. 

 Besides all these, there are other botanical drawings of 

 various artists and difl'erent periods, most of them of less 

 imiportance than the foregoing, but altogether amounting 

 to 4,660. The ooUeotion of drawings forms a highly in- 

 teresting series, from the earliest and rudest attempts 

 at delineation of plants in the 15th century, to the 

 finished drawings of the two brothers, Franois and 

 Perdinand Bauer, which for beauty, accuracy, and com- 

 pleteness of details, are unequalled in this or any other 

 country of Europe. The engraved copperplates men- 

 tioned in Sir Joseph Banks's will, and which are still un- 

 published, are of plants found by Sir Joseph Banks in 

 Cook's first voyage, amounting to 743, and a smaller 

 number of plants observed by Forster, in Cook's second 

 voyage. Tlie drawings of both series ha\n.ng been mad*e 

 in those two expeditions." These were all the materials 

 of impoiitance. 



The Witness then submitted some observations with 

 regard to the futsre of the Botanical Department of the 

 Museum, quoting a resolution of the Trustees printed 

 in 1837, as follows: — "That so long as the botanical 

 collections remain in the care of Mr. Brown no change 

 take place in the ofiices or emoluments of Mr. Brown 

 and Mr. Bennett. That in the case of a vaeancy oc- 

 curring in the keepership of the botanical collections, 

 the salary of tlie future keeper be £350 a year, for six 

 days' service in each week ; and that subsequently to 

 tihia event, the place of assistant-keeper be abolished." 

 To account, in some measure, for the Trustees having 

 come to this determination respecting the Department of 

 Botany, it is necessary to state the circumstances attend- 

 ing the origin of that Department in 1827. Sir Joseph 

 B'anks, who died in June, 1820, by a codicil to his will, 

 dated 21st January of that year, bequeathed to me " the 

 use and enjoyment" during my life of his library, 

 herbarium, manuscripts, drawings, and copperplates en- 

 graved, and after my decease to the Trustees of the 

 Bidtiish Museum ; or, if the Trustees desired to have the 

 same removed to tlie British Museum during my lifetime, 

 and I gave my written consent, the removal might take 

 place. In March, 1827, the Trustees did express a wish 

 to obtain my consent to the immediate transfer ; and I 

 then stated to them that if they agreed to form an in- 

 dependent botanical department in the Museum, I was 

 willing to take charge of it, on condition that I should 

 be received into the estaiblishment as an under-HbTaTian 

 (the title then of tJie principal officer of each department), 

 in every respect, namely, in rank, salary, additional days' 

 employment, and in having apartments ; and I offered at 

 the same time to take charge of all the botanical collec- 

 tions pre-inously existing in the Museum, as well as of 

 the Banksian Herbarium, and everything belonging to 

 or connected witli it, the library excepted. This pro- 

 posal, at first objected to in regard to amount of salary 

 and to apartments, was at length, in June, 1827, agreed 

 to, wMi two slight modifications only, namely, I limited 

 my stipulation for additional employment to two days 

 each week instead of three, which all other under- 

 lihrarians then had ; and in lieu of apartmerrts I agreed 

 to take an equivalent in money, or in additional leave of 

 absence, until such time as anartments could be provided 

 for me, as the Trustees expressed it in the following 

 resoln+ion regarding my appointment : — 



1st. That Mr. Brown shall be appointed an ofiicer- 

 of the Museum by the name of an under-librarian- 

 for the custody and management of the Banksian - 

 collection, at the usual salary of £200 per annum. 

 for two days' attendance in the weeK, together with 

 the usual allowance for two additional days per week, 

 at the rate of £75 per annum each. 



2nd. That Mr. Brown, while he continues in the 

 Museum, shall, in conformity with the codicil annexed . 

 to the will of the late «ir Joseph uanks, have tne 

 exclusive care and management of the Banksian 

 Botanical Collections, viz., the hei^barium, the 

 botaisical manuscripts, with the unpublished draw- 

 ings of plants and coppernplates engraved, subject to • 

 the rules of the establisihment and the control of the 

 Trustees ; and shall have access to the Banksian 

 Lilbrary of printed books, as well as other portions, 

 both manuscript and printed, of the library in the • 

 Museum, at all times that may be consistent with . 

 the duties of the officers undter whose care they may 

 respectively be placed. 



3rd. That Mr. Brown shall be employed for the • 

 four days in the week, as above mentioned, in ar- 

 ranguig the herbarium and other botanical materials - 

 'belonging to the Banksian collections ; with which, 

 if the Trustees think proper, all similar collections- 

 now in the Museum may be incorporated ; and that 

 he may have fxill liberty to assist the Superintendent 

 uf the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew in like imanner - 

 as during the life-time of Sir Joseph Banks. 



4th. That Mr. Brown be allowed an annual sum of 

 £150 to enable him to procure a pioper person as hi* 

 assistant in the above duties, which assistant shall, 

 be appointed by the Trustees on tlie recommendation 

 of Mr. Brown, and shall attend five days in each 

 week throughout the year, excepting the usual . 

 holidays. 



5th. That while there are no means of providing 

 apartments for Mr. Brown in the Museum, he shall . 

 receive in lieu thereof either an annual allowance 

 of £75 (in which case he will only be entitled to the 

 usual vacation in the summer of six weeks), or, 

 sliould this allowance in money not be agreed to by 

 the trustees, that the vacation allowed to Mr. Browii-. 

 be extended to fourteen weeks, to take place betwet-n . 

 the 1st of July and the 1st of November in each . 

 year. 



(Signed) Eobhrt Beowx. 



30th .June, 1827. 



In making this arrangement with the Trustees, I had. 



obtained for the important bequest made to the Museum . 

 by Sir Jueeph Banks the same kind of superintendence ■ 

 which his collection had always had in his lifetime, and. 

 I believed I had secured' the permanency of a Botanical! 

 Department, obviously wanting in the Museum, although 

 in the first instance my duties were confined to the exclu- 

 sive care and management of the Banksian botanical 

 collections. In this belief I continued until the appt'ar- 

 ance of the statutes printed by the Trustees in 1833. 

 In the fifth paragraph of chapter 2nd of these statutes, 

 it is resolved that, on the vacancy of the keeper of Sir 

 Joseph Banks's botanical collections, the whole care of 

 these collections should be ultimately transferred to the 

 regular officers of the Museum. The most obvious, 

 meaning of which is, that these botanical collections were 

 to share the fate of those of Sir Hans Sloane, and of all 

 other botanical material which had been presented to the 

 trustees. In my evidence before the Committee of the 

 House of Commons, in July, 1835, I adverted to this, 

 declared intention of the Trustees, expressing my hope, 

 and indeed, confidence, that this intention wotild be re- 

 considered and aibandoned. And I added, that in the 

 present advanced state of natural history generally, and 

 of the collections in the British Museum, its subdivision 

 into distinct and independent departments had, in my 

 opinion, become so obviously necessary, that the reunion 

 of a division already admitted appeared to me a measure 

 not likely to be ever adopted. I have entered into this: 

 subject at some length, chieflyto show that the Trustees . 

 had greatly underrated the importance of the bequest of 

 Sir .Joseph Banks, as well as of all the botanical collec- 

 tions previously belonging to tthe Museum. And although' 

 they have now determined to pro^dde permanently for 

 botany in admitting it to rank as a branch of natural 

 history, and in placing its collections under the charge of 

 an independent keeper, yet as they have rated that keeper- 

 greatly 'below those of the zoological and mineralogical 

 branches, it would seem that they have not entirely 

 divested themselves of their original value respecting it.. 



