Darwin's position as a naturalist on board was as a self-funded guest with no official appointment, and he could leave the voyage at any suitable stage. At the outset, George Peacock had advised that "The Admiralty are not disposed to give a salary, though they will furnish you with an official appointment & every : if a salary should be required however I am inclined to think that it would be granted". Far from wanting this, Darwin's concern was to maintain control over his collection. He was even reluctant to be on the Admiralty's books for victuals until he got assurances from FitzRoy and Beaufort that this would not affect his rights to assign his specimens. Darwin did not want his collection to go to the British Museum as he had heard that specimens from the first "Beagle" voyage were still waiting to be described. Beaufort assured him that he "should have no difficulty" as long as he "presented them to some public body" such as the Zoological or Geological societies. Darwin himself thought his new finds should go to the "largest & most central collection", not the Cambridge Philosophical Society museum that Henslow was setting up at Cambridge. Contrarily, after getting Henslow's willing agreement to take delivery of the consignments of specimens, Darwin replied that he hoped to give some to the Cambridge museum.