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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Josiah Wedgwood III   [22 June – 10 August 1847]1

Down

Tuesday

My dear Jos.

I want to know, whether there is any objection (I can’t see any) to my consulting Mr Stokes,2 a stockbroker of repute & an old friend of mine, respecting a good security in a Guaranteed Railway for Emma’s money.3 In case I consult him, he must be remunerated by purchasing whatever stock I fix on. I shd. think & hope there can be no objection to this on your part.

The rest of this letter you can read at your leisure. I enclose the memorandum you sent me, as it will probably aid you in letting me know soon, what money I have to invest. diag 1847.

91 . 6 . 7 interest on Calls. 47 . 10 this for you Calls to be paid 197 . Calls paid by me on the 3s shares of 25£ 15 in late grand Junction ———

350 ” 16 . . 7 + interest ramme

You can pay the 15£ to Robarts & Co.4 Please remember any money properly interest will be very agreeable to me.—

I think I may as well invest all, for if there be any other calls they cannot be heavy & I will make Emma a present of them.—

I most sincerely hope, your troubles in my Trust affairs are pretty well over—

Please return the enclosed sometime; & I hope you will let me know as soon as you can, what money I have to invest; as now is so good a time.—5

As soon as I hear from Frank6 that I may write to Stokes, I shall do so the next post.

Yours affectionly | C. Darwin

Please read the first paragraph & send me a verbal answer by Frank.—

I wrote this, when I thought Frank was going up tomorrow; will you send me a line by return of Post—to first paragraph; I suppose the money will be ready on Wednesday next.—

Footnotes

Dated from details in CD’s Account Book and Investment Book (Down House MSS) (see nn. 2 and 4, below), and from the relationship between this letter and Correspondence vol. 18, Supplement, the letter to Josiah Wedgwood III, 14 August 1847.
Charles Stokes, fellow of the Geological Society, was a stockbroker in Threadneedle Street in the City of London (Modern English Biography). CD’s Investment Book (Down House MS) records that Stokes purchased shares in the Leeds & Bradford Railway for Emma Darwin’s trust fund on 21 August 1847. See also letter to Josiah Wedgwood III, [20? August 1847].
Josiah Wedgwood III and Erasmus Alvey Darwin were the trustees of Emma Darwin’s trust fund.
This £15 had been advanced to Emma Darwin’s trust fund by CD on 17 June and was repaid on 31 August 1847 (CD’s Account Book (Down House MS)).
During April 1847, and again in September and October, there was a financial crisis in the British economy. Stock and share prices fell dramatically until the Bank of England intervened in October and raised interest rates in order to encourage investments; CD’s reference is evidently to the possibility of buying while prices were temporarily depressed. See Annual Register 1847, Chronicle, pp. 119, 140–1.
Francis Wedgwood, brother of Josiah Wedgwood III and of Emma Darwin.

Summary

Wants JW’s permission to carry out certain investments.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-1043
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Josiah Wedgwood, III
Sent from
Down
Source of text
DAR 210.10: 13
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1043,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1043.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 4

letter