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Darwin Correspondence Project

To South African Christian Recorder1   28 June 1836

On the whole, balancing all that we have heard, and all that we ourselves have seen concerning the missionaries in the Pacific, we are very much satisfied that they thoroughly deserve the warmest support, not only of individuals, but of the British Government.

Robt. FitzRoy Charles Darwin

*S 2

At sea, 28th June, 1836

Footnotes

The original communication, published under the title ‘A Letter, Containing Remarks on the Moral State of Tahiti, New Zealand, &c.’ was in two parts: the first, longer section, written in the first person except for the three introductory paragraphs, and signed by FitzRoy alone, contained excerpts from CD’s journal. Both parts are published in Collected papers 1: 19–38.

Bibliography

Collected papers: The collected papers of Charles Darwin. Edited by Paul H. Barrett. 2 vols. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. 1977.

Summary

A defence of the work of missionaries in the Pacific islands and Australia. [The letter was apparently written by RF with supporting evidence quoted from CD’s journal. The letter is signed by RF alone. A summary conclusion, as printed, is signed by both:] "On the whole, balancing all that we have heard, and all that we ourselves have seen concerning the missionaries in the Pacific, we are very much satisfied that they thoroughly deserve the warmest support, not only of individuals, but of the British Government."

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-303
From
Charles Robert Darwin; Robert FitzRoy
To
South African Christian Recorder
Sent from
HMS Beagle, at sea
Source of text
South African Christian Recorder 2(1836): 238 Reprint in Darwin Library—CUL: ‘Philosophical tracts’

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 303,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-303.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 1

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