Ɛpsilon

To the Down Friendly Society   31 December [1877?]1

I beg leave to call the attention of the C. to the enclosed statement with respect to the Surplus Fund showing a balance against the fund for the closing year of £ 9.12.6. It is illegal to expend money entrusted for sickness for this but as there was a small balance in favour of the Fund last year the deficiency may be passed over.

During the following year if the Committee order the same payments as before the amount paid from the Surplus Fund will be as follows

Doctor 12. 12. 0
Clerk 2. 19. 6
Rent of Club-Room 2. 0. 0
Payment to Committee .10
Stationery ? ?
(last year the extraordinary sum of 6s was paid for [stationery]
£18: 1: 6

As we have received this year for Honorary Subscriptions & Fines 8.5.6, there will be supposing that we have the same next year a balance against the Surplus Fund of 9.16.0.2 Therefore the Doctor can be paid out of the Surplus Fund only for the first Q, & the members must pay the other 3 remainder. Even then there will be a balance of 7s against the Surplus Fund & this must not be repeated another year.

I am sorry for this unprecedented state of affairs, but as long as I remain Treasurer, Trustee & Hon. Member, I can do nothing illegal.

Your obed servt. | C. D.

Dec 31st | To the Council of the D. F. Club

ADraftS

1
The year is conjectured by the annotations ‘Club 77’ and ‘1877’ in unknown hands. Part of the draft is written on the back of a scrap of fair copy of Descent, published in 1871; CD was treasurer of the Down Friendly Club from its creation in 1850 until his death in April 1882.
2
The Club had ‘benefit’ and ‘honorary’ members. Under the Club’s rules, the subscriptions of honorary members were to be used first for administrative costs, then for medical attendance, with any remainder being added to the general funds. The club’s rules made provision for fines for a number of offences. (Rules of the Down Friendly Society, National Archives, FS1/232.)

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 against … year] interl; ‘the closing’ after del ‘management’
1.3 It] above del ‘This’
1.3 to … this] interl
1.4 Fund] after del ‘Surplus’
1.4 the deficiency may] above del ‘I suppose it must’; ‘the’ altered from ‘this’
2.1 order] above del ‘make’
2.1 as before] interl
2.2 from … Fund] interl
2.6 Payment to] above del ‘Paid’
2.8 paid] after del ‘thus’
3.1 As] after del
‘18.1.6
8.5.6
9 16 6’
3.1 have] interl
3.1 this year] transposed from after ‘Fines’
3.1 for Honorary] after del ‘only’
3.1 8.5.6] after del ‘only’
3.2 will] after del ‘wd’
3.2 supposing … year] interl; ‘next year’ after del ‘as before’
3.3 out … Fund] transposed from after ‘Q’
3.4 the first] above del ‘one’
3.4 other 3] above del ‘remainder’
3.5 against] after del illeg
4.1 unprecented … affairs] added below
4.1 as I remain] below del ‘you choose to keep me as your’
4.2 can] before del ‘will’ above del ‘can’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11300,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11300