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To John Higgins   9 May [1850]

Down Farnborough Kent

May 9th

My dear Sir

From what you say I must accord my consent to your proposition of a reduction of Rent of 15 per cent for the past half-year & can only hope the present depressed times will not last.1

Prices I understand, have been as low before under Protection,2 & in France at present they are very low, so that I see no cause whatever to despair. I suppose Mr Hardy3 is an active man & does not content himself with merely complaining about the altered laws.—

I hope that he has nothing of any kind to complain of.

We must hope for better times4

I remain | dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | C. Darwin

1
British farmers and landowners were finding it difficult to adjust their operations to the reduced prices of corn and other crops; their dissatisfaction was loudly expressed in Parliament and at public meetings during the first few months of 1850 (Annual Register 1850, History, p. 2). Some wished a return to protectionism, others a remission of taxes on the landowner.
2
The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 had led to a decline in prices. Early in 1849 the duty on foreign cereal imports was also abolished.
3
Francis Hardy, CD’s tenant.
4
CD’s income from the farm remained at the reduced rate during 1850, 1851, and 1852 (see letter to John Higgins, 13 December [1850], and Correspondence vol. 5, letters to John Higgins, 7 June 1851 and 19 June [1852]).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1326,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1326