Ɛpsilon

From F. A. Hanbury   4 September 1871

24 Old Sqr. | Linc. Inn | W.C.

4. 9. 71

Dear Sir,

I beg to acknowledge the rect of your cheque for £5 for the

Voysey Establisht. Fund

which I will hand over to our Treasr. on his return to Inn.—1 I am sure too I may announce beforehand the pleasure with which our Committee will tomorrow greet my announcement of your consent to allow your influential name to appear amongst the members of our general Committee. We want sadly to gain a little more notice & sympathy from amongst the members of the scientific & philosophical world—2 We know many of them share our views to a large—very large extent—  how happens it then that they are so content to sit above the thunder clouds & see the lightining play below?— but perhaps they will not do so—& your example will tend to instill a little zeal & courage perhaps into them

Believe me | Yours faithfully | F. A. Hanbury | Hon Secy to the Voysey Establisht. Fund

Chas Darwin Esq | FRS &c.

1
The Voysey Establishment Fund was a charity created for the support of Charles Voysey after he was deprived of his living in the Church of England in 1871; the fund enabled him to hold services in St George’s Hall, Langham Place, London. He eventually founded the Theistic Church (ODNB s.v. Voysey, Charles). CD recorded a payment of £5 to the Voysey fund on 1 September 1871 (CD’s Classed account books (Down House MS)). The treasurer of the fund was either Robert B. Hay or George Buchanan (Examiner, 10 June 1871, p. 592, and Pall Mall Gazette, 4 October 1871, p. 8). George Buchanan has not been further identified.
2
Other listed contributers to the Voysey Establishment Fund besides CD included Erasmus Alvey Darwin, Walter Calverley Trevelyan, James Digues La Touche, Andrew Pritchard, Edward Percival Wright, John William Colenso, Charles Lyell, John Lubbock, Hensleigh Wedgwood, and Frances Power Cobbe (Examiner, 10 June 1871, p. 592; Daily News, 9 September 1872, p. 1).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7923,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7923