WCP5587

[1]

City & Guilds of London Institute

Technical College, Finsbury

Leonard Street, City Road,

London, E.C.

Nov[ember]. 11^th. 1913

Private

Dear Lord Haldane,

After attending the funeral of my late friend Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace yesterday I learnt to my great regret that the family — a widow, one son (who is in bad health) & a daughter — have been left in straitened circumstances. Wallace as you know was in receipt of a Civil List Pension of £200 obtained for him (chiefly through the exertion of [Charles Darwin) during one of Mr. Gladstone's administrations.

The future of the family is critically dependent upon the answer to the question whether the pension will cease with his death & if so whether it would be possible to get it continued at any rate during Mrs. Wallace's lifetime. She is an invalid & incapable of any work by which she could earn her own living. The son is not strong enough for anything but light work & the daughter makes a very small income by taking young children left in England [[ 2]] by Anglo-Indian parents for early education. These are all their resources; the income derived from the sale of his books has I am told dwindled down to a quite insignificant amount.

Wallace as one of our most distinguished naturalists & the compeer of Dariwn received as you know the O.M. a few years ago. My object in troubling you is for advice in this emergency. We are prepared ot take any action that may be necessary to bring this case under the notice of the Prime Minister. The Royal Society Scientific Relief Committee — which is frequently called upon to advise the Prime Minister in cases of scientific claims for pensions — would if necessary be quite prepared to take action but before anything is done I undertook to appeal to you for guidance in the first place in a purely private & informal way as I have known the family for some 35 years.

If any personal explanation is required I am at your service.

Yours very faithfully, R. Meldola [signature]

P.S. The portrait scheme is to be carried out — a posthumous portrait from photographs & (unless I hear to the contrary) I shall assume that your subscription may be applied in this way.