I875-] VIVISECTION. 381 



No doubt the names of Doctors will have great weight with 

 the House of Commons ; but very many practitioners neither 

 know nor care anything about the progress of knowledge. I 

 cannot at present see my way to sign any petition, without 

 hearing what physiologists thought would be its effect, and 

 then judging for myself. I certainly could not sign the paper 

 sent me by Miss Cobbe, with its monstrous (as it seems to 

 me) attack on Virchow for experimenting on the Trichinae, 

 I am tired and so no more. 



Yours affectionately, 



CHARLES DARWIN. 



C. Darwin to J. D. Hooker. 



Down, April 14 [1875]. 



MY DEAR HOOKER, I worked all the time in London on 

 the vivisection question ; and we now think it advisable to go 

 further than a mere petition. Litchfield * drew up a sketch 

 of a Bill, the essential features of which have been approved 

 by Sanderson, Simon and Huxley, and from conversation, 

 will, I believe, be approved by Paget, and almost certainly, I 

 think, by Michael Foster. Sanderson, Simon and Paget wish 

 me to see Lord Derby, and endeavour to gain his advocacy 

 with the Home Secretary. Now, if this is carried into effect, 

 it will be of great importance to me to be able to say that the 

 Bill in its essential features has the approval of some half- 

 dozen eminent scientific men. I have therefore asked Litch- 

 field to enclose a copy to you in its first rough form ; and if 

 it is not essentially modified may I say that it meets with your 

 approval as President of the Royal Society ? The object is 

 to protect animals, and at the same time not to injure Physi- 

 ology, and Huxley and Sanderson's approval almost suffices 

 on this head. Pray let me have a line from you soon. 



Yours affectionately, 



CHARLES DARWIN. 



* Mr. R. B. Litchfield, his son-in-law. 



