1875 VIVISECTION COMMISSION 171 



J. B. Karslake, Professor Erichssen, and Mr. K. H. 

 Button. 



The evidence given before the Commission bore 

 out the view that English physiologists inflicted no 

 more pain upon animals than could be avoided ; but 

 one witness, not an Englishman, and not having at 

 that time a perfect command of the English language, 

 made statements which appeared to the Commission 

 at least to indicate that the witness was indifferent 

 to animal suffering. Of this incident Huxley writes 

 to Mr. Darwin at the same time as he forwarded a 

 formal invitation for him to appear as a witness before 

 the Commission : 



4 MARLBOROUGH PLACE, 

 Oct. 30, 1875. 



MY DEAR DARWIN The inclosed tells its own story. 

 I have done my best to prevent your being bothered, but 

 for various reasons which will occur to you I did not like 

 to appear too obstructive, and I was asked to write to you. 

 The strong feeling of my colleagues (and my own I must 

 say also) is that we ought to have your opinions in our 

 minutes. At the same time there is a no less strong 

 desire to trouble you as little as possible, and under no 

 circumstances to cause you any risk of injury to health. 



What witb occupation of time, worry and vexation, 

 this horrid Commission is playing the deuce with me. I 

 have felt it my duty to act as counsel for Science, and was 

 well satisfied with the way things were going. But on 

 Thursday when I was absent at the Council of the Eoyal 



Society was examined, and if what I hear is a correct 



account of the evidence he gave I may as well throw up 

 my brief. 



I am told that he openly professed the most entire 



