l874 VIVISECTION 463 



experiments which had come to Mr. Forster's knowledge, 

 the memorandum evoked from him a strong protest to the 

 Lord President, to whom, as Mr. Forster expressly inti- 

 mated, an appeal might properly be made. 



To begin with, the memorandum contained a mistake in 

 fact, referring to his regular course at South Kensington, 

 experiments which had taken place two years before at one 

 of the Courses to Teachers. This course was non-official ; 

 Huxley's position in it was simply that of a private person 

 to whom the Department offered a contract, subject to 

 official control and criticism, so far as touched that course, 

 and entirely apart from his regular position at the School 

 of Mines. The experiments of 1872 were performed, as 

 he had reason to believe, with the full sanction of the De- 

 partment. If the Board chose to go back upon what had 

 happened two years before, he was of course subject to 

 their criticism, but then he ought in justice to be allowed to 

 explain in what these experiments really consisted. What 

 they were, appears from a note to Sir J. Donnelly : — 



My dear Donnelly — It will be the best course, perhaps, if 

 I set down in writing what I have to say respecting the vivi- 

 sections for physiological purposes which have been performed 

 here, and concerning which you made me a communication from 

 the Vice-President of the Council this morning. 



I have always felt it my duty to defend those physiologists 

 who, like Brown Sequard, by making experiments on living 

 animals, have added immensely not only to scientific physiology, 

 but to the means of alleviating human suffering, against the 

 often ignorant and sometimes malicious clamour which has been 

 raised against them. 



But personally, indeed I may say constitutionally, the per- 

 formance of experiments upon living and conscious animals is 

 extremely disagreeable to me, and I have never followed any 

 line of investigation in which such experiments are required. 



When the course of instruction in Physiology here was com- 

 menced, the question of giving experimental demonstrations 

 became a matter of anxious consideration with me. It was clear 

 that, without such demonstrations, the subject could not be 

 properly taught. It was no less clear from what had happened 

 to me when, as President of the British Association, I had de- 



