Ɛpsilon

To Francis Darwin   [before 22 July 1876]1

My dear F.

I shd be obliged if you cd inform your committee that am very unwilling to attend the deputation, as the excitement & fatigue wd almost certainly knock me up.2 Nor wd I attend, unless assured that the d. wd recommend to G. beyond their advice by the R. Commiss, so that they may believe due regard not only for the interest [of the] lower animals, but of physiology interest of physiology which I believe to be to be of to be of utmost importance for the good of mankind, as well as with respect to the lower animals.3 My [absence] or [presence] I cann not believe that the [presence] as a member of the deputation can be of any importance & therefore I hope that I may be excused.

ADraft

1
The date is established by the reference to the committee and deputation for legislation about vivisection (see nn. 2 and 3, below).
2
The committee of the Physiological Society was engaged in negotiations with government officials and MPs in charge of a bill in Parliament to regulate vivisection; the committee sent a delegation on 22 July to meet with Richard Assheton Cross (the home secretary) regarding possible amendments to the bill before it was debated in Parliament (see French 1975, pp. 135–7, and Sharpey-Schafer 1927, pp. 5–7, 40). Francis Darwin was a member of the Physiological Society and CD was an honorary member (Sharpey-Schafer 1927, p. 13).
3
The Royal Commission on Vivisection, which met from June to December 1875, submitted a report in January 1876, recommending the conditions under which vivisection for physiological research and teaching should be permitted (Report of the Royal Commission on vivisection). CD had given testimony to the commission on 3 November 1875 (see Correspondence vol. 23, Appendix VI).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 shd … that] interl
1.3 to G.] after del ‘no steps to’
1.3 beyond … believe 1.5] inter above del ‘but of physiology’
1.4 they … believe] interl
1.6 to be of] after del ‘the most important & useful’
1.6 to be of utmost importance] above del ‘all sciences’
1.7 with respect to] above del ‘the interests of’
1.7 My [absence] or] interl
1.7 cann] above del ‘do’
1.8 as … excused. 1.9] above del ‘for my being of service wd be [illeg] in the [illeg] of the [present] of the smallest [consequence]’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10747,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10747