From T. H. Huxley   21 April 1875

My dear Darwin

The day before yesterday I met Playfair at the Club and he told me that he had heard from Miss Elliot that I was getting up what she called a “Vivisector’s Bill”—& that Lord Cardwell was very anxious to talk with some of us about the matter—¹

So you see that there is no secret about our proceedings. I gave him a general idea of what was doing, and he quite confirmed what Lubbock² said about the improbability of any action being taken in Parliament this session

Playfair said he should like very much to know what we proposed doing—and I should think that it would be a good thing to take him into consultation

On my return I found that Pflüger had sent me his memoir, with a note such as he sent to you—³

I read it last night and I am inclined to think that it is a very important piece of work

He shows that frogs absolutely deprived of Oxygen give off Carbonic acid for 25 hours—& gives very strong reasons for believing that the evolution of Carbonic acid by living matter in general is the result of a process of internal re-arrangement of the molecules of the living matter—& not of direct oxidation⁴

His speculations about the origin of living matter are the best I have seen yet—so far as I understand them   But he plunges into the depths of the higher chemistry in which I am by no means at home— Only this I can see that the paper is worth careful study

Ever | Yours faithy | T H Huxley