To T. H. Huxley   21 May 1875

My dear Huxley

I have had nothing to do with the Bill since leaving London at the time you saw me there.¹ Sanderson has been in communication with Playfair & got him to undertake the measure.² I received a copy of the Bill from Playfair, & saw that a new Clause had been introduced about the registering of experiments causing pain.³

I read in the newspaper that there had been a meeting between Playfair L^ds Shaftsbury Cardwell & others in which the Bill was considered & I concluded that the above clause had been introduced as a compromise.⁴ I wrote to Playfair that I doubted about the wisdom of this clause, tho’ good for humanity, as it would by impossible for a Physiologist to explain to unscientific persons why certain experiments were required. I felt so convinced that the Bill was essentially the same as that drawn up by Litchfield that I was very glad it was introduced & did not observe until now the flagrant contradiction in Clause 2 viz that a person may for the sake of discovery make experiments causing pain, provided the animal has first been made insensible! Nevertheless it seems to me that Clause I shows that penalties are attached only to experiments “causing pain”;⁵ & therefore that any one may demonstrate any point whatever under anæsthetics. I cannot doubt that this was the intention of the framers. I should think you could not do better than call Playfairs attention to the subject. From what I hear there will not be time this Session for any bill to pass⁶

My dear Huxley | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin