From G. R. Jesse 22 April 1881
Henbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire. | Society for the Abolition of Vivisection.
22 April 1881.
My dear Sir,
For your prompt and friendly reply received this morning pray accept my best acknowledgments.1 As the question at issue is a Public one,—pregnant with important consequence to the human and other races, I hope you will allow me to publish it. The appearance in “the Times” of your Letter to Professor Holmgren, necessitated an answer from us.2 We could not, with honour, do otherwise than promptly seize the glove which so renowned and so formidable an adversary cast into the Lists of Controversy. I consequently wrote immediately to the Editor,—but my answer, was, as usual, “burked” by that Newspaper. Consistent in its policy towards us it has never yet permitted a Letter in reply from the Original Society for the Abolition of Vivisection to meet the Public eye in its columns.3 “The Times”, on this question, prefers to publish abroad the Logic of the Ladies, and is too astute not to know full well how deeply a weak defence injures a cause.4
Relative to what you say in your kind Letter to me as to my side “execrating Physiologists” I have the pleasure to enclose “The Lancet” of the 26th. ult: At page 525 is a Letter from our Society which will demonstrate to you that we are not the people you allude to.5
In regard to the trapping of—Animals—wild, or domestic, and wounding them in what is termed “Sport”,—that is, inflicting pain and death for mere amusement, I thoroughly agree with your observations and those of several of our greatest writers.
Believe me, yours very sincerely, | George R. Jesse. | Hony. Secty.
Charles Darwin, Esqe. | &c. &c. &c.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Mitchell, Sally. 2004. Frances Power Cobbe: Victorian feminist, journalist, reformer. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Press.
Summary
Asks if he may publish CD’s reply to his previous letter.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13133
- From
- George Richard Jesse
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Macclesfield
- Source of text
- DAR 168: 61
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13133,” accessed on 25 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13133.xml