_Held a License for Vivisection at University Edinburgh, Physiological Lecture Room and Laboratory in 1878-79-80-81-82-83; Certificates for Illustrations of Lectures in 1878-79-80-82-83; also a Certificate for Experiments without Anæsthetics; two Certificates dispensing with obligation to kill; and two Certificates for Experiments on Cats, Dogs, Horses, Mules, or Asses, in 1878; No Experiments on Horses, Mules, or Asses._
“I will take one instance from certain experiments performed by Professor Rutherford, and reported in the _British Medical Journal_. I refer to the series of experiments commenced December the 14th, 1878. These experiments were 31 in number; no doubt there were hundreds of dogs sacrificed upon other series of experiments, but now I am only referring to one set beginning as I say on the 14th of December, 1878. There were in this set 31 experiments, but no doubt many more than 31 dogs were sacrificed. All were performed on dogs, and the nature of them was this: The dogs were starved for many hours. They were then fastened down; the abdomen was cut open; the bile duct was dissected out and cut; a glass tube was tied into the bile duct and brought outside the body. The duct leading to the gall-bladder was then closed by a clamp and various drugs was placed into the intestines at its upper part. The result of these experiments was simply nothing at all--I mean it led to no increase of knowledge whatever, and no one can be astonished at that, because these wretched beasts were placed in such circumstances--their condition was so abnormal--that the ordinary and universally recognised effect of well-known drugs was not produced. These experiments were performed without anæsthetics--the animals were experimented upon under the influence of a drug called curari.”--_Mr. Reid’s Speech in the House of Commons, April 4th, 1883._
“In your judgment and your own experience, are operations of that description upon a dog to be taken as being evidence of what the effect would be on the human being?--Certainly not, but merely as suggesting what the action would be; that is all. The experiment must also be tried upon man before a conclusion can be drawn.”--_Evid. Roy. Com._ Q. 2966.
