The times., 1898-12-12
vIvIsEcTIoN AGAIN.
Recent Utternnces of Lord Lister
and Prof. yirchOw.
(From the New York Tribune.)

ttrom the New YORK Tribune.)
Lord Lister, who ranks foremost among
surgeons and medical men in Great Brit
ain at the present time on account of his
having originated anuseptic surgery. paid
his respects the. other day to the anti
viyisection cranhs. Biological laboratories
had been built at Liverpool through the
munificence of Mr.. Thompson Yates, and
tfinse wete about to be dedicated An irn-
posing preliminary TO that ceremony was
tie .unttrrlnsi of the degree of doctor OF
science Upon Lord Lister by Victoria Uni
versity. in Liverpool Lord Kelvin. Prof.
Virchow iand many other distinguished
men were present 80 "
In his address Lord Lister dwelt on the
value of biological investigation. He said
that II an engineer wishes to fit himself
for the task of remedying whatever went
wrong in his machinery, he must see and
handle the details of his mechanism. Just
So the more. familiar a man is with the
marvelously complicated mechanism of
the human body. the better able he is to
deal with its disorders. Both the scalpel
and microscope are needed in such in
quiries. Some people. he remarked might
object to- these researches. because the
latter involve the sacrifice of animal life,
but this is nothing compared with what
occurs in obtaining a supply of food for
man. s-c.-
The eminent surgeon then went on to
emphasize the fact that anaesthetics are
so generally used in this class of work
that vivisection is almost universally
painless. He himself had greatly. sur
prised former chancellor of the ex-
chequer, upon whom he had waited as one
of deputation on this subject, when ne
explained that the operations for the re-
moval of the brain of a monkey, which
the chancellor had imagined to be attend
ed with terrible torture, had thanks to
the anaesthetic and to the antiseptic.
been probably from first to last not at
tended with twinge of pain.
Prof. Virchow, while in England re-
Gently, spoke in the following manner on
the same subject: 1.-THE same kind of
Immature and Incompetent arguments
that have been the stock in trade of the
anti-vaccinationist have served the
purpose of the anti-vivisectionist
L spoke very strongly on the
subject in 1881 at the opening of
the International Medical Congress here,
and am glad to see that much Of the
opposition to experimental medicine has
subsidized since, and that public opinion
has ceased to consider 1t as barbarlty.
People should understand that expert
ments are made for the sake of humanity,
and for its good. and not for the purpose
of infiicting pain on animals. There is
no doubt that abuses have existed, but
you cannot condemn the practice because
OF them.
Besides, since the discovery of bac-
terra, the method has taken a fresh
lease of life. and 1t is impossible to test
bacteria or their viruience otherwise than
with the aid of experimental medicine
Nobody denies the number of cures Of
diphtheria due to injection of the serum:
but could one have tested its efficacy
otherwise than on animals? There are no
means of curing certain diseases unless
the virus is tested on animals. And the
same applies to the testing of other in
jections which are kept in stock by
chemists and are manufactured and sold
for medical purposes"