Note 23 — Chapter XVII · MY LIFE IN LONDON IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES. SOCIAL. (continued 2)

Sir W. Harcourt interrupted Mr. Russell when speaking of Vivisections before students, by the assertion—

“Under the Act demonstrations were forbidden.”—Times, April 5th, 1883.

In the Act in question—39 & 40 Vict., c. 77, Clause 3, Sect. 1—are these words, “Experiments may be performed ... by a person giving illustrations of lectures,” &c., &c. By the Returns issued from Sir W. Harcourt’s own (Home) Office in the previous year, sixteen persons had been registered as holding certificates permitting experiments in illustration of lectures. It seems to me a shocking feature of modern politics that an outrageous falsehood—or must we call it mistake?—of this kind is allowed to serve its purpose at the moment but the author never apologizes for it afterwards.