THE ENGLISH COPYRIGHT COMMISSION. i8i 



daily press would attend ; would you draw a distinction in that case 

 between them and a reporter of another sort ? 



A. No ; I should always make it the right of the speaker to admit 

 reporters or not. Allow me to tell you what happened to myself. I 

 am not complaining of it for a moment, because I knew exactly what 

 was to be expected, and I did not care whether it happened or not ; but 

 permit me to state what happened to me in the United States the other 

 day : I gave three lectures in New York, which had cost me a very 

 considerable amount of trouble, and they were illustrated by diagrams, 

 etc. I found that it was the intention of the proprietor of one of 

 the leading papers there to send short-hand writers who would take 

 down what I said verbatim ; to send artists who would copy all the 

 diagrams, and to print my lecture the next day in the paper in full, and 

 not only so, but when the three lectures were completed to make them 

 up into a sort of pamphlet and sell it, without consulting me in any 

 way whatever. As I say, in this particular case I did not care in the 

 least about this proceeding ; and I have the less reason for complaint, 

 as the proprietor of the paper subsequently offered me a certain share 

 in the profits of the sale of the pamphlet ; but, in principle, it appears 

 to me to be sheer piracy. 



Q. That, of course, would be under the law of the United States. 

 Are you able to tell us what the United States law with respect to 

 lectures is ? 



A. I cannot say, but the same thing might take place here if I had 

 not given notice to two justices of the peace, or complied with whatever 

 is the requisite formality, which is a thing I never did in my life. I 

 fancy that in practice the sam_e thing might be done here. 



Q. If you gave a proper notice, you would have the law on your 

 side? 



A. Very few persons know of the existence of that law. 



Q. Admitting the grievance to exist, as I think the commission 

 would probably be prepared to do, in removing it might it not be well 

 to substitute some more easy process than that of giving notice to two 

 mao;istrates within five miles ? 



A. Certainly, one would think that there must be a great number 

 of easier processes than that. 



Q. It lias been suggested by some witness that a notice put over 

 the door, so that everybody should see it when he entered the room in 

 which the lecture was given, that the lecture was copyright would be 

 sufficient ; would that meet your view ? 



A. Yes, or the same practice might be adopted as in the case of re- 

 serving the right of translation of a book ; you might put on the ticket, 

 " All rights reserved." 



Dr. Smith. Supposing that the lecturer himself gave notice, at the 

 beginning of the lecture, that he reserved to himself the right of print- 

 ing it, might not that be sufficient ? 



