APPENDIX A M 
but the other recommendation regarding licences did not meet with 
favour in England and was not adopted. 
A Bill consolidating the law of copyright was introduced in 1881 ; 
but it did not become law, and since then there has been no government 
measure on the subject. 
In 1885, the Berne Convention was held for the purpose of arriving 
at an international understanding regarding copyright. The under- 
standing so arrived at was homologated by the passing of the Interna- 
tional Copyright Act of 1886 (49 and 50 Vict. e. 33), which with the 
relative Order-in-council of 22nd November, 1887, constitutes the present 
law upon the subject. To these Canada gave her assent. Sir John 
Thompson explains in his report on copyright to the Governor-General- 
in-Council of 7th February, 1894 ; that the reasons why Canada gave 
her assent was that she was expressly permitted to withdraw from the 
convention at any time by giving a year’s notice ; and that she felt con- 
fident that some amelioration of the situation would be speedily obtained. 
In 1889, the Parliament of Canada passed an Act practically adopt- 
ing the recommendation of the Commission of 1876 as regards compul- 
sory licencing. This Act bore that it should come into force by pro- 
clamation of the Governor-General-in-Council. Since it came to be well 
understood that the Royal Assent would be withheld if it were applied 
for, the Act never became law. 
The Canadian Government then formally gave notice to the Imperial 
Government that Canada desired to withdraw from the Berne Conven- 
tion. This request was not complied with, and an address of both 
Houses of the Dominion Parliament was unanimously passed in 1891, 
to the same effect. Further, in 1894, a similar and more imperative re- 
quest was made by the Canadian Government. The statements of the 
reasons on both sides are contained in the documents quoted and need 
not be detailed here. 
In 1891, the United States passed a Copyright Law which in 
effect was the result of an agreement (not a treaty) between Great Britain 
and the United States. 
The view then came to be held in England that to grant freedom 
of copyright legislation to Canada would prejudice this arrangement with 
the United States, and this undoubtedly contributed to the impasse into 
which the subject now speedily fell. The view of the English authori- 
ties was briefly that to grant Canada what she asked would involve the 
abandonment of the policy of international and imperial copyright, to 
which Canada had assented only a few years before. This position was 
fortified by that of the law officers of the Crown of two successive and 
