APPENDIX A VII 
regards the country or as regards the book trade. The advantage of à 
separate market was not merely one of which the publishers might avail 
themselves ; but was also of great importance to authors in England and 
Canada alike, for instead of being obliged to give away the Canadian mar- 
ket with the United States one, the author would, under such an arrange- 
ment as gave Canada a separate literary field, derive advantage in in- 
creased remuneration. 
The constitutional aspects of the question were very divergent. 
Equally eminent legal authorities held contradictory views; and it seemed 
impossible to find any modus vivendi. But the emergence of the new 
conditions suggested that whatever view might be held about the right 
of Canada to legislate as she wanted to, there could be no valid objection 
to allowing Canada to legislate in a specifie way to remedy a specific and 
admitted grievance, so long as this remedy did not affect the international 
situation nor militate against the principle of Imperial Copyright. 
To do this, however, it was necessary in order to avoid constitutional 
complications again arising, to endeavour to get the Imperial Parliament 
to pass an enabling Act. 
No one appeared to be moving in the subject when in February, 
1899, a suggestion was made to form a Canadian Authors Society for the 
purpose of promoting the interests of authors generally and incidentally 
of dealing with the copyright question. This society was formed in To- 
ronto as a centre; but was from the beginning intended to include 
authors from all parts of Canada. Applications for membership came in 
at once from authors residing in the different provinces. As soon as the 
society was launched several of its members devoted themselves to a 
study of the copyright question, and after many conferences the com- 
mittee arrived at an agreement as to what might reasonably be accom- 
plished. They resolved to take advantage of the circumstance that Lord 
Herschell’s Bill was then before the House of Lords to suggest an amend- 
ment to it which would have the effect of securing for the Canadian pub- 
lisher a separate market, so that he could with confidence purchase the 
right to publish in Canada works first published in the United Kingdom 
in the same way that the publisher in the United States was enabled to 
do under the agreement which had been arrived at between that country 
and Great Britain. By means of this practical suggestion the Committee 
thought that while they would not imperil the position of Canada as 
regards the constitutional points raised by Sir John Thompson, they 
would if the suggestion were adopted prepare the way for legislation in 
Canada which would apply an immediate practical remedy and probably 
render any discussion of the highly contested constitutional question 
unnecessary, for the time being at any rate. 
