VIII ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
As I happened to be going to England early in May, 1899, I was 
asked by the Authors’ Society to bring their proposed amendment of 
Lord Herschell’s Bill to the notice of the persons interested in the mat- 
ter. Meanwhile, the death of Lord Herschell had so altered the position 
of affairs that when I arrived in England I found an entirely new bill 
before the House of Lords in the name of Lord Monkswell. After a 
number of conferences with the leading publishers in London, and with 
some of the members of the Authors’ Society in England, as well as in- 
formal discussion of the matter with the officials of the Colonial Office, 
I was invited by the Select Committee of the House of Lords upon the 
Bill to give evidence. The result of these various negotiations was that 
a clause substantially the same as that drawn by the Committee of the 
Canadian Authors’ Society was introduced into Lord Monkswell’s Bill. 
It was not found practicable to pass the Bill of 1899 through the various 
stages ; and, therefore, a new Bill, practically the same as that of last 
year and containing the clause in question has this year been introduced 
into the House of Lords, and at this moment is in progress. The new 
Bill modifies very importantly and consolidates the whole law of copy- 
right. There are really two measures, one dealing with literary copyright 
and the other dealing with artistic copyright. The principal changes 
in the law are these :— 
(a) The duration of copyright is extended to thirty years after the 
death of the author. This brings the English law into conformity with 
the laws of nearly all the countries of the continent of Europe where the 
thirty year period has been the rule for many years. 
(b) Registration as an indispensable proof of copyright is abolished. 
The date of the author’s death being easily susceptible of proof there is 
no room for doubt as to the existence of a copyright. The clause deal- 
ing with the colonies is as follows :— 
32. In the case of a legislature of any British possession, if the fol- 
lowing circumstances occur, that is to say :— 
If a book has been first lawfully published in any other part of Her 
Majesty’s dominions, and it is proved to the satisfaction of an officer 
appointed by the Government of such possession to receive such proofs 
that the owner of the copyright has lawfully granted a licence to import 
for sale in such British possession or to reproduce therein an edition or 
editions of any such book designed only for sale in such British posses- 
sion, it shall be lawful for the legislature of such possession by Act or 
ordinance to prohibit the importation except with the written consent 
of the licensee into such possession of any copies of such book printed 
elsewhere, except under such licence as aforesaid, except that two copies 
