CANADIAN COPYEIGHT. 11 



his interests in the country by exchanging an ineffective for an effective system of royalty 

 upon the sale of his works here ; while, at the same time, by abandoning the methods in 

 vogue he would help Canadian publishing industries, and the more speedily lead the 

 American repriuter to agree to some measure of reciprocal copyright. To this day, he has 

 in the main failed to see the advantage of this, and Canada has consequently had to bear 

 the odium of complicity with what Sir Baniel "Wilson calls ' literary theft.' That in the 

 proposed Canadian legislation there is a measure of compulsion, or an absence of what is 

 termed ' by your leave,' was, under the circumstances, inevitable, as every one knows who 

 has given study to the question. But the measure set out to meet a real difficulty, and to 

 meet it with honour and success." 



Mr. Adam does his best to state iu courteous terms the conviction that the British 

 author has persistently played the part of a pig-headed ibol. But, apart from the fact 

 that the appeal thus presented to him is to make the best terms he can with men who 

 insist on takinsr and using his property as they please, without leave of the owner, the 

 author has in many cases far other and more valued interests at stake than the royalty or 

 percentage on his works. Why should not Canada deal with him as one capable of 

 managing his own affairs ; the present tendency in most civilized communities is to 

 proceed on this assumption, and the " Berne Convention " aims at placing it on a cosmo- 

 politan basis. 



Every country possessing a literature of its own, or desiring to acquire one, must 

 give the author full control of his work, and leave him to make his commercial arrange- 

 ments in the way which he thinks best promotes his interests. The law merely protects 

 his right of property. The spirit of the Berne Convention is to make those rights as 

 complete and uniform as possible. Let us not, as Canadians, proceed on the assumption, 

 that we neither have nor anticipate any near future when we shall have a literature of 

 our own, and so have a common interest iu the republic of letters, as well as in the 

 world's trade and commerce. 



In so far as the ethical aspect of the plea for an immediate compromise with the trade 

 is concerned, the line of argument seems to amount to this, that as our neighbours beyond 

 the line have systematically availed themselves of their immunity from British law to 

 turn to their own account the property and brain- work of English authors, and Canadian 

 booksellers and bookbuyers have profited in the wrong, therefore the English author may 

 as well give up all hope of being honestly dealt by, and come to terms with the spoilers. 

 If he will not, then he is blind to his best interests and must take the consequences. The 

 Act of 1889 is an amendment of an older one which, under the pretense of giving the 

 British authors a percentage on pirated editions imported into Canada from the States, 

 proved as already stated, a delusion and mockery. Moreover, while thus professedly 

 aiming at securing cheap literature for the people, they are to a great extent debarred 

 from the higher class of literature, and the public and university libraries are restricted 

 in their purchases by a heavy duty on imported books. 



The passing of the Copyright Act in 1889 almost without attracting the notice of 

 Canadian authors and those specially interested iu science and letters is significant. Our 

 legislators appear to have welcomed advice from the book trade, but to have wholly 

 ignored the representatives of the " manufacturer " of books. But brief as is the interval, 

 Canadian authorship has already assiamed a more aggressive status, and the small but 



