REVIEWS AMERICAN REPRINTS. 149 



least satisfactory phaze, in this good educed out of evil, is an im- 

 proved tone in treating of American affairs. In dealing even with 

 the great social evil, it is no longer deemed sufficient merely to give 

 utterance to an inarticulate hovrl over the wrongs of the slave. The 

 matter-of-fact political economist, and the enthusiastic philanthro- 

 phist, are both learning to apply their own home experience and so 

 to take a more comprehensive view of the difficulties with which the 

 American has to deal : recalling to remembrance the slow process by 

 which England has delivered herself from her own social wrongs, — 

 fighting the battle for generations before she could remove the disa- 

 bilities of the Protestant noncomformist ; restore her representative 

 system to some conformity with' the theory which had so long been 

 her boast ; or even rid herself of the protective system which checked 

 alike the development of her commerce and agriculture. The ne- 

 cessity for accurate and minute knowledge on America is creating 

 that interest in her proceedings, out of which kindlier sympathies 

 wiU grow. A spirit at once more generous and more just rules the 

 pen of the English writer who ventures to touch on American affairs, 

 though still ignorance will at times betray its presumption, and ob- 

 trude its folly. In this direction, at all events, the good influence is 

 at work, and it will be no slight alleviation of all the wrongs of the 

 English author, if the final result be the binding together more 

 closely, by an intelligent appreciation of each other, the common 

 descendants of what Milton proudly called "God's free Englishmen." 

 And how stands it with us in Canada, meanwhile ? We are, of 

 course, virtuously indignant at the very name of slavery, repudiation, 

 fillibustering, and literary piracy ; and are quite ready to cast the 

 first stone at our offending neighbor, caught in the very act : we 

 being so entirely without sin ourselves ! That American reprints are 

 sold as freely in any of the British Provinces as in the States, has 

 long been notorious to all men. This had existed as an illegal usage 

 which it was convenient for the Colonial conscience to overlook, till 

 the cry of the British author for a further instalment of justice at 

 home, directed attention to this additional grievance, and at length 

 an Act of the Provincial legislature legalized the admission of 

 American reprints of British authors into Canada, on their paying 

 a duty of 10 per cent., which per centage was to be handed over as 

 a sort of black-mail discount for behoof of the despoiled author. 

 Such accordingly has been done on two separate occasions. We 

 have been at some trouble to ascertain the facts, and learn that for 

 the years 1854-55, a first instalment of £252 lis. 3d. was paid over 



