104 ur Patent Law)s. [January, 



seen at page 185 of the work quoted. He, like others, sees 

 " no natural claim on the part of an inventor to be protected 

 by the state." In other words, there are men the fruits of 

 whose industry he will not protect. ; this is simple monopoly 

 and despotic respect of persons. We can easily see why an 

 old aristocracy ignores the value of invention, just as monied 

 men dislike it. It raises the inventor to power as well as 

 wealth. After this, the opinion of Count Bismarck can be of 

 no value in our eyes. He thinks that "the remarkably 

 developed system of communication and conveyance now-a- 

 days, which has opened a wide field to real merit, and enables 

 industrial men promptly to reap all benefit of production by 

 means of enlarged outlets for their articles will, generally 

 speaking, bring those who know how to avail themselves 

 before others of useful inventions to such an extent ahead of 

 their competitors that, even when no permanent privilege is 

 longer admissible, they will make sure of a temporary extra 

 profit in proportion to the service rendered to the public." 

 This is not to the purpose. The sharpest man who can 

 first come forward is to be the gainer. The inventor is not the 

 sharpest, is never the sharpest man, and can never make 

 such gains as we have spoken of. 



We can imagine a statesman asking himself, by what 

 means can he evolve most invention out of the nation ? 

 whether by wringing it out unjustly or acting with kindness ? 

 Rulers have tried the first in all nations, but of late they 

 are finding out that honesty is the best policy. We can 

 best benefit a nation by letting every individual feel that he 

 is governed with justice — that he and his property are free. 

 We have been told of inventors who had rich men looking 

 in at their windows to see the new machines ; these were 

 the sharp fellows that knew how " to avail themselves of 

 discoveries before others," and which are especially favoured 

 by Count Bismarck. One suggestion, however, strikes us 

 as good for a distant day. It is to have an European and 

 American system. " The parliament of man, the federation 

 of the world," will rule in time, and it cannot be begun so 

 well by any as by the authors and inventors. Until that 

 is fully developed we cannot hesitate in saying that he 

 who destroys patent right has begun a movement which 

 will do incalculable evil. He, however, who teaches us 

 how to remodel the laws will benefit us in a way such as 

 he did who first brought law among mankind ; he will be to 

 us as a " Rhadamanthus, Ruler of the Blest." 



We cannot see M. Renard's difficulty, who thinks that, 

 because coal is a natural product, no one can claim a 



