The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-26 00:00:00

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THE MAY
COLBT,IRN'S N
'MAGAZINE AN
EDITED BY THEODOF
The Gurney Papers. By the
Editor.
The Plain Green Chariot. By
the Hon. E. Phipps.
The Mother's Grave. By the
Author of " Outward Bound."
Ancient Days. By M. J. Quin,
Esq. Author of" Nourmahal."l
Subjects for Pictures. By Miss
Landon.

NUMBER OF
EN\T MONTHLY
ID HUMOURIST,
EtE HOOK, Esq., contains,
The Great Western Jungle. By
An Old Forest Ranger.
Recreations in Natural History
(Singing Birds. )
Epigram. By Miss L. H.
Sheridan.
Papers of a Gentleman at Arms.
Edited by H. Brownrigg, Esq.
The Manager's Note-book—
Fawcett and Woodward.
Tke Great Nonsuited. By Ben-
i son Hill, Esq.
The Decencies of English Life.
The Compact.
&c. &c.

My First Visit to Brussels. By
T. C. Grattan, Esq.
Notes on the Early French
_ Actors.

Lunacy in France. By J.
Came, Esq.
Henry Colburn, Publisher, I

3, Great Marlborough-street.

The publication of THE SUN NEWSPAPER commenced this day
at 30 minutes past Three e' Clock.

acv

WITH WHICH
" T.'HE TRUE SUN" IS NOW

INCORPORATED.

LONDON :
THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 26, 1838.

Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD'S Bill for the extension
of Copyright was, we are happy to say, read a second
time last night in the House of Commons. The ad-
dress delivered by the Learned Gentleman , on this
occasion, was no less creditable to his feelings as a
man, than to his talents as a public speaker. It was
a noble specimen of eloquence, combining, in an
eminent degree, • great power of reasoning with
the justest sentiment, and thus at once con-
vincing the judgment and affecting the heart. It
will, we are sure, be eagerly read by the public, and
will have the effect of dispelling much of that distorting
mist which has been thrown around the question, and
of presenting it in a light so clear that its actual posi-
tion, form, and bearing cannot he mistaken by any one
'whose eyes are not closed against the truth.
The Learned Serjeant, it will be observed, very
properly confined himself to the discussion of the prin-
ciple of the measure, leaving the details to be con-
sidered and adjusted in a future stage. In the course
f his speech he was necessarily led to notice the ob-
)
..,
ections which had been made to the Bill by publishers
and others whose interests, it is imagined, will be
injuriously affected by it. These objections, as far as
they reg?.rd the principle of the Bill, are triumphantly
refute;. The let2al right he showed had been recog-
nisrzd long ago by some of the most eminent Judges
tilat ever graced the bench in this country. Into the
natural right, and its perpetual enjoyment, though
ready to argue the question on that ground, he de.
dined to enter, contenting himself with proving . that
the term of Copyright, which according to the present
law expires with the life of the author, is too short to
afford anything like an adequate remuneration for
standard works of literature, which are generally slow
in 'acquiring popular favour. In alluding to the argu-
went used by Mr. TEGG and other booksellers, that
a sufficient compensation had been given by the pub-
lic to Sir WALTER SCOTT, for his Works, and
therefore it would he unjust to the public to give his
family an extended Copyright in them, Mr. Sergeant
TALFOTTRD states the question between the labours
and gains of publishers and those of authors in the
following truly eloquent and masterly manner :
" On what principle is Mi. Ter.g to retain what is denied
to Sir Wafter ? Is it the claim of superior merit ? Is i-
grra'cr tGil ? Is it large,- public service? His course, I
doubt rut, has been that of an honest, laborious tradesman ;
but -what bas been its anxieties, compared to the sturnt
dcus labour, the sharp agonies of him, 'whose deadly al-
liance with those very traders whose members oppo3o me
now. and whose noble resolu!ion to combine the severest in-
Segrity with the loftiest genius brought him to a premature
grave—a grave which by the operation of the law extends
its chilliness ever, to the results of those labours, and de-
prives them of the living efficacy to assist those whom he
has left to mourn for him. Let any man contemplate that
heroic struggle of which the affecting record has just
been completed, and turn from the sad spectacle of
one who had once rejoiced in the rapid creation of
a thousand characters glowing from his brain, and
stamped with individuality for ever, straining, the fibres
of the mind till the exercise which was delight became
torture—girding himself to the mighty task of achieving his
deliverance from the load which pressed upon him, and with
brave endeavour, but relaxing strength, return to the toil
till his faculties gave way, the pen fell from his hand on the
unmarked paper, and the silent tears of half-conscious child-
hood fell upon it—and to some prosperous bookseller in his
country house, calculating the approach of the time (too
swiftly accelerated) when he should be able to publish for
his own gain those works, fatal to life—and then tell me, if
we are to apportion the reward to the effort where is the
justice of the bookseller's claim ? Had Sir Walter Scott
been able to see in the distance an extension of his own right
in his productions, his estate and his heart had been set free,
and the publishers and printers, who are our opponents now,
would have been grateful to him for a continuation of labour
and rewards which would have impelled and augmented their
own."

What a striking and affecting picture is here presented
to the mind, and how powerfully are the enlarged and
benevolent views of the gifted speaker, contrasted with
that contracted sphere of vision, and that pitiful, calcu-
lating, parsimonious spirit which would sacrifice the
principles of eternal justice to some vague and ground-
less notion of public benefit ! Public benefit in-
deed ! As if the public could be benefited
by injustice—as if the public had amy right to rob one
class of the community of those privileges and that
protection which are extended to all others I We are
inexpressibly grieved to find such men as Mr.
GROTE and Mr. WARD chiming in with Mr.
HumE in this senseless cry about the rights
of the public. We really thought that they
had clearer perceptions of the fundamental principles
of right and wrong, and that they were far above seek-
ing popularity by a time-serving subserviency, which we
consider degrading in the extreme. It is painful to be
compelled to acknowledge that, in the discussion of
this question, the Radicals and the Tories have
changed sides. Sir ROBERT INGLIS, and those Mem-
bers who spoke on the Tory side of the House,
adopted the liberal view of the question, and put
their opponents to shame.

Our readers will have learnt from our Second Edi-
tion yesterday that Dr. CHALMERS has begun his
discourses on " The Establishment and Extension of
National Churches." We had the pleasure to hear
him, and have to record our admiration of his strong
nervous language, and the sincere fervour with which
he addresses his audience. His opinions are well
defined and powerfully expressed, and his illustrations

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