The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-04 00:00:00

COPYRIGHT OF DESIGNS BILL.

On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, tic
Order of the Day for the second tending of the Copy-
right of Designs Bill was read, whereupon
Mr. EMERSON TENNENT said that in moving
that the Bill be read a second time, he would not cc-
cupy the House with any observations, as he understood
that her Majesty's Ministers were in favour of the
principle of the Bill, and he thought thot any diffe-
rence on minor points would be matter of consideration
in the Committee.
Mr. WILLIAMS sa7d that when he was on the
Committee appointed to investigate this subject he lied
paid the greatest attention to the evidence. It appea el
to him that there was no branch of manu‘a2tur ea
which had been, up to the present time, more
prosperous than the cotton manufacture. There was
no branch in which larger fortunes had been made,
or in which greater success had attended the outiay
of capital; and he thought that before so great a change
was proposed it should he shown that it had now
declined in prosperity. When the manufacture was in
its infancy there was a protection of two months ex-
tended to the copyright. An application was made for
an extension of the term, and the Parliament extended
the period to three months. As a proof of the ex-
traordinary progress which had been made by this branch
of our manufactures, he would state that the products
in 1800 amounted to thirty-two millions of yarns ; in
1814 to one hundred and twenty-four millions ; and in
1830 to three hundred and forty-seven millions of yarns.
Up to the last-mentioned period the exact quantity pro-
duced could be ascertained by the duty which was then
levied upon the calicoes. The trade st 11 progressed as
rapidly as at any former period. The smal-
est estimate gave four hundred and twenty mil-
lions of yarns, or fifteen millions of pieces. The
evidence which had been given before the Committee
by gentlemen who were deeply interested in the matter
ought to be carefully weighed before the House
ventured upon the change proposed by the Hon-
ourable Member for Belfast. Many persons
who were connected with the trade had seats
in that House, and were looked up to as
authorities on the commercial affairs of the countr'.
If those individuals bad thought that this branch of n a
nufacture mould be benefited by the extension of the copy-
right, and had stated their opinion, Parliament would, in
all probability , have adopted their suggestion. But no such
proposition had been made during a period of 50 years.
When it was conside, ed that the object for effect;ng this
greet and important change was, that a few indivi-
duals, and a very few, might be enable.' to seal sery
small and circumscribed productions at a higher price,
and thereby get a larger profit, he thought the Hou c
would hesitate before it effected so great a change.
(Cries of " Hear.") What was the property in respect
of which an extension of the Copyright was sought ?
It had been admitted by mill the witnesses, both for and
against the measure, that the patterns aawarrwoadsu
thed
were taken from of I patterns, and so
quantity of patterns produced that
esti-
mated the number produced in Manchester alone
had been computed that
hadg been r
amounted to 520,000 a year. I
30,000,000 of patterns had been
!ne, p
braced almost every object, device,
The only resource for
d and
d ufcoerdn ww hh ceh
the
e-
imagination of man could sugge..‘t
ughreeve of Manchester, an Alderman
forming new and original patterns was the old patterns.
'shelaatemagßoisroand tratr,
who had been thirty years in
the trade andprodue patternsd3t,hoaotOduring
his
i every
experienceye a r ,
of
had
f
stated to the Committee
thirty years he had not seen two patterns which he
could call original patterns. If the change that was
now sought to be made in the copyright were effected,
it would inflict a most severe blow upon an important
branch of the trade of this country, and would give a
great encouragement to persons engaged in the
same trade in foreign countries. He thought
that when so many branches of our manufactures were
at the present moment in a state of great suffering, and
this being a branch that was peculiarly exempt from
that suffering, it ought to be the very list upon which
so great and extensive an experiment should be made.
(Hear, hear.) WIL-t pretence was there for making
so great a change a, was now
proposed in a law that
had existed for forty years, upon a matter which,
in reality, was every body's property, and which,
in point of vilue, was a mere nothing?—(Hear.)