The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-22 00:00:00

NEWSPAPEI? COPYRIGH7'..

The very important question of newspaper copyright
was raised in a case tried before Vice-Chancellor Malins
on Wednesday. It was an application made by the proprie-
tor of the Field for an injunction to restrain the defendant
from publishing, copying, or otherwise using any portion of
the "Hunting List " which appeared in the Field, in the
Land and Water, a rival journal. The list which was published
in the Land and Water was identical with that in the Field.
In support of the motion it was contended that under the
statute of copyright the proprietors of a newspaper had a
property in the articles which appeared in its columns.
On the other side, it was contended that the copyright
statue extended only to books or works of a permanent,
not an ephemeral character, and that in the contents of
unregistered publications, such as newspapers, there
was no copyright. Vicc-Chancellor Malins expressed his
decided opinion that newspapers had a copyright in
their contents, and overruled the preliminary objection
the right of the plaintiff moving for the injunction.
Hi Honour expressed a hope that as it was a small matter,
which he thought should never have been brought before
t c Court, the dispute between the parties would be
arranged without further legal interference.—Air. Glasse,
Q C., v. ho appeared, declined to accede to the suggestions
o- the Vice- Chancellor, and proceeded to argue in support
o the motion.—His Honour refused the motion, on the
g..eund that the matter was too small to justify his grant-

ia3 an injuucti.m.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

MR. OTWAY AND THE DOCKYARDS.

Mr. Gtvay, M.P. for Chatham, and Foreign Under-
Sacretary, gave his constituents the benefit of his
leisure on Monday night. He spoke cf divers things ;
but the most interesting part of his speech related to
the dockyards. Admiral Elliot, who unsuccessfully
fought Mr. Otway at the last election, had made
more than one attack upon his successful com-
petitor, and upon the Government, in connection with
their policy of cutting down the dockyard establish-
mints. According to Mr. Otway's speech on Mon-
day, the gallant officer has been singularly unfor-
tanate in his reasoning. On the very day when
h 3 was accusing the Liberal party of ruining
Chatham Dockyard and all its workpeople, Mr.
Currie, the Tory First Lord of the Admiralty,
claimed credit for what was done as a piece of Tory
po'icy. Again, when Admiral Elliot accused the
Wiii;-.7s of shutting- up the Woolwich Dockyard, an
article appeared simultaneously in a Tory newspaper
claiming credit for the proposal, and blaming the
Liberals for not giving it prompt effect. Why
was not the gallant Conservative better looked
ar er? Unhappily, still worse reinains. Admiral
Eliot made a double blunder. He said: "At
the . present time the Admiralty are building,
by private contract, ironclads whose aggregate
t)inage amounts to 42,000 tons." According to
M:. Childers, in a letter to Mr. Otway, the real fact
i 3 that the present Board have contracted with no
p:lvate builders; but the late Conservative Board
did. They bargained with private firms for twenty-
three ships, worth £1,737,081, and when the present
Ministry came in, work representing about a million
remained to be done. Admiral Elliot, on the other
hand, said that the Liberal Ministry which fell in
ISOO left many ships contracted for with private
owners ; Mr. Childers affirms that only two were
left unfinished in the hands of private firms. The
position, then, is this: Admiral Elliot charged the
Liberal Government with contracting largely with
private builders, and Mr. Otway replies that it was
the Conservative Government which did so. The
Admiral affirmed that Earl Russell's Ministry left so
many ships in private hands that the Conservative
discharge of dockyard workmen was enforced, whilst
M. Otway remarks that only two ships remained
under such conditions.

THE GOVERNMENT EDUCATION BILL.

There are many doubts as to whether the G overn-
mint will attempt to deal with education next year.
Tile first authoritative statement yet made on the
Libject appears in the Freeman's Journal. It is
there distinctly announced that the Cabinet has dis-
cAssed the question, has egreed upon the outlines of
a measure, and will bring a bill into the House of
irds in the coming session. Of course, in
tli3 Upper House, Earl de Grey and Ripon would
hi.ve command of the bill. This seems rather unfair
t i Mr. Forster, by whose hand,' if common rumour
b 3 right, the principal points in the measure have
Wan marked out.