The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-01 00:00:00

He urged them to this course by their love of country,
and by their love of literature—aye, by their love of
civilisation itself ; for they might depend upon it, that
literature and civilization were united together in a bond,
which could never be severed without destruction to both.
—(Hear, hear.) He would conclude by moving the fol-
lowing resolution :—" That a right of property, in lite-
rary productions, ought to be recognised by all civilised
nations."
Mr. H. SMITH briefly seconded the motion ; which, on
being put from the Chair, was carried unanimously.
Lord W. LENNOX moved the following resolution :
" That the disregard of that right, by the unauthorised
publication of British works in foreign countries, ' has
greatly tended to discourage and depress the book trade
of Great Britain." Although he had scarcely been aware
of the meeting more than half an hour before it com-
menced, he could not refrain from expressing his disap-
probation of the disgraceful system of piracy which was
then being carried on in France, Germany, and other
countries. In New York the entire works of Shaltspeare,
in two volumes, and beautifully bOunk might be ob;-
At4WAqr the sum of Ds. 6d.---(Dear, hear.) All the
rriedad-'works 4 'fietiOn works chiefly
.used in colleges ,and sch:solsi,, and every other species of
publication, might there be•obtained for a very trifling
amount. A vast number of works were brought over
from France. He had offered to him the other day
" Colonel Gurwood's Despatches of the Duke of Welling-
ton," which was published here at 11. ls., for the sum of
5 francs: That work had cost both Colonel Gurwood
and the Duke of Wellington a vast expenditure of time
and labour. By such a system the author was deprived
of his fair remuneration.—(Hear, hear.) He would not
further detain the meeting, as he could only reiterate '
what had been so well.expressed by Mr. James, in
whose remarks he entirely concurred.
Sir C. MORGAN in seconding the resolution said,
there was one fact to which he wished especially to call
the attention of the meeting, in reference to chemical
and mechanical discoveries. It appeared that works on
such subjects, which cost the publisher an enormous sum
of money in wood blocks and engravings, were sent off
and published in other countries at a very reduced
price. Now, if such a practice were suffered to exist,
it was evident that scientific productions would soon
cease to be published in this country; no one would bring
forward a work on science or natural history at an
enormous cost, if he were not protected against Freq.—
(Hear, hear.) This was not property in brains, it was
mechanical property, and he hoped that as such it would
be protected when the property of the brain was dis-
regarded.—(hear, hear.)
The resolution was then agreed to.
Mr. DicKeNsoN rose to move the following resolu-
tion :—" That this system, in acting detrimentally upon
the publishing trade of this country, has most seriously
interfered with the interest of the reading public,
by limiting the legitimate sale of books, and
rendering a higher rate of charge per copy
necessary to meet the general expenses of publication.
lie had that day received a communication from Mr,
Warren, expressing his regret that he was unable to
attend the meeting, but stating that he cordially con-
curred in the resolutions which he had seen in print, and
he further stated that he was of opinion, that unless
some decisive steps were taken, the interests of British
literature would be permanently injured.—(Hear, hear.)
They all knew that a great deal of time and labour
were necessary to produce a good book, and an author
of eminent talents, who devoted his time to the public,
must, like every other man, be remunerated for his ex-
ertions ; and then the expense of the first edition was
greater than that of subsequent editions. The altera-
tions were often very) numerous, and the book must be
presented to the public in a shape which would render it
acceptable. Now, of course the price to be fixed by
the publisher must ~depend, in; a great measure, upon
the extent of sale, and if the range of sale was
small, the public must necessarily pay a higher
price than they :otherwise would pay. In fact, under
the present system the publisher had to impose an addi-
tional tax upon the public, in consequence of the defec-
tive state of the law.—(Hear.) It should be remembered
that a vast amount of advertising was required to make
a work known. So many things were there to occupy
the public attention, that advertisements must be scat-
tered about in all directions before a work would become
generally known. Was it right that the publisher should
incur this expense in advertising the French or American
edition of an English work, or that the punishment of
this should fall upon that honourable portion of the
public which bought the legitimate edition ? He thought
they ought all to unite their energies for the purpose of
removing this injustice.
Mr. COLBURN, in seconding the resolution, said that
if the present system of piracy were continued, he had
no hesitation in saying that there would be an end of
literature, not only in this country, but in every other.
—(Hear, What was the object of authors in
writing ? Was it fame ? It was 'true,' that , young
authors— young aspirants, might be induced to write and
publish with that view. There was Lord Byron, for
instance ; but he very soon found out the value 'of his
works, and he did not long continue to make Mr. Murray
a present of them—(Laughter)—on the contrary, Mr.
Murray had a hard battle to fight, and found it by no
means easy to satisfy his Lordship.—(Laughter.) Did
any one believe that Sir Walter Scott would have written
one-tenth as many works as he had done but for the in-
ducement of money ?—(Hear.) How were publishers to
pay authors if their sale was to be cut off, and the works
which they published were pirated ?—(Hear.) As Mr.
James had already stated, the number of copies printed
on the Continent was ten times as great as the number
printed in England. Was it possible that literature could
flourish under such circumstances ?—(Hear.) He would
ask Mr. James whether, if his first work had been pub-
lished under such circumstances, he would have been in-
duced to continue writing ?
Mr. JAMES—Certainly not.
Mr. COLBURN continued—Had Sir Lytton Bulwer
published " Pelham" under such disadvantages, he ven-
tured to say that the world would not have been delighted
with " Eugene Aram, " The Last Days of Pompeii,"
and " Rienzi."—(Hear. hear.) He hoped every gentle-
man in that room would exert himself to bring
about a change. There was one point which he wished
particularly to impress upon the meeting, namely the
great difference in the price of books to the English
public, in the event of the English publishers being able
to supply the American market, the French market, and
the foreign markets in general. He believed the price
by that means would be reduced one-third. It was net
till five or six hundred copies of a work had been sold
that the profits commenced, and the vast sale, therefore,
in other countries of printed editions of English works
must greatly increase the price in this country.—(Hear.)
Mr HODGKIN said before the question was put he
wished to ask the respectable publishers present, whether
it was not in their power, by imitating the Americanss
the French, and the Germans, to produce works as
cheaply as they were produced in other countries. Much
had been said about the expense of the copyright and the
expenses of advertising, but he saw nothing to prevent
the British publisher from competing with the foreign
pnblisher, For his own part, he was proud to hear that
the works of his countrymen were being spread through
Germany, France, and the United States. He saw no
reason why the English publishers, by printing works in
a cheap form, should not be able to compete with
foreigners. If they told him of heavy expenses,
he must say he thought they were not taking
the most effectual means of getting rid of them.
England was at present, the prey of a great
system of high prices, and he thought that by exerting
themselves, to reduce them, and so remove that evil,
they would do more for England than by endeavouring
to bolster up the prices of literature.
Mr. JAMES said the matter appeared to him as plain
as possible. He did not see how a man who paid a large
sum for a book could possibly sell it as cheap as another
who paid nothing.—(Hear, hear.)
After a few words from Mr. DICKENSON and Lord W.
LENNOX, the resolution was put from the Chair and car-
ried, there being two dissentients.
Mr. T. LONGMAN moved the following resolution :
" That the means employed for smuggling copies of
spurious editions into Great Britain and its dependencies
are so artful, and the opportunities so great, that the most
effectual remedy which can be applied to this evil appears
to this meeting to be the conclusion of treaties with foreign
Powers for the mutual recognition of literary property."
He also presented to the meeting, letters which he had
received from Sir E. L. Bulwer, Mr. Sergeant Talfourd,
and Mr. Sheridan Knowles, stating their regret at being
unable to attend, and their cordial concurrence in the ob-
ject for which the meeting was called.
Mr. BLACKWOOD having seconded the resolution, it
was adopted by the meeting.
1)r. Tnostesosi moved the following resolution :
" That, while this meeting feel most grateful to Go-
vernment for the additional protection which has been
lately, given to literature, they cannot but view with deep
regret the long delay which has taken place in carrying
out the intentions of the Legislature, expressed in the Act
1 and 2 Victoria, cap. 59, passed July 31, 1838, called
The International Copyright Act."
Mr. JAMES SIMPSON seconded the resolution, and if
was carried unanimously.
Mr. SPOTTISWOODE moved the next resolution :-

" That having received assurances from the chief book-
sellers of France and Germany of their great willingness
and d sire to see the security of literary property estab-
lished by treaty between Great Britain and their several
countries, and also learning that a Bill with the same
object is now before the American Congress, this meet•
ing believes the present moment to be peculiarly favour-
able for bringing to a successful issue any negotiations
on the subject of international copyright."
The resolution having been seconded by Mr. J. BRIT.
TON, and supported by Mr. BUCKINGHAM, was unani.
nwusly adopted.
Mr. POOLE proposed, and Mr. T. WOOD seconded the
following resolution :—" That a Memorial be drawn up
and addressed to the proper departments of the Govern-
ment, embodying the foregoing resolutions, and beseech-
ing her Majesty's Government to give the subject their
immediate attention, and take such means as they may
judge most expedient to induce foreign Powers, with