Star.
London, England, 1818-04-18 00:00:00

PA RLIA'IIIE.VZiRY PROCEE.Dir%'GS.

ITOrSiVO? LORDS, APRIL 17.
The A pell on 114 importput %peva= of WI Qaeenallerry
Leases LdugJr.rrd in caa.anakuimi,
Mr. Qua-1 :mm uJelie•se,i the House at great length, as Secotal
Cotruel for the Respondeus.—Further hearing adjourned till
Monday.
A number of Private or Local Rills were brought up fr(rn
the Cektmons by It S. La, r: mt, and other Members, and fc-1
the first time.
Mr. WiI.TOLC, from the Secretary of State's OlSre, presertcd
an Account of all the Pardons granted under the Great Seal for
the last ten years, tngether with an Aezottnt of all Fees and D..-
dos paid thereon, Ste. pursumt to an Order of the 11,...ee ;
which, on the tnee.on of Marquis of Lamm-ere, were or-
dared to be printed.
Several Private Dills were furwarded,aSer which their Lt.rd-
ships adjourned till Monday.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
Lord STANLEY presented a Petition from the Solicitors
:dad Attornies of Preston, against tUegal Conveyancing.—L:..d
on the table.
Lord L.ISCELLES presented a Pctitian from the Clethl/4-s
and Broad Cloth Manufacturers in the neighbourhood of
against the Duty imposed on the Importation of elape Seed
1816, and praying for its repeal.—Laid on the table, after a f. w
woids from Mr. Coe and Mr. Ciawau, and ordered to be
printed.
Mr. DRUMMOND presented Petitions from the Proprie-
tors of Land in the County of Kincardine, against the Lusue.ie
Asylum Bill.—Laid on the table.
Admiral FRANKS presented Petitions from tke Work-peo-
ple employed in the Cotton Mills at Mansfield and Langsrorth,
in Nottinghamshire, and other places, against the Cotton Fr.c-
tory IkiL—Read, laid on the table, and ordered to be printed.
COPYRIGLIT. •
-

Mr. LAMIITON rose to present a Petition, to
which, from the importance of the subject, he ear-
nestly invited the attention of the House. He w-s
the more anxious that the statement contained in the
Petition should be distinctly understood, as the grea:
question on the subject stood for discussion this even-
ing. The Petitioners were Mesas. Rodwell and Mar-
tin, eminent booksellers. They complained of the
grievous operation of the Copyright Act as affecting
their trade and property. As the law now stood,
they were bound to furnish to certain public bodies
eleven copies of every new work they published, no
matter what was its nature, and the amount of its
expense. The Petitioners, among other injuries re-
ceived from this impolitic regulation, stated some
particular instances, to slim the extent of the de-
mands made upon them under the Act. They had
lately published a voluminous wot k,which was so well
appreciated that the Author was offerei permission
to publish it in France, free of the duties on works
sent from another country, if he would send the work
there. In the one country an encouragement by the
remission of heavy duties was held out, but in the
other a grievous and oppressive tax was imposed
upon publishers for the be.tefit of bodies who h.td
ample funds for the purchase of any work; they
required. •
The Petition was then brought up and read. It
set forth the grievances touched upon by the I-lon.
Member who introduced it.
On the question that it do lie on the table—
Mr. PLUNKETT rose and said, that the Peti-
tioners set forth losses in particular instances of "Cl.
and SOO/. Now he should wish to know how they
estimated these losses. It was one thing for the pub-
lisher to state the sale price of his work at a retail
calculation ; and another, to state his actual loss on
the terms imposed upon him. It was one thing to
say, that so many customers had been withdt_wu