The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-03-01
,NTrpN.TIoNAL COPYRIGHT.

,rh., cor,;on of the late treaty connected
with this subject, is still before the senate ;
hut il seems to be very generally unasrs'ooo
,ba, i, will pass into a law. we nave never
Lnown nubl;e sentiment. il the press be any
49, so entirely unanimous upon any one
s,,h;ec, as il is upon this. In no part OF the
H., do we meet with dissenting paragraph
or with a paragraph which even lniimates q
doub, as TO the propriety, or even expediency,
EN-. measure. The old piratical argument,
.dvapced with SO much zeal, and, we regret to
saw. with so much success, many years ago.
that i, would be better for us that things
should remain as they are, is scarcely intma-
ted. Ii seems to have been completely over
whelmed, by the jus,er and more manly senii-
ment which has every where sprung up.
We have argued this point so often, that we
can say nothing upon il without re producing
what we have said before. Yet cannot for
bear repeating, what we have more than once
animated, that this question ought TO be consid'
cred in one aspect alone. Ii ought TO be set
tied by the answer to the simple question, IS 1t
honest to take the fruits ola mans labor with.
out paving HIM for III Considerations OF adj
vantage, by all men who believe that it is al
ways most advantageous, TO nations as to lndi'
yiduals, to act honestly, should not be allowed
10 enter into the discussion. Upon this ground,
alone, do we condescend to argue the question,
and taking this ground, we ask, again, why
may we not as we'll appropriate the hardware
the crockery-;he dry -goods-of London or
Liverpool merchant, as the works OF London
or Liverpool author! Is it because the mer-
chant is, most commonly, a very wealthy, and
the author, generally, very poor man, that
we make this distinction Book piracy has
been justified on the plea that there is no law
against it =? What better or farther law does
an honest man want, than his own conscience !?
The decalogue says, Thou shalt not steal,'
but nature told the human heart it was wrong
TO steal, long before the dec alogue was written.
Shall it be said that great people, like this, is
honest only SO far as tits compelled by law to
be? As for all those arguments which have
been drawn alb iaconpenienti, we are not dis
posed to dispute their force. No man will
deny that it is cheaper to steal than to buy,
especially when there is 10 penalty attached to
the theft, and every one viii admit that stolen
goods can be furnished cheaper TO the purcha-
ser than goods that have been paid for? But
does that justify the thief who steals, or the
fence who exposes the stolen wares to sale?
We trust, for the honor of our country, that
the Senate will not adjourn without settling
this matter defnitively, and that the system Of
book-pracy will be cut up by the roots at
once. OF all piracies it is the meanest and the
most inexcusable, because it cannot plead even
the excitement of enterprise and danger in its
favor, but is exercised with perfect safety
Every great robber, from Robin Hood to Fra
Diavolo, was renowned for ais benevolence TO
the poor, whose wants he habitually supplied
by plundering the rich. This system of rob-
berry is conducted upon principles entirely diff
ferent-upou principles which any of the re-
nown freebooters, included in the time elapsing
between the eras of these two worthless, would
have scorned to acknowledge. Its objects are
class of the community which has always
been noted for its poverty, and its effects are
to swell the wealth of the wealthy at their ex-
rense. The great American booksellers "count
their crowns" by the hundred thousand the
men whom they plumber, sometimes want
dinner. For heavens sake, let the Senate put
an end to this disgraceful system at once.
We hope it will be among the first acts of
the new administration to form International
copyright treaties with all the nations of Con.
,;naptal Eurore