The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-08-23
LONDON LETTER.
tFroln our regular Correspondent

tor Hugo n It's President and Alfred Ienny-
son at the head of the English committee ap-
pointed TO receive the distinguished foreign
visitors, it may be fairly said that the poetry
of the two countries was well represented. As
| in all gatherings of this kind, iestivi'y played
! its part; the members of the Congress were re
ccived at Mansion House banquet and after
wards the very Shakcspearian Mayor OF STRAIT
! fOrd.u Avon welcomed them as his guests
! One of the London clubs opened It's portals to
all the members, while the more distinguished
we're the objects of cordial hospitality at some
public and many private entertainments.
1t is not at all surprising that the official
language Of the Congress was French, for no
other tongue has acquired such peculiar pre-
cmlncncc. English is more widely spread,
and Spanish Is of greater commercial use in
South America and the adjacent seas, while
Italian has still an international superiority as
the Interpreter of the highest kind of music.
The courts. the arlstocracics, the statesmen
and the cultivated classes III Europe, however,
find French the most convenient common link.
II is now what Latin was IN the middle ages,
and even down to the beginning of the eight
eenth century Russians and Turks, Germans
and Spaniards, Italians and Swedcs English.
men and Dutchmcn all use French in diplo.
matte or social intercourse. 1t is the incvita-
bic second language Of all who have two A
foolish Chauvinism has recently induced
Prince Bismarck to force German into diplo-
/
sallcs he insisted upon talking it to NJ, Theirs.
Yet, though he may thus impose some addi-
lonal trouble on foreign Office clerks in vari.
Gus capitals he will do nothing to induce 9th
cr nations to dispace French from us interna-
tona position. Though not the vehicle of the
best literature of the world-ln this respect
second both to English and German-French
is the native language of the best modern
drama and of the most highly cultivated liter
AIRY style.
It i curious to note that at this Information.
al Congress, mainly concerned with copy
right, the French delegates, who were anxious
to make arrangements TO secure their rights
here, found no authorized representative Of the
publishers of the United States with whom to
carry on negotiations. The fact is that they
need not much fear being wronged by reprint
ing, translation or adaptation on our side of the
water. Though citizens of our great republic
travel much and flock to Paris As paradise,
their ignorance of the French language is as
great as was the English during the Continent
al War, when George | III appauded one Of his
cOurtiers for refusing to learn French, and
when that language was considered kind of
dialect, natural enough in the manly Briton's
sisters, but not to be expected from the Brlton
himself Few French books are reprinted ia
the United States and as to translatlons and
adaptations why should American publishers
pay native hands for such work when they can
steal them ready made" from the English
publishers? Thus, if the French authors Sc
clre their rights in England they are pretty
safe from Transatlantic depredatiOns. Never
theless 1t cannot be forgotten that IN a Con
gress professedly international" dealing with
the laws of copyright, the omission of the
United States leaves a huge gap. resembles
discussion on Mediterranean piracy in the
last century with studious avoidance of AL
giers While translation" and adaptation"
the two evils from which Frenchmen most suf-
fer, occupied the Congress for two days, not
one word is said about reproduction" The
Frenchman finds himself partially robbed, his
ideas are plfered piecemeal by the English
man; but the Englishman is swallowed body
and bones by the American pirate. No trans
lalion" or adaptation" veXes him. he finds
that he Is captured whole by the enemy and
sold for his profit The high,class American
publishers have lately discovered that, as Lord
Beaconsfield said in 1869, "confscatlon is con-
taglous." Now, unfortunately for them, some
Chicago publishers have taken to reproducing
at a very cheap rate the English books repub-
llshed in New York. They are in fact so lost
countrymen as they treat Englishmen. The
astonlshncnt and ndignation of the great New
York houses at this conduct is exactly the
same as that of Bret Harte's Yankees who,
conspiring to cheat the Heather Chinec,"
found that he had whole packs of aces up his
sleeves and they now cry out Let US all be
honest" much as the hens in the stable who,
finding themselves worsted by the horses no
bly, exclaimed, Let us all stop kicking"
This is a statement from the standpoint of
English authorship, but it Is not more than
right that we should have some reprisal for a
product of the American brain, which Eng
land and Europe use, in many instances, with
out pnce or thanks | refer to our mechani-
cal and orsaving inventions.
A good idea of the foreign demand for our
food supply may be gained by the following
abstract of the manifests of the steamers which
left New York for Europe on Saturday, the