Morning journal and courier., 1891-07-17
THE AMERICAN ooPYRIGHrAC

l
: Last Evening by q Banquet I'm Lon.
} don-President Harrison Toasted
Many Notable PersonaGes Present.
LONDON, July 16.-The Society of Au-
thors celebrated the adoption of the Amer
lean copyright act this evening with a
/ dinner at the Hotel Metropole. Lord
Monkswell was in the chair and among
those present were Robert T. Lincoln,
United States minister, Professor Ruxrey,
Mr.. Bryce, II. P, William Black Bret
Harte, Lewis Morris, @. D. Warner, Louise
Moulton, Brander Matthews, Thomas
Hardy, Walter Besant, Sir F. Pollock,
Edmond Gosse, Rider Haggard, Max
O'Rell, Canon Doyle, Oscar Wilde and
Justin Mccarthy and son.
Lord Monkswell, in toasting President
Harrison and the success of the copyright
act, commented upon the friendly feeling
| shown by President Harrison in extending
| at once without demur the act to England.
| He thought that clauses existed in the act
| to which exception might be taken. Yet,
substantially, the United States had gone
far as could reasonably be expected
| under the circumstances in meeting the
| wishes of England. He hoped no vestige
of irritation or annoyance would remain
either on the part of England or on the
part of America to cloud the perfect under
standing that ought to subsist between the
two peoples so closely allied by blood and
30 worthy of one snother's friendship.
[Cheers]. Mr.. Lincoln replied: "It is a
great honor to me to have an opportunity
of meeting at once SO many who are de-
voting their energy and talents to the in
struction and literary entertainment of
the English-speaking race. 1t is an especial
pleasure to do so under the circumstances
which make this dinner of the society SO
peculiarly notable to you in signalling
the end of the impotence which has exist
ed so many years on both sides of the
water over the delay in establishing proper
relations between the copyright laws of
England and those of the United States.
1t is not strange that this impotence ex-
listed. For, while our governments differ
in form, the duties, rights and privileges
of the people of both nations are nearly
identical. With their common language,
and for the most part common origin, their
lions and modes of thought make them |
almost one race in the history of the |
world. Cheers. Under these conditions |
it long seemed to many-among them |
myself-almost arbitrary and unrea- |
sonable to keep in form rule of law |
which denied in each country to the au-
thor of the other, and to that alone of all
the people carrying on the numberless
trades of our present civilization, the
property right which each accorded to its
own citizens or to resident authors. In
saying this of England, as well as of the
United States, speak in view of the fact |
that it has only just now become certain |
that a non president alien friend may have |
the benefit of the English copyright law,
and that the first official and conclusive |
declaration to that effect has been
called forth by our American
act Between our countries to a. far
greater degree than between those using
different languages has the question of
reciprocal copyright been a practical one. |
Consequently opposing interests have
the nature of things. The adhesion |
reached not very long ago by various
countries under the provisions of the |
Berne convention was far more easily at |
tanned than the arrangement just brought |
about between England and the United |
States. l am one of those who long |
thought it ought to be made. 1 am neither |
an author nor publisher, but as a prac-
ticing lawyer it has never been difficult |
for me to feel the justice of myself being
paid for a written argument at least for |
a successful one, irrespective of any
question of the nationality of the client. |
What thought just for myself 1 could |
hardly think unjust for any man of any |
nation or any nation or any geographical |
remoteness from whose mental labor I |
derived profit or pleasure. Then, too, in |
feeling this 1 but followed the lead of al |
most every living author of high repute in |
my own country in wishing them, and |
especially their younger brethren strug |
Cling for their proper places, to be re- |
Ieved from the involuntary competition |
of uncompensated foreign authors. So
take away the huge obstacle in the path
of our literary progress. This is not the
time for threshing over what is now only
old straw, but for an exchange of felicita-
tions over the harvest which we believe
both of our countries will share.
CHEERS. 1t is beside the real
question to speculate in what pfoportions
division may be mads 1t is
enough that you and your SAmerican |
brothers will no longer see the fruit of |
your labor reaped by others. If there is
no other benefit to the public at large than
an easier conscience much will be gained.
But 1 heartily believe that this is not all
that has been provided for. For by these
contemporaneous acts of justice to authors
the declaration of your government and
the new legislation of mine-there is not
only removed a cause of international irri-
tation, but new stimulus to study and
literary effort is given and will be long
felt on both sides of the Atlantic. l am
sure you will all join me in hoping for this
new phase of our community of interest
and in the anticipation that we will find
renewed assurance of an extension In other
directions of that good will and under
standing which is SO important to both
countries and which it is so especially
fitting should exist between them.
Cheers.
A letter from Lord Tenneyson was read,
in which he said: 'In the name of the
United Kingdom our society congratulates
the United States on their great act of
justice" Mr.. Bryce toasted the American
Copyright league. Brander Matthews re-
sponded. Professor Mimic proposed
american Literature" to which Mr..
Warner replied.