§ SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFFasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether Her Majesty's Government are prepared, when the state of public business will allow, to consider the whole question of copyright; and whether it is their intention to countenance the Bill now before the House, introduced by the honourable Member for East Worcestershire, which deals with only one portion of the subject?
§ MR. CHAMBERLAIN, in reply, said, that, in his opinion, the present state of the Law of Copyright was not satisfactory. If there were the slightest chance of doing so with advantage, he would be very glad to direct the attention of the House to the subject. He believed, with the hon. Gentleman, it was a subject which it would be more convenient to treat as a whole than as a part. As regarded the Bill of the hon. Member for East Worcestershire (Mr. Hastings), it was introduced without consultation with the Board of Trade, and it had not the support of the Department. [Mr. WARTON: Hear, hear!]