§ MR. HOWELL (Bethnal Green, N.E.)asked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether the Government have considered the propriety of issuing a new and cheaper edition of the Revised Statutes, corrected up to date, as promised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Second Session of 249 1886, and by the First Lord of the Treasury early in the present Session; whether the Government have arrived at any decision on the subject; and, if so, whether they are in a position to communicate such decision to the House; and, whether he can state to the House the probable price at which a complete set will be obtainable in the event of such publication?
§ THE FIRST LORD (Mr. W. H. SMITH) (Strand, Westminster)The question of a cheap edition of the Statutes has been under the consideration of the Statute Law Revision Committee, and they have submitted to the Treasury the following proposals:—That a revised edition of the Statutes be undertaken, of convenient size, to be published volume by volume as revision is completed; that the work be commenced at once, in which case the first volume can probably be brought out this year. The Committee believe that such an edition could be supplied at a price not exceeding eight guineas for the complete set. We have had these recommendations under consideration at the Treasury, and are about to give our sanction to the proposals of the Committee.
§ MR. MUNDELLA (Sheffield, Brightside)asked, whether the claims of the Government as to copyright would come under consideration?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHsaid, that was under the consideration of the Law Officers of the Crown at the present moment. It was necessary to see that the copyright belonging to the nation should be preserved; but all matters of importance were published by the newspapers.
§ MR. MUNDELLAwished to know if the copyright of the Revised Code, published by teachers for their own use, was retained by the Government?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHObviously, a publication of that kind is never interfered with by the Government.