§ Mr. Lambtonbegged to state the substance of a petition that had been intrusted to him by that respectable body the booksellers and publishers of London and Westminster, praying a repeal of the copy-right act. It was enough to mention the names of Messrs. Longman and Co., Messrs. Baldwin and Co., Messrs. Rivington, Mr. Murray, and Mr. Mawman, to secure it attention; in short, it had been signed by all the respectable booksellers of the metropolis. The Petition was then read, setting forth,
"That the petitioners presented their humble petition to the House in the last parliament, respectfully stating the grievances which they endured from the operation of that part of the act of the 54th of his present majesty, intituled 'An act to amend the several Acts for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies and Copy-right of Printed Books to the Authors and their Assigns,' which enjoined the delivery of eleven copies of every book and volume for the eleven libraries therein mentioned, which after the passing of that act should be printed for sale, and humbly praying for relief, that the petitioners said petition was referred, with a number of others, to a select committee named by the House, who examined many witnesses concerning the matters therein-mentioned; and whose report, together with the minutes of the evidence taken before such committee, was laid upon the table of the House, and ordered to be printed; that the petitioners humbly submit, that the grievances which they have experienced from such delivery have been fully shown on such evidence; it appears thereby, that the actual cost of the books delivered by the house of Longman and company, since the passing of the said act, in July 1814, to the month 1114 of April 1818, was about 3,000l.; and that another bookseller, Mr. John Murray, had lost 1,275l., by the books be had delivered during the same period; it also appeared, that the delivery of eleven copies of only five works, namely, Degdale's 'Monasticon Anglicanum,' his 'History of Saint Paul's,' 'Portraits of Illustrious Personages,' Ormerods's 'History of Cheshire,' and Wood's 'Athenæ Oxonienses,' would amount to 2,198l. 14s.; and that the delivery of eleven copies of only one work, Dodwell's 'Scenes and Monuments of Greece,' would, at the trade sale price, be about 275l.; the petitioners will not intrude on the attention of the House, by stating the various injurious effects on arts and literature in general, which this delivery is stated, in such evidence, to have produced, as well as on the property of the owners and authors of books; but they earnestly state, that if the grievance is manifestly great on high-priced books, it is not less individually severe in its general amount on the usual publications of the year; and the petitioners humbly submit, that the increasing custom of printing English books abroad is an additional urgency to the petitioners to solicit the House to remove from them the burthen of delivering these eleven copies, which so manifestly tends to increase the price of English publications; the petitioners therefore most humbly pray, that the House will be pleased to grant them such relief as to the demand and delivery of the eleven copies of books for the libraries in the said act mentioned, as in its wisdom shall seem most expedient, and more especially, by repealing the clauses of the said act which enjoins the delivery of the said eleven copies, excepting one copy to the British Museum."
§ Ordered to lie on the table.