§ MR. HOWARD VINCENT (Sheffield, Central)asked the President of the Board of Trade, If the injury which will be caused to British authors and publishers, no less than to paper makers, compositors, and kindred industries of the United Kingdom, by the proposed enactment in the United States of the legislative provision that American copyright shall only be given to works composed by American labour upon American paper, has been under the consideration of Her Majesty's Government; and what action has been taken in the matter?
§ THE PRESIDENT (Sir MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH) (Bristol, W.)My attention has been drawn to these provisions of the proposed legislation on the subject of copyright in the United States. I think the provisions generally are favourable to English authors; but no doubt there is a portion of the Bill which may be injurious to English publishers and the printing trade in England. I inquired into the subject, and ascertained that so much importance was attached to these provisions in the United States that it was not at all likely that any representation from Her Majesty's Government in favour of their withdrawal would be entertained. I shall, therefore, not be able to move the Foreign Office to make any such representations. I think, however, that the matter may be further considered with advantage when we deal with copyright legislation in this country.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNOR (Liverpool, Scotland)supposed the right hon. Gentleman would not undertake the responsibility of impeding legislation which conferred benefits on British authors?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHsaid, his impression was distinctly that the proposed legislation would be beneficial to English authors; and he should be sorry, on their account, to lose the legislation, in spite of the provisions to which his hon. Friend (Mr. Howard Vincent) referred.