https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/504/1905-04-01-The-Author-15-7.pdf ff86d7b3aeedf554ffdc7079fcf2d69c PDF Text Text �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1905-04-01 Volume 15 Issue 7 Pages Page range in volume 185–216 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19050401 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che HMuthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 7. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ——————— NOTICES. ——— + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are KE signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. i THE Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author ) #1) that the cases which are from time to time quoted “| in The Author are cases that have come before the ‘| notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the 6 Society, and that those members of the Society * who desire to have the names of the publishers ) concerned can obtain them on application. eG List of Members. THE List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_— + The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, | decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the Investments of the Pension Fund at present VoL. XV. APRIL ist, 1905. [Prick SIXPENCE. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— CongOls 25%. ee eae. £1000 0 0 Whocaleioans: i ee 500 0 0 Victorian Government 8 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War Ioan 4.6.0. ee... 201 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- EUG LOCK ec ge 250 0 0 otal. 2.80356. £2,745 92 Subscriptions from May, 1904. ey May 6,Shepherd,G. H. . : - 0 5 0 June 24, Rumbold, GCB . July 27, Barnett, P. A. : : Nov. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 1905 Aas Jan. 12, Anonymous : Donations from May, 1904. Sir Horace, Bart., May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth D0. 0 June 23, Kirmse, R. . ‘ 0 5 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : - 055.0 July 21, The Blackmore Memorial Committee : - 20 0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William S. 2 0 0 Oct. 6, Hare, F. W. E., M.D. 110 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold : 010 0 Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett 010 0 Nov. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . tL 1 0 Noy. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig 2 2 0 Noy. 24, Egbert, Henry 0 5 0 1905 Jan. , Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 0 Jan. , Bolton, Miss Anna 0 520 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 0 5 O Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0-5. 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 O Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 0 L020 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. 184 annual expenses of the trade of authorship. They are difficult to calculate, but I must brace myself to the task. I only fear, as I have said, that my income may disappear altogether in consequence. On the whole, the comparison with the coach- builder seems to land us in great difficulties. The mention of “John Inglesant” suggests to me another comparison, which I will venture to put forward, though it does involve the impertinence of going behind Mr. Hodges’ opinion. A doctor amuses himself for a long time by building a house. He makes it his hobby ; he is continually altering and embellishing it, he takes his friends to see it, profiting by their suggestions as well as by those of his own taste. It is talked about, and within a certain narrow circle wins a reputation for beauty and comfort. It is at last finished ; he either goes to live in it, or lets it, or sells it, getting in the last case a good price because of its reputation. If he lives in it or lets it, he begins o pay income-tax on the annual value. If he sells it, must he return the price, less expenses, under schedule D, as a speculative builder? The case of “John Inglesant ” seems to me closely analogous. If Mr. Shorthouse received royalties for it, he would pay income-tax on them; but if he sold the copyright, would the sum received really be professional income ? T, A. Lacey. CopyRiGHT IN PLAYS. Str,—Some few years ago I heard Sir Henry Irving (then “Mr. Irving”) in “ Charles the First,” by the late dramatist Wills. Considering the deplorable dearth of good plays nowadays, it seems to me a matter for regret that “Charles the First ” has not been revived. It is probable that Sir Henry Irving has_ the manuscript in his keeping, and he appears to have sole performing right. I have applied to him to know if I could get a chance to read the play, but received a reply merely stating that it has not been published. It will be a great pity if the public never hears anything more of it. Therefore, I venture to ask if nothing can be done to bring it before us again. I remember an amusing incident which happened on the occasion of my hearing the play. I did not know, at that time, the author’s name, and I turned to a man sitting near me, and asked him if he could inform me who was the author. He hesitated for a moment, and then said, ‘“ Isn’t it. by Shakespeare ?” Probably the gentleman had mixed his dates somewhat ! E. URwick. THE AUTHOR. Tue REVIEWING SHAM. Sir,—lIs it not time that reviewing should cease, inasmuch that it is a sham? Half the books noticed or reviewed are never read at all, being merely skimmed through, quoted from, condemned or praised, at the whim of the reviewer. Books have been frequently sent to me and I have been asked to review them. To have read conscien- tiously through each (taking only one bundle thereof as an example), and pronounced an honest opinion of the contents, would have taken me 365 days instead of 365 minutes, which is about the usual amount of time allotted by the ordinary reviewer to the same number of books, which I returned, with regrets that I had neither time nor inclination to read them. the ordinary reviewer. This personage reviews for cash. He does it for a living, and the more books he gets through the larger is the income that he makes. Would it not be a much better plan, think you, for authors when they advertise their books to accompany same with an author's note stating the object and aim of the work, and leave it to the public to read it or not as it feels inclined, and form its own judgment thereon ? If — 7 newspapers would afford space for such a note with advertisements, and make a moderate charge much trouble would be saved, and the review- . ing sham would be abolished. This would be a good job indeed. The excessive expense of sending out “ Copies to the Press” would end, and literature be given fair play all round. Believe me, yours very truly, FLORENCE DIXIE. Glen Stuart, N.B. —-~<_+— Tur Humours oF Books AND THE WAYS OF PUBLISHERS. Sir,—I am writing a book under the above title. Both parts of the title will come in for treatment, and I shall be glad of any little help in — the way of facts, fancies, and fragments under either. My experience of publishers has been some- what extensive and rather mixed. My object will — be to give an account of this experience, and par- ticularly of a case now in the hands of solicitors. I have appealed already and received some assist- ance. I am quite sure that many of your readers have some good stories to tell. nature be, I should like to receive them. May I ask the favour of a bounteous reply and supply ? Your obedient servant, J. P. SANDLANDS. Brigstock Vicarage, Thrapston. Whatever their Iam not blaming eR RAED inl DAS a EL if aid tdg aay Che Huthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XV.—No. 7. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —___§_+-— 2 —______ NOTICES. +1 OR the opinions expressed in papers that are K signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. + List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. ae The Pension Fund of the Society. Tue Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in February, 1904, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3% Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the Investments of the Pension Fund at present Vou, XV. Aprin ist, 1905. [PRicE SIXPENCE. standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— COngOlS Pk o.oo. £1000 0 0 Wocal Woans: -.6.4.. 6.650 ioe. 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War loan ..2...5 0.02.40... 201 9 3 London and North Western 8 % Deben- ture Stock (226. 250 0 0 Opal) wees. £2,245, 9, 2 Subscriptions from May, 1904. ‘eG May 6,Shepherd,G. H. . : 7 0.5 0 June 24, Rumbold, Sir Horace, Bart., G.C.B. : : : si 0 July 27, Barnett, P. A. : ‘ / 010 0 Noy. 9, Hollingsworth, Charles . 010 0 1905 | aah Jan. 12, Anonymous . : : . 0 2 6 Donations from May, 1904. May 16, Wynne, C. Whitworth 5 0 0 June 23, Kirmse, R. . ; 0 5 0 June 23, Kirmse, Mrs. R. : - 70 6 0 July 21,The Blackmore Memorial Committee é . 20,0 0 Aug. 5, Walker, William 8. 2 0 0 Oct. 6, Hare, F. W. E., M.D. bat 0 Oct. 6, Hardy, Harold : 010 O Oct. 20, Cameron, Mrs. Lovett 010 0 Nov. 7, Benecke, Miss Ida . 11> 0 Noy. 11, Thomas, Mrs. Haig 2 2 0 Nov. 24, Egbert, Henry 0 5 0 1905 Jan. , Middlemas, Miss Jean 010 O Jan. , Bolton, Miss Anna 0 5 0 Jan. 24, Barry, Miss Fanny . 0 5 0 Jan. 27, Bencke, Albert 0 5 0 Jan. 28, Harcourt-Roe, Mrs. 010 O Feb. 18, French-Sheldon, Mrs. 010 0 10 0 Feb. 21, Lyall, Sir Alfred, P.C. FROM THE COMMITTEE. ee FRBruary 20TH, 1905. MEETING of the Committee was held on Monday, February 20th, at 39, Old Queen — Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and signed, the Chairman, Sir Henry Bergne, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Douglas Freshfield for the work he had done in conducting the affairs of the Society during the two years of his chairmanship, and for the attention and ability with which he had laboured for the best interests of the Society and its members. The vote of thanks was seconded by the Vice-chairman and carried unanimously. The election of Members and Associates followed. The number elected during the present year comes to forty-six. This is not so large as the number elected at the same period last year, which was a phenomenal year, as all members of the Society will perceive on perusal of the Report ; but the elections maintain the average of former years. The question of United States Copyright was again considered. The provisional date for the dinner was fixed for the beginning of May. Due notice will be sent to the members as the time draws nearer. FEBRUARY 27TH, 1905. A meeting of the Committee was held on Monday, February 27th, to enable the members to take into consideration some further points which had been placed before them dealing with the question of United States Copyright Law, and to determine the ultimate course to be adopted with regard to this issue. Note.—The amendment to the United States law, whereby a certain period of delay is granted in the case of a work published abroad ina foreign language, received the President’s signature on the 2nd of March. As the Act has thus passed. into law, the question whether any representation shall be made to the United States Government, with the view to a similar privilege being granted to works first published in England, is reserved for ulterior consideration. The text of the United States Act is given in another column. Five Members and Associates who had sent in their names between February 20th and February 27th, were duly elected. —— Cases. Srxce the last issue of the The Author ten cases have been before the Secretary. The members’ THE AUTHOR. complaints were in three cases for accounts, in one case for money and accounts, in five cases for money, and in one case for the return of MS. Two of the cases in which the Secretary demanded money have been satisfactorily settled, but so far none of the others have been brought to a success- fal issue, owing to the fact that six of them have been placed in the Secretary’s hands only within the last week. One of the cases in which money and accounts were demanded, has been placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors by the sanction of the Chairman, and it is probable that the Secretary will have to take the same course in one other case where money is due. ‘AIL the cases left open from the previous month have been settled, cheques having been received or the MSS. returned and forwarded to the members, To this statement, however, there is one exception, and here the matter hasbeen placed in the solicitors’ hands with instructions to carry it through the Courts if necessary. It is satisfactory to report the successful issue of so many of the complaints which have been for- warded to the Society’s office. Mr. Grant Richards’ bankruptcy is still proceed- ing, but the business of winding up is necessarily slow. The debtor was to have come up for public examination at the beginning of March, but owing to his absence abroad his examination has been deferred till the 14th of this month. oo Elections. FEBRUARY 20TH. Dexter, Walter 40,Ommaney Road, New Cross, 8. E. 6, Christ. Church Place, Hampstead, N.W. Gray, Benjamin Lyall, the Right Hon. Sir Alfred, P.C. Lydston, G. F., M.D. 815-100, State Street, Chicago, Tll., U.S.A. Macdonald, R. Neele, Miss Ethel : Powell, Mrs. 23, Upper Addison Gardens, W. Herts. Ronald, Landon 118, Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, — Saunders, James Wolverhampton. Lomond, Hookwood, near Horley, Surrey- Shepherd, J. A. “The Spider ” Harmer Green, Welwyn, W. 43, Powlett Street, Abe 2 THE AUTHOR. FEBRUARY 27TH. Langbridge, V. . . 95, Ebury Street, 8.W. Marshall, Mrs. Orde Caxton Hi'all, West- minster, 8S.W. Great Baddow, Chelms- ford. Vernon, France. Sutton Vicarage, Dart- ford. Only one member does not desire the publication of his name or address. Maude, Aylmer Sherard, Robert . : Weekes, A.R.. : —_—__—__—_e——e___ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —_— oe (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) BIOGRAPHY. CHATHAM. By FREDERIC HARRISON. 72 X 5}. 239 pp. Macmillan. 2s. 6d. COVENTRY PATMORE. By EDMUND GOSSE. 252 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 3s. 6d, THE LIFE STORY OF CHARLOTTE DE LA TREMOILLE, CouUNTESS OF DERBY. By Mary C. ROWSELL. 9 X 53. 188 pp. Kegan Paul. 63. n. THE KING IN EXILE. THE WANDERINGS OF CHARLES II. FROM JUNE, 1646 To JuLy, 1654. By Eva Scorr. 9 x 53. 524 pp. Constable. 16s. n. WHISTLER. By HALDANE MACFALL. 73 Foulis. 6d. n. 72 X 52. x 4. 71 pp. CLASSICAL, THE TROJAN WOMEN OF EURIPIDES. Translated into English rhyming verse with Explanatory Notes. By GILBERT MuRRAY. 73 X 53. 94 pp. Allen. 2s.n. EDUCATIONAL. HAKLUYT?’s ENGLISH VOYAGES. Selected and Edited by E. E. Spricut, F,R.G.S. 74 x 5. 301 pp. Horace Marshall. 2s, 6d. FICTION. THE MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM ASHE. By Mrs. HUMPHRY Warp. 72 x 541. 506pp. Smith Elder. 6s. THe Kine’s SCAPEGOAT. By HAMILTON DRUMMOND, 7% <x 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock. 6s, Bioomsspury. By C. F. Keary. 73 x 43, 552 pp. Nutt. 68. THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HoLMEsS. By A. CONAN Doyte. 74 x 5. 403 pp. Newnes. 6s, THE Rose BrocaDE. By Mrs. PHILIP CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY. 73 x 5. 323 pp. Nash. 6s. BARHAM OF BELTANA. By W. E. Norris, 310 pp. Methuen. 6s. CONSTANCE West. By E. R. PUNSHON. 72 x 5. 304 pp. Lane. 6s, THE Sinver Key. By NELLIE K. BLISsErr. 286 pp. Chapman & Hall. 6s. Laneparrow Hau. By THEODORA WILSON WILSON, 7% x 5. 399 pp. Harpers. 6s, CoMPRoMIsED, By GERTRUDE WARDEN AND H. E. Gorst. Cheap Edition. 84 x 54. 128pp. Greening. 6d, 7% x «#5. 74 x «5. 187 “ WIDDICOMBE.” By M. P. WiILLcocks, ee as John Lane. ratte 208 BY, A DauGuHTer oF Kines. By KATHERINE TYNAN. i <b, SIT pp. “Nash: ‘6s, Miss BADSworTtH,M.F.H. By Eyre Hussey. 8 x 5f 326 pp. Longmans. 6s, P THE Dryap. By Justin HuNTLY McCarruy, 72x 5. 320 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE SILveR PIN, By A. WILSON-BARRETT, 73 x 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. SoME EMmoTIONS AND A MoRAL AND THE SINNER’S Comrepy. By JoHN OLIVER HOBBES. Cheap Edition, ts by 5. 199 pp. Unwin. Is. n. Sir CLAUDE MANNERLY. By E. C. Kenyon. 72 x 5. 364 pp. Ward Lock. 3s. 6d. A Doa’s Tate. By Mark Twain, (New Edition), 7% x 5}. 36 pp. Harper. 2s. n. FOLKLORE, SONGS OF THE VALIANT VOIVODE, AND OTHER STRANGE FOLKLORE, FOR THE FIrsT TIME COLLECTED FROM ROMANIAN PEASANTS AND SET FORTH IN ENGLISH. By Héléne Vacaresco. 8} x 53. 238 pp. Harper. 10s. 6d, THE SHADE OF THE BALKANS. GENCHO SLANLIKOFF AND E, J, DILLON, HISTORY. Earby DutcH AND ENGLISH VOYAGES TO SPITS- BERGEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. (Second Series, No. XI.), Edited by Str W. MARTIN CONWAY. 9 x 5%. 191 pp. The Hakluyt Society. THE FIGHT WITH FRANCE FOR NORTH AMERICA. By By HENRY BERNARD, David Nutt. A. G. BRADLEY. New Edition. 83 x 53. 400 pp. Constable. 3s. 6d. n. LITERARY. ADVENTURES AMONG Books. By ANDREW LANG. 8 x 54. 312 pp. Longmans. 6s. 6d. n. JOHN BUNYAN AND THE PILGRIMS’ PRoGRESS. A Lecture delivered before the members of the Lincoln Diocesan Higher Reading Society at Lincoln, December 6th, 1904, by the Rv. C. E. Bonam. With a Preface by the Very REV. E. C. WICKHAMPTON, D.D., Dean of Lincoln. Small post. 8vo. S.P.C.K. 6d. LECTURES ON THE HISTORIANS OF BOHEMIA. Being the Ilchester Lectures (Oxford) for the year 1904. By the Count Lutzow. 8 x 5}. 120 pp. Frowde. 5s. n. MILITARY. THE OFFICER’S FIELD NoTE AND SKETCH BOOK AND RECONNAISSANCE AIDE-MiMOIRE. Tenth Edition. By Lizut-Con. E, Gunter, P.S.C. W. Clowes & Sons. 6s. 6d. n. NATURAL HISTORY. NATURAL HISTORY IN ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. By F. E, BEDDARD, F'.R.S. 8 x 54. 310 pp. Constable. 6s. n. POLITICAL. IMPERIALISM: ITs Pricns; Irs VocATION. By EMIL Reicu, 7} xX 5. 177 pp. Hutchinson. 3s, 6d. n. SOCIOLOGY. SLAVERY: PICTURES FROM THE DEPTHS. By BART KENNEDY. 8 X 5, 367 pp. Treherne. 6s. THE CHILD SLAVES OF BRITAIN. By R. H. SHERARD, 8k x 62. 265 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s. THEOLOGY, THE VOICE OF THE FATHERS : Unanimity. By 8, F. A. CAULFIELD. Brown Langham. 3s. 6d. OBJECTIONS TO SPIRITUALISM. 7ix 5. 95pp. Spiritualist Alliance, Their Erudition and 74 x 5. 198 pp. By H. A. DALLAS, 1g. 0, 188 TH MopDERN PILGRIMAGE, from Theology to Religion. By R. L, BREMNER. Constable & Co. THE YOUNG PREACHER’S GUIDE. By the REV. GILBERT Monxs. 8} x 54. 514 pp. Stock. 7s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. Crrims oF INDIA. By G.W. FORREST. 83 x 5}. 354 pp. Constable. 5s. n. THE WorRLD or To-Day. A Survey of the Lands and Peoples of the Globe as seen in Travel and Commerce. By A. R. Hope MONCRIEFF. Vol. I. 102 x 7. Gresham Publishing Company. 8s. n. In Pursuit or DutcrinEA. By HENRY BERNARD. Geo. Allen. ————————__+ + LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ——— R. G. H. PERRIS is engaged upon a work which will: be entitled “Russia on the Eve of Revolution.” It is founded upon personal observation of subterranean life in the country of the Ozar, and deals with the causes responsible for the present state of affairs. Messrs. Brown, Langham & Co. are producing a new novel by Miss Myra Swan, author of “Ballast” and several other novels. The title of the present book is “ Ground Ivy.” Mr. William Greener, author of “A Secret Agent in Port Arthur” read the chapter missing from that book to members and friends of the Camera Club on March 23rd. Mr. Frederic Harrison’s life of “ Chatham,” which forms the concluding volume of Messrs. Mac- millan’s well-known series of “Twelve English Statesmen,” was published early in March. With William the Conqueror, Edward the First, and Cromwell, Mr. Harrison places Chatham as one of the four great creative statesmen produced by our country in eight centuries ; and shows how, by the creation of the Colonial system, Chatham became the founder of the British Empire, and how, for a century and a half, the development of our country has grown upon the imperial lines of Chatham’s ideals. His Majesty the King has been pleased to accept a copy of Mr. Mark Synge’s work “ To Lhassa at Last.” Mr. C. F. Keary has written a story, which Mr. David Nutt has published, under the title of “Bloomsbury.” ‘The scene is laid almost ex- clusively in the quarter of London which the title indicates. For contrast, however, it is peopled with a great variety of intellectual types suggestive of the sects and “isms” among which society is to-day partitioned. Mr. John Foster Fraser’s forthcoming book THE AUTHOR. “Canada as it is,” describes the dominion as he saw it from one side to the other. Mr. W. E. Norris’s new novel, which Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published under the title of “ Barham of Beltana,” has for its hero a wealthy colonist, son of a convict, whose transportation to Van Diemen’s Land on a charge of embezzlement was apparently a miscarriage of justice. Mr. Edward Noble, whose novel, “ The Edge of Circumstance” published by Messrs. William Blackwood’s Sons, is now in its third impression, is publishing a new book, entitled “ Waves of Fate,” with the same firm. The work will be on the market in the course of a month or so. It has been proposed that a party of members of the British International Association of Journalists should make a tour through Bohemia, starting from London to Dresden. Mr. James Baker is arrang- ing the tour. His knowledge of Bohemia will be of great assistance to the party. It is proposed, if sufficient names are forthcoming, to start the trip, which will occupy about fourteen days, at the end of May or the beginning of June. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. have just published Mr. Carlton Dawe’s new book, “The Grand Duke.” The story narrates the adventures of an Englishman, who bears such a striking resemblance to the Grand Duke Boris, the Governor-General of Moscow, that, for the sake of a Russian girl, with whom he is in love, he actually goes to Moscow and personates the Governor-General. Mr. E. A. Reynolds Ball has just issued through Messrs. A. & ©. Black, a new work entitled, “Rome: A Practical Guide to Rome. and its Environs.” The guide, which is published at the price of half-a-crown, describes in sufficient detail the principal objects of interest in Rome, and whilst mainly appealing to tourists who are only able to spend a few weeks in this city, does not neglect the interests of more leisured travellers, and, to some extent, those of residents and invalids. Mr. 8. R. Crockett has completed a new novel, entitled “Peden the Prophet,” which is running serially through The British Weekly. Mr. F. Howard Collins has compiled a guide for authors, editors, printers, correctors of the press, compositors and typists, entitled “ Author and Printer.” This work, which Mr. Henry Frowde is about to publish, is an attempt to codify the best typographical practices of the present day somewhat on the lines of a dictionary, and Mr. — Collins has had the assistance of many authors, editors, printers, and correctors of the press during the three years he has been engaged upon it. The book has also been approved by various trade associations, including the Executive Committee 2 the London Association of Correctors of the — Tess. - id EE THE AUTHOR. A work of fiction called “ A Village Chronicle,” by Mrs. Katherine 8S. Macquoid, will be published before Easter by Messrs. Digby, Long & Co. The book will be illustrated by Forestier. Messrs. Constable & Co. have just issued a new work by Miss Marie Corelli, under the title of “Free Opinions Freely Expressed.’’ The opinions refer to certain phases of modern social life and conduct. Mr. Arthur Dillon, whose volume, “River Songs and other Poems,” appeared some years ago, will this month bring out in book form, a new comedy in verse, under the title of “The Greek Kalends.” Mr. Elkin Mathews is the publisher. Mr. T. Werner Laurie will publish shortly a travel book by Mrs. Katherine 8S. Macqnoid, entitled “Pictures in Umbria.” The work will be illus- trated with fifty drawings by Thomas R. Macquoid, R.I. The price will be six shillings net. There has been a considerable demand of late for “Old Days in Diplomacy,” the second edition of which isexhausted. The book contains much that is of special interest at this moment, on the first outbreak of Nihilism. Miss Montgomery Campbell is now engaged in preparing Sir Edward Disbrowe’s valuable collection of autograph letters from Royalties and statesmen for publication, as algo letters of Sir Herbert Taylor, secretary to George IV., William IV., and the Duke of York. ““Widdicombe” is the title of a novel from the pen of M. P. Willcocks, which Mr. John Lane pub- lished during the middle of last month. It is a story of agricultural life in Devon. Mr. Eyre Hussey’s new work entitled “Miss Badsworth, M.F.H.” which Messrs. Longmans published recently, sets forth the troubles of a philanthropic lady who finds herself confronted by the management of an estate, farm, and pack of foxhounds. Mr. Halliwell Sutcliffe has nearly finished his new book, “Red o’ the Feud,” which will be pub- lished by Mr. Werner Laurie. The author of “Through Sorrow’s Gates,” has returned to that wild atmosphere of the moor-feuds which seems to hold a special glamour for him. Mr. Harry Furniss has just written his first novel, a fantastic tale, which he has himself illus- trated. Messrs. Chapman and Hall will publish the work under the title of ““ Poverty Bay.” We understand from the United States Pub- lisher’s Weekly, that Messrs. Charles Scribner’s Sons are publishing a new story by Mr. E. W. Hornung, entitled “ Stingaree.” A second impression of Mr. Wilfrid Ward’s “Memoir of Aubrey de Vere” has been issued by Messrs. Longmans. The price of the work is 14s, net. Mr. Heinemann will shortly publish a work by 189 Mr. Henry Norman, entitled “ Motors and Men,” in which the theoretical and practical studies of the motor-car and its destined influence are considered. The same publisher is issuing a new and revised edition of “ The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook,” by Mrs. Steel and G. Gardiner. The work —which is published in one volume at 6s.— specifies the duties of mistress and servants, the general management of the house, and contains practical recipes for cooking in all its branches, “Duke’s Son,” by Mr. Cosmo Hamilton, will also be published shortly by the same publisher. The story refers to the younger son of a peer, who, being obliged to resign his commission in a crack regiment for financial reasons, resorts to cheating at bridge as a profession. The success which he achieves in this direction is, however, only tem- porary, his marriage to a girl who helps him to fleece his friends giving rise to suspicions which eventually lead to his undoing. Professor Skeat, who has carried through, in successive volumes, his modernisation of the “ Can- terbury Tales,” has now accomplished the same service for Langland’s “ Vision of Piers Plowman,” which will shortly be issued as a volume in the King’s classics. It has been rendered line for line into modern English, the metre of the original being practically kept throughout. The “ Vision” deals with social problems of the fourteenth century, which were not wholly unlike our own. “ Agatha,” by Mrs. Humphry Ward and Mr, Louis N. Parker, to which we referred in our last issue, was produced at His Majesty’s Theatre, on the afternoon of March 7th. The play deals with Agatha’s refusal, and her subsequent retraction of this refusal to marry the man whom she loves, the reason for the refusal being that she has kept him ignorant of the fact that she is an illegitimate child, and the reason for its withdrawal being that her lover’s devotion is sufficiently strong not to be affected by the fact. Miss Viola Tree as Agatha, Mr. Dawson Milward as her lover, and Miss Lillah McCarthy as the unhappy mother, took the leading parts. «The Monkey’s Paw,” by Louis N. Parker and W. W. Jacobs, was produced at the Haymarket Theatre, on Saturday, March 4th, in front of ‘“‘ Beauty and the Barge.” Mr. Cyril Maude and Miss Bella Pateman share the main burdens of the piece, which presents a striking contrast to the one which it precedes. The story is fantastic and gruesome. “ Everybody’s Secret,” by Louis N. Parker and Captain Robert Marshall, was presented at the Haymarket Theatre, on the 14th of March. Adapted from M, Pierre Wolff’s “‘ Le Secret de Polichinelle,” the play deals with an alliance between the son of well-to-do parents and a 190 flower girl, and shows how the lovable nature of the child of the marriage causes the son’s parents to forgive the parties to the union, The cast includes Mr. Cyril Maude and Miss Jessie Bateman. «The Three Daughters of M. Dupont,” trans- lated by Mr. St. John Hankin, was produced by the Stage Society on March 13th. The cast of the play—which is rather of a pessimistic nature —included Miss Ethel Irving and Mr. Charles V. France. 2 ee tS PARIS NOTES. —— + « CYUR la Pierre Blanche,” by Anatole France, is a yolume in three parts. It opens with a conversation between a group of Frenchmen who are passing the early part of the year in Rome. They meet, usually at the house of an Italian friend, and discuss the past, present, and future. Roman archeology, the question of race, colonial politics, the Russo-J apanese war, and religion are among the topics of their conversation. Nicole Langelier is induced by his friends to read them a story that he has been writing, entitled “Gallion.” It is the history of an interview between the Apostle Paul and the Pro-consul Gallion, together with a long and inte- resting discussion between Gallion and his friends. The third part of the book is taken up by another story, read aloud to the friends by Hippolyte Duiresne, and is supposed to be a prophetic dream. The author of the story wakes up one morning and finds himself in a Paris that is completely trans- formed. ‘The magnificent house near the Bois no longer exist, but there are smaller houses surrounded by gardens. Gradually he discovers that he is living in the year 220 of the European Federation. Feeling hungry, he wishes to enter a restaurant, but a man standing at the door asks him for his ticket, and as he has not one refers him to the house where people are employed. Another man conducts him to a great bakery, and he is obliged to watch the machinery at work for some hours before he is allowed to satisfy his hunger. It appears that under the new réyime the Federal Committee has appointed that there shall be six hours of work for everyone. Alcohol is abolished and war completely done away with. It was explained to Hippolyte that out of the capitalist régime the proletariat had grown, as during the last years of the old era there had been great disorder in the production of the various nations and wild competition. The working classes had been drawn together, and in this way had been able to demand and obtain higher wages and greater liberty. They had no doubt made great mistakes, but in the end had become a great power. ‘The words Liberty, Fraternity, and THER AUTHOR. Equality were no longer used in their old sense, but the new watchword was “Harmony,” and the great ambition of the new Federation was that all people should work together for their mutual benefit. England refused to belong to the United States of Europe, but she was an ally. She had become socialistic, but still re- tained her king, lords, and even the wigs of her judges. Under the new dispensation in Europe there were no armies, but the frontiers were defended by electricity. The book is full of ideas expressed in the perfect style, and with the delicate veiled irony peculiar to Anatole France. There are home truths on every page. Speaking of the various races of mankind, it is proved that there are inferior and superior ones, and those which consider themselves superior have, of course, the right to massacre and oppress the others. ‘As regards the yellow peril, this seems to be traced to the invasion of China by the Christian missionaries and European merchants, thus proving to the Chinese that the white peril existed. The troubles of Pekin in 1901 were among the results of this, and in order to restore order five Powers covered with military glory signed a_ treaty in order to guarantee the integrity of China, while allowing the Powers to share her provinces. Russia then occupied Manchuria, so that Russia is now paying the price of the colonial politics of alk Burope, and expiating the crimes of all commercial and military Christianity. “Ta Lueur sur la Cime,” by Jacque Vontade, is a novel by the author of the well-known articles signed “ Fermina” in the Figaro. ‘As a psychological study the whole book is excellent: the characters introduced are so diverse, and at the same time each one lives and appears to stand as a type of the individuals which make up a certain set of modern society in France. There is the handsome, accomplished man of the world, agreeable and pleasant to everyone, bent on getting through life in the most delightful and luxurious way possible. His wife, a beautiful, clever woman, extremely self-centred, but capable of better things if she had been rightly influenced. Her illusions, disillusions, struggles and curiosities form the chief theme of the volume. There is also a woman of character, a fascinating, impetuous creature, who is a musician and an idealist. ‘A Swedish anarchist and a French journalist, who, by sheer force of wi and perseverance have attained a powerful position in the world, are among the other personages of the story. The book is written in a charmingly natural way, and there are man. excellent ideas expressed in the long harangues of Léonora BarozZl, the musician, and also of those of the Swedish anarchist. As a contrast to the two chief women THE AUTHOR. of the book the author introduces us to a woman with an English name, a cold, sarcastic, unsym- pathetic person. There are several minor characters, too, which are admirably well drawn. ‘“‘ Emancipées,” by Alphonse Georget, is the story of an artist who marries his model. The manners and customs of the world in which these people live is cleverly told—the ambition of the wife, her anxiety to shake off all that belonged to her former existence, the way in which she schemes to obtain money in order to buy furniture and dress, urging her husband on to work for the sole reason that she may spend. Her vulgarity and her jealousies are endured by the long-suffering husband. Various incidents are introduced which make the story more dramatic, until at last the wife leaves her husband, and he devotes himself from that time forth to his little daughter. The idea of the book is to show up the unscrupulous- ness of our times and the esteem that is often the reward bestowed upon people who can “make their way ”’ in the world by dishonest means. Among the new books are the following: “La Baignoire 9,” by Henri Lavedan. This is another collection of dialogues, most of which are amusing, some of them dramatic, and all witty. “Le Prisme,” by Paul and Victor Margueritte, is a study of the manners and customs of our times, a satire on the importance given to wealth and position. The prism is the deforming mirror of money into which Madame Urtrel is always look- ing. The authors have painted a faithful picture of life in its most commonplace aspects. “Les Trois Demoiselles,” by Georges de Peyre- brune, a volume containing three short novels— “Mariageen palanquin,” La Gardienne” and “ Gris- perle.” “Prisonniers marocains,” by M. Hugues Le Roux ; “Ta Cité ardente,” by M. H. Carton de Wiart ‘Le Calvaire d’un docteur,” by M. Johannes Gravier ; “Esclave,” by Gérard d’Houville. In the reviews among the most interesting articles are the studies of Roumania by M. A. Bellessort in the Revue des Deux Mondes ; another on the souvenirs of Alfred Mézitres ; and a scien- tific article by M. Dastre. In the Revue de Paris the letters of Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonk, an article by Georges de la Salle on the warin the East ; and one by Maxime Leroy on the organisation of the working classes. In the Correspondant there is an article by M. de Lacombe comparing the controversies on the divinity of Christ in the time of Bossuet with those in our times. In the Nouvelle Revue M. Jules Delvaille writes on the moral crisis we are going through, and attributes it to our repugnance to ideas. 191 “Les Ventres dorés,” by Emile Fabre, has been the success of the month in the theatrical world, The whole play is of great interest and extremely powerful ; the great theme is money, and how it can be made in these days. The Odéon Theatre hag not put on so strong a piece for some time. “Les Experts,” by M. Beniére, is a humoristic play on the question of accidents in factories, A workman treads on a piece of orange peel and breaks his leg. Four experts are called in to discuss the matter. The employer pays one hundred pounds, but when all the legal expenses and costs of the experts are paid the unfortunate victim only receives four pounds. M. Antoine has given several of these satires on legal points at his theatre with great success. “La Belle Marseillaise,” by Pierre Berton, is being played at the Ambigu. It is a piece in four acts, historical and dramatic. The scene is laid in the time of Napoleon. The Marquis de Tallemont has taken a restaurant in order to be able to conspire more easily against the Emperor. After an attempted murder he is believed to be dead, and his young widow alone knows that he is alive. She is in love with an aide-de-camp, whom she marries when the Marquis de Tallemont is killed in a duel. ALYS HALLARD. Or SPANISH NOTES. t+ HE King of Spain’s forthcoming tour will afford England the opportunity of giving expression to the enfente cordiale between the countries. The prompt way in which King Alfonzo recently overcame the difficulties of the Cabinet resigning for the second time in about two months shows his power as a politician, and although Villaverde persists in the long prorogation of Parliament till May, which caused the resignation of General Azcarraga, the last Prime Minister, the King’s hopes for the success of the new Conservative Leader’s pro- gramme for the Reform of the Customs, the Coinage, and the Services will it is hoped be realized. The King’s deep interest in the welfare of his kingdom is seen in the prompt way he sent 2,500 pesetas to be added to the prizes offered by the Imparcial for the best project for the regulation of the Budget, with regard to the army, navy, public education, and the ports. The cordiality felt for England in Madrid was particularly shown in the warm and festive character of the reception at the Royal Palace of Sir Arthur Nicholson, the new English Ambas- sador. The four semi-state carriages and a company of the Royal Horseguards were in waiting 192 The staircase at the Palace was and after replying to the King’s gracious speech of welcome, Sir Arthur Nicholson paid his respects to HM. Queen Christina and her daughter and Dona Isabel. _ The well-known writer Perez Galdos has just published Volume XXXVII. of his “ Episodios Nacionales,” and VI. of the fourth series, under the title of “ Arta Tettauen.” The recent death of the poet Gabriel Galan has caused universal regret, and the literary “Conference” given at Caceres in his honour, subsequent to the funeral ceremony, was SIg- nalised by the reading of several of his poems, a fine speech by Senor Ibarrola, his great friend, and a musical composition written for the occasion by Seftor Patricio Cabrera. : Don José Echegaray, the well-known Spanish dramatist, has now been appointed by the King to the Chair of Physics and Science at the Cen- tral University. The National Festival in honour of the famous poet held on the 18th and 19th of March, assumed such importance that a royal decree was published suspending the Law of Domenical Rest for the occasion, so that the Press could publish early on the Sunday morning the proceedings of the Saturday fanctions. His Majesty King Alfonzo at his express desire presided at the great concourse of the repre- sentatives of all the professors and societies of the country. Sefior don Silvela, the quondam Prime Minister, made the -first speech at the brilliant assembly in the Congress, and after an address from the Minister of Sweden, explaining the origin of the Nobel Prize, King Alfonzo himself handed the medal and diploma to the illustrious poet. A gala performance was given in the evening of Echegaray’s plays, “ El libro Talonario” and “ El gran Galeota,” after which the dramatist received the gifts sent by the corporations and the scientific societies of the provinces. On the second day of the ovation the Plaza de Oriente, facing the Royal Palace, was the scene of a great popular manifestation to the poet, and the procession passed through the city to the Prado, where it finally dispersed. The great assembly held that evening in the Atheneum was particularly interesting, for Sefor Ramon y Cajal spoke upon Science, Sefior Perez Goldés took up the parable for Literature, and Senor Moret, the president, closed the proceedings with a brilliant oration. It is to Senor Ramon y Cajal that Spain owes her present place of distinc- tion in the scientific world of Germany, for he has just received the gold medal commemorative of Hermann von Helmholtz, the great physiologist and physicist, So Spain has distinguished herself at the station. decorated with flowers, THER AUTHOR. nobly this year in the great international contests in both science and poetry. The realm of Art has recently suffered a great loss in the death of the well-known painter, Manuel Yus. He was born in 1845, so he was still in possession of his artistic powers, and he died in Nuévalos, amid the charming scenes he has im- mortalized in his pictures, and the whole place followed him as mourners to his grave. His portrait of H.M. King Alfonzo and that of H.M, Queen Christina have been as much admired as hig typical peasant dances and village scenes. The Tri-Centenary Fétes of Don Quixote will evidently be both characteristic and picturesque. A royal decree has been sent to the Minister of Instruction and the Fine Arts, commanding that — (1) every centre of instruction shall mark the 8th May by some literary or artistic work, com- memorative of the centenary ; (2) the schools are all to send up their three best scholars, who, being poor, may have free opportunity of contending for the academical distinctions in their respective line of instruction to be conferred on one of each triad by the Minister of Education ; (3) that the reports and photographs of all the scholastic fétes be forwarded to the Minister of Education. The programme of the fétes in the Capitol include a battle of flowers, a grand meeting of delegates of foreign and national societies in the Congress, a military review, a national open-air fete, and a presentation of wreaths to the statue of Cervantes from foreign and Spanish literary societies. The congratulatory address from the English Society of Authors has met with due recognition in the Press and has been forwarded to the Royal Academy of Letters. In Valladolid the Society of Monuments is seeking to celebrate the approaching tri-centenary of “Don Quixote” by obtaining Cervantes’ house as a national possession. The increasing feeling against duelling is voiced by the publication in book form of the articles on the subject (“Contra el duelo”) by Baron de Albi in El Correo Catalan. “Bl Problemas agrario en Andalucia” erudite work by Don Juan Gallardo Lobato. « Bll sitio de Baler ” (“ The Siege of Baler”) is 8 very powerful presentment of this period of the Cuban War, and as the author is Don Saturnino Martin Cerezo, the infantry captain in comma: at the disaster which so marked Spanish heroism, the book is of an especial, though painful, interest. The publication of a book which promises to become almost a classic in Spain is saddened by the death of the author. The title of the work, “Gran Diccionario de la Lengua Castellana autorizado con ejemplos de escritores antiguos ¥ modernos,” shows the immense scope of the work is an THE AUTHOR. undertaken by Don Aniceto de Pagés. It seems that he had been editor of the ‘ Diccionario Enciclopedico Hispano-Americano.” He some- times said that albeit he might be immortalised as a poet in Catalonia, his great work, the dream of his life, the now published dictionary, would make ‘| him live as a writer in Castile and Spain. Echegaray - said the first sight of the book filled him with sur- prise, and then its erudition overwhelmed him almost to dismay. Valera, Pereda, and Pi.y Margall ‘© also express their admiration of the great work. Silvela, the former Conservative leader, is exciting | increasing interest in his lectures on Moral and ' Social Biology in the Atheneum. After discoursing «on the struggle of Good and Evil, Creation and ) Destruction, which is ever present in all philosophy, sociology, and religion, he said: “ We exist in an environment of ephemeral things, and yet every © one really /ives in the eternal relations which he » creates. We all know the love of man and woman, - but what is this love when not based on the sense - of eternal truths ?” Armando Palacio Valdés, the celebrated Spanish writer, known to England by such novels as 1° “Froth,” “The Grandee,” etc., has just sent for the English press a very philosophical article on “Art and her Schools,” which promises to excite as ' much interest as that on “The Decadence of Modern . Literature,” which I had the honour to translate © for the Introduction to Vol. XX. of “The Library |) of Famous Literature,” from the pen of the same (js author. RACHEL CHALLICE. —————_+—<>—e —_____ UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT. I. “i! Tue American Pusiisuers’ Pornt or View. — ++ To the Editor of the Standard. Smr,—I have read with interest from week to week the letters that have been addressed to the ' Standard from representative authors, in which are set forth various grounds of complaint concerning _the provisions and the working of the present " American copyright statute. I may say at once, ‘1 writing as one who had some measure of responsi- Wide bility in securing the enactment of this statute /) and in maintaining it on the statute book against ey various later assaults and criticisms, that the “> grievances of which our literary friends in England ‘7 © are making complaint are in my opinion substan- © tially well founded. The American copyright law © now in force contains incongruities and inconsis- 1 tencies, and in the interpretation of its provisions '® the Courts find no little difficulty in arriving at “o* consistent decisions ; while in its application to 193 literary conditions and publishing conditions on both sides of the Atlantic, it does work inconveni- ence and injustice to authors, American, English and Continental, and to the publishers who make investments in copyright material. I can but think, however, that while the injustice and disadvantage to authors whose works are pro- duced in languages other than English are manifest and do constitute a very considerable grievance, the difficulties obtaining at this time with the authors of England in connection with the American editions of their works, may more properly be described as an inconvenience than as a serious business disadvantage. I note among your recent correspondents the names of a number of distinguished authors who have, during the past decade, secured very large returns from the American sales of their books, returns which, according to the general under- standing of the book trade, are in not a few instances larger from their American readers than those that have come to them from readers in Great Britain. It is the case with some at least of these authors that their more noteworthy successes have been secured during the last ten years, so that they may not themselves have personal realisation of the differences between the condi- tions of to-day affecting English works reprinted in the United States, and those which obtained before the enactment of the law of 1891. I can but think that if a trustworthy comparison could be made of the amounts going over the Atlantic each year from American book-buyers to English authors, as recognition for the service rendered to them by these authors, could be com- pared with the similar payments made prior to 1891 by publishers who could secure through such payments no copyright control, there would bea more adequate recognition on the part of English authors of the service rendered to English literary workers by the law of 1891, defective and inadequate as the law certainly is. The grievances presented by your literary corre- spondents in regard tothe provisions of the American statute may be classified under four headings : 1. The requirement that books securing the protection of American copyright must be manufactured within the territory of the United States. 2. The requirement for such books that publication shall be made in the United States not later than the date of publication elsewhere. 3. The imposition of a duty on books imported into the United States (a condition which belongs, of course, to the tariff policy of the country and for which the copyright act can bear no responsibility). 4, The preference given, or rather proposed to be given, by the amendment to the copyright law that is now pending to works originating in language other than in English, in the matter of the certain time allowance with which the translation and manufacture of such works can 194 be completed before the opportunity for securing copyright has lapsed. : 5, The fact that certain writers are not securing from the great American public the sales that they were depending upon, and the further annoyance that they find an increas- ing competition on the part of American writers for the favour of the English book-reading public, more part icularly of course, the readers of fiction. The manufacturing clause does not represent, as has sometimes been assumed in England, an expression of greed on the part of the American publishers. I may report, speaking with direct knowledge of the record, that the copyright Bill as first framed in 1887, under the direction of the Authors’ Copyright League and the Publishers’ Copyright League, did not contain any such condi- tion, The view was accepted quite generally by the publishers, no less than by the authors, that a manufacturing requirement was not germane to a copyright statute, and ought not to be made a con- dition of copyright. It seemed to us that what- ever “protection” might be considered due to the book-manufacturing interests of the country ought to be provided for in the tariff and not to be confused with the question of copyright. We did what was practicable, during a contest lasting for some years to secure the enactment of the Bill as framed. After an experience of two years or more in presenting the matter to the attention of Congressional committees, and in conferences with the Typographical Unions and with certain other Unions that claimed a right to be heard in the matter, those of us who had charge of the pill in Washington were obliged to report to the Copyright Leagues that it was not going to be practicable to secure its enactment. But the representatives of the Typographical Unions said frankly that no copyright Bill should become law that did not provide for the manufacturing in this country of the books securing copyright protection, and it became evident to us that they were in a position to maintain their contention. It was finally concluded that, rather than abandon the attempt to secure some measure of international copyright, an attempt that represented more than half a century of effort, it was better to secure the enactment of a modified Bill. It is, unfortunately, the case that, under what I myself believe to be the necessarily demoralising influence of the protective system, our legislators are much more ready to listen to the views of the Labour Unions and of manufacturing interests generally than to contentions submitted on the part of authors and publishers. ‘The former claim to represent or to control hundreds of thousands of votes. The latter stand for but few votes, and are not in a position to influence that class of public opinion which controls legislation. It has been my experience in presenting in a THE AUTHOR. committee room in Congress arguments in behalf of copyright amendments to be told by the Chair- man of the Committee that he and his associates were “entirely in accord with my views.” A representative of a Typographical Union takes the. ground, however, that his Union “ does not believe in Mr. Putnam’s Bill, and that he, the typographer, is speaking for forty thousand votes.” The conclusion of the Chairman is, “ Mr. Putnam, we are in accord with you in this matter, but there is no advantage in presenting to the House from this Committee a Bill to which the Unions are opposed. You go outside and satisfy these representatives of the Unions and come back to us and we will pass your Bill.” This, I point out, is the kind of action that can be expected of legislators who have for years been maintaining at the expense of the community as a whole, a system of so-called “ protection” for the benefit of certain classes of manufacturers and of labourers. While it is the case that, if it had not been for this sharp antagonism of the typographers, the Bill would have been passed without the manufacturing clause, it is proper to record, as part of the history in the matter, that certain objections were presented which had nothing to do with the claims of the typographers. It was pointed out by representatives of the book trade who had knowledge of publishing conditions that these conditions and methods differ very materially on the two sides of the Atlantic. It was suggested that if the English publishers were placed in a position through the enactment of a Copyright Bill without a manufacturing condi- tion, to supply, as long as they found it convenient,. their own editions for the American market in place of arranging with an American publisher for the production of authorised American editions, they would quite naturally follow on this side the routine that prevails in Great Britain. They would secure for a first term of, say, twelve months. as large a sale as seemed to be practicable for the comparatively high-priced form of the original issue; and they would delay the supplying of the market, either making sale for the first issue. It is the case that — the requirements of the two markets differ very materially. The English publisher finds it to his — advantage to issue a first edition of a book at — thirty-six shillings, sixteen shillings, and to secure sale with the more pecunious buyers, of such supplies as can be dis- posed of at that price. A year later the same book may be published at ten shillings or seven shillings The American publisher finds that and sixpence. direct or through an American publisher, with a cheaper edition until they were sure that they had exhausted the possibilities of or twenty-four shillings, OT THE AUTHOR. he better meets the requirement of his public, and, therefore, better serves himself and his author, by printing at once an edition at the lowest price at which it can be afforded, suited for the widest possible sale and for the needs of the comparatively impecunious buyer. The publisher on this side makes his sale to a large public, securing on each copy sold a com- paratively small margin of profit. The English publisher, with a very differently situated public to deal with, finds a better advantage in securing, at least at the outset, a comparatively large profit from the circle of pecunious buyers. The im- pecunious buyer has to wait for a year or more for the cheaper form. If such a method had been attempted in the American market, the large mass of the book buyers, obliged to wait for a year or more for the books of English authors that they had heretofore been securing promptly, would unquestionably have brought to bear such a pressure of indignation upon Congress that the international provision of the copyright law would have been repealed within two years. It may be concluded, therefore, that the manufacturing clause affects the best but a portion, and, in my judgment, very much the smaller portion of the English books copyrighted in the United States. The larger number of such books would, even if there were no such American requirement, be reset in the form suited for the American market. The requirement of simultaneous publication involves, as stated, certain inconveniences. I may remind your readers, however, that this require- ment is not peculiar to the American law. It is also a condition of the British copyright statute. I may point out further that, as a matter of practice, there is at this time no essential difficulty in securing consideration in American publishing offices, well in advance of the day fixed for the publication of the book in Great Britain, for all books which are likely to prove of interest to American readers and to present any prospect of satisfactory returns to the authors from this market. The production of typewritten copies of a work of any commercial value is neither difficult nor expensive, and such typewritten copies can be submitted, and are submitted, from publishing office to publishing office on this side weeks or months in advance of the date fixed for publication in Great Britain. Books can also be submitted, and are submitted, in the form of advance proofs as fast as the material is put into type in Great Britain. An arrangement by cable for a publication date follows as a matter of routine. _ It does from time to time happen that a volume Supposed at first to be of little commercial import- 195 ance, which fails, therefore, to secure favourable consideration from (more or less obtuse) publishers, proves later to possess vitality and commercial value, and that such evidence of its value takes shape after the opportunity has been passed of securing American copyright. The occasional loss of a copyright of value in this way constitutes, however, but a small offset to the substantial gains that are secured by the English writers of books that are suited to the interests of American readers and that secure from such interests a satisfactory return. One ground for the requirement of simultaneous publication has not occurred, as it naturally might not occur, to your literary correspondents. It is, of course, the manifest interest of the English author to secure for his American market the largest price possible. Such price can, however, be obtained only if at the time he makes the sale, he is in a position to assure the buyer that he controls such market and can dispose of the entire usufruct or possible profit belonging to such market. If, however, a term of twelve months, as is suggested by your correspondent, were allowed for the fulfilling on the part of English authors of the requirements of the American copyright, within which term of twelve months no unauthorised edition of the book could appear, the book would, during such term, be in an anomalous condition. Hither the English edition would, during such term, be allowed to come into the market while arrangements were pending for the proposed American edition, or during such term the importation of the English edition would be prohibited. In the latter case, the American reader, who sees promptly from week to week English reviews, would have an annoyance which would easily accumulate into an indignation, at not being able to secure at once books which were already in print in the English market. In the former case, the American market would be “ occupied ” to a greater or less extent, in advance of the production of the authorised American edition, by supplies coming over from the English publisher, who naturally would make sale of his own edition in any territory in which he had a legal right so to do. The English author would, therefore, not be able to guarantee to the American publisher, purchasing the copyright, any control of the American market. He would be obliged to admit that such market had doubtless already been more or less “occupied” by the English copies. The consideration therefore that he would secure (in the form either of a fixed price, or of a rate of royalty, or of an advance against royalty), would be lessened not only by the extent of any actual injury or interference that could be determined, but (as is always the case with a business risk) by the greater amount that would be required to 196 “insure” against a larger interference than there might be actual evidence for. In my judgment, therefore, the English author, while securing a certain convenience in an additional time within which to make his bargain, would have a definite loss of net receipts, which would very much more than offset such convenience. ‘he difficulty on the part of authors of books originating in language other than in English, in meeting the requirements of the American law constitute, however, not an inconvenience, but an obstacle that is almost insurmountable. The records of the Copyright Office in Washington show that during the past decade the entries of authorised American editions of continental works have been so inconsiderable as to constitute practically no business under this heading. The authors on the Continent, and more particularly in Germany, are complaining, and complaining with justice, that the American law gives them copy- right in form, but not in fact. It may in the first place be borne in mind that the expectations on the part of these Continental authors, French and German, in regard to the possibility of returns from the American market were very much exaggerated. The experience of publishers show that it is by no means easy to interest American readers in books of a popular character (I am referring more particularly to fiction), which are written from the Continental point of view of social conditions, and which present relations and methods of thought that are foreign to American knowledge and sympathies. With the most perfect protection obtainable under any copyright law, the sales of American editions of Continental books would in any case be for years to come but inconsiderable. Under present conditions, however, it is true that such books cannot secure adequate attention in the publishing offices, and do not, therefore, have even a fair chance of comparison with or of fair com- petition with books of the same class coming from English and from American authors. The American publishers require to secure, in regard to Con- tinental works, the counsel of a rather special group of literary advisers. It would, as a rue, be undesirable, if not impracticable, to ask these advisers to pass upon German material in script, even if a duplicate script or typewritten copy could be secured from Germany in advance of the date fixed for the first publication of the book. The counsel of the adviser of the American publishing office must, as a rule, for foreign books, be given upon the material in print. After such counsel has been secured (and as above explained, the chances are at the best very much adverse to the prospect that the publisher will be tempted to make the investment), it is necessary, if the work is accepted, to secure the services of a translator, and THER AUTHOR. to allow the necessary time for the translation. It is only when this translation has been completed, that the work of the German author is in a position to be placed in the American market in competition with the similar work from his English or American competitor. The amendment now pending in Congress simply provides that, for the purpose of securing this necessary time for the consideration of the Continental work and for the production of the translation, a book originating in language other than in English shall, if copyrighted in this country within a term of twelve months and in advance of the production of any unauthorised edition, secure the full protection. The law as at present worded gives protection in the case of a book which has been published abroad before being issued in this country, only to the particular trans- lation that has been copyrighted, leaving the original free to the “ appropriation” of any unauthorised reprinter who may desire to take it up. Such a lack of copyright protection con- stitutes, of necessity, 4 large additional ground for the general unwillingness of the American pub- lisher to invest in Continental material. What I want to make clear is, however, that the amend- ment, if it should become law, will not give to the Continental author any “advantage” over his English rival, but will at best fall short of placing his book on as favourable a basis for consideration as that now available for the similar English work. It is the fact that with a certain group of English authors, as with similar groups of the American authors, the returns from the American market have been smaller, and are from year to year smaller, than these authors would like to be able to depend upon. Such a complaint reminds one of the grievance that came up in the boarding- house of Mrs. Todgers. “There never was a joint that could yield as much gravy as the young gentlemen expects.” Before the enactment of the law of 1891, the mass of English fiction of what may be called the “third” or “ fourth grade” which came into print for American readers with- out the necessity of any payment to the authors, constituted a very serious hindrance to the publica- tion and sale of American fiction of the same rade, It is undoubtedly true that since the law of 1891, the American writers, who address them- selves to the wider popular circles, circles whose literary standard is not very high, have secured a fuller measure of consideration in the publishing offices, and much more substantial successes with the public at large, than was possible when their books had to compete with literary productions that had not been paid for. It is quite possible also that the development of this class of writing on our side of the Atlantic (and the market for fiction is, | may say, in an THE AUTHOR. 197 overcrowded and unsatisfactory condition), has, since the enactment of the law, stood in the way of the production of American editions of a large number of perfectly reputable English novels which are deserving of coming into print, but which do not possess what the publishers call a ‘‘ commanding interest.” There is, in fact, more than enough of such material produced on both sides of the Atlantic, and, to put it frankly, there is no present need as far as the literary wants of American readers are concerned, for any large additions to the mass. It is doubtless true, therefore, that the literary agents who have such books to dispose of, have been obliged to advise a number of their English authors that it was not practicable to secure from the American market the rates of royalty and the cash advances for which these authors were hoping. The authors of the first class, however (I am still using the term in the publishing or commercial sense), whose books are fitted to secure a world-wide reputation and which possess a commanding interest, have a larger assured market in the United States than had ever before been possible, and, as suggested, this market is, in the case of a number of books, sufficiently remunerative to produce larger returns than could be secured from the same books on the other side of the Atlantic. There is also, as ought naturally to be the case, an increasing sale in Great Britain for the works of American authors, and particularly of American writers of fiction which possesses (to use the pub- lishing phrase before quoted) a ‘“ commanding interest.” These writers belong (speaking still from the point of view of the publishing office) to what may be called the first group. It is, how- ever, the experience of American publishers that it is by no means easy to secure the favourable atten- tion of English book-buyers, and particularly of English readers of fiction, for American books of the lesser degree of importance, using the term “importance” either in the literary sense or as expressing the quality which secures a popular appreciation. From my own knowledge of condi- tions on both sides of the Atlantic, I doubt whether there is any adequate evidence for the statement that American books are being “dumped” in large quantities on the English market, or that the English market is being “swamped” or even interfered with to any material extent by such importations. The interest on the part of English readers of American books is increasing, and ought to increase, but the increase is very much slower than had been hoped for, and by no means rapid enough to meet the very general expectation on the part of American writers that they were going to secure large transatlantic returns. The imposition of a tariff duty on books (and I may add, although not directly pertaining to the present discussion, the similar duty on works of art) which has come into force under our Dingley system of protection is in my judgment an inex- cusable barbarism. Such duties are not required as income for the treasury. They are certainly not asked for on the part either of the American pub- lishers or of American authors. They are the result of the contention of the Labour Unions and of cer- tain manufacturing concerns that they are entitled to their share of the spoils of the public treasury, spoils which, under a protective system, are divided not with regard to the interests of the community, but in proportion to the greed of the claimants and to the effectiveness of their organisation. The duty on the materialsrequired for the production of books is, of course, a still more serious burden upon the higher educational interests of the community than is the duty on the books themselves. Such duties cause an unnecessary increase in the cost of nineteen twentieths of the books sold in this market, while the duty on the books themselves affect the selling price only of the remaining twentieth. According to my understanding, however, the inevitable tendency of the system of “ protection ” that originated with the taxes of the Civil War, and has been retained with steadily increasing rates, and irrespective of the requirements of the national income, shows an increasing disregard on the part of the legislators for the interests of the consumer. Under the protective system, legisla- tion is dictated and controlled by well organised business interests that secure, or that believe they secure, a direct advantage to themselves through the shaping of legislation. I may add that the Authors’ Copyright League and the Publishers’ Copyright League have now in train a plan for the revision of the American copy- right statute by means of a commission to be appointed for the purpose under an act of Congress. We believe that through the labours of such a commission composed of experts, who shall be allowed the necessary time for the collection of information and for the sifting of opinions, it ought to prove practicable to secure a more con- sistent and satisfactory copyright measure than that which is now on the statute book. It is intended that this commission shall comprise from eleven to thirteen members, and shall include, in addition to representatives from both Houses of Congress, representatives of the authors, the artists, the publishers, the book manufacturing interests and the other interests that have a direct concern with copyright, or that, under the present system, have established a claim to be heard in connection with copyright. 198 We should be glad to learn that, by the time we have in train a satisfactory revision of the American statute, steps are being taken to secure for Great Britain also a more consistent and effective law than that which now controls copyright for the British Empire. : I am in accord with your correspondents in the conclusion that the United States could have no legitimate ground for complaint,or for criticism, if Great Britain might decide to place upon American books a duty similar to that which is imposed on this side on English books ; or if the British copy- right law might be so modified as to impose a manufacturing restriction similar to that in force on this side. The only question that Englishmen have to consider in regard to such a radical change from the present British policy, is whether the change would be likely to prove of any direct service to English readers or to English authors and publishers. : 5 My apology for the length of this report is the fact that it naturally takes longer to give informa- tion in regard to the matters complained of than to state the complaint. Trusting that the suggestions here submitted may prove of some service in connection with the interesting discussion that has taken shape in your columns, I am, Yours faithfully, Gro. HAvEN PUTNAM. The American Publishers’ Copyright League, 27 and 29, West 23rd Street, New York. TE An Act to AMEND Section ForTy-NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO OF THE REVISED STATUTES. E it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Section forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows : Sec. 4952. The author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph, or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of any such person shall, upon complying with the provisions of this chapter have the sole THE AUTHOR. liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, com- pleting, copying, executing, finishing, and vending the same; and, in the case of a dramatic compo- sition, of publicly performing or representing it, or causing it to be performed or represented by others. And authors or their assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatize or translate any of their works for which copyright shall have been obtained under the laws of the United States. Whenever the author or proprietor of a book in a foreign language, which shall be published in a foreign country before the day of publication in this country, or his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall deposit one complete copy of the same, including all maps and other illustrations, in the Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia, within thirty days after the first pub- lication of such book in a foreign country, and shall insert in such copy, and in all copies of such book sold or distributed in the United States, on the title page or the page immediately following, a notice of the reservation of copyright in the name of the proprietor, together with the true date of first publication of such book, in the following words : ‘‘ Published , nineteen hundred and Privilege of copyright in the United States reserved under the Act approved : nineteen hundred and five, by ,” and shall within twelve months after the first publication of such book in a foreign country, file the title of such book and deposit two copies of it in the original lan- guage or, at his option, of a translation of it in the English language, printed from type set within the limits of the United States, or from plates made therefrom, containing a notice of copyright, as provided by the copyright laws now in force, he and they shall have during the term of twenty-eight years from the date of recording the title of the book or the English translation of it, as provided for above, the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, vending, translating and dramatizing the said book ; Provided, That this Act shall only apply to a citizen or subject of a foreign State or nation when such foreign State or nation permits to citizens of the United States of America the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens. Approved, March 8rd, 1905. The amendment printed above is a copy of the text as it was signed by the President. It will be seen that this differs considerably from the draft printed in the last number of The Author, which appeared to be inadequate on @ good many points. The redraft is by Mr. Thor- vald Solberg, the registrar of Copyrights of the Library of Congress, and was undertaken upon the request of the Senator in charge of the Bill. THE AUTHOR. 199 Members who desire to compare the two should refer to the last number of The Author. They will see that to protect the foreign author securely during the interim period of twelve months this Bill now requires that one copy of the original book—not necessarily printed in the United States—shall be lodged within thirty days after the first publication, at the Library of Congress with certain notices printed in it. In the letter of explanation which Mr. Solberg has written to the Society, he states that this will give complete warning to persons interested to keep their hands off such literary property during the interim period of twelve months. He further shows that the deposit within the thirty days will save the foreign author from the embarrassment of the pro- vision of the present law requiring the copy to be deposited on or before the day of publication. Further the amendment effects the protection of the foreign author without it being absolutely essential for him to publish a translation of his book. The author is allowed during the interim term of twelve months to deposit American made copies either of his original work or of a translation of it. Protection is given against infringement, during the interim term of copyright, and during this term of twelve months the foreign author is allowed free access to the American market. His book can be exported to the United States ; intro- duced into that country and sold without payment of any duty. Mr. Solberg continues: “This privilege of importation should give the author an opportunity to demonstrate such a market for his book as to justify refabrication of it in the United States. If, therefore, the foreigner reproduces his original work, complying with the statutory formalities now in force in regard to filing title, depositing two copies of the American type-set book and printing notice, he then secures not only possible protection for forty-two years, but the absolute reservation of the right of translation for the same period of time.” We must thank Mr. Solberg very heartily for his kindness in putting before the Society this full information. <p 4 —- MAGAZINE CONTENTS. So MARCH, 1905. BLACKWOOD’s MAGAZINE, At the University. Claverhouse in Literature. By Michael Barrington. A Plea for the Abolition of All Learning. By Marcator Anglicanus, BOoOKMAN. Benjamin Disracli. By Thomas Seccombe, 300K MonTHLY. Lubbock on Books. By J. M. What Greater Britain Reads. Harrison Ainsworth as the Real Father of the English ‘Penny Dreadful.” By Archibald Sparke. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Shall We put the Clock Back in Biblical Criticism. A Remonstrance. By Canon Cheyne. Science and Education. By Sir Edward Fry. Early Friends of Robert Browning. By W. Hall Griffin. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Ibsen in His Letters. By William Archer. A Forgotten Soldier Poet. By May Bateman. Was Bacon a Poet? By George Stronach, Eugene Fromentin. By C. G. Compton. Harrison Ainsworth. By Francis Gribble. French Life and the French Stage. Macdonald. THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW. A Levantine Messiah. By H. N. Brailsford. Watts and National Art. By Laurence Binyon. A Farm School in the Transvaal. By An English Teacher. Myers’ Posthumous Writings. By Arthur Sidgwick. By John F, LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. At the Sign of the Ship: United States Copyright. By Andrew Lang. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Profession of Art. By Lewis F. Day. The Fellow Workers of Voltaire: Dierdot. By S. G. Tallentyre. MontH. The Scientific Frontier. By The Rev. John Gerard. The Battle of the Schools in Belgium. By Pierre Verhaegen. MonTHLY REVIEW. Edward Burne Jones. By Julia Cartwright, NATIONAL REVIEW. Street Music. By Miss Virginia Stephen. NINETEENTH CENTURY, George Frederick Watts: From the Utmost to the Highest. By Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B. The Experiment of Impressionism. Burne Jones, Bart. Greek Mysteries and the Gospel Narrative. By Slade Butler. By Sir Philip PALL MALL MAGAZINE. Personalities of the Paris Press. By Charles Dawbarn. Some Popular Novels and Why they are Popular. By James Douglas. TEMPLE BAR. From South to North Spain. By Miss H. H. Colvill. Wor.p’s WorK, An American Artist : John W. Alexander. By Charles H. Caffin. There are no articles dealing with literary, dramatic or musical subjects in Cornhill or Chambers’ Journal, 200 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCER OF BOOKS. — ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (8.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book, General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —__+—_2—____—_- WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. Lge EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties («.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5, Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, om account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. —_————_1—_—_e—__—_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —»—— + —— ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that,. as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. i HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. es i VERY member has a right toask for and to receive BK advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements, must be done within fourteen days of first execution, Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members, 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. _10, The subscription to the Society is’"£4 41s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. 201 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. TS Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ——$_+~— THE READING BRANCH. —+~o + EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. ‘The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. ++ ____ NOTICES. —_1+— HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Hvery effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —1~< +. The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Oe LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. a Dae to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C. 200 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCER OF BOOKS. — to ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. ll. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IVY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other. forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ————_+——_+____- WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. Se EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- __ petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (i.¢., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, 0B account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ——__—_.——_—___<_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_.— 1 — ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that,. a8 a rule, the musical publisher demands from the music composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into part. cular consideration the warnings stated above. Oo HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. i 1, VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a” pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinarysolicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is'"£1 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. 201 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. she: Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. —_—_+—~@—.+—____ THE READING BRANCH. —_t——» —_ EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience, The fee is one guinea, —————+—_—_+ NOTICES. + HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever, Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. St The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. — LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. — 4 ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, P either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, H.C. 202 AUTHORITIES. — In recognition of the work the Society has done in copyright matters, Mr. George Haven Putnam has forwarded to the office the original of the letter which, in a curtailed form, appeared in the Slandard. He thought that the members of the Society might like to have before them a full statement of his opinion on the subject of the amendment to the United States Copyright Law. We have much pleasure in carrying out Mr. Putnam’s wishes, even though the session has closed. There are many points of interest dealt with in the letter, and it is possible that many may not have had the opportunity to study the communication which appeared in the Standard. Russta remains one of the few countries in Europe that stands outside the Bern Convention, and no copyright treaties exist with the Russian Government. It is interesting, therefore, to find that in the Treaty which has just been arranged between Germany and that country there is a clause referring to copyright property. By this clause, the Russian Government binds itself “ within three years from the date of the Treaty to enter into conference with Germany for the conclusion of a convention for the reciprocal protection of the rights of authors in Germany and Russia, in works of Art, Literature and Photographs.” Whether such efforts will come to anything it is impossible to say, but it is, ab any rate, a step in the right direction. The main reason why Russia is at present unable to enter into any Treaty consists in the fact that its internal copyright law is in a chaotic state. It would be necessary for the Russian Government to take this matter into consideration before they could bind themselves by any firm arrangement with another country ; but the fact that the Russians are willing to enter into a conference with Germany has aroused the wrath of their allies the French, and justly so, as the following statement will show :— We learn from the Echo de Paris that in 1904, 2,800 theatrical pieces were represented in Russia under the protection of the Society of Dramatic Authors. Of these, 500 alone were essentially Russian ; 218 were German, and the rest, about 2,000 in number, were French. It is quite clear, then, that the French have a sound cause for complaint. The same paper states that for every nine volumes published in Russia, three are Russian, six are French. It is to be hoped that if Germany is able to make some arrangement with the Russian Government, THE AUTHOR. other European countries will do so also, and that finally, Russia will join the Bern Convention. Tus annual meeting of the Royal Literary Fund was held at the society’s rooms in Adelphi Terrace on March 8th. The report showed that during the year 1904 £2,680 was granted to 33 applicants. Mr. Edmund Gosse, who took the chair, in pro- posing the adoption of the report, made some ex- ceedingly interesting remarks on the purposes of the fund. He stated that the managers of the fund were trying to correct as far as they could, and in strict relation to literary merit, the injus- tices of fate and accident. No one need consider it an indignity to accept the help of the fund. He pointed out that it was too commonly supposed that there was no method of drawing attention to a case save that of a direct appeal from the author who wanted help. That was not so. In the majority of instances it was from the report of others that the council learnt of those misfortunes which appealed most vividly to its sympathies. ok it was that friends could most practically elp. What.Mr. Gosse stated in his remarks applies with equal force to the Pension Fund of the Society of Authors. It often occurs that those who are most in need of assistance retire from the publicity of a per- sonal appeal. It is essential, therefore, that their friends should take the matter up and give the assistance that their more intimate knowledge affords. All the details of the cases which come before both the Royal Literary Fund and the Society’s Pension Fund are treated in the strictest confidence, and where the aim and object of both funds is to help the most worthy, it would be a pity if, at any time, those aims and objects were turned aside owing to the lack of reliable information. We would, therefore, strongly urge those who know, to give their assistance to the management of the two funds who want to know. —_—_—_———__+—>_ + F. R. DALDY. ot - HAVE been asked to write a short account of Mr. F. R. Daldy for The Author, and I gladly avail myself of the opportunity of placing on record some account, inadequate though I. fear it 2 may be, of one with whom I had worked on very close terms for nearly thirty years, and for whom L had a very genuine regard and respect. some years For before I knew him, and THE AUTHOR. continuously to the end of his life, Mr. Daldy’s energies were devoted mainly to the cause of copy- right, and there has been no one, during the past quarter of a century, to whom that cause owes so much as to him, and this doubtless is the reason why the Editor of 7he Author desires to pay some tribute to his memory. His latter years, in this connection, were so intimately associated with the Copyright Association that it is impossible to give any account of them without a brief mention of that body. In 1870 the need of a new Copyright Bill was urgently felt ; the Act of 1842 had been found to be inadequate to the needs of the craft of letters, which had undergone a rapid development in the intervening period. Not only did the authors require fuller protection and advantages at home, but the growing needs and aspirations of the Colonies had raised difficulties and complications which did not exist in 1842. In 1870 there were no Authors’ Society and Publishers’ Association to devote themselves exclusively to the affairs of these two classes respectively, so authors and publishers combined in 1872 to form an association to “ watch over the general interests of owners of copyright property, and to obtain early information of all measures affecting copyright property, and as opportunity offers to suggest and promote improvements in existing copyright laws.” Lord Stanhope, a veteran who had done mach to bring about the Act of 1842, was the first chair- man, and among the original members who took an active part in the proceedings were Lord Houghton, Lord Lytton, Sir Arthur Helps, Sir Charles Trevelyan, Dr. William Smith, Robert Browning, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, J. A. Froude, and Henry Reeve, while the publishers were represented by the late Thomas Longman, George Bentley, Alexander Macmillan, my father, and others. Mr. Daldy was appointed honorary secretary, a post which he held till the time of his death, which occurred only a day or two after he had attended a meeting of the Association in my house last month, For the past thirty years the relations of the Imperial Government with Canada have given rise to the chief difficulties which have beset the preparation and passing of a new Copyright Act, and in many of the negotiations which have passed between the Mother Country and the Colony, Mr. Daldy has acted as the principal go- between. He paid three visits to the Dominion “between 1872 and 1894 on behalf of the Copyright Association, for the express purpose of carrying on the negotiations, or settling some point which had arisen on emergency, and on nine different 203 occasions he crossed the Atlantic on similar errands. He was in close touch with successive officials of the Colonial Office, the Board of Trade, the Canadian Executive, and other departments responsible for some part of the transactions, and I am sure Lord Thring would bear testimony to the unwearying and valuable service rendered by him in the preparation of the Bill which passed the House of Lords in 1900. Mr. Daldy was indeed a mine of information in all that concerns copyright; not only had he studied all the books and State papers (in them- selves a voluminous mass) dealing with the subject, but having been in personal touch with all that was passing for many years, he was acquainted with the views of all the influential men, and could at once give an account of every turn and phase of the complicated negotiations which have taken place. I have often been surprised by the ease and readiness with which he could unravel the tangled skein in which some point or other calling for discussion, was involved. His methods were those of suaviter in modo rather than fortiter in re, and placed as he was, his success was doubtless in a great measure due to this fact. Inever heard an ill-natured or impatient word from him, in circumstances which might try the temper of any man, and I never knew him spare himself when he was called upon to assist in promoting the interests of copyright holders. In 1897 the members of the Copyright Associa- tion subscribed to present him with a service of plate in recognition of the valuable aid which he had rendered to the cause—practically gratuitously, for except.the payment of his expenses in going to Canada, he received no remuneration for his work. The gift, together with an address signed by a large number of leading authors and publishers, was formally presented to him by Lord Avebury. Mr. Daldy claimed descent from the famous Aldine family, after which his house at Belvedere was named. At the time of his death he was within a few months of completing his eightieth ear. ? Copyright owners have lost a staunch and true ally in Francis Daldy, and I do not see at present how the special position which he occupied is to be adequately filled. JouN Murray. I should like to add to the above tribute a few words referring to Mr. Daldy’s services to the cause of International Copyright. At the time of the negotiation of the Bern Convention, Mr. Daldy supplied the British Dele- gates with the most complete information in regard to the complicated matters under discussion. He was present at Bern throughout the negotiations, 204 and it is not too much to say that the successful result was in great part due to the complete know- ledge of the subject which he placed unreservedly at the disposal of the British delegates. For a long period of years all those who had been officially connected with the question of International Copyright have learnt to rely upon Mr. Daldy’s knowledge and experience, which have always been given with perfect sincerity and single-mindedness. He has sought no reward nor public acknowledgment of the services thus rendered—services which were given gratuitously, and even enthusiastically, to promote the cause which he had at heart. His place will not readily be filled. H. G. Berane. —_____—_—>__—__ UNITED STATES NOTES. — 1 —_ ISCUSSION seems to be in the literary atmosphere of America just now. Mr. Howells’s half-serious attack upon the International Copyright Act at the end of last year was naturally not allowed to pass, his con- tentions being riddled through and through by Mr. Putnam and Mr. George Platt Brett, not to speak of various leader-writers in the literary journals. One of these last, not content with confuting the rash novelist and reproving him for the manner in which he had raised “this buried subject of discussion,” proceeded to advo- cate an amendment of the law in favour of the further protection of English and Continental authors. It was pointed out that the double type-setting provision was inserted at the bidding of mere class-interests, and that the case of trans- lated works was still unsatisfactory. Then the question of the ethics of book-selling has been on the carpet. A correspondent of the Publishers’ Weekly put the purely business view point with refreshing vigour, inveighing especially against the impolicy of recommending books to customers on any ground but that of their recorded sales. One fears that he may be right ; but his conclusion that he would prefer the epitaph ‘‘ Here lies a successful bookseller” to the proposed “ He died an honest man” is surely a shade too cynical. Again, we have Mr. Charles Leonard Moore in the Dial making a venomous onslaught upon the American literary instinct, which he finds expressed in the formula “to live better and save more,” taken from an insurance prospectus. According to this writer, it is all the fault of women, commer- cialism, and the absence of outside pressure that things are so bad with our people. ‘The result is THE AUTHOR. that members become college professors, and so “ dry up and blow away,” whilst “ poets are driven into business and artists into exile.” This is indicting a nation with a vengeance. But, as yet, we haye seen no reply to it. = The very latest hare to be started is the condition of poetry—is there a “slump” in it, and, if so, why ? This, of course, began on your side with the poet Laureate’s address. Here it has been set on foot by that vivacious periodical, the Critic, which, by the bye, has amalgamated with the Boston Literary World. As in most symposiums, the issues became rather confused, some contributors taking into con- sideration poetry, both classic and contemporary, others only the latter ; whilst to some the criterion of health is sales, to others quality also. One is glad to find on the side of those who deny the slump Messrs. Houghton, Miffin & Co. and Mr, Richard G. Badger. Mr. Clinton Scollard gives up the puzzle set him by the editor ; but most of the others are dogmatic enough. Amongst the slum- pers, Mr. Maurice F. Egan puts down the débddcle to the decay of the art of home reading, the con- ventionality and academicism of the poets, and the lack of seriousness of the press. There is no doubt something in the first two causes, but the last, which is insisted upon by Mr. Cale Young Rice, but is best put by Robert Underwood Johnson, is to our thinking, the most cogent reason. Com- petent criticism of verse is badly needed in America. Not that this is sufficient to call poetry into being, if it be true that the spirit of the age is against it, and that the “gradual sophistication of the young” destroys the taste for it. One comment dropped in the course of the dis- cussion arrides us not a little. After the mournful statement that style in prose counts for almost nothing to-day, Mr. William C. Wilkinson proceeds + “When I was a youth, successful business men deferred to authors. Authors nowadays are apt to defer to successful business men.” We confess we should enjoy the experience of being deferred to by a successful business man ; but we have our doubts as to whether there was ever author who sayoured this particular morsel. The short story competition in connection with Collier’s Weekly, the awards in which}were announced a short time since, presented some features of interest. Mrs. Wharton, Margaret Deland, and Mr. Alden were among the prize-winners ; but a good proportion of the nine were unknown names. Senator Lodge disagreed with his colleagues, Mr. White and Mr. Page, as to the adjudication of the first two prizes, holding that Mrs. Wharton’s “The Best Man” to be by far the best composition sent in. The fact that only four writers wrote “what might be called foreign stories” was, in Mr. White's view, “the most hopeful thing for real literature Qo ed OS pepe CD oq eE if 16 toh 199 THE AUTHOR. in America. (We may remark parenthetically that “a foreign book” figured at the top of the “biggest sellers” last month). Other features of the competition were the com- plete absence of civil war stories or Indian fighting tales, and the comparative rarity of historical setting of any kind. Modernity, in fact, largely prevailed. The judges encountered two auto- mobiles, a battleship, a big prairie-type engine, a pianola, a police scandal, a freak-woman reporter ; besides innumerable trained nurses, five o’clock commuters’ trains, and telephone buzzers. The favourite locale was New York, the desert west of the Rockies coming next, followed by New England and California. There was one war story, placed in the Philippines, whilst J apan and Alaska were the theatre of action in single tales. There is not much to record of the literary pro- ducts of the present year so far as it has gone yet. The highest native “big seller,’ Mr. Thomas Dixon’s “The Clansman,” is a story of the South during the Reconstruction period.” It has slight literary merit and is full of anachronisms, but contains some good chapters dealing with the conspiracy of the Ku Klux Klan. Much superior as literature is another Recon- struction tale, Emerson Hough’s “The Law of the Land.” It is curious as being the work of a northerner. “ Bethany,” a novel of Georgian life just pre- vious to the Civil War and touching upon it in its early stage, has the merit of sincerity and some pictorial power. The author, in this case, Thomas E. Watson, hails from the south, Burton E. Stevenson’s “ The Marathon Mystery,” is a capital detective story, though the accuracy of its dialect has been impugned. “ Cabbages and Kings,” by O. Henry, a book of Central American short stories, has humour and spirit, as well as an excellent background. A notable book announced for immediate publi- cation by McClurg is the autobiography of the late Theodore Thomas, the musician. “The Self-made Man” is not yet disposed of ; “His Wife’s Letters to Her Son” is the latest pendant promised to Mr. Lorimer’s work. Mr. G. W. Winkley has published “Personal Reminiscences of John Brown, the hero,” with an introduction by Frank B. Sauborn. The new edition, for which Mr. Herbert M. Lloyd is responsible, of Lewis Morgan’s “ League of the Ho-de-no-saunee or Troquois,” is an excel- lent reprint of aninvaluable work. It has personal reminiscences of Morgan by Charles T. Porter, his 08 collaborator, and embodies his own corrections. oM Morgan’s ethnological investigations are well i known, and _ their ‘976 over-estimated. importance can scarcely be 205 William Canfield’s “Tegends of the Troquois” has a more purely literary interest. But both books deserve more than a specialist’s public, The latest complete exposition of “The Monroe Doctrine” comes from T. B. Edgington, of the Memphis Bar. He illustrates its most recent phases, as seen in the Venezuela Boundary Case and the Panama Canal Treaty. There have appeared two volumes of Professor G. Santyana’s “The Life of Reason ” ; vol. xi. of Dr. Reuben Thwaite’s « Early Western Travels,” containing Part I. of Faux’s “ Memorable Days in America ” (1819-20) ; and vol. xxi. of “The Philippine Islands,” edited by Emma H. Blair and James A. Robertson. Mr. T. Nelson Page in “The Negro ” great racial question calm consideration. “The Future of Road Making in America” is a symposium on an important subject by Archer B. Hulbert and others, published by the Clark Company. Mr. Henry James has consented to a kind of informal interview during his visit to America, He has been much written about of late as a matter of course. The obituary list of 1905 already includes Theodore Thomas, the creator of modern American music, whose best work was done at Chicago, but was begun at New York ; John White Chadwick, the biographer of Channing and Theodore Parker ; L. Clarke Davis, father of Richard Harding Davis, and some time editor of the Ledger ; Alpheus Spring Packarel, many years Professor at Brown University, and author of some 400 scientific monographs, many of them of international repu- tation ; and William Cowper-Prime, vice-president of the New York Metropolitan Museum, whose fine collection of wood engravings is destined for Princeton. Nor must we omit General Lewis Wallace, best known as the author of “ Ben Hur,” but who also wrote, amongst other works, “The Fair God,” a fine Mexican story, and a life of President Benjamin Harrison, a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars. He was some time United States Minister to Turkey. gives the Oo AUTHORS AND THE STAGE SOCIETY, —— 1+ — HOSE members of the Society of Authors, fe whose ambitions lie in the direction of play writing would do well to bear in mind the use which they may make of the Stage Society. One of the great difficulties which beset the path of the new dramatist is the impossibility of getting his plays produced. This is not entirely the fault 204 and it is not too much to say that the successful result was in great part due to the complete know- ledge of the subject which he placed unreservedly at the disposal of the British delegates. For a long period of years all those who had been officially connected with the question of International Copyright have learnt to rely upon Mr. Daldy’s knowledge and experience, which have always been given with perfect sincerity and single-mindedness. He has sought no reward nor public acknowledgment of the services thus rendered—services which were given gratuitously, and even enthusiastically, to promote the cause which he had at heart. His place will not readily be filled. H. G. BERGNE. —__—_—_—_—_——_1—__+—___——_ UNITED STATES NOTES. —_1—~>—+—_ ISCUSSION seems to be in the literary atmosphere of America just now. Mr. Howells’s half-serious attack upon the International Copyright Act at the end of last rear was naturally not allowed to pass, his con- tentions being riddled through and through by Mr. Putnam and Mr. George Platt Brett, not to speak of various leader-writers in the literary journals. One of these last, not content with confuting the rash novelist and reproving him for the manner in which he had raised “this buried subject of discussion,” proceeded to advo- cate an amendment of the law in favour of the further protection of English and Continental authors. It was pointed out that the double type-setting provision was inserted at the bidding of mere class-interests, and that the case of trans- lated works was still unsatisfactory. Then the question of the ethics of book-selling has been on the carpet. A correspondent of the Publishers’ Weekly put the purely business view point with refreshing vigour, inveighing especially against the impolicy of recommending books to customers on any ground but that of their recorded sales. One fears that he may be right ; but his conclusion that he would prefer the epitaph ‘“ Here lies a successful bookseller ” to the proposed ‘“ He died an honest man” is surely a shade too cynical. Again, we have Mr. Charles Leonard Moore in the Dial making a venomous onslaught upon the American literary instinct, which he finds expressed in the formula “to live better and save more,” taken from an insurance prospectus. According to this writer, it is all the fault of women, commer- cialism, and the absence of outside pressure that things are so bad with our people, The result is THE AUTHOR. that members become college professors, and so “dry up and blow away,” whilst “poets are driven into business and artists into exile.” This is indicting a nation with a vengeance. But, as yet, we have seen no reply to it. ee The very latest hare to be started is the condition of poetry—is there a “slump” in it, and, if so, why ? This, of course, began on your side with the poet Laureate’s address. Here it has been set on foot by that vivacious periodical, the Critic, which, by the bye, has amalgamated with the Boston Literary World. As in most symposiums, the issues became rather confused, some contributors taking into con- sideration poetry, both classic and contemporary, others only the latter ; whilst to some the criterion of health is sales, to others quality also. One is glad to find on the side of those who deny the slump Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. and Mr, Richard G. Badger. Mr. Clinton Scollard gives up the puzzle set him by the editor ; but most of the others are dogmatic enough. Amongst the slum- pers, Mr. Maurice F. Egan puts down the débacle to the decay of the art of home reading, the con- ventionality and academicism of the poets, and the lack of seriousness of the press. There is no doubt something in the first two causes, but the last, which is insisted upon by Mr. Cale Young Rice, but is best put by Robert Underwood Johnson, is to our thinking, the most cogent reason. Com- petent criticism of verse is badly needed in America. Not that this is sufficient to call poetry into being, if it be true that the spirit of the age is against it, and that the “gradual sophistication of the young” destroys the taste for it. One comment dropped in the course of the dis- cussion arrides us not a little. After the mournful statement that style in prose counts for almost nothing to-day, Mr. William C. Wilkinson proceeds : “ When I was a youth, successful business men deferred to authors. Authors nowadays are apt to defer to successful business men.” We confess we should enjoy the experience of being deferred to by a successful business man ; but we have our doubts as to whether there was ever author who savoured this particular morsel. The short story competition in connection with Obilier’s Weekly, the awards in whichiwere announced a short time since, presented some features of interest. Mrs. Wharton, Margaret Deland, and Mr. Alden were among the prize-winners ; but a good proportion of the nine were unknown names. Senator Lodge disagreed with his colleagues, Mr. White and Mr. Page, as to the adjudication of the first two prizes, holding that Mrs. Wharton’s “The Best Man” to be by far the best composition sent in. The fact that only four writers wrote “what might be called foreign stories” was, in Mr. White’s view, “the most hopeful thing for real literature epntrnioneeR Ro wins THE AUTHOR. in America. (We may remark parenthetically that “a foreign book” figured at the top of the “biggest sellers ” last month). Other features of the competition were the com- plete absence of civil war stories or Indian fighting tales, and the comparative rari ty of historical setting of any kind. Modernity, in fact, largely pevailed. The judges encountered two auto- mobiles, a battleship, a big prairie-type engine, a pianola, a police scandal, a freak-woman reporter ; besides innumerable trained nurses, five o’clock commuters’ trains, and telephone buzzers. The favourite Jocale was New York, the desert west of the Rockies coming next, followed by New England and California. There was one war story, placed in the Philippines, whilst J apan and Alaska were the theatre of action in single tales. There is not much to record of the literary pro- ducts of the present year so far as it has gone yet, The highest native “big seller,” Mr. Thomas Dixon’s “The Clansman,” is a story of the South during the Reconstruction period. It has slight literary merit and is full of anachronisms, but contains some good chapters dealing with the conspiracy of the Ku Klux Klan. Much superior as literature is another Recon- struction tale, Emerson Hough’s “The Law of the Land.” It is curious as being the work of a northerner. “ Bethany,” a novel of Georgian life just pre- vious to the Civil War and touching upon it in its early stage, has the merit of sincerity and some pictorial power. The author, in this case, Thomas KE. Watson, hails from the south. Burton EE. Stevenson’s “ The Marathon Mystery,” is a capital detective story, though the accuracy of its dialect has been impugned. “ Cabbages and Kings,” by O. Henry, a book of Central American short stories, has humour and Spirit, as well as an excellent background. A notable book announced for immediate publi- cation by McClurg is the autobiography of the late Theodore Thomas, the musician. “The Self-made Man” is not yet disposed of ; “His Wife’s Letters to Her Son” is the latest pendant promised to Mr. Lorimer’s work. Mr. G. W. Winkley has published “Personal Reminiscences of John Brown, the hero,” with an introduction by Frank B. Sauborn, The new edition, for which Mr. Herbert M. Lloyd is responsible, of Lewis Morgan’s “ League of the Ho-de-no-saunee or Troquois,” is an excel- lent reprint of aninvaluable work. It has personal reminiscences of Morgan by Charles T. Porter, his collaborator, and embodies hig own corrections. Morgan’s ethnological investigations are well known, and _ their importance can scarcely be over-estimated. 205 William Canfield’s « Legends of the Troquois” has a more purely literary interest, But both books deserve more than a Specialist’s public. The latest complete exposition of “The Monroe Doctrine” comes from T. B, Edgington, of the Memphis Bar. He illustrates its most recent phases, as seen in the Venezuela Boundary Case and the Panama Canal Treaty. There have appeared two volumes of Professor G. Santyana’s “The Life of Reason” ; vol. xi. of Dr. Reuben Thwaite’s « Early Western Travels,” containing Part I. of Faux’s “ Memorable Days in America ” (1819-20) ; and vol. xxi. of « The Philippine Islands,” edited by Emma H. Blair and James A. Robertson. Mr. T. Nelson Page in “'The Negro” gives the great racial question calm consideration. “The Future of Road Making in America” is a symposium on an important subject by Archer B. Hulbert and others, published by the Clark Company. Mr. Henry James has consented to a kind of informal interview during his visit to America. He has been much written about of late as a matter of course. The obituary list of 1905 already includes Theodore Thomas, the creator of modern American music, whose best work was done at Chicago, but was begun at New York ; John White Chadwick, the biographer of Channing and Theodore Parker ; L. Clarke Davis, father of Richard Harding Davis, and some time editor of the Ledger ; Alpheus Spring Packarel, many years Professor at Brown University, and author of some 400 scientific monographs, many of them of international repu- tation ; and William Cowper-Prime, vice-president of the New York Metropolitan Museum, whose fine collection of wood engravings is destined for Princeton. Nor must we omit General Lewis Wallace, best known as the author of “ Ben Hur,” but who also wrote, amongst other works, “The Fair God,” a fine Mexican story, and a life of President Benjamin Harrison, a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars. He was some time United States Minister to Turkey. ——_+~>—- AUTHORS AND THE STAGE SOCIETY. —— HOSE members of the Society of Authors, T whose ambitions lie in the direction of play writing would do well to bear in mind the use which they may make of the Stage Society. One of the great difficulties which beset the path of the new dramatist is the impossibility of getting his plays produced. This is not entirely the fault 206 of the theatrical managers. The work of the beginner, even when most promising, is apt to be unsuited for obtaining solid financial success In the theatre. In play-writing, experience—especially the experience gained from an actual production— counts for so much. And if the beginner cannot get a production, how is he to get experi- ence? This is where the Stage Society can be of assistance to him. For the Stage Society does not exist to make profits but to foster and encourage drama. It gives performances of the best examples of the contemporary Continental stage in order to give its members an opportunity of seeing works of artistic value which would otherwise never see the light in a London theatre. And it also gives performances of the work of English writers who thave not hitherto had plays produced and to whom the practical instruction in technique to be learned from a production will be of value. During the -six years of its existence the Society has produced thirty plays, and of these nearly a third have been the work of English dramatists who had not previously had a play produced. It is impossible for those who have not had -experience of dramatic writing to understand the fall value which this opportunity of seeing his work performed under proper stage conditions by a picked professional cast may be to the young play- wright. To watch one’s own play day after day through rehearsal, to realise with growing clearness -where the dialogue is weak or strong, which are the the situations which “ get across the foot-lights,” -and why they do s0, is a training in the art of play- writing such as nothing else can give. Much may be gained by a careful study of good models— Ibsen, Sudermann, Brieux, Hauptman, Augier and the younger Dumas—much by constant attendance at theatres and a critical examination of the plays presented, and the way they get their effects. But nothing is quite so instructive as the discipline of watching the performances of one’s own play. ‘Owing to the cost of production, and to some extent also to the timidity of the ordinary manager where the work of a beginner is con- cerned, this discipline for the new playwright is practically unattainable in London at any of the regular theatres. It can be gained at a Stage Society production, and authors who wish to work for ne theatre would do well to bear the fact in mind. The office of the Stage Society is 9, Arundel Street, Strand, W.C., and plays should be addressed to the Hon. Librarian. All plays sent in are sure of careful consideration by the Council, and if they decide to produce a play the whole cost is borne by the Society. It is not necessary to be a member of the Society to have a play considered or performed, but all persons who are interested in the higher THE AUTHOR. drama, and wish to show their interest in a practical way, would do well to join. The subserip- tion of one guinea gives one seat at each of the Society’s productions, usually five in the year, and the entrance fee isone guinea. Further particulars and forms of application for membership may be obtained from the Secretary at 9, Arundel Street. ——_1——_ + CANADIAN POSTAL RATES. st AST year some articles appeared in The Author on the question of Colonial postage, with special reference to the introduction of United States magazines into Canada. These articles produced one or two questions in the House of Commons, but the answer of the Post- — master-General was not encouraging. At the time the Committee wrote to the Society 4 of Authors in Canada and asked them to do what they could to assist the movement, and the Canadian Society has just forwarded the following resolution which has been passed by their Executive Committee : “That we, the Executive Committee of the Canadian Society of Authors, would respectfully urge upon the Postmaster-General of Great Britain the desirability of considering the question of @ cheaper postal rate on newspapers and periodicals between Great Britain and the Colonies. During the last fifteen years United States periodicals have almost entirely displaced British periodicals in this market, owing to the low rate of postage charged by the United States Government. The influence on this country once exercised by British periodicals has been displaced by an influence which cannot be said to be in the interests of Imperial understand- ing and solidarity, and is hostile to the extension of British trade throughout the Colonies.” The Canadian Authors’ Society is still in its infancy, but, no doubt, will be able to accomplish vigorous work on behalf of the authors of the Dominion if it continues as it has begun. Prof. Goldwin Smith is the honorary president of the Society, the Honble. G. W. Ross is the president. The treasurer is Mr. J. A. Cooper, the editor of the Canadian Magazine. : That the Canadians do not desire the matter lie idle is evident from the following article whi appeared in the Zoronto Globe :— IMPERIAL AND AMERICAN POSTAGE. Sir George Drummond started an interesting discussion in the Senate a few days ago by moving a resolution to call the attention of the Government to the discrimination favour of American and against British periodicals 1 Canada, and to affirm the principle that postal charges © bs THE AUTHOR. periodicals within the Empire should be lower than those on matter passing between it and any foreign country. Sir George gave specific instances of glaring discrimination, and pointed out the inevitable political and commercial effect of the impetus thus given to the importation of American literature and advertisements. Asa matter of fact, many magazines are sent from the United States into Canada as freight, and are distributed nere by agents, the country receiving little or no revenue from their circulation. It would be easy to make these dutiable, and go some way toward equalising conditions as between British and American magazine publishers. Those sent into this country by mail pay no postage to our Government, being carried free under the postal convention of 1875. To cancel this convention and put the country under the international postal union would considerably reduce the annual deficit of the post office department, which at present handles an immense volume of foreign periodical literature at the expense of Canada. All who took part in the debate on Sir George’s resolu- tion—Senator Scott, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, and Sir Richard Cartwright—agreed with the mover in his attitude, depre- cated the advantage afforded to the American publisher over his British competitors, and regretted the persistence of the British Government in refusing to aid in removing the discrimination against the latter. Canadians have no objection to receiving United States magazines at a cheap tate, but they would like to get British magazines of the same classes at no greater cost. It certainly does not tend to promote either Imperial feeling or British trade in Canada to have British periodicals handicapped in their circulation while American magazines with their advertise- ments are freely distributed at our expense. The Canadian Government, which forced on ocean penny postage, should be equal to finding a remedy that would be at once popular and effective. —_———_+——_2—_______ BUTTER, MUSIC, AND COPYRIGHT. — + UNDRY startling reflections are suggested by the last speech from the Throne. “A Bill,” said that speech, “ will be introduced for amending the law for the prevention of the adulteration of butter.” Good: butter should certainly not be adulterated. Our masses should have good butter—or what does civilisation amount to? We are all agreed as to this; and the Bill will be passed without opposition. But then comes in the parodox: Why make a law to prevent people stealing a part of our butter, and make no law to prevent other people stealing the whole of it? You reply that such a law already exists. Butter, you point out, is well looked after, well understood. Our millions use it—or something like it—every day. Butter is quite safe. It cannot be stolen. That depends. If you permit people to steal from a man his power of purchasing butter, you permit them to steal his butter ag certainly as if they took it directly away from him in firkins or pound packages. The only difference is that, in the latter case, the theft is removed a single step from the direct taking. Mark thatstep. For that 207 single step, so easy to understand—the pun was not intentional—itself so easy to remove, one would also think, makes, when it comes to practice, the most profound difference for practical politics, becomes an insuperable barrier. A casual observer, watching our legislature at work, would miss the point. He would say that the manifest object of our legislature was not to prevent acts of stealing generally, but only the stealing of particular things in a particular way ; since it does not prevent the same things being stolen if they are stolen in a roundabout way. Music, for example, may thus be the means of butter being stolen, and bread and butter. I have no excessive sense of the importance of music ; I am only an ordinary lover of it. But music afforded to me a very interesting case of this curious anomaly in our midst: that as a practical and highly-civilised nation we seem quite unable to get over that step which divides the direct stealing of our butter from the indirect stealing of it by way of music. As the case#of music illustrated this more and more for mefI began, some years ago, to be more and more fnterested in music and music-stealers. I began some time in the last century, but I shall not go further back than the year 1902. In that year, certain music publishers and others interested in music, by dint of tremendous efforts, managed to get a sort of Bill passed to prevent people stealing music, to put an end to the music-pirate. And an end to him I thought had been put when the Bill passed into law. But, as ill-luck or incompetence had it, the Bill omitted to include certain provisions which rendered it practically nugatory as a remedial measure. After all the trouble involved this was fiasco indeed. The stealing of music went on just as before; and the gentlemen interested in music—a noble Earl as their leader—put their heads together once again. Next year, 1903, they introduced another Bill which got as far as its second reading in the Lower House, and there expired of suffocation in the way we are used to seeing Bills expire. Not to be daunted, these gentlemen tried yet another Bill last year. A sort of remnant of it survived many a stormy passage till it got as far as the ‘‘ Report” stage, when it also was talked out. Its promoters had the consolation of knowing that, even had it passed, it would have been almost as useless as the Act of 1902. They finally relinquished altogether the hope of getting a private measure passed, and invoked the aid of the Government. Just before the present House met, it was, therefore, rumoured that the Home Office was to take the case of music-stealers into its charge. The House meets, plunges into the sea of fiscal, Irish, and other controversies, and we hear no more of music. The 208 Government has to look after more important things, including its own precious existence,’ yet not forgetting even butter. gos That, up to the present, is the case for music, In which, as I said, I am not overwhelmingly interested. It only illustrates what a practical and highly-civilised nation we are. Butter— everybody’s need, the poor man’s especially—no part of it must be stolen from us. But music— one step aside from butter—resists all attempts to deal with it, to prevent people stealing it. ‘And if that is the case with music, what is likely to be the case with the whole law of Copyright in which I am greatly interested, of which music and the care of it forms only a single but significant item? To speak of it as affording any hope of present amendment seems absurd. Yet the fact of its embracing the whole subject of the due regu- lation of literary and artistic property, the fact of its largeness and importance, might lead one to imagine that it would have its vastly greater claims publicly recognised. Vain idea! The Publishers’ Association, the Copyright Association, the Authors’ Society, the majority of authors themselves, and, lastly, the very gentlemen most likely to gain by its present inadequacy, to lose by its amendment, the lawyers, all are practically unanimous in desiring its amendment. We need not go into further details. We may take it that these individuals and associ- ations represent all the important interests con- cerned. ‘They include men of such distinguished names, men of such light and leading in the world, that not only are they not likely to be wrong in their desire, but, being right, it is inconceivable that such men should have now been agitating to get a reform of copyright for more than ten years and should up to the present have got absolutely nothing. Lord Thring’s Bill recasting the whole law passed the House of Lords in 1899 and 1900. It was then sent to the Colonies for their assent, recasting, as it also did, our relations with them. Australia expressed her approval of it. Canada— our never-never land for copyright purposes—was still demurring when we last heard of it. It had been mentioned in the Speech from the Throne at the opening of Parliament in 1901. It has not been mentioned since. It appears to have expired of senile decay. Meantime, the world outside passes us by. Other nations codify their law. Little countries like Den- mark and Sweden make a step forward. Even Russia—Russia, mark you !—talks about copyright reform. Our Parliament alone, including within it several distinguished authors, the Premier himself amongst them, says nothing, does nothing. Now and then, once a year or so, to show that we THE AUTHOR. are still alive, an author will burst out sporadically and start some side-issue—should we retaliate on America for her treatment of us? and so forth— like a red-herring across the trail. This consoles us. And, of course, we always have the consolation of knowing that we are a practical and highly- civilised nation. W. ——_——_0—>_+—___——_- NOTES ON AGREEMENTS. —1—~>— + — Il. To THE PUBLISHER. That in consideration of your bearing the whole of the expenses in producing and publishing the novel written by me and _ provisionally entitled , I hereby convey to you the copyright and all rights in the said novel, and further I agree to give to you the first refusal of the next ten new and original novels I may write suitable for publication in volume form on the following terms :— 1. A royalty of ten per cent. on the trade selling price of all copies sold of the English edition, thirteen copies count- ing as twelve. 2. A royalty of one penny per copy on all sales of the Colonial edition, thirteen copies counting as twelve. 3. Ten per cent. on any sum received for the foreign rights. 4. Ten per cent. on any sum received for the American copyright with simultaneous publication. 5. In the event of any cheaper editions being published a royalty of five per cent. on the trade selling price thirteen copies counting as twelve. 6. No royalties shall be paid on any copies given away for review or other purposes. 7. In the event of the publisher disposing of copies or editions of the said novels as remainders, a royalty of five per cent. of the net amount received. 8. I guarantee to you that the said novels shall be in no way whatever violations of any existing copyrights, and that they shall contain nothing of a libellous or scandalous character, and that I will indemnify you from all suits, claims and proceedings, damages and costs which may be made, taken or incurred by or against you on the ground that the said novels are infringements of copyrights, or contain anything libellous or scandalous, From the AUTHOR. The agreement printed above will prove to all those who are versed in the usual arrangements made for the sale and purchase of literary property, the ignorance of an author of the possible value of what he is selling when he endeavours to find a publisher for his book. It is only fair to preface the following remarks by stating that in the open market the buyer will always buy as cheaply as possible, and that, there- fore, the publisher, if he be so inclined, can enter into any agreement—even the one set out above—if he can find an author willing to affix his signature. But a serious cause for complaint would arise should the publisher, before purchasing the work from the author at a ridiculously low figure, mis- represent or misdirect the author as to the value Sook 3 py ee THE AUTHOR. of what he is selling, or lead him to suppose that an agreement which he would not otherwise make is an ordinary form of contract. There is no such evidence in the present case. The agreement has been printed in the hope that its details may reach those who have not yet written a book, but intend uo do 0, or those who have written a book and are about to enter into an arrangement for its production. However bad and however worthless an author’s first book may be, he should under no circum- stances bind himself to a publisher for a series of books under any contract, good or bad. If the book is bad and worthless, it is fair that the pub- lisher should make a contract by which he should protect himself from the chance of loss, for this is merely ordinary business caution. If any pub- lisher cares to issue from his house bad and worth- less books as a business man, there is no reason why he should lose by the transaction, but the one book should stand or fall by itself. The first book, however, with the bad contract is frequently neither bad nor worthless ; it catches the public taste and has a considerable sale. In consequence the publisher reaps a share of the profits far larger than the author’s. The book referred to in the present agreement can hardly be worthless, otherwise the publisher would not have con- sented to undertake all the cost of production. The business man does not rashly throw his money away. For a book which, presumably, at the lowest estimate is passable, the present agreement cannot be said to be satisfactory. Ten per cent. is to be paid on the ¢rade selling price of all copies sold, 13 copies counting as 12. Everyone who has-any dealings with literary property is aware that royalties, however small, frum whatever house they issue, are always paid on the published price of the book. The difference between the two stands at the ratio of about seven to twelve, or nearly fifty per cent. difference, so that if the author is paid on the /rade selling price he would get about fifty per cent. less than if he were paid on the published price of the book. The royalty is small and inadequate if paid on the published price. It is absurdly insufficient when paid on the trade selling price. On the Colonial sales a royalty of 1d. per copy is paid. This, again, is an exceedingly low royalty. The ordinary payment, when Colonial sales are made is 8d. or 4d. on every copy in sheets. One penny per copy would make the agreement between twenty-five per cent. and thirty-three and one-third per cent. lower than the usual payment. For the foreign rights the author is to receive ten per cent. Over and over again it has been 209 necessary to point out in The Author that these rights should not lie with the publisher, but should be under the control of the author. Again, in Clause 5 the royalty in the case of a cheaper edition is paid on the trade selling price, 13 copies counted as 12. The same remarks passed with regard to Clause 1 refer to this clause also, Five per cent. is an absurdly low royalty in any event; and again, it is paid on the trade selling price, which makes it almost mfinitesimal. In Clause 6 no royalty is paid on copies given away for review or other purposes. No one desires a publisher to pay royalties on copies given away for review, but it is certainly advisable to have some closer definition of the two words “other purposes.” As a reward for this brilliant contract, and the sums that may accrue to the author therefrom, he is bound to indemnify the publisher in an ex- ceedingly liberal clause—Clause 8—from infringe- ment of copyright and libellous and scandalous matter. If the one book had a large sale the author would obtain no benefit, not even a royalty rising with its circulation, but this is not the only fault. The author is bound for ten books at the same price. It has come to our notice from time to time that some publishers have bound authors to them for two, or even three books, and it has been pointed out frequently what a severe tax this is upon the author—either when the contract is made on the same terms as the original contract, as in this case, or when, as sometimes occurs, the pub- lisher is to have only the option of publication of the next two or three books. It has also been shown that such an agreement is not a smart bit of business from the publisher’s point of view, for as soon as the tax is recognised by the author, and the contract at an end, he leaves the publisher. Whereas, if there had been no such clause, and the author had met with fair treatment, he would of a surety go back to the same publisher. No contract, with the exception of the present, has come before the Society by which the publisher has bound the author for ten books. If the author is bound toa publisher under an increasing royalty, or an improved agreement, there might be some temptation to enter into such a contract, although constant experience at the Society’s office would show what a heavy burden this is on the author’s powers; but the contract printed above, from the author’s point of view, wholly unsatisfactory for a first book by itself, becomes ludicrously impossible to contemplate for a series of ten. No author could make a living wage out 210 of an arrangement which would bring him in such a paltry return. No words are strong enough to condemn such a disadvantageous contract from the author’s standpoint. Gee. ———_- > + —___ THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 1 TPNHE Librarian of Congress at Washington has issued his annual circular setting forth the amount of business done in 1904. The increase, year by year, has been steady and continued, and it must be satisfactory to the office to find that the fees collected exceed the expenditure on salaries. The fees received during the past year amount to 75,520 dollars, and the total paid in salaries to 72,531 dollars. Not only this ; but the value of the property which the United States obtains in books, maps, and other filed matter is increasingly valuable. The total number of entries during the past year were 106,577 ; books, volumes and pamphlets number 16,690; periodicals 21,041 ; and musical compbsitions 28,740. It will be seen, therefore, that musical composi- tions yield the highest total. This may be accounted for by the fact that musical compositions need not be lithographed in the United States. The publishers, therefore, taking advantage of the reciprocity, obtain copyright to a larger extent. The largest number of entries during one day occurred on January 2nd, when 4,031 titles were registered ; the smallest number on a day in June, when only 107 titles were recorded. The increase n the total of entries over those of 1908 is 7,141. The most satisfactory point which the foreign writer should note is the smoothness with which he office undertakes its enormous task. It makes no unworthy boast in stating that at 4.30 p.m. on January 3rd, 1905, all applications received during 1904 were acted upon, all registrations made, all certificates mailed. To give some idea of the extensive labour involved in carrying out this enormons work, the number of letters received at the office during the past year was 85,365—87,000 of these contained remittances—and the number of mailed matter despatched from the office was 133,244 letters. Again, these figures show an increase on the 1903 mailed matter by 7,607 letters received, and by 19,000 letters despatched. —— + THER AUTHOR. LITERATURE AND LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. * 1 [ConcLUDED. ] HE recent decision of a Paris Court that phonographs infringe the musical author’s rights makes every case that has been tried either here or in America of interest. Phonographs are of so recent introduction that we have to look for previous decisions to cases analogous to them. In our case of Boosey v. Whight it was decided that a perforated musical scroll was not a “ copy” within the meaning of the Act. This followed the earlier American decision of Kennedy v. IcTammany to the same effect. Phonographs themselves then came up for judgment in the American case of Stern v. Rosey (1901), in which the defendant took two copyright songs, and had them sung into a phonograph in the usual way, thereby obtaining a “‘ master-record ” from which other records were then made. The Appeal Court held that such a record did not constitute a “copy,” basing its judgment on the fact that the marks upon the wax cylinders could not be read by the human eye, nor utilised in any way except as part of the mechanism of the phonograph. But, observe, that in such cases as these a Court is strictly confined to answering the question : Is or is not the copy alleged a “copy” within the meaning of the Act? Or, in other words, can redress be obtained by invoking the copyright law against infringers of this kind? since it cannot reasonably be contended that the rights of the composers of music are not to some extent encroached upon by means of these mechanical instruments. Indeed, the learned American judges in giving their decision felt it necessary to invoke the judgments in the previous analogous cases to support their view that there was no infringe- ment. In the German Statute, of 1901, especial cogni- sance is taken by that up-to-date people of phono- graphs, and it is provided that reproduction by means of them shall noé be held to be an infringe- ment of the right of reproduction provided that the reproduction do not as regards “strength and duration, tone and tempo, resemble a personal per- formance.” Observe the reasonableness of the German method of dealing with copyright, and * Copyright Cases: A Summary of leading American Decisions on the Law of Copyright and on Literary Property, from 1891 to 1903 ; together with the Text of the United States Copyright Statute, and a Selection of Recent Copyright Decisions of the Courts of Great Britain and Canada. Compiled by Arthur 8. Hamlin. Published for the American Publishers’ Copyright League by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 1904. $2. bt, a P THE AUTHOR. 211 how very little is left by it to the wltima ratio of the law. For the German Statute provides that the communication of the essential contents of a work is an infringement: This covers everything. Then come its exceptions, amongst which are placed phonographs. Such mechanical means of repro- duction it excepts because they cannot, in its opinion, resemble a personal performance. But these fast-moving times, we shortly find, get in front, even of Germany. What about the pianola ? Does it not resemble a “ personal performance”? It certainly creates a contentious something betwixt and between, not quite mechanical, not quite personal. Now with us there are two definite rights open to infringement: (1) the copyright ; and (2) the performing right. We have seen that a perforated musical scroll is not a “copy.” We cannot get any redress at law by pleading that a copyright has been infringed in this way. Well, then, can we not get redress by pleading that performing right is infringed? We come back to the Germans, who say that mechanical reproduction is to be excepted from their general rule, that any method which reproduces the essential spirit of a work is an infringement. Why ? Because “as regards strength and duration of tone and tempo” it does not resemble a personal performance. But there is, lastly, our new friend the pianola! It seems to fulfil all these conditions, certainly strength is not lacking to it. Is it not a ‘ personal per- formance ?” The fact is, what we want, what inventive brains are gradually driving us towards, is a copyright law which makes any means by which the substance or the spirit of any literary, artistic, musical, dramatic or other copyright work is repro- duced, an infringement of the author’s right. Until we get this law, aimed at protecting the substance or the spirit of the work, we shall have no peace, but be up to our necks, as we now are, in arguments about mechanics. Ishall stop here. Mr. Hamlin’s admirable book seems, to at least a student of copyright, worthy of even a more unconscionably long notice than I have given it, for I find that, all said and done, I have only touched the leading cases in it. I have left untouched a large body of by-path cases, many of them of great interest to the student. I have not even mentioned the “ Decisions of the Treasury Department on Questions of Importation,” reveal- ing such interesting facts as that English music need not be set up in the United States in order to enjoy copyright ; and that a book, set up in the United States, may be printed elsewhere from plates [also made elsewhere? ] and yet enjoy copyright there. Nor have I touched the great questions hanging on the copyright in and impor- tation into America of foreign classics—other than English ; which would have to form the subject of a special article all to itself. For light on these- subjects, students and business men must go to Mr. Hamlin’s book. One question, however, I must not leave un- answered. ‘The courteous Editor of The Author asks me to express an opinion as to whether our Society should publish decennially, or at least quin- quennially, a compilation similar to Mr. Hamlin’s American one (whether for sale at a nominal price to “authors” or for free distribution amongst them) which would, like his, afford them an easy means of reference to what has been done in the way of copyright litigation during the preceding five or ten years. If it were a simple question of publishing such a book, or publishing none at all, [ should be dis- tinctly in favour of publishing one. Yet there would be certain objections to such a publication. The chief one is the expense it would involve falling upon a single year of the Society’s finances. The second one is almost as important: it is the inevitable tendency of cases which occurred ten, or even five, years ago to become stale and unprofit- able after such a lapse of time. This would to some extent militate against the sale of such a book supposing it to be offered for sale. There are other less striking objections with which I shall not deal at present. But these two chief objections I would propose to remove entirely by the publication, not of a book, but of a four or eight-page pamphlet, not to be published every tenth or fifth year, but every year. This, in my opinion, has everything to be said for it—very little to be said against it. It would be inexpensive ; its contents would be fresh; if it failed of support (though indeed it might well be given away to “ authors”), well, then, the experi- ment would not be repeated, and very little would have been lost. Also, the yearly parts could be bound, if desired. Not only do I see no objection to the publication of such a pamphlet, which would carefully condense, under clear titles of the actual questions at issue, the cases decided during the year, with the Society’s comments upon them, but T believe such a pamphlet would be of immense assistance to all engaged in literary or artistic work ; would enhance the value, by assisting the objects of the Society; and would, lastly, by keep- ing the subject of copyright continually before our eyes and the eyes of the public, tend to become a weighty factor in our getting at last that for which we all look so anxiously—a reform of our copyright law. CHARLES WEEKES. 212 MUSICAL COPYRIGHT. —— R. SOUSA, in a letter to Zhe Times, is justly indignant at the unauthorised sales of copyright musical pieces which daily occur in the streets of London and other large towns, and we are thoroughly in accord with him so far as his indignation is levelled against the present legislation that exists in England. M. Messager, the author of “ Veronique” has also made a complaint on the same lines in the same paper. The question of musical copyright and the laws dealing with the subject have been so fully dis- cussed in Zhe Author that there is no need to repeat the points on which the present Acts are inadequate; but whatever righteous indignation Mr. Sousa may show he is clearly at fault when he comes to discuss the question of the Bern Con- vention and the United States Declaration. He suggests that Great Britain does not fulfil the terms of her Agreement as far as foreigners are concerned. It is a pity that the article which appeared in the Law Journal dealing with the same subject was not printed in Zhe Times also, in order that the fallacy of Mr. Sousa’s arguments might be made evident. Inthe Law Journal it is clearly pointed out that under the Bern Convention the rights granted to foreigners are the same rights as are granted to natives, and there is no doubt what- ever that inadequate as these rights are, the foreigners obtain exactly the same protection as English composers. ‘he complaints that have been raised by the two gentlemen named have been raised with an equally loud cry on former occasions by all musical composers natives of this country. This is so far as the Bern Convention is concerned, but Mr. Sousa refers to the Agreement between the United States upon terms of International Copy- right with the countries comprising the Bern Convention, including Great Britain. Every one who has studied the question of copyright knows that there is no formal agreement. United States rights are granted by a Declara- tion of the President to citizens of a country that “permits to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as its own citizens.” The Proclamation of the United States President has declared England to be such a country. When, however, Mr. Sousa goes further and talks of reciprocity as existing between England and the United States, he rather oversteps the mark. After the letters that have appeared in The Standard there is no need to raise the point again. THER AUTHOR. While, however, it is clear that Mr. Sousa’s impression—that England is treating foreigners unfairly—is unfounded, we do not in any way desire to commend the present Copyright Acts as they exist. Let Mr. Sousa cancel the declaration of his President and his last state would be worse than the present. The Society has for many years been endeayvour- ing to bring about alterations, and has, on one or two occasions, obtained a certain limit of success. It is hoped that the time is not far distant when not only the British author, the British artist, the British dramatist, and the British musical com- poser will have no complaint, but that the foreigner also, who obtains advantage of our existing laws, will find them adequate. ee THE PRODUCT OF THE INTELLECT. —1+~> + BRIEF account of the origin of this most valuable work will form the best introduc- tion to our notice of it. Messrs. Podesta and Scotti had acquired from the authors, A. Aroztegui and F. Pizano, two plays, “ Julian Giménez” and “Nobleza Criolla.” A certain Don Luis Anselmi thereafter produced two plays entitled, “ Julian Giménoz,” and “ Nobleza de un Criollo.” Podesta and Scotti brought an action against him for infringement of copyright, and alleged that the titles were but specimens of the species of piracy that existed in every part of Anselmi’s plays, in which the works had been very slightly altered, though in a manner by which they had been ridiculously marred. Anselmi as- serted that the works were not his, but from the pen of a “young man,” Juan J. Garay—who was not forthcoming. He also declined to submit the text of these two plays to the court. He had pre- viously refused the payment of the 10 per cent. royalties on the gross receipts, which Messrs. Podesté and Scotti had claimed ; declaring them- — selves contented to accept this customary Spanish dramatic author’s royalty without making further claims for compensation. The cause was tried, in the first instance, before on Dr. Ernesto Quesada, who gave sentence for the plaintiffs, with costs. Subsequently, this sentence was quashed, on technical grounds, by a superior court, but an appeal allowed. Pending this appeal Dr. Ernesto Quesada has published his judgment = —which forms the first and most important part . Dr. Ernesto Quesada. pp. xvi., 496. “La Propriedad Intellectual en : el derecho Argentino.” Buenos Aires. J, Menedez, 8 THE AUTHOR. of the work—together with a mass of documents in support of the sentence. The learned judge has had the courtesy to send us a copy of his book, and we have no hesitation in saying that no more luminous, valuable, or sug- gestive work on literary piracy has ever been laid before us. That the judge’s sentence is lucid and masterly is but a small part of its merit. With an intellectual insight, too often conspicuous by its absence in legal declarations, Dr. Quesada unfolds widely elemental views of the essential nature of property, and of the logical essence of proprietor- ship and of its rights in the case of intellectual productions. His theses are such that we shall not be surprised if his work becomes, among Southern American jurists, the classical authority on copy- right and piracy. The valuable nature of his conclusions will be more fully appreciated when it is mentioned that the Argentine Republic has no statute law ruling copyright. Nothing daunted by this, Dr. Quesada lays down the doctrine that literary property is implied by Article 17 of the Constitution—that in the application of the civil law to civil delinquen- cies affecting copyright, the dispositions of the Constitution must be interpreted in an extensive, and not ina restrictive sense—and that the absence of statute must not be interpreted to mean that no rights exist, because their existence is involved in the terms of the Constitution, whose articles cannot be set aside. He further appeals to the Convention of Montevideo, to which the Argentine Republic is a signatory, with the consequence that its provisions now have legal force in the Republic. And he then continues : “Liberty of intellectual theft has two conse- quences. It propagates, generally, by means of detestable translations, an unwholesome literature of an inferior character, not alone perfectly inade- quate to raise the national intelligence, but inade- quate even to maintain it at its present level. And it prevents national productions in the way of arts and letters from meeting with support and oppor- tunities of development ; because they are crushed in the competition with the foreign matter of the kind above mentioned.” Equally deserving of attention is another passage, for which the Argentine Society of Authors tendered their special thanks to Dr. Quesada, acknow- ledging the service that he had done the cause of ‘literature. “When a man has passed sleepless nights in con- ceiving and shaping a piece for the theatre, and has brought his work to a successful result, it is an indefensible action for some scribbler to snatch the fruits of his labour in some underhand way, by ‘Inaking pro pane lucrando a travesty of his work in which it is barely disguised. It is impossible to 218 leave actions of this kind unpunished ; it is indis- pensable that the law should strike with implacable rigour all persons guilty of similar proceedings, placing them in the same category as highwaymen who rob the traveller of his money and laugh at his expostulations, under the impression that no power exists which can punish them.” Whilst expressing our admiration for the insight that abounds in Dr. Quesada’s judgment, we should be doing his work an injustice did we not add that the appendix contains a mass of matter whose interest is second only to the actual sentence which it is adduced to support. Here we find various appreciations of Dr. Quesada’s judgment, expressed in influential quarters ; and then under the head of “General Bibliography,” a vast and carefully digested mass of documents that cover the whole of the law of the Republic, bearing in any way upon the subject under dispute, together with’a collection of cases of a similar character. In a word this is an addition to the literature of copyright of primary importance ; and one that will be found equally valuable to the legist, and to the student of the wider questions which are involved in the conception of intellectual property. —_———_—__>—__—_. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.* —+ VERYONE who is interested in international publication and copyright—whether his point of view is commercial, literary, or social—naturally often feels the need of some handy volume which will furnish him with the main facts of the home, colonial, and international enactments of the various countries which have legislated on copyright. Professor Réthlisberger, of Bern, in his littie manual above named, of which the second edition is lying before us, has compiled exactly the sort of work which was wanted to meet these requirements. Here are set forth all the principal enactments of the various legislations, thus gathered into a repertoire that amply furnishes all the information that will be in any ordinary circumstances required, and indeed in most cases sufficient to spare the enquirer the trouble of consulting any more extensive work, Anyone with Professor Réthlisberger’s book in his hands will have need to turn to official documents and lengthy legal treatises only where troublesome minutize are involved, or when a necessity arises * Ernst Rothlisberger. ‘ Gesetze iiber das Urheberrecht in allen Liindern nebst den darauf beziiglichen Inter- nationalen Vertrigen und die Bestimmungen tiber das Verlagsrecht.” Zweite Auflage, Leipzig. G, Hedeler, 8°. 914 for bringing matters under the jurisdiction of the courts. In the earlier part of the work the legal enact- ments of the various countries of the world are arranged under the name of the States placed in alphabetical order. After this follow various international conventions; _ first, that of Bern, and then that of Montevideo, each one of which comprises a considerable number of different States, and then the particular conventions between various pairs of countries. Thus the British author can at a glance learn from the book with which States Great Britain is treaty bound, what are the exact terms on which copyright can be secured in the United States, and that the only other direct convention affecting Great Britain is the particular convention (1893) with Austria- Hungary. Indirect obligations which might arise between different countries will be also seen to bea more complicated matter. Thus England is by the Bern Convention bound up with Italy. Italy has conventions with Mexico, Montenegro, and Paraguay. A delicate problem might in conse- quence arise respecting the status in these dominions of an Italian translation of an English work. Great Britain is bound by no copyright treaty with the Union of Montevideo. But France, to which Great Britain is bound by the Bern Con- vention, has given her adhesion to the South American Union of Montevideo. How would that affect English translations of French works, made in London, if introduced into the States signatory to the Montevideo Convention ? Professor Roth- lisberger’s little work can, of course, only reveal the possibilities of these complications. In reality, no satisfactory solution of them will be found until the whole world is united in one uniform and all- embracing agreement. The various statutes of different countries, with their extraordinarily different provisions, present interesting phenomena—often revealing characteristic features. The Turkish Empire allows an author the imposing privilege of a copy- right (transferable to his heirs and assigns), which lasts four years—if the work is of large size. It must contain not less than 800 pages, nor less than thirty-five lines on a page. Great Britain alone enjoys a complicated method of calculating the duration of copyright, based upon alternatives, and capable of vying in inconvenience with her “weights and measures.” France, Germany, and Spain are by far more liberal in the protection accorded intellectual work ; Spain the most liberal of all. And Guatemala sets the whole world an example of equity in her enactment, “ The right of literary property is not time-bound : on the death of the author it passes to his heirs.” It is sad to - effect that more prominent States have not yet THE AUTHOR. discovered that the labour of a man’s brain is entitled at least to rank as high as the labour of his hands. But the work abounds with instances of that peculiar pusillanimity or superstition of the legal mind which seems to be incapable of looking beyond what has once been set down in a statute. Should Professor Réthlisberger’s work reach a third edition, which we sincerely hope that it may, we would suggest that its value would be enhanced by the mention of leading works in which further information can be found if desired. A complete legal bibliography would be equally out of place and impossible in a manual. But we think that under the heading of each state, a brief reference: to one or two authorities, such as is to be found at at the conclusion of the articles of a high-class encyclopedia, would, without adding much to the length of the book, render its usefulness still more universal. oo THE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.* — T is twenty-six years since the first monthly instalment of Sir George Grove’s “ Dictionary of Music and Musicians” appeared, and the fact that it came out in monthly parts caused many more musicians and amateurs to buy it than would otherwise have been the case. By issuing the revised edition of that remarkable work im volume form only, we fear Messrs. Macmillan will appeal to a smaller public of purchasers than did Sir George. This is to be regretted, because as & work of reference the new edition, judging by the first volume just published, is a great improvement on its predecessor. Without tampering with the masterly notices of Beethoven and other great composers of the original issue, glaring omissions, — such as the biography of Bononcini, Handel's — rival, have been corrected. The present edition oe contains a most interesting article on acoustics — which should never have been omitted from the | first issues ; and Bach, Berlioz, Brahms, and Chopin, — inadequately treated in the first edition, are noW — as is their due, dealt with at greater length. | The editor in his preface states that the average country organist will not find his name in the new edition more than in the old. Every editor of @ book of this kind is bound to meet with com-— plaints of omission and of inadequate treatment. But, if the remaining volumes are edited with the care and diligence of the first, even the most — captious critic ought to be satisfied. No one — really interested in music should be without such a * “Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians,” edited — : by Fuller Maitland. Macmillan & Co. : Foe RS THE AUTHOR. awork of reference. But what is of special interest to members of the Society—both musical com- posers and authors—is the article dealing with musical copyright. Six columns have been devoted to this subject, and the difficulties surrounding musical publication are clearly explained. The rights of the composer are more complicated than the rights of the author, owing to the fact that he holds the performing right as well as the right of publication ; and more complicated than the rights of the dramatist, for, although the dramatist owns both the right of publication and the right of performance, the former is not very often used, and the latter is more easily dealt with owing to the fact that there are fewer people who are able to conduct a dramatic performance than there are able to play a piece of music on a piano or some other instrument. These two rights—the copyright, that is, the right of duplicating copies and the performing right—are clearly and definitely separated. In order to obtain copyright in music it is essential that it must be original, but the courts have interpreted the word “ original” in a wide sense. As in the infringement of literary copyright everything must depend upon the particular facts of each case, so here to quote all the leading cases in order to convey a fair idea of the decisions would have been impossible, the necessary explanation is therefore somewhat cur- tailed. The author of the article maintains that publication before performance does not deprive the composer or his assigns of the performing right. We agree with him in adopting this view of the case, and think this is the proper interpre- tation of the law, but some writers on the subject have doubted this. Although the book is dated 1904, it is difficult to know the exact dates on which the different articles went to press. In referring to inter- national copyright, no mention is made of Denmark and Sweden’s adhesion to the Bern Convention. The omission of Sweden is, perhaps, excusable, as it only joined in August, 1904, but Denmark should certainly have been included among the countries named. The author refers to the decision in the courts which declared that the manufacture and sale of instruments for the mechanical reproduction of copyright airs is not a breach of musical copyright. This decision is clearly correct. ‘The infringement was, without doubt, an infringement of the per- forming right, and if musicians and composers took the same care of preserving their performing rights that dramatists do, they could, no doubt, make a considerable income, but many are very indifferent in this matter, and freely assign to the publisher what they ought to retain themselves, and the publisher, more intent on the reproduction 215 of the copyright than on the preservation of the performing rights, takes little interest in the issue. There is one advantage that musical composers obtain with regard to reproduction in the United States, namely, the fact that the copies to be sent to the Library of Congress in accordance with the United States Act, need not be printed in the United States. This must have been an uninten- tional omission on the part of the Government of that country, as it has clung so tenaciously ever since the Act was passed to what it erroneously considers to be the protection of the printing trade. The second part of the article refers to the infringement of musical rights. The infringe- ment of copyright follows the same lines as the infringement of literary copyright, but the infringe- ment of performing right, owing to the facts which we have already mentioned, has especial legislation. For the benefit of the public anyone is entitled to perform a piece unless a notice specially reserving the right is printed on every copy published. ‘he statutes necessary to carry out this regulation are fully explained. Finally, the article deals with the Musical Summary Proceedings Act, 1902, and explains how those desirous of acting under that inadequate statute should carry out their intention. G. HT, ee SENOR MANUEL GARCIA, C.V.O. T is appropriate that the Centenary of Sefor Manuel Garcia should have occurred in 1905 at the time of the celebration of the Ter- centenary of Cervantes, “ Don Quixote,” and when Spain is congratulating herself that her veteran dramatist, Echegaray, shares with the Provengal poet, Mistral, the last Nobel prize for literature, So much has the success of Sefior Garcia as a teacher of singing been drawn attention to by the press, that it is fitting to note, in these columns, that the maestro, who has been a member of the Society of Authors for some years, owes not a little of his distinction to the power of the pen. It was his treatise entitled “Mémoire sur la Voix Humaine” (afterwards given in London as ‘“¢ Physiological Observations on the Human Voice’) presented to the French Institut in 1840, which brought him the formal congratu- lations of the Académie, and was the foundation of most of the later investigations into the vocal organ. His international reputation, as the most famous teacher of song of our own time and the generation preceding our own, was, moreover, considerably enhanced by the publication of his “ Traité complet 914 for bringing matters under the jurisdiction of the courts. In the earlier part of the work the legal enact- ments of the various countries of the world are arranged under the name of the States placed in alphabetical order. After this follow various international conventions; first, that of Bern, and then that of Montevideo, each one of which comprises a considerable number of different States, and then the particular conventions between various pairs of countries. Thus the British author can at a glance learn from the book with which States Great Britain is treaty bound, what are the exact terms on which copyright can be secured in the United States, and that the only other direct convention affecting Great Britain is the particular convention (1883) with Austria- Hungary. Indirect obligations which might arise between different countries will be also seen to bea more complicated matter. Thus England is by the Bern Convention bound up with Italy. Italy has conventions with Mexico, Montenegro, and Paraguay. A delicate problem might in conse- quence arise respecting the status in these dominions of an Italian translation of an English work. Great Britain is bound by no copyright treaty with the Union of Montevideo. But France, to which Great Britain is bound by the Bern Con- vention, has given her adhesion to the South American Union of Montevideo. How would that affect English translations of French works, made in London, if introduced into the States signatory to the Montevideo Convention ? Professor Réth- lisberger’s little work can, of course, only reveal the possibilities of these complications. In reality, no satisfactory solution of them will be found until the whole world is united in one uniform and all- embracing agreement. The various statutes of different countries, with their extraordinarily different provisions, present interesting phenomena—often revealing characteristic features. The Turkish Empire allows an author the imposing privilege of a copy- right (transferable to his heirs and assigns), which lasts four years—if the work is of large size. It must contain not less than 800 pages, nor less than thirty-five lines on a page. Great Britain alone enjoys a complicated method of calculating the duration of copyright, based upon alternatives, and capable of vying in inconvenience with her “weights and measures.” France, Germany, and Spain are by far more liberal in the protection accorded intellectual work ; Spain the most liberal of all. And Guatemala sets the whole world an example of equity in her enactment, “ The right of literary property is not time-bound : on the death of the author it passes to his heirs.” It is sad to - eflect that more prominent States have not yet THE AUTHOR. discovered that the labour of a man’s brain ig: entitled at least to rank as high as the labour of his hands. But the work abounds with instances of that peculiar pusillanimity or superstition of the legal mind which seems to be incapable of looking beyond what has once been set down in a statute, Should Professor Réthlisberger’s work reach a third edition, which we sincerely hope that it may, we would suggest that its value would be enhanced by the mention of leading works in which further information can be found if desired. A complete legal bibliography would be equally out of place and impossible in a manual. But we think that under the heading of each state, a brief reference: to one or two authorities, such as is to be found at at the conclusion of the articles of a high-class. encyclopedia, would, without adding much to the length of the book, render its usefulness still more universal. ————_—_ + ——_-—__—__— THE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.* + T is twenty-six years since the first monthly instalment of Sir George Grove’s “ Dictionary of Music and Musicians” appeared, and the fact that it came out in monthly parts caused many more musicians and amateurs to buy it tham would otherwise have been the case. By issuing the revised edition of that remarkable work im volume form only, we fear Messrs. Macmillan will appeal to a smaller public of purchasers than did Sir George. This is to be regretted, because as & work of reference the new edition, judging by the first volume just published, is a great improvement on its predecessor. Without tampering with the masterly notices of Beethoven and other great composers of the original issue, glaring omissions, such as the biography of Bononcini, Handel’s rival, have been corrected. The present edition contains a most interesting article on acoustics which should never have been omitted from the first issues ; and Bach, Berlioz, Brahms, and Chopin, inadequately treated in the first edition, are now as is their due, dealt with at greater length. - The editor in his preface states that the average country organist will not find his name in the new edition more than in the old. Every editor of @ book of this kind is bound to meet with com- plaints of omission and of inadequate treatment. But, if the remaining volumes are edited with the care and diligence of the first, even the most captious critic ought to be satisfied. No one really interested in music should be without such * “@rove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians,” edited by Fuller Maitland, Macmillan & Co. iy THER AUTHOR. a work ofreference. But what is of special interest to members of the Society—both musical com- posers and authors—is the article dealing with musical copyright. Six columns have been devoted to this subject, and the difficulties surrounding musical publication are clearly explained. The rights of the composer are more complicated than the rights of the author, owing to the fact that he holds the performing right as well as the right of publication ; and more complicated than the rights of the dramatist, for, although the dramatist owns both the right of publication and the right of performance, the former is not very often used, and the latter is more easily dealt with owing to the fact that there are fewer people who are able to conduct a dramatic performance than there are able to play a piece of music on a piano or some other instrument. These two rights—the copyright, that is, the right of duplicating copies and the performing right—are ciearly and definitely separated. In order to obtain copyright in music it is essential that it must be original, but the courts have interpreted the word “ original” in a wide sense. As in the infringement of literary copyright everything must depend upon the particular facts of each case, so here to quote all the leading cases in order to convey a fair idea of the decisions would have been impossible, the necessary explanation is therefore somewhat cur- tailed. The author of the article maintains that publication before performance does not deprive the composer or his assigns of the performing right. We agree with him in adopting this view of the case, and think this is the proper interpre- tation of the law, but some writers on the subject have doubted this. Although the book is dated 1904, it is difficult to know the exact dates on which the different articles went to press. In referring to inter- national copyright, no mention is made of Denmark and Sweden’s adhesion to the Bern Convention. The omission of Sweden is, perhaps, excusable, as it only joined in August, 1904, but Denmark should certainly have been included among the countries named. The author refers to the decision in the courts which declared that the manufacture and sale of instruments for the mechanical reproduction of copyright airs is not a breach of musical copyright. This decision is clearly correct. The infringement was, without doubt, an infringement of the per- forming right, and if musicians and composers took the same care of preserving their performing rights that dramatists do, they could, no doubt, make a considerable income, but many are very indifferent in this matter, and freely assign to the publisher what they ought to retain themselves, and the publisher, more intent on the reproduction 215 of the copyright than on the preservation of the performing rights, takes little interest in the issue. There is one advantage that musical composers obtain with regard to reproduction in the United States, namely, the fact that the copies to be sent to the Library of Congress in accordance with the United States Act, need not be printed in the United States. This must have been an uninten- tional omission on the part of the Government of that country, as it has clung so tenaciously ever since the Act was passed to what it erroneously considers to be the protection of the printing trade. The second part of the article refers to the infringement of musical rights. The infringe- ment of copyright follows the same lines as the infringement of literary copyright, but the infringe- ment of performing right, owing to the facts which we have already mentioned, has especial legislation. For the benefit of the public anyone is entitled to perform a piece unless a_ notice specially reserving the right is printed on every copy published. ‘he statutes necessary to carry out this regulation are fully explained. Finally, the article deals with the Musical Summary Proceedings Act, 1902, and explains how those desirous of acting under that inadequate statute should carry out their intention. G. der. a eee ae SENOR MANUEL GARCIA, C.Y.O. T is appropriate that the Centenary of Senor Manuel Garcia should have occurred in 1905 at the time of the celebration of the Ter- centenary of Cervantes, “‘ Don Quixote,’ and when Spain is congratulating herself that her veteran dramatist, Echegaray, shares with the Proyengal poet, Mistral, the last Nobel prize for literature. So much has the success of Sefior Garcia as a teacher of singing been drawn attention to by the press, that it is fitting to note, in these columns, that the maestro, who has been a member of the Society of Authors for some years, owes not a little of his distinction to the power of the pen. It was his treatise entitled ‘‘Mémoire sur la Voix Humaine” (afterwards given in London as ‘ Physiological Observations on the Human Voice’’) presented to the French Institut in 1840, which brought him the formal congratu- lations of the Académie, and was the foundation of most of the later investigations into the vocal organ. His international reputation, as the most famous teacher of song of our own time and the generation preceding our own, was, moreover, considerably enhanced by the publication of his ‘ Traite complet 216 de PArt du Chant,” which was translated into English and nearly every other European language. It is easy to understand why, if a giant of physique—such as the Russian exhibited daily at one of the London music halls—is attractive to the multitude, a giant of longevity, of the intellectual distinction of Manuel Garcia, should be so exceed- ingly interesting. That the sovereigns of Spain, England, and Germany have bestowed honours on him when giving their congratulations was to be expected. To Englishmen of the present day it seems incredible that we have, living amongst us, in good mental and physical health, a naturalised compatriot, who was born in the year of Trafalgar, when Pitt and Fox were living and George Ill. was King. Garcia was ten years of age when Waterloo was fought, fourteen when Queen Victoria was born, nineteen when Byron and twenty-seven when Scott died. Consequently, when he feels inclined, he can talk about Keats, Shelley, Charles Lamb, Tom Hood, Edgar Allan Poe, Wordsworth, Sam Rogers, de Quincey, Thackeray, Dickens, and other of his long since departed contemporaries, as if they lived but yesterday. To the musician of to-day, who shakes the hand of the illustrious maestro, that hand appears to be a connecting link that is even more wonderful, for Manuel Garcia was born at Zafra (not Madrid, as stated by Grove) in the year when Beethoven’s only opera, “ Fidelio,” and the great “‘ Eroica” symphony were first produced at Vienna. Haydn was then living. Garcia came into the world before either Balfe or Wallace, who seem, to the musician of to-day, to have lived in almost antediluvian times. Think of it! He was senior to Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Thalberg, and that other great teacher of singing, Lamperti, who lived to a good old age, but went over to the majority thirteen years since. When Verdi and Wagner were born, Garcia was already eight years old. He was eleven when Sir William Sterndale Bennett came into the world. Consequently, he was a good deal older than Gounod, and was already fifteen when his most famous pupil, Jenny Lind, drew her first breath. She died eighteen years ago at the age of sixty-seven. Then, Garcia was seventeen when Sims Reeves was born. When one thinks of the interesting volumes of reminiscences which have been given to the world by comparatively minor musicians, the hope is that this famous centenarian, whilst his memory is still active, will not omit to record his impressions of and correspondence with the great ones of the artistic world whom he has met. The distinguished son ought to have much interesting matter to tell the world concerning that extraordinary singer, THER AUTHOR. his father, Emmanuel Garcia, who was born in 1775. To the veteran whom King Edward has recently honoured, his father’s recollections of Mozart, Haydn, Cherubini, Paganini, Auber, and the great singers of the eighteenth century, must be familiar. And, if the centenarian himself is now disinclined to undertake the labour of writing an autobiography, his grandson, who is well known as a singer, would doubtless readily act as amanuensis, ALGERNON Ross. CORRESPONDENCE. ——>— + — PUBLISHERS’ DELAYS. Sir,—I think it will help to interest your readers, and to emphasise the importance of what you are always urging, if I mention three “ tricks” which have just been played on me :— 1. After a promise to publish immediately, and urgent letters requesting the MS. at once, a pub- lisher delays the publication for many months. Nowadays a book runs the risk of being not the best expression of the author's views if it is delayed even three months. 2. Owing to the author’s usual six presentation copies being taken for granted, the publisher refuses to supply them. 3. “Advance on royalties,” assumed by the author to have its usual sense of advance on receipt of MS., or on passing of proofs, or on publication, is interpreted as meaning “ (?) advance when books are made up ”—which is nearly a year, in this case, after receipt of MS., and nearly six months after publication. Moral.—Never tolerate a general agreement. Insist that every detail, however commonplace and obvious, shall be down in black and white. Do not lead the publishers into temptation. E. M. Wis’ “ CHARLES THE First.” Sir,—Sir Henry Irving must have forgotten that “ Qharles the First” was published (by Blackwood, I think,) when it was first produced at the Lyceum, I had a copy but have mislaid it. It is Wills “ Olivia ” I am hoping some day to see in print. 8. M. Fox. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 15 Issue 07 (April 1905) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 15 Issue 07 (April 1905) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1905-04-01-The-Author-15-7 publications The Author