was; but there must be in every rank and | Bishop upon a new foundation, was entitled profession some members not so remark- to that sum. He found, however, from a able as others for delicacy and propriety; paper presented last year, that Dr. Maltby and in the present case he feared that there might be a class of barristers, who never came to London, who were not in the slightest degree under the influence of the leaders of the profession, and who, unless they were restrained by positive enactment, would be liable to be tempted into improper proceedings. He had observed that his noble and learned Friend (Lord Brougham) was by no means confident in the correctness of the opinion which he had expressed upon this subject, and he implored him to be guided by the decision which their Lordships had already arrived at. Bill read 2. PATENT LAW AMENDMENT BILL. 66 had received 79,6581. more than that income. In 1843 there was a vacancy in the rectory of Eaglescliffe, and the Bishop appointed his son to that valuable preferment, which was worth 1,2001. a year. Three weeks ago a canonry, which he believed was known as a golden canonry," became vacant in the Cathedral church of Durham, and the Bishop appointed this same son, the rector of Eaglescliffe, to that canonry. He (Sir B. Hall) wished to ask whether any remonstrances had been made by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, or whether any correspondence had taken place between them and the Bishop with reference to this appointment; and, if so, whether the noble Lord would have any objection to the production of such correspondence? LORD BROUGHAM presented a Bill LORD JOHN RUSSELL understood for the further Amendment of the Law that a correspondence had taken place with touching Letters Patent for Inventions. regard, he believed, to the emoluments the His Lordship, who spoke in a scarcely canon was to receive, and there would be audible tone, was understood to say, that no objection to lay it on the table. His the measure was similar in principle to hon. Friend seemed to be under some misthat which had been under the consid-apprehension as to the value of the "golden eration of Parliament last Session, but that it did not embody the Amendments introduced into the Bill of last year by the House of Commons. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Friday, February 13, 1852. MINUTES.] PUBLIC BILL.-1° Railways (Ireland). ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS. SIR BENJAMIN HALL wished to put a question to the noble Lord at the head of the Government with reference to an appointment which had lately taken place to a canonry in the Cathedral church of Durham. In 1836 Dr. Maltby was appointed Bishop of Durham, and he (Sir B. Hall) found from the Parliamentary papers that 8,000l. a year was assigned to the see of Durham, and that Dr. Maltby, being a Lord Campbell canonry." The Ecclesiastical Commissioners had been taking measures to reduce all the canonries to 1,000l. a year; and by an Order in Council the value of the canonry to which the hon. Baronet alluded would be reduced to that amount. BRITISH SUBJECTS IN AUSTRIA. ask the noble Lord at the head of the Go- THE HOLMFIRTH CATASTROPHE, MR. SANDARS gave notice that on Monday he would ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was his intention to institute an inquiry into the frightful loss of life which had recently occurred at Holmfirth, and whether any funds would be made available on behalf of the sufferers? to ask, also, whether, applying the precedent of Mr. Finlay's claim upon the Greek Government to the present case, the noble Lord was prepared to say that, supposing the expulsion to have taken place merely because of the religious profession of those parties, or merely because it was thought expedient to gratify the wishes of a portion of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria, this was not a case demanding the most exact attention and scrutiny at the hands of Her Majesty's Government, and the most ample reparation at the hands of the Austrian Government? LORD JOHN RUSSELL replied, that there was so far truth in the statement of the hon. and learned Gentleman, that certain persons, ministers of the Scotch Free Church, who were residing in the Austrian territories, for the purpose of the conversion of the Jews to the Christian faith, had been expelled from those territories. Those persons stated that they had not attempted to make proselytes from the Roman Catholic to the Protestant faith, but that their sole endeavour was to promote Christianity among the Jewish population. They certainly seemed to have been persons who entirely separated themselves from any political associations or proceedings whatever. But when the hon. and learned Member asked him whether liberty of conscience was secured by the ancient laws of Hungary, and the constitution of 1848, he (Lord John Russell) could only state that it was well known that the ancient laws of Hungary were exceedingly favourable to religious freedom, and so, he believed, was the constitution of 1848; but these laws had at present no effect in Hungary, and the Austrian Government had thought proper to repeal the constitution. Her Majesty's Government had not at present information of the grounds upon which the steps that the question referred to had been taken; but upon representation made to Lord Granville, he had addressed a communication upon the subject to Her Majesty's Minister at Vienna. He (Lord John Russell) was not able to state whether the proceedings of the Austrian Government had been against the present municipal laws of the Austrian empire, or contrary to international rights; but undoubtedly, the case called for explanation, from the hardship of the sudden expulsion of innocent persons, and their considerable loss of property in consequence of that expulsion. SIR GEORGE GREY said, he was in a condition to answer the question at once. He had received from the magistrates an account of the appalling calamity to which the hon. Member referred, and they stated that an inquest had been begun on some of the bodies that had been found, and they requested the Government to send a competent engineer to attend the adjourned inquest, and to make previous inquiries as to the cause of the accident; they also stated something as to another reservoir, with respect to which they thought investigation desirable. A gentleman had accordingly been directed to go down and watch the proceedings, and render any assistance to the magistrates that he could. With regard to the last part of the question, he could not hold out hopes of any assistance from the public money; and he trusted that the case would be amply met by public subscriptions. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT. MR. LABOUCHERE moved for leave to bring in a Bill to carry into effect certain provisions contained in the Copyright Treaty with France, and said, that inasmuch as this Bill contained a principle of legislation novel to the House, it would perhaps be deemed proper that he should in a very few words explain what that principle, or extension of principle, was. The House were aware that by an Act passed in 1838 the subject of international copyright generally was raised. By that Act (1 & 2 Vict. c. 59) it was provided that the Crown might, by an Order in Council, give to books, prints, music, and similar articles from foreign countries the same privileges of copyright as were enjoyed in this country, provided those foreign countries conceded reciprocal privileges. By an Act passed in 1844, entitled the International Copyright Amendment Act (7 Vict. c. 12), these powers were extended to articles of sculpture, and other works of art. In these enactments original works only were included, translations being expressly excluded. In order to procure the benefits of these enact ments, treaties had been entered into with Prussia, Saxony, and some other States on the Continent; and we were at this moment in communication with Bavaria on the same subject. Gentlemen who had paid attention to this subject were aware that for a long time negotiations had been going on between this country and France upon the question of international copyright, but that the various proposals of the two countries had not hitherto terminated in any satisfactory arrangement. The French Government, however, had recently sent over a gentleman to this country, specially commissioned to negociate with the Government on the terms on which the regulation could be relaxed; and the result of communications with that gentleman was the treaty between the two Governments, a copy of which had been laid on the table of the House. It was to enable the Government to carry out certain stipulations in that treaty that he now moved for leave to bring in the present Bill. By this treaty various extensions of powers were proposed to be made in the Act of 1844, but as they were of a trifling description, he would not dwell upon them at length, contenting himself with a reference to the more important principle contained in the Bill to which he had already adverted. He would at once proceed to state what that principle was. It had been strongly pressed upon the Government by France that we should extend the protection now confined to original works to translations of works; and after some discussion the British Government agreed to that proposal, with certain restrictions and modifications. It was now intended to give protection to the authorised translation of the original work, on certain terms. It seemed to him unjust and improper to place translations on the same, or anything like the same, footing as original publications, for he thought there was a plain distinction between them. It might, indeed, be contended that a translation, being the result of a new application of original labour, should be considered as an independent work, and under certain circumstances he thought that was so. Translations of works of imagination and poems, even of works of fiction (for instance, one of Sir Walter Scott's novels), must, it was clear, be very imperfect, if they had not in a great degree the merit of the original works. On the other hand, there was a class of works purely historical and scientific, as Humboldt's Cosmos (which Mr. Labouchere had been translated by various persons in England), the translations of which were little more than mere reproductions of the original work, by a merely mechanical operation. Taking all these questions into consideration, it appeared to the Government that it would not be right to accede to the proposal of the French Government, or to grant a very extended protection to translations; but that it might be just, that it would be a great advantage to the author of the original work, and that the general advantages of the arrangement would more than counterbalance any inconveniences which might arise from it, if for a certain limited period protection were given to the authorised translation of an original work. It was agreed, therefore, that for a period of five years the author of an original work, published in either country, should be entitled to protection for the translation which he himself authorised, provided that at the time he published the original he announced on the title-page of such first publication his intention of protecting the translation, and that the latter was published within a certain limited period after the former. This was the principal provision of the Bill; which would, however, not only enable the Government to carry out the convention into which they had entered with France, but would enable them to make similar conventions with other Powers; for it was clear that the law on the subject should be of universal application; and that if we entered into a convention of this kind with France we should be prepared to make similar conventions with all other countries who were willing to enter into them. The measure would also extend the power of the Crown, and might lead to future negotiations with such other countries as should be desirous to make arrangements similar to those which had been entered into with France. The Bill, in fact, not only carried into effect the convention with France, but must also be regarded as a sort of complement to the measure of 1844. VISCOUNT MAHON said, that, so far from offering any opposition to the proposition of the right hon. Gentleman, he thought, on the contrary, that he was entitled to the thanks of the public for the care he had bestowed on the subject. He thought also that the thanks of the public, and more especially of men of letters, were due to the noble Lord the Member for Tiverton (Viscount Palmerston), under MR. LABOUCHERE could only say, in answer to the question of the noble Lord, that at present he was not aware of any negotiations going on with any country but the one he had already adverted to; but it was the intention of Government, when this Bill should become law, to communicate the law as it should then stand to the various countries of the world, especially to the United States, and to urge upon them the subject, in order that a negotiation might be entered into that would lead to a satisfactory conclusion. whose administration of the Foreign Office | language, there was no country with which this treaty was entered into. He thought it was more desirable that they should the right hon. Gentleman had taken a just come to a good understanding with regard view of the subject of translations; it was to copyright, or any other subject, than He had a subject of difficulty-for while, on the the United States of America. one hand, translations could not claim to reason to believe, from communications be put on a footing with original works, from that country, that there was now on the other hand, he concurred with him (what there was not at a former period) that they were entitled to some degree of a growing wish for the establishment of protection. There was an obvious advan- a system of copyright between the two tage to the public in such a course. They countries; and he hoped that the negotiahad an example in the case of the work tions on that subject would now have a that had been cited by the right hon. Gen- happier issue than at a former period. He tleman, Humboldt's Cosmos; it was a wished to know from the right hon. Gentlestrictly scientific work, without any room man if any negotiations were in progress for the play of fancy, or for any especial between those countries to which he had felicity of diction; but yet, even in a work referred, or whether he could hold out to of this kind there was a great difference them the expectation of establishing such in the degree of merit of the various negotiations on the passing of this Bill? translations of it, and the popular acceptance of such a work must depend upon the fidelity with which the translation of the work may have been executed. It was of advantage to the public that there should be one translation that should come forward under the auspices of the author of the original work, and that they should give to the author of the original work some interest in providing an authorised translation. On that ground he thought the right hon. Gentleman had taken a just view of the subject, or had fixed a proper period, for the present at least, when he named five years as the time of vested right in translations; and he trusted there would be no division of opinion as to the utility of passing this Bill. His learned Friend Mr. Justice Talfourd introduced the Bill on the subject, and when he ceased to be a Member of the House that Bill came into his (Viscount Mahon's) hands; but he (Viscount Mahon) and Mr. Justice Talfourd both felt they could not complete the subject in a satisfactory manner without the aid of a treaty respecting international copyright. He rejoiced to see that some progress had been made towards effecting that object; and he was anxious to elicit from the right hon. Gentleman in what condition they stood with respect to other countries besides those which he had mentioned. There were two countries of especial importance-Belgium, which, from its geographical position and manufactures, was able to compete in many respects with great advantage with England and France; and there was another country of still more importance the United States of America. In consequence of the affinity of race and of Leave given. Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Labouchere and Mr. Attorney General. PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION (SCOTLAND). The LORD ADVOCATE moved for leave to bring in a Bill to extend the Right of Voting for Members of Parliament, and to amend the Laws relating to the Representation of the People in Scotland. The learned Lord said that the provisions of this Bill would be so nearly identical with those of the Bill moved the other night, by the noble Lord at the head of the Government for England, that he need not detain the House with many observations. There was a topic, however, to which he could not help adverting. was the good fortune of his noble Friend who introduced the English Bill, not only to have introduced and witnessed throughout its whole career the results of the first measure of reform, but also to have been the instrument of introducing the second measure, which was intended to extend it. In regard to reform in Scot It land, the case was different, Of his great | do, notwithstanding the greatest political countryman who introduced the former disadvantages. When Lord Jeffrey proBill (Lord Jeffrey), unfortunately we had posed the former Bill, it would not have been nothing now left except the fruit of his extraordinary if, in introducing popular public labours and the honoured memory representation into Scotland for the first of his name; and he (the Lord Advocate) time, the gratification of success had been could not more properly and more appro- to a certain extent blended with anxiety; priately commence the honourable and if the Reform Bill was an experiment in gratifying task committed to him than by England, it was so to a much greater exrecalling to the recollection of the House tent in Scotland. But, if an experiment, the name of one who devoted, during so it had proved completely a successful one. long a period of his life, his great ability His countrymen had made good use of to the cause of the liberties of his coun- their privilege. There was no part of the try-a man who had spread the fame of United Kingdom in which the franchise Scotland throughout every part of the had been more honestly or more indepenworld where the English language was dently exercised. He could only hope that understood, and whose name would be if this measure should pass, the same use venerated and loved by every true son of might be made of it, and that Scotland Scotland as long as genius and eloquence, would maintain and increase her chaand learning, and patriotism, were honour-racter for purity in elections. He hoped ed and appreciated. When Francis Jeffrey moved the first Reform Bill for Scotland, he had a task imposed upon him which, in some particulars, was even one of greater interest than that which had devolved upon his noble Friend in the introduction of the Bill for England. The electoral system of England, though overlaid by antiquated abuses, yet preserved in its form, and to a certain extent in its substance, something of popular representation. Scotland at that time had not even its shadow. The state of the representation in Scotland before the Reform Bill, would, when a few years had passed away, be entitled to a place among the fabulous parts of Scottish history. The county representation was vested in a small knot of landholders called the Court of Freeholders, not freeholders in the English acceptation of the word, but persons holding directly of the Crown property valued according to certain ancient valuations at a certain amount; and this body was only diversified by the introduction, when political animosity ran high, of certain very expensive but altogether fictitious tenures. As for the borough representation, it was still more unpopular, for the town-councils were the only constituencies, and they not only elected their representatives, but also elected themselves. The House might well conceive to what extent representatives so elected, and constituencies so constituted, were calculated to reflect the opinions of the people. That, notwithstanding such a system of representation, Scotland should have flourished as it did, did not prove that popular representation was of no value, but simply what the energy of a nation might The Lord Advocate that all parties-candidate and voter, landlord and tenant, employer and employed— would make it their pride and duty to maintain the national character for selfrespect and independence, without which popular institutions were at the best but a doubtful good. In regard to the results of the Reform Bill, that part of the subject was one too general for him then to enter on. But he must be allowed to say, when the Reform Bill was spoken of as a failurehowever true that might be in a comparative sense, that, as a positive proposition, he could not help thinking the reverse was true. He knew at least that in Scotland it had been productive of great benefits. A great though peaceful revolution in politics and political sentiment had taken place within the last twenty-one years. Any man who saw what an increase of strength public opinion had received during that time, how much the country had found both a voice and a response within the walls of that House, what an increased sense of responsibility prevailed, and what an improvement had taken place in the tone of political morality, must be convinced that, whatever the Reform Bill might not have done, it was impossible to estimate too highly that which it had done. The Government were taunted with the fact, that there was no popular excitement on the subject of reform. They were told within that House and without, that apathy prevailed, that no crowds were gathering round the walls of Parliament to learn the probable fate of the measure. That was perfectly true; and the case being so, he said, if this were the first measure of the kind proposed in peaceful times, and dis |