The fourth Congress of the Chambers of Commerce of the Empire met in London, when Lord Monkswell’s bill was before Parliament, and unanimously adopted a resolution, which I proposed and which was seconded by the Honourable Thomas Fergus, of New Zealand, declaring its approval of the bill and expressing the earnest hope that it might speedily become law.

Lord Monkswell’s bill did not succeed in getting through the required stages to make it law, but the British Government has now taken the matter up, and the King’s speech at the opening of the present Parliament announces a copyright bill as a Government measure.

Towards the close of the Parliamentary session of 1900, the Honourable Mr. Fisher introduced into the Canadian Parliament a Bill which was found to be generally acceptable and which ultimately became law.  This Bill, usually referred to as the Fisher Bill, provides in effect that if a Canadian publisher, under license from the owner of a British copyright, reproduces in Canada an edition designed for sale only in Canada, the Minister of Agriculture may prohibit the importation into Canada of any copy of the book printed elsewhere.  The Fisher Bill was passed with the full approval of the Imperial authorities, and is another great concession to the Canadian trade.  Now, if a Canadian publisher buys the British copyright of a work so far as Canada is concerned, he may protect himself not only against the introduction of United States and foreign prints, but even as against the introduction of reprints produced in Great Britain itself.

The Fisher Bill, which was passed at the instance of the Canadian Society of Authors with the sanction of the Canadian Manufacturers’ Association and the Executive of the Employing Printers’ Association, expressed in formal resolutions laid before the Government, and with the tacit approval of the Canadian publishers, placed the Canadian publishing trade upon a firm basis.  It was the final step in securing the establishment of the Publishing Trade in Canada.

In June, 1900, Professor Mavor and I were called before the Select Committee of the House of Lords and questioned as to whether in our opinion the Fisher Bill was intended to be local in its operation and not to conflict with the Imperial Copyright Laws.  We gave the opinion that the Bill was intended to be confined in its operation to Canada.  This opinion was accepted as a satisfactory explanation and the Bill received no opposition in England and came into effect without disallowance.  By allowing this Bill to become law, the Imperial authorities gave that further recognition to the Canadian publishers which successfully established their trade, and put an end to the deadlock which had existed between Great Britain and Canada for twenty years.  Mr. W.J.  Gage, the Chairman of the Wholesale Booksellers’ Section of the Board of Trade, himself testified to the present prosperity of the Trade at a Banquet on the 19th of last December, at which he entertained the Section, and congratulated his hearers “upon the last year having been with them a year of prosperity, and a year of prosperity with the Paper Trade as well.”