1218 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [PART V 
injury of the British author, while if Canadian publishers. 
were allowed to reprint they would supply not only their 
own markets but part of the United States markets, to the 
great advantage of the author, as the royalty could be more 
easily and more effectually collected than the import duty. 
This was followed in 1869 by a formal proposal that Canadian 
publishers should be allowed to reprint the works of English 
authors without their consent on paying a royalty of 12} 
per cent. on the published price. 
It was objected to this proposal by the Imperial Govern- 
ment, among other things, that it was doubtful whether the 
royalty would be collected better than the import duty 
had been; that the proposal would make English books 
cheaper in Canada than at home, thus making the British 
reader pay a monopoly price to let the Colonists have cheaper 
books; that if the plan were feasible it would no doubt have 
been adopted by arrangements between the author and the 
Canadian publishers, and that the Imperial Copyright Con- 
ventions with foreign nations would have to be denounced 
if the proposal were allowed. 
The Canadian Government, however, did not accept the 
views of the Imperial Government, and they introduced 
and carried a Bill in 1872 which required reprinting in 
Canada within a month ;1 if this were not done licences might 
be issued to Canadian publishers to reprint on payment of 
a royalty of 12} per cent., foreign reprints of such reprinted 
works being totally excluded. The Bill, which was reserved 
by the Governor-General, was vehemently opposed in 
England, and as a compromise the Imperial Government 
prepared a draft Bill which was sent in a circular dispatch to 
the Colonies on July 29, 1873. The Bill provided, in the 
case of books published in the Colonies, that they should be 
published in the United Kingdom within twenty days, and 
if this were not done the Judicial Committee of the Privy 
Council might issue a licence for their publication, and if not 
published in the United Kingdom within six months foreign 
reprints of books might be imported. In the case of books 
* Parl. Pap., H. C. 144, 1875, pp. 5-7.