was to "amend and render effectual" the last act, and to give further encouragement to such arts. The subject of the copyright is diffusely stated.

with much verbose repetition. The breach is to consist in making or selling a pirated copy or cast, produced by moulding, copying or imitating in any way. The last clause, which adds a contingent right of fourteen years more to the author, if living, is modelled on a similar grant in the act of Anne, but with the illiberal exclusion from such benefit of the originator, who has sold or parted with the right, reducing the small modicum of addition which supports the words of the title "FURTHER encouragement" of arts. It is not stated that this amended act has ever been judicially applied; but it has not certainly been esteemed satisfactory by the artists, who complained of it to the Commons' committee. The only approach to a sculpture case of late years was a complaint of a theft of the models of Madame Vestris's foot from a rival Italian figuremaker. It went to a police court, and was supposed to have been manufactured for advertisement's sake.

During the early part of this century almost all the arts continued steadily in progress; the annual number of patents reached in 1801 the number of 100, and in the manufacturing arts the facility of production was always on the increase. New styles and new printing and engraving machinery came into use; and in 1814 the returns showed an annual produce of 5,000,000 pieces of calico. Alderman Boydell, the most famous of printsellers, the only man whose literary or artistic production ever made him Lord Mayor, died about this time. In 1804 he obtained the sanction of parliament to a lottery for the disposal of his property.

His plates for a single work, the Shakspere gallery, had cost 300,000l., exclusive of large sums for painting the pictures. At the time when he commenced business, the engraving trade of England was an import one. It became one of exportation to a great amount. His cata

logue of prints on sale at one time enumerated 4400, one half of which were English. And the importance of the art is exhibited in its employment of artists of the highest rank to execute pictures for engraving, or paying large sums for the privilege of copying them. Sir T. Lawrence had an agreement to receive 30007. a year from one house for an exclusive right of engraving his works, while Wilkie received 12007. for the right to engrave his Chelsea Pensioners, being just the amount received for the picture itself. The copyright of engravings was extended by 6 Will. IV. to Ireland. In 1830 the first and only case in equity under the old designs acts occurred, viz. Sheriff and Coates, in which Sugden and Wetherell were among the counsel. From a technical difficulty the case failed before the Vice-Chancellor; the Chancellor (Lyndhurst), however, granted an injunction, recognizing the equitable right, in addition to the penalties given by statute; but the question of originality could not be conveniently tried. The only legal case that occurred during the existence of the statute was that of MacMurdo before Lord Kenyon.

In 1836 a committee was appointed to inquire into the best means of promoting arts and manufactures, and their report contains a very valuable and interesting body of evidence from various classes of persons, all more or less qualified to throw light upon the subject. The report exhibits the development of the different branches of art at home and abroad, various points connected with their history, and the intimate connection that subsists between all these branches from the most exalted to the humblest; it investigates the duties of a government in respect of them, first, the positive, including patronage, in those cases which are not within the range of the private buyer; and secondly,

education of the perceptive taste of the people by means of museums, and the creative taste of the designer by schools of design, &c.; thirdly, the negative functions, viz. the protection of the designer or inventor's right, its amount and the mode of its vindication. On this head they collected the most obvious grievances existing and proposals for their remedy; they affirmed the desirableness of some new legislation, but they made no special recommendations, on account of the " delicacy and difficulty" of the subject, and its minuteness of detail; they therefore merely left it with an urgent recommendation to the care of government. The first result of this was in 1839, Lord Sydenham being an active promoter of it, and was a very modest extension. It stated, that since the former designs acts (forty-five years had then elapsed) new fabrics had been invented. It was nearly similar to the preceding acts, and extended their operation to woven fabrics of wool, silk or hair (animal materials), and it extended the general protection to Ireland. In the same year a much more extensive measure was carried under similar auspices. It was intended to include the whole range of manufacturing ornament, any new or original design for ornamenting any article of manufacture, distinguishing patterns to be printed or woven, and shape, which was limited to external shape. The introduction of solid form might lead, it was thought, to confusion as to the subjects of the sculpture acts, which were therefore excluded. It may be noticed as a coincidence, that as engravings obtained copyright before the imitation of solid form, so in ornamental design patterns preceded ornamental shape. The articles were to be marked as heretofore, and the system of registration was now introduced. Probably our increased intercourse with France had rendered us less averse to take a lesson from our neighbours; direct piratical application, and also imitation, were forbidden. The term given was twelve months (four times the term of the old acts), except for shape in metal, which had three years. Lace, however, was ex

cluded, and the subjects of the older acts, calico, &c., the calico printers, it seems, fearing the trouble and cost of registering their numerous productions.

It was not to be expected, however, that the new system, if good, should remain inoperative in the most active branch of textile manufacture. The duty on calicoes had been taken off in 1831; the returns for the preceding year showed a production of eight and a half million pieces. The removal of the duty had combined with mechanical improvement to increase the amount both for home and foreign consumption; and the progress of machinery at the same time (in twenty-five years the cost of preparing a pattern, printed or not, for prints was reduced to one-fifth and the time to one-fourth) afforded greater facility than ever for piracy, which was practised with all the energy of modern business competition. The subject came before parliament in 1840, and was vigorously debated in and out of the house, with the aid of petitions and counter-petitions, squibs, treatises and pamphlets. The opponents of the measure boasted a superiority in the amount of production, as to the mileage of their calico, and the number of their hands employed; its supporters claimed superiority in design, on which they said the future prospects of the trade must be built. The lace-workers, also, not included in the last act, were divided; the pillow-weavers, the inferior party in point of quantity, supported the bill; the employers of machinery opposed it. The bill in the House was principally under the conduct of Mr. Emerson Tennent. Lord Sydenham supported it; and at Sir Robert Peel's suggestion the conflicting opinions were referred to a committee, and both parties had ample opportunity of contending the point.

The opponents of the measure were willing to allow the owner a title to a start in the market, and the reputation acquired thereby, before the pirate could overtake them (which it would not require any act of parliament to give them). One of the witnesses admitted that piracy was injurious in" isolated cases;" the committee suggested

that he should mention those cases where it was not injurious, but he declined to supply any information on that head. A second thought the taking another man's property unjust, but then many of the patterns were too trivial to be worth protection. The owners of the patterns wanted a right to all the rest as well as the "isolated cases;" they preferred deciding for themselves as to the triviality of their patterns; they said piracy had paralysed their trade. The report of the committee is very copious, and it was followed by a little work by Mr. Tennent advocating the extension. This volume condenses, illustrates and arranges the most material parts of the report, and contains an express refutation, by means of materials collected on the continent during the recess, of the argument, that copyright would prove destructive to the export trade.

The bill became a law in 1842. It repeals all the previous designs acts, and enumerates the application of the design by printing, painting, &c. at much length, and the purpose, viz. pattern, shape, or configuration or ornament. It classes them in twelve divisions, some of them obtaining three years, some one year, and some nine months' protection; among the latter are the bulk of calico prints, the term of which is thus trebled. The novelty is explained as nonprevious publication in the united kingdom or elsewhere; the mark to be appended to each article was made more convenient, and the name, which had been objected to, supplied by a cipher; the word proprietor was defined, to prevent any narrowing of the application of the act, and, coupled with this, a simple and convenient mode was introduced for transferring the ownership. Notwithstanding the liberal construction put on the word copy under the engraving acts, the act, like the last, provides against the piratical application, not only of the design, but of any fraudulent imitation of it; and instead of requiring proof of knowledge of the want of the owner's consent, a mode of giving due legal notice is set out. The penalties are to be adjudged by the usual inferior tribunals; the objections