Current:

Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), 15th December 1886, Edition 1 of 1, Page 1640, I 1640 * The Publishers' Circular , Dec....

Page 1640
Page 4
4 of 56

On this page

  • Departments (1)
    • 188 Fleet Stbeet : Dec. 15, 1886.
  • Text (4)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      I 1640 * The Publishers' Circular , Dec....

      I 1640 * The Publishers' Circular , Dec . 15 , 1886 II . : —»—

      188 Fleet Stbeet : Dec. 15, 1886.

      188 Fleet Stbeet : Dec . 15 , 1886 .

      Ij Tn December, 1884, We Published A Mos...

      Ij TN December , 1884 , we published a most \ J- interesting letter froin a Canadian official

      respecting the condition of the Customs impost | on English books reprinted in the United States

      ¦ I and . " imported ¦* into the Dominion . It will be ! reMenibere $ f ^ d that , by a Colonial j Act ( the Foreign

      l ! Reprints Act ) of 1847 , Canadians are permitted of | to import American reprints on paymenta

      ' ¦ Customs duty of 12 £ per cent , ad val & ^ rem , which is supposed to be distributed among the

      authors interested . The titles of these books , however , must be registered by their English

      publishers at the Customs House . But , as was stated in these pages two years agdy

      the amount of revenue derived by authors from this source has always been looked

      upon as a standing jol & e . Our Canadian correspondent then pointed out that if books

      were properly registered , and in good time , the sum realised on behalf of the authors would

      be very considerable . There are , however , red-tape difficulties in th . 0 way of this

      realisaj tion . The titles of the books have to be sent I fco the Customs department , whose officials will

      not forward the list of copyright books until J ¦ it has assumed goodly proportions . By that

      ¦ time reprints , as are a matter spread of far cours and e wide , the in American the

      Do-| minion , and the official arrangement has i become useless to English writers and

      publishers . Without immediate action on the part of the authorities the sum due to our

      authors would be so trifling that it would not be worthy of pursuit .

      Our Canadian correspondent is hopeful of good results should the existing law be pressed

      home . He remarks in a recent letter : * Since writing you in November , 1884 , on the subject

      of English copyright works being admitted into Canada without payment of the 12 £ per cent .

      ad valorem duty to the Customs here , I have been waiting to see what steps the publishers

      would take to remedy the evil . I attempted then to show the large sum annually lost to

      the trade or the owners by the neglect to take actiqn , but although two years have elapsed

      the same state of things — is in existence , magni j . - fied by the fresh works issued since the date

      mentioned . ' The whole Dominion is flooded with [ the

      reprints ] , and I venture to state of the lists shown by each publisher , not one in twenty

      pay a copyri w ght duty . A . on importation 0 , ow ing to ~ _ f the fact , already pointed out , that the Canadian

      Government is not systematically put in possession of the data to enable the different

      collectors in this country to collect the same . ' We are very pleased to repeat this advice

      Bv ' — from - ¦ ' one who knows : ' and has official expe-

      Ij Tn December, 1884, We Published A Mos...

      rience in the Dominion . Perhaps , if matters I were more methodically arranged by the I

      authorities , some good might follow the due I attention to the requirements -of the law . I

      As the case stands at present , the reward is i I hardly worth ' the attention it would require . I f

      We "believe . it is not at all an unusual thing I for English authors , in making arrangements

      with American publishers , to , perhaps I rather unthinkingly , agree to allow their American

      reprints to enter Canada ivithout the duty . Such authors , having eaten their cake in the

      United States , cannot expect to get it in Canada as well ; they should , however , carefully

      -consider if their Canadian cake would not be much larger than that given by the Americans

      for the Canadian right if they reserved Canada to themselves .

      __

      Another Colonial Difficulty Respecting C...

      Another colonial difficulty respecting

      Customs has , within the past few months , been warmly discussed in Victoria . The question

      there relates to the duty on Christmas * birthday , and Sunday-school cards , which importers ,

      with every show of reason , contend should be admitted free . Mr . M . L . Hutchinson , in a

      letter to the A ¥ gus , explains the reasons which support the importers' objections . The

      objections are —( 1 ) because such articles are not , and cannot truthfully be , classified as

      manufactured stationery ; ( 2 ) because all of them have [ hitherto ] been admitted free as

      works of art , printed matter , engravings , or copyright productions , which ' fire free by law ;

      ( 3 ) because such things are not produced in the colony , ancLnevet have been in the way of

      trade ; a few specimens for exhibition purposes were made some years since , but no printing

      firm now produces them for sale , nor in any measure can meet the demand for such

      articles ; ( 4 ) because it is admitted that the distribution of such beautiful works of art has

      an educational influence of a . very high order , and any duty on Sunday-school reward cards

      and Scripture texts is only a tax on the voluntary efforts of earnest workers in the

      higher and refined branches of Christian work .

      Objections such as these seem incontestable ; and yet the Customs department has decided

      that the importation of such , articles should bo subject to a tax . It appears that the leading

      adherents to the duty imposition are the members of the Master Printers' Association .

      Their action in the matter could be understood if any ¦ industry % / of the kind existed to an

      appreciable extent among them . No one should deny the rights of manufacturers to

      protect themselves against injurious alien I

  • Citation
    • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), Dec. 15, 1886, page 1640, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15121886/page/4/