nces would sell for half a
guinea; of the wrong to such essayists that results from the issue of
cheap "periodicals made up of selections from the reviews and magazines of
Europe;" of the "abominable extravagance of buying a great and good novel
in a perishable form for a few cents;" of the increased accessibility of
books by the "masses of the people" that must result from increasing
prices; and of the greatly increased facility with which circulating
libraries may be formed whensoever the "great and wealthy houses" shall
have been given power to claim from each and every reader of Dickens's
novels, as their share of the monopoly profits, thrice as much as he now
pays for the book itself! This, however, is only history repeating itself
with a little change of place, the argument of to-day, coming from the
North, being an almost exact repetition of that which, twenty years since,
came from the South--from the mouths of men who rejoiced in the fact
that no newspapers were published in their districts, and who well _knew_
that the way towards preventing the dissemination of knowledge lay in the
direction of granting the monopoly privileges that had been asked. The
anti-slavery men of the present thus repeat the argument of the
pro-slavery men of the past, extremes being thus brought close together.

Our people are here assured that Russia, Sweden, and other countries are
ready to unite with them in recognizing the "rights" now claimed. So, too,
it may be well believed, would it be with China, Japan, Bokhara, and the
Sandwich Islands. Of what use, however, would be such an union? Would it
increase the facilities for transplanting the ideas of American authors?
Are not the obstacles to such transplantation already sufficiently great,
and is it desirable that they should be at all increased? Germany has
already tried the experiment, but whether or not, when the time shall
come, the existing treaties will be renewed, is very doubtful. Where she
now pays dollars, she probably receives cents. Discussion of the question
there has led to the translation and republication of the letters here now
republished, and the views therein expressed have received the public
approbation of men whose opinions are entitled to the highest
consideration. What has recently been done in that country in reference to
domestic copyright, and what has been the effect, are well exhibited in an
article from an English journal just now received, a part of