tinence
from intellectual nourishment; and our authors should be able to satisfy
themselves that the advantage to them would bear some proportion to the
loss inflicted upon others. Would it do so? I think not. On the contrary,
they would find their condition greatly impaired. All publishers prefer
copyright books, because, having a monopoly, they can charge monopoly
profits. To obtain a copyright, they constantly pay considerable sums at
home for editorship of foreign books; but from the moment that this treaty
shall take effect, the necessity for doing this will cease, and thus will
our literary men be deprived of one considerable source of profit. Again,
literary labor in England is cheap, because of want of demand; but
international copyright, by opening to it our vast market, will quicken
the demand, and many more books will be produced, the authors of all of
which will be competitors with our own, who will then possess no
advantages over them. The rates of American authors will then fall
precisely as those of the British ones will rise; and this result will be
produced as certainly as the water in the upper chamber of a canal lock
will fall as that in the lower one is made to rise. On one side of the
Atlantic literary labor is well paid, and on the other it is badly paid.
International copyright will establish a level; and how much reason our
authors have to desire that it shall be established, I leave it for them
to determine.

The direct tendency of the system now proposed will be found to be that of
diminishing the domestic competition for the production of books, and
increasing our dependence on foreigners for the means of amusement and
instruction; and yet the confirmation of the treaty is urged on the ground
that it will increase the first and diminish the last. If it would have
this latter effect, it is singular that the authors of England should be
so anxious for the measure as they are. It is not usual for men to seek to
diminish the dependence of others on themselves.

These, however, are, as I think, but a small part of the inconveniences to
which our authors are now proposing to subject themselves. They have at
present a long period allowed them, during which they have an absolute
monopoly of the particular forms of words they offer to the reading
public; and this monopoly has, in a very few years, become so productive,
that authorship offers perhaps larger profits than any other pursuit
requiring the