Canada had, in an act of 1850, availed itself of the foreign reprints act by imposing a duty "not exceeding 20 per cent" on foreign reprints of English works, and under this act the Dominion later became "flooded" with cheap American reprints, while the royalty to British authors, fixed at 12-1/2 percent, was so inadequately collected that only L1084 was paid in the ten years ending 1876. Canada accordingly passed its copyright act of 1875, providing for the reprinting of English copyright works in Canada under Canadian copyright and prohibiting importation of such works except in the original edition from the United Kingdom, and this act, although opposed as an invasion of the exclusive control of their works by British authors, was accepted by the British Parliament in the Canada copyright act of the same year, with the proviso that Canadian reprints should be prohibited importation into the United Kingdom except with assent of the copyright proprietor. It has since provided in the Fisher act of 1900 for the prohibition of importation of an original edition of an English work licensed for reprint in Canada, except two copies for libraries and one copy through demand on the Canadian licensee by an individual for use and not for sale--a provision considered _ultra vires_ by English authorities. {Sidenote: Australian provision} The Australian code of 1905 prohibits the importation of all pirated books or artistic works in which copyright is subsisting in Australia, "whether under this act or otherwise," and provides for the forfeiture of such works, on condition of written notice by the owner of the copyright to the Minister, directly or through the Commissioners of Customs of the United Kingdom, of the existence of the copyright and of its term. These provisions do not seem to make clear whether original editions of English works, of which an Australian edition is copyrighted, are held to be contraband. {Sidenote: Foreign practice} The legislation of France and Germany and other countries seems to provide against importation inferentially rather than specifically, Russia and Peru being exceptional in their specific prohibitions. But the treaties and conventions between the several countries are for the most part specific on this point, as are those of France providing that "when the author of a work of which the property rights are guaranteed by the present treaty shall have assigned his right of publication or of reproduction to a publisher in the territory of either of the high contracting parties with the reservation that the copies or editions of this work thus published or reproduced cannot be sold in the other country, these copies or editions shall be considered and treated, respectively, in that country as illicit reproductions"; and the treaties of Germany are especially specific with respect to musical compositions.