In 1887, a comparatively uniform system of International Copyright was established under the Berne Convention, which applies to the British Empire, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Tunis, Hayti and Montenegro. These countries comprise what is called, "The Copyright Union." Under this Convention Canadian authors enjoy in the other countries of the Union for their works--whether published in one of those countries or unpublished--the rights which the respective laws grant to natives. (Austria-Hungary has a separate Convention with Great Britain on the lines of the Berne Convention, _from the benefits of which Canada is expressly excepted_). A book, therefore, first produced in Canada and registered at Ottawa, obtains at once the same copyright advantages throughout the British Dominions and the Copyright Union, that it would enjoy if first produced in the United Kingdom and registered at Stationers' Hall in London. Prior to 1891, books written in any part of the Empire were public property in the United States, and, although there were many honorable exceptions amongst American publishers of reputation, such books were as a rule appropriated on the scramble system, chiefly to supply material for the weekly issues of the cheap "Libraries," such as "The Seaside" and "The Franklin Square." The "fifteen cent quarto" of the Libraries was not a book; it was usually sold for railway reading, and thrown away at the end of the journey. Canada was deluged with these productions. In 1891, the Chace Bill was passed by Congress. One provision of this Bill enacts, that any citizen or subject of a foreign country, which has been declared by the President's proclamation to permit citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as its own citizens, can obtain copyright in the United States. The author obtaining such copyright is protected from piracy in the United States, or from importation of foreign reproductions into the United States. It is popularly understood in Canada that, before the passage of the Chace Bill, the Imperial authorities gave some concession, or made some change in the British Copyright Law, or entered into some International Agreement providing for reciprocity in the granting of copyright, in order to secure an arrangement with the United States. Such is not the case. Only a few days ago, I read a report of an address upon copyright delivered to the Canadian Club by Mr. Thomas, a leading member of the firm of The Copp, Clark Company, from the published report of which I quote:--