Transcriber’s Note Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ in this transcription. Small capitals text is displayed as ALLCAPS. THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT BY William Wordsworth LONDON PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 1916 ===================================================== PREFATORY NOTE. ===================================================== The Copyright Act referred to by Wordsworth in the following document was presented to the House of Commons for the first time on _April 18th, 1838_, the day upon which the poet addressed his open letter to Serjeant Talfourd. The letter appeared in _The Morning Post_ of _April 23rd, 1838_, and had apparently escaped all notice until I chanced upon it recently when searching a file of the paper for any stray writing of Wordsworth’s.[1] Prefixed to the text of the letter was the following editorial comment:— “_We feel very sincere pleasure in having been selected as the medium for giving to the public Mr. Wordsworth’s sentiments concerning Serjeant Talfourd’s proposed Bill for the amendment of the law of copyright. It is a source of additional gratification to us that the opinions of such a man as Mr. Wordsworth are so completely in accordance with those we have already on several occasions endeavoured to impress on the attention of our readers._” When he applied himself to the composition of the present letter, Wordsworth was for the second time employing his pen in support of Talfourd’s Bill. An earlier letter, dated _April 12th, 1838_, addressed to the Editor of _The Kendal Mercury_, had appeared in the columns of that paper on _April 16th, 1838_, over the pseudonymous initials “A. B.” This earlier letter is already well known, and is included in the _Prose Works of William Wordsworth_, edited by William Knight, 1896, Vol. ii, pp. 375–382. Its successor, now rescued from its obscurity in a dusty file of an old newspaper, should henceforth find a place beside it. T. J. W. _25, Heath Drive,_ _Hampstead, N.W._ —————————— [1] In view of the number of contributions made by Wordsworth to _The Morning Post_ (among which _The Convict_, which brightened its pages on December 14th, 1797, is by far the most important) it is curious to recall the following statement which occurs in a letter addressed by him to Daniel Stuart:—