not for depriving them of a privilege to which they are entitled, of common and natural right, but for regulating their use of it.

Why, it may be asked, if authors, both foreign and domestic, have so strong a claim to a very extended copyright, that would be equivalent, as far as they are themselves concerned, to a perpetual one, has it not been acknowledged in the legislation of civilized nations? To which it may be replied, that the right of domestic authors is acknowledged in its full extent in some civilized communities, as in Sweden and some of the German states, and to a very considerable extent in every one. Nor are we aware, that the rights of foreign authors are rejected in civilized communities generally. We have not been able to learn, that any distinction is made in England between an alien and a British subject in regard to the privilege of copyright. The statute of 8 Anne, makes no such distinction. The case of D'Almaine and Others, versus Boosy, is an instance of a copyright taken out in England by an Englishman, for a musical composition of a French composer, resident in Paris; the English copyright having been taken out before the publication of the music in France. In the defence of an action for a piracy of the music, no objection was made on the ground of the author being a foreigner. We apprehend, that a foreigner may avail himself of an English copyright, though some specific provision on that subject might be an improvement in the British law.

Movements have been recently made on the same subject in Germany and France; but with what result, we have not learned, nor is this much to the purpose. Before our law of 1831, no country had ever thought of insisting on a reciprocity of tonnage duty on shipping, between itself and other countries. The United States then put forth a general law, for the reciprocal equalization of those duties with all countries, and the principal commercial nations have accepted the proposal. Here was a grand innovation in international legislation, which has swept away the causes of a multitude of vexations to trade, and irritations between nations. It had the effect of putting an end to the exasperating contests of commercial regulations, then going on between France and this country, which might have else led to a spirit of hostility.

* 1 Younge and Collyer, 288.

If the field were equally open on the subject of international copyright regulations, it would be equally honorable to the United States to take the lead, and propose a reciprocity of copyright privilege with every nation whatsoever, that would accept the proposal. We are late, it is true, having been in some degree anticipated in Great Britain, if not elsewhere; but still not too late to do our country great honor, in further securing to authors their just rights.

It may be made a question, whether we shall not be the losers by such a reciprocity. Admit that we shall be so; shall we deprive individuals of their just rights, by refusing to protect them by law, because we may gain an advantage by doing them a wrong? But how shall we suffer? It will not extinguish the light of science, and bring back the dark ages, if the readers of any foreign work hereafter written, that may be thought worth a copyright here, shall contribute something to the author, as well as to the paper-maker, printer, binder, and publisher, for the pleasure and instruction to be derived from his productions. It will certainly not be pretended, that the general progress of science and learning will be thereby retarded. Of recent modern books, a very large part now in general use, namely, those of our own. authors, are subject to copyright. If such future works of foreign authors, as shall be deemed of sufficient importance to secure the privilege, shall be added to the list, the difference in expense, or in the diffusion of knowledge or amusement, will not be perceptible. There would be a certainty of economy in the expense of single copies of works very much read, by reason of the publishers' being able to put out very large editions, or to stereotype, which they cannot now do, because of the necessity of haste, in order to anticipate rival editions; and the larger the number any one establishment can print of a work, the cheaper it can be afforded, as everybody very well knows. But whether it would be so or not, let us honestly pay the author something for his part, — no mean part it must be confessed, of the labor and expense of supplying us with entertainment and knowledge. He doubtless has strong claims upon us in equity, and in law too, if law and right are synonymous; nor is it apparent how it is less discreditable to supply ourselves with books at his expense, than for an insolvent customer to supply himself with coats at the expense of his tailor.

But the publishing class, the trade, would they lose? It seems that some of them suppose that they should; at least so we infer from their anxiety concerning the loss and damage to the printers, binders, &c. But we really do not see how they would be the losers by the proposed law. Do the publishers now lose by publishing copyright books? We presume not, in general; for in such case it would be great folly to publish so many; and we cannot see how they would be more likely to be sufferers by publishing the books of foreigners, on contract with the proprietors of the copyright, than by publishing those of American citizens under such a contract. Not that it is at all necessary to prove, that they would not suffer by the proposed law, in order to justify it; for here, as elsewhere, throughout the whole argument, we steadily enter our protest against the dishonesty of gaining by injury to others. For if, by doing justice to foreign authors in allowing to them the fair fruits of their labors, any class of our citizens should be deprived of reaping where they had not sown, it would be no good reason against the law. But we really do not see how it can be made out, that they would suffer any damage. And we are very glad to come to this result; for the publishers are a very important and useful class in the community, and the whole public is in fact interested in their prosperity, no less than in that of the other classes; and upright, honorable dealing, in this as in most other cases, works advantageously for all parties. The fact is, that a very large proportion of the American copyrights to foreigners will fall into the hands of American publishers, as do those now granted to Americans; and there is no special reason for supposing, that they would not bargain as sagaciously for the former as the latter.

G. Pickeung

ART. VII. A Dissertation on the Nature and Character of the Chinese System of Writing; in a Letter to John Vaughan, Esq. By PETER S. DU PONCEAU, LL. D., President of the American Philosophical Society, of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and of the Athenæum of Philadelphia; Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, &c. &c. To which are subjoined a Vocabulary of the Cochinchinese Language, by Father JOSEPH MORRONE, R. C. Missionary at Saigon; with References to Plates containing the Characters belonging to each Word, and with Notes showing the degree of Affinity existing between the Chinese and Cochinchinese Languages, and the Use they respectively make of their Common System of Writing, by M. DE LA PALUN, late Consul of France at Richmond in Virginia; and a Cochinchinese and Latin Dictionary, in Use among the R. C. Missions in Cochinchina. Published by Order of the American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia. 1838. 8vo. pp. xxxii. and 375.

THIS is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable publications of the present day. The able author, the veteran philologist of America, was the first writer, who gave to the learned world just views of the extraordinary structure and peculiarities of the aboriginal languages of this continent; views, which were originally opened in his interesting "Correspondence" with the late Reverend Mr. Heckewelder, and in his "Report to the Philosophical Society at Philadelphia" (between the years 1816 and 1819), and which have been more fully developed in the various publications made by him since that period. The last of these is yet hardly known in the United States, in consequence of its being written in the French language, conformably to at rule of the Institute of France, to which body it was offered as a competitor for the prize established by Count Volney for the advancement of Comparative Philology, or, as it is sometimes technically called, the Science of Linguistics. The title of it is, "Mémoire sur le Système Grammatical des Langues de quelques Nations Indiennes de l'Amérique du Nord." It deserves the more particular notice, as it is the latest work of Mr. Du Ponceau on that subject, and is

the first instance, within our knowledge, in which an American author has had the distinction of obtaining one of the prizes, offered by the French Institute, for the best essay on any of the literary questions proposed by that learned body. In the present case, the Institute not only did the author the honor to award to him the well-merited prize, but conferred on him the additional distinction of subscribing for a part of the edition, as "a mark of the particular satisfaction," which his profound and learned work had afforded them.*

We have adverted to that work for the purpose of drawing the attention of our readers to the extended and philosophical views, which Mr. Du Ponceau is accustomed to take of the subjects that come under his investigation. Some of the native dialects of America, it is true, had been before observed to abound with highly compounded words; and our venerable "apostle Eliot," in speaking of the Massachusetts Indians and their language, after giving an example of their long words, says, in the quaint style of his age;

"It seems their desires are slow but strong,

Because they be utter'd double-breath`t and long." ↑ Mr. Du Ponceau, however, was the first writer who took a comprehensive view of the languages of the whole continent, and established the general conclusion, that the American dialects, from one extremity of the continent to the other (with perhaps some exceptions), form a distinct class, or family; which, from their highly compounded character, he has happily designated by the term polysynthetic.

Now these complex American dialects are at one extremity of the series, or chain, of human languages; while at the other we find the very simple and inartificial language of China; these two extremes, when contrasted with each other, presenting this extraordinary phenomenon, that the savage tribes of the New World, though destitute of all

The Committee of the Institute at that time (1834) consisted of MM. Destut de Tracy, Raynouard (president), Jay, Eugène Burnouf (secretary), Amédée Jaubert, Reinaud, Flourens. M. de Tracy and M. Raynouard were afterwards succeeded by M. A. Dupin, and M. Feletz; M. Amédée Jaubert being president. The prize question proposed was; "To determine the grammatical character of the Languages of North America, known under the names of the Lenni-Lenape, Mohegan, and Chippeway." Mr. Du Ponceau's Mémoire was published at Paris, 1838, in 8vo. pp. 464.

+ Eliot's "Massachusetts Indian Grammar," in Mass. Hist. Collections, Vol. IX. Second Series, p. 243.