THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 30TH OCTOBER, 1886. 1013
(Telegraphic.)
No. 56.
The Marquis of Salisbury to Mr. Adams.
IN reply to your telegram of 12th instant.
Foreign Office, September 14, 1885, 3.30 P.M.
Provided proposed document is understood not to bind Her Majesty's Government in any way, or to indicate their opinion, you are authorized to sign it.
Sir,
No. 57.
The Marquis of Salisbury to Mr. Adams.
Foreign Office, September 15, 1885.
I HAVE received your despatch of the 9th instant, relative to the opening of the International Copyright Conference at Berne, and I approve of the course proposed by you as to reporting the proceedings of the Conference.
I am, &c. (Signed)
SALISBURY.
No. 58.
My Lord,
Mr. Adams to the Marquis of Salisbury.(Received October 3.)
Berne, September 28, 1885. WITH reference to my despatch of the 22nd instant, I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship herewith the Joint Report of the British Delegates at the late International Copyright Conference, together with printed copies of the whole proceedings.
Your Lordship will observe that, in the declaration made by me during the fifth sitting, I stated that we were authorized to sign the Final Act on certain conditions, conformably to the instructions which were conveyed to me by your Lordship's telegram of the 14th instant.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
F. O. ADAMS.
My Lord,
Inclosure 1 in No. 58.
Messrs. Adams and Bergne to the Marquis of Salisbury.
Berne, September 25, 1885.
WE have the honour to report that, in obedience to your Lordship's instructions, we attended, as British Delegates, the International Copyright Conference which met at Berne on the 7th instant.
The following States were represented:-
Germany, Argentine Republic, Belgium, Costa Rica, Spain, United States, France, Great Britain, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Paraguay, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Tunis.
The object of the Conference was to discuss and amend the draft Convention for the formation of an International Copyright Union which was framed at the Conference of last year.
After a careful study of this draft we were of opinion that in many points it entered too much into detail, and presented difficulties in this respect which could not easily be harmonized with the legislations of many of the States which might wish to join the projected Union. Our object, therefore, was to remove these difficulties by recommending that the Covention should be confined as far as possible to the enunciation of the broad principles indispensable to the formation of such an Union. With this view we felt it to be our duty to propose considerable amendments in the text, the nature of which will be apparent upon a perusal of the records of the Conference.
In these proposals we have been principally guided by the recommendations of the British Royal Commission on Copyright of 1878; and we believe that the draft Convention which has resulted from the labours of the present Conference will be found to be consistent, in its general principles, with those recommendations.
We are glad to be able to report that, after protracted discussion, almost all our proposals were accepted in principle, and that the Project, as it now stands, is one which we believe we can confidently recommend to the favourable consideration of Her Majesty's Government.
We have the honour to transmit with this Report the printed records of the proceedings.* The sittings of the Conference lasted from the 7th to the 18th September, and the result was the unanimous adoption of a Final Act, which was signed by the Representatives of Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Tunis.
The full record of proceedings is not included in this volume. The final Protocol and documents attached thereto are given only, as an Inclosure to this Report.