ventors under the present patent law are utterly ruined. It is clear, on the other hand, that but for security against piracy, inventions would not be made known; that it is the expectation of deriving remuneration which acts as the main incentive to the exercise of ingenuity; and that if it be just to secure a reward to inventors in consideration of the great benefit they confer upon mankind, it would be difficult to find a kind of reward on the whole more advantageous to the inventors and the public than the concession to them for a limited time of the exclusive

benefit of the invention, however it may turn out. The policy of the patent law was inquired into by a committee of the House of Commons in 1872, and after giving to the whole matter the most careful attention, the report was to the effect that the privilege conferred by patents promotes the progress of manufactures, by causing many important inventions to be introduced and developed more rapidly than would otherwise be the case; that the same privilege leads to the introduction and publication of numerous improvements, each of a minor character, but the sum of which contributes greatly to the progress of industry; that, in the absence of the protection of letters-patent, the competition of manufacturers among themselves would doubtless lead to the introduction of improved processes and machinery, but that it would probably be less rapid than under the stimulus of a patent law; and that it does not appear that the granting of pecuniary reward could be substituted with advantage to the public interest for the temporary privilege conferred by letters-patent. Still more recently, an international patent congress was held at Vienna, on the occasion of the international exhibition, and the conclusions arrived at were, that protection of inventions should be guaranteed by the laws of all civilized nations, because the sense of right among civilized nations demands the legal protection of intellectual works; because such protection affords, under the condition of a complete specification and publication of the invention, the only practical and effective means of introducing new technical methods, without loss of time and in a reliable manner, to the general knowledge of the public; because the protection of invention renders the labor of the inventor remunerative, and so induces competent men to devote

time and means to the introduction and practical application of new and useful technical methods and improvements, and attracts capital from abroad, which, in the absence of patent protection, would find means of secure investment elsewhere; because by the obligatory complete publication of the patented invention the great sacrifice of time and of money, which the technical application would otherwise impose upon the industry of all countries, is considerably lessened; because by the protection of invention, secrecy of manufacture, which is one of the greatest enemies of industrial progress, loses its chief support; because great injury would be inflicted upon countries which have no patent laws, were native inventive talent to emigrate to more congenial countries, where their labor is legally protected; and because experience shows that the holder of a patent will make the most effectual exertions for a speedy introduction of his invention. Patent laws are enacted in almost every civilized state. In Austria, a patent is granted for each new discovery, invention, or improvement, and it extends over the entire Austrian Empire, for a period of fifteen years. The patent is granted only to the inventor or his accredited agent, and for an invention not in use within the empire. In Belgium, the patent is granted for twenty years to the inventor who obtains a patent before obtaining a patent for any other country. If a patent has been first obtained in any other country, the term of the Belgian patent would be the same as the term in that country. In Germany, patents are granted for new inventions, the application being submitted to examination, for a period of fifteen years. If the patent be obtained by fraud, or by a stranger not having a representative in Germany, the patent is forfeited. In France, a patent is only applicable to discoveries relating to industrial art, and is granted for fifteen years. In Denmark, important inventions are protected for ten years, though usually a patent runs for three, four, and five years. In the Netherlands, by a law of 1870, no fresh patents for inventions or improvements were to be granted. In Switzerland, no special laws exist for the encouragement and protection of inventors. Public opinion in the Confederation is opposed to the patent law, the accepted theory being that inventions should be considered as common property. In the United Kingdom,

patents are granted for fourteen years, subject to the payment of certain fees and stamps at the expiration of three and seven years respectively; and in the United States of America patents are granted for seventeen years. In some countries, the patent is granted as of course, if the formal procedure be complied with. In others, the patent is granted upon and after previous inquiry. In some countries patents are granted to the inventor only; in others, to the first importer, also without reference to his being the inventor. But nearly all civilized states have laws for the furtherance of art and industry, and there is no reason why they should be assimilated.

How far patent laws have contributed to the present wonderful progress of art industry, is extremely difficult to say. Doubtless some of the most remarkable inventions have been made without any patent to foster them. Paper, glass, gunpowder, printing, and a hundred more inventions were made when no reward or monopoly was at hand. Nevertheless, it is a matter of common experience that progress has been more rapid and thorough in modern times, and under the régimes of the patent laws, than was the case at any former period. What is wanted is a little more care in the granting of patents, a little more sifting of inventions, a little more regard to their utility. If the patent law is to be a stimulus to invention, the fees. should not tend to discourage the poorest from availing himself of it. Whilst we must protect the public from being cumbered by a multitude of useless patents, which narrow the field of industry, we must smooth the path for the protection and encouragement of really useful inventions. We must give to foreign inventors the same right as to native inventors to come to our courts for their patents, and to ask for full protection against their infringement; and there is no reason why ir.ternational conventions may not be concluded for the exercise of the rights of invention, in the same manner as in the case of copyright and trade-marks.

We plead for the full recognition of literary and industrial property in all its forms and manifestations. We plead for the right of an author, an artist, an inventor, to the fruit of his labors. We ask that the law everywhere may protect the property of the mind, whether applied to the transformation of

matter, or to letters and art, as it protects real and movable property. Profoundly indebted to those master minds who contribute to the progress of science and art, to the advancement of learning, and to the expansion of human knowledge, we ask that their rights to substantial reward may be recognized and conceded. All bond-fide workers in the vast field of literature science, art, and industry have a right to the gratitude of every well-wisher of human progress, and we trust the time will soon come when, in respect of their works, they will be acknowledged, as they truly are, the citizens of the world. If we must limit copyright and patent in matter of time, there is no reason for their limitation in matter of space. A liberal code should concede the right of literary, artistic, and industrial property, in whatever form, to authors and inventors, whatever their nationality, and international conventions should exist among all civilized states for regulating the exercise of the

same.

LEONE LEVI.

MAN'S PLACE IN NATURE.

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HERE are two widely different views in regard to man's relation to and his place in nature, the difference depending wholly upon the standpoint of the observer. From the material or animal point of view, man is very closely connected with and forms a most insignificant part of nature; from the spiritual or moral point of view, he belongs to a wholly different and far higher plane of existence. From the former point of view, it is impossible to exaggerate the closeness of his connec tion and the insignificance of his place. He has no kingdom of his own; he belongs to the animal kingdom. In that kingdom he has no department of his own; he belongs to the depart ment of Vertebrata along with birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. In that department he has no privileged class of his own; belongs to the class Mammalia along with all four-footed beasts. In that class he has no titled order of his own; he belongs to the order of Primates along with apes, baboons, lemurs, etc. Even the privacy of a family of his own, the Hominidæ, is grudgingly accorded him by some. But from the spiritual point of view it is simply impossible to exaggerate his impor tance or the wideness of the gap which separates him from even the highest animals. From this point of view man must be set over as an equivalent, not only against the whole animal king dom, but against all nature besides. From this point of view, as we shall see, nature may be said to exist only for mannature the matrix, man the offspring. From this point of view the difference which separates man from the highest ape is far greater than that which separates the latter from the lowest moner. In fact, the former difference is incommensurable in terms of the latter.