BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 283, 24 August 1908, Page 11

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

;■ ; CURRENT .TOPICS. "The now British Patent Law, tho main dause of'.which requires a foreigner exploiting a'patent'in this country to manufacture the goods on British'soil, has now. beon in fdrco six months and is already having the .widests;effc6ts,"5;effc6ts," says tho "Mail.". "It appears not'.'improbablo that the recent prophecy, of Sir Alfred Jones to the offcct that tk* ■new law will causo the investment of £25,000,000 of foreign—largely German — capital; in: manufactures in this country will lie';fuliy realised. Over 20,000 British patents have'been granted to foreigners with-in-the last three years, and not one of tho prijedssca • for which tho patents •• wero takon out' H?.s. been carried 011 to any great oxteritrin' the United! Kingdom. The tjmo-limit net; by'the.': law for the manufacture of for-oign-patented goods in Britain expires on August 2S next. After that .date patents aot '.worked' in British territory may bo reyoked'on'tho application of any person to the' Comptroller of Patents. German manufacturers' are appetling to their Government te,'SM& an . extension of the time-liiriit and tr.take, retaliatory measures. The iiifluentiti'iconcern known as the Union'of llichtsirialijts (Bund cler Ihdustriollen) has proseated.; a ...petition to the Imperial Chancellor,; the Federal Council, and tho Reichstag, pointing oiit that the time-limit fixed for fulfilling, the. 1 provisions of. the new English .Patent. Law (whoroby the patented article must .bo manufactured in a 'sufficient quantity' by August 28)' most seriously injures German' .interests. , Tho petition proposes, says-Eeuter:—'To secure, through diplomatic; clianhols tho'extension of the time-limit from August 28 to at least a year hence. To put into force similar measures against English patents 'in virtue of thp German Patent; Law, which admits of retaliatory measures. . To'-open negotiations' with tho British Government with' a view to removing as'soon as possible compulsory manufacture of patented'articles by placing the inhabitants of both "countries ori an equal footing on tho; lines of the agreement readied between Germany and Switzerland.'"

Views of "Tho Times.' 1 Referring; to . the new Patent Law,' the London "Times" states: —"Soma iimimtors never, intended to make use of their patents' anywhere; they had gained their end 'if'they could bo certain that their goods Manufactured in some 'other way were not undersold by goods manufactured in accordance,.'with tho_ process which they had 'patented. ' A privilege originally ' designed toij.stiinulate industry in this country; was, in /fact, ; used'for the opposite; purpose. It as a device by which English riianufaeturcrswere ' excluded from tjio benefits of,new. inventions, and which served to project,: in particular, the German chemical industries. This was, as has' been often shown in ;..thoje : columns, directly contrary to the spirit', and intention of tho early Patent Law. TKeiPaieni Law," as administered' for many years i: allowed patentees to do 'as they liked inthosense that they might do with tho industries'of their country as they pleased. .."Wjften-'ltfr/ Chamberlain, 'in his spec-ch on the ;Bill jofilßS3, said that 'it was not neces-sary-or just to givo to the first inventor an absolute.right ,of monopoly which ho used for purposes ot extortion or to tho injury of the country which glinted.' theso rewards for invention,'.:,ho proclaimed a forgotten truth which, reasserted by subsequent legislation, has - already , done good, • and, which will ; we'trust,-W impaired by diplomacy."

Aeroplanes as Cheap as Bicycles. The romantic days when pepole had visions of constructing a wonderful secret fiyingmachihe in tho privacy of the back-yard, and'selling it'at some fabulous sum to the Government of a foreign power, have long go>no by; Given sufficient money—for aero- , plaiiies' at"; presofit-are costly things—any engineer.'who has studied the subject, at-all .could-niake an aeroplane that could, fly.. What the/world, it wait'ing'"f6r is the adaptation of the.;gyroscope, .or some other mechanical device that'.will prevent the aeroplane, from '"turning-' turtle" when/ in' the', air. . . ..It must, be remembered that ten years- ago the motor-car.was practically unknown; five years ago', it was still a curiosity. Experts declare. that flying-machine development has proceeded faster' than that of motor cars in their itifancyl If this rate of "progress is maintained, in another decado wo shall have realised the recent prophecy of Colonel Fullerton,;!B.E., .that, "in a few years aeroplanes will;be as cheap as bicycles," and all our ideas, all our political frontiers, and all our tariff arrangements will haVe to be rearranged, for Great Britain, will no longer be. an. island.—Mr. Valentino St-eer, in "CasrseH'3 Magazine." .The. Caravan.. A'.'French nobleman and his wife have lately become enthusiastic "caravanists." With-.';tho-practical ingenuity that distinguishes their nation." they have applied, the principle :of tho automobile for the traction of their, van and thus dispensed with what, to j many of us, seems one of the great ch'arins of a caravan—tho horse. Of tho comfort; and. convenience of this French caravan, or "Home-car," as its owners prefer'to call it, both the Baron and Baronne E. de S. speak with pardonable-enthusiasm and': pride. Perhaps no apartment is so excellent an example of ingenuity as tho tiny, kitchen. Not a fraction of space has been;.wasted here; everything that the most exacting cook can require has its appointed place, and all is as dainty and complete as-even a French mcnagere cm ask. The , pretty drawing-room ■ is cunningly contrived to ;be as useful as ornamental, for its cosy sofas, obligingly turn at night into equally comfortable beds, and other pieces of ftirmture also play a double part. And that life.on the road may not mean life out/of touch with civilisation, telephonic communicatibn has been arranged, and all that is , needed is to connect oneself with the local 6orvice invariably found in French villages.— "The Girl's Jtealm.'!

Japan as an Industrial Trust. Tbero~ is ono aspect of Japanese activity that has not yet been duly considered by economists 'or political students—tho aspect of an; Empire as an Industrial' State. It will soon 6wn all the railway?, as it now -owns/and operates the telephones and its great. :foundry. . Not only does the ownership of. the natural resources of its islands and of'a large part of tho mainland of Asia remain with the Government, but the throne has 'a tonacious grip on practically every kind of 'industrial activity, through its scores of subsidies and concessions. The war ■with Russia left both people and Government ipoor, and'individually tho mass of the people" will remain poor under this State communism. But the State itself is likely to grow t6 financial strength out'of all proportion to the .woiltli of tho people—espccially '-sinco the Japanese Have taken and are at liberty to take tho machinery and the methods'and the secrets of' organisation and of.'finance' which the Western world has slowly fouiid out and porfected at . great expense.— "The World's Work." Lore! Avabury's Story of Darwin. Lord Avebury had an- aiiiusing story to tall at tho Linnean Celebration, of Darwin and,his gardener.' ;"In the parish of Down ilr.,,Darwin was much beloved," ■ said Lord Avebury. ' "He was rather a puzzle, no. doubt, to the villagers. One of his frionds once a»kcd the gardener bow Mr. Darwin was. 'Oh,' he laid, 'my poor master has been : rery sadly,'' and added confidentially: 'I often wiih he had something to do. I ha"v» wen him stand doing nothing before a flower for ten *inut«s at d t.imo. If he only had lone reenlar work. I believe he would' be much better.' The amount of work he did rrm in fact remarkable. H» received the'hithtit hanonrs from the Royal Society and the Imtitiite of France, and in, both ca«M "Hie Origin of Species' was exprstaly eieluded • from tho award. This was r«t*«rk»ble in two wa.fs: It showed that evsii apart from 'The Origin' bis other, work wa* eatitled to the highest scientific rocog- • uitioii. . And if wo aro now astonished,that 'The Origin' should havo been excluded, we must remember tho novelty of the views propounded.. In fact, almost all—ono might sav all—authority was against him."