A.—3

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empowered to discuss or to vote upon any question; and the draft convention was consequently found upon examination to contain many details unacceptable to Great Britain. In 1885 the Swiss Government followed the matter up by proposing a second Conference to revise the work of that held in the preceding year. It was at first decided that Mr. Adams should again attend as British delegate in his former capacity of spectator ; but the present Government, on their accession to office, considered it desirable that Great Britain should take a more active part in the discussion. Accordingly, at the second Conference, held last September, Mr. Adams and Mr. Bergne, of the Foreign Office, were sent as British delegates, with instructions to discuss and to vote, subject to the approval by Her Majesty's Government of the resolutions which might be arrived at. A draft convention was agreed to at this Conference as the definitive basis of the proposed union. The broad principle of agreement is that each of the States of the union shall accord to the other States composing it tha advantages of national treatment, on condition simply of the accomplishment of the legal formalities prescribed in the country of origin of the work ; thus abolishing the antiquated form of double registration and deposit. The exclusive right of translation is reserved to the author for a period of ten years after publication, and provision is made for the due protection of musical, artistic, and dramatic copyright. It is proposed that this draft convention shall be definitively signed at Berne next September, and there can be little doubt that many of the most important States will agree to it. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and several other States are known to be desirous of creating the union on this basis; and from the friendly interest manifested by the United States delegate.Jwho was present for the first time at the last Conference, it is to be hoped that America, the State of all others most important to the copyright interests of Great Britain, will also become a party to it. In order, however, that Great Britain may be in a position to sign the convention, it is necessary to pass an Act removing the difficulties imposed by the existing British law. This matter has been under the consideration of the Government, and they have decided that it will be advisable to propose the necessary legislation at an early date, and that the opportunity should also be taken, if possible, to carry out the recommendation of the Royal Commission of 1878 for the general codification and amendment of the British statutes on the subject. Lastly, we may mention the progress that has been made in connection with the troublesome matter of the Newfoundland fisheries. The dispute, which has been going on for the last hundred and seventy years between England and France, is one which it is impossible to describe accurately without going into groat detail. It dates back to the Treaty of Utrecht, when Newfoundland was ceded to Great Britain; but the French were allowed to catch and dry their fish on certain parts of the island. This state of things naturally led to frequent disputes. A further attempt to settle the matter was made in 1783 in the Treaty of Versailles. An informal understanding was then arrived at to the effect that the French should not be disturbed in their fishing. This was interpreted by the French to mean that their portion of the island should not be colonized. The French clung to their contention, and British subjects engaged in the fishing were indignant that they should lose their fishing establishments and be driven away. During the wars from 1793 to 1815 the French were excluded from the fishing, and British fishermen settled themselves on the coast. But an Act was passed in 1824 removing British subjects from the shore ; and this Act was in force when Newfoundland obtained representative institutions in 1834. It was shortly after this that the question arose which has never been settled—namely, whether the colony has a right to include " the French shore," as it is called, in its electoral districts. The point has been discussed and adjudicated upon in antagonistic senses by various Secretaries of State and divers law officers of the Crown between 1836 and 1873. When the colony appointed Magistrates the French Government were assured that their treaty rights would not bo interfered with, and the French fishermen who yearly visit Newfoundland have for more than a hundred and fifty years enjoyed a sort of extraterritorial immunity from obedience to the laws of Newfoundland, and have been governed by their own naval officers. One of the thorny points in dispute until now has been whether the French can claim exemption from certain revenue laws of the colony. It would indeed be impossible here to describe even superficially the various disputes which have arisen between the two Governments—disputes which have often given occasion to violent expressions of opinion on the part of the colony. Various Commissions have been appointed to consider the matter and make recommendations ; but the labours have had little result, owing to the impossibility of inducing the colony to agree to the French proposals, and vice versa. In 1878 protracted negotiations took place between the two Governments, but led to no result. In 1881 another mixed Commission was appointed, but no agreement was arrived at. At the end of 1883 Mr. (now T Sir) Clare Ford and Mr. E. B. Pennell were ordered to Paris to act on a Commission with two French Commissioners. Their labours began, in January, and on the 26th of April, 1884, an agreement was signed. The British Commissioners were then ordered to proceed to Newfoundland to offer explanations to the colonial Government, and Lord Derby expressed a hope that a special meeting of the colonial Legislature would take place to pass the Acts required to give effect to the provisions of the agreement. The Commissioners proceeded to Newfoundland, where they found that the colonial Government required some modifications of the agreement. When their demands were made known to the French Government they required in return concessions in other quarters. These demands once more imperilled the settlement of the fishery question itself. It was in these circumstances that Lord Salisbury took charge of the question. Arrangements have now been made with respect to the French demand for the abrogation of the Declaration of 1847, relating to the island to the leeward of Tahiti, and a new arrangement was signed on the 14th of November with respect to the Newfoundland fisheries. This arrangement has been concluded, subject to its acceptance by the colony and to its ratification by the two Governments. At the same time the arrangement of the 26th of April, 1884, was cancelled. The main features of the new arrangement are that, while the French Government are not to object to the establishment of different industries on the coast, the French rights of fishing are to be maintained ; the police of the fisheries is to be managed by the ships of war of