AMENDMENTS BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The order of the day having been called for "consideration of the amendments made by the House of Commons to Bill (A) 'An Act respecting Insolvent Banks, Insurance Companies and Trading Cor

HON. MR. AIKINS-Yes, they are, INSOLVENT BANKS AND TRADING because the barrels are taken indiscriminCORPORATIONS BILL. ately by the packer and examined, and our own fishermen have good reason to complain that they are placed at a disadvantage with their neighbors who hold licenses from the Newfoundland authorities. I may just say to my hon. friend that the Government, in order to ensure that no injustice would be done to any individual or any section of the country porations.' by this Act, have provided that it will only be brought into force by proclama- HON. SIR ALEX. CAMPBELL said :tion of the Governor-General-in-Council,, The amendments made by the House of and it will be held by the Government Commons to this Bill seem to be more until they are sure that no injustice will be done by it to the trade.

HON. MR. CARVELL-I would be very sorry to have it understood that any words of mine would put our fishermen at a disadvantage. I simply state that the whole system of fish inspection is a farce.

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formidable from their appearance upon the minutes of the House than they really are. The first one is to enlarge the Bill and make it apply not only to the companies originally named in it but also to loan companies and building societies. Building societies are of two natures: some of them have no capital stock, and others have. Where there is no capital stock it would not do to apply this bill to the winding up of such companies, because

HON. MR. RYAN-The difficulty would be very much reduced if the Newfoundland Government would adopt a there is whole scheme for contribution proper system of inspection there, and I think the tendency of the Bill now introduced will be to force the Newfoundland Government to some action of that description.

HON. MR. CARVELL--With the best intentions the Government may try to force the Newfoundland Government to take such a course as my hon. friend suggests, but, after all, it amounts to nothing. Supposing I am a fisherman on the coast of Newfoundland or Prince Edward Island. I have only to take out a license as inspector and inspect my fish myself, put my brand on them, and when the fish go to market they are sold on the reputation of my name, branded on the head of the barrel.

The motion was agreed to and the Bill was then read the second time.

HON. MR. AIKINS moved that the Bill be read at length at the table.

Motion agreed to.

and a variety of provisions which are framed for and intended for joint stock companies. These are a different kind of societies to building societies where a building society has no capital stock. So I propose to concur in the amendment, and afterwards to introduce the words "having a capital stock" Then, in the same section, after the word "companies," it would be necessary to add, in order to make the sentence perfect, "building societies that have not capital stock." Then the next amendment is, to put the words, "either as a mutual or as a stock company," with reference to the business of insurance, whether it is done as astock company or as a mutual company. The next amendment is to strike out the present provision of the Bill, under section four, and the next is a proposition to leave out the whole of section nine. Then they have stricken out altogether the clause about set-off. I think a portion of that should be inserted in the Bill, for this reason: it was stricken out, I believe, because some members of the House imagined that

HON. MR. AIKINS moved the third there was some new law on the subject of reading of the Bill.

set-off established by this provision; but I apprehend that is not a sound opinion. There is no new law established by it, but

it is necessary, at all events, to keep the with it, for the purpose of speculation. I law of set-off in the several provinces think we have carried this principle in rewhere the law has to be administered, and lation to patents entirely too far. In my as there was some provision with reference judgment, when a patent is granted unto this in the Insolvency Act, and less something is done with it within as this clause was copied from the twelve months, the exclusive right to it Insolvency Act some deductions might be ought not to be continued. I know the drawn from it by courts of law which facilities with which patents can be obmight lead to litigation. Therefore I tained from the United States. They think it would be better to substitute the generally pass into the hands of middlefirst part of the section at all events. men and speculators who are interested in Then the next amendment is to strike out obtaining this extension in order to the proceedings to be taken against the speculate with them. We are peculiarly estate of a deceased contributor if he had circumstanced here. Canada is a country not paid up his instalments. with a population of only 4,000,000, alongside a country with 50,000,000 people, whose inventive activity is much greater than ours. The people of Canada cannot afford to pay enormous prices for the privilege of using American patents, and the consequence is a considerable advantage is lost to our people because they are not allowed to use patents that have been in operation in the United States, some of them for many years, without paying an exorbitant price for them.

The amendments were concurred in as amended.

PILOTAGE ACT OF 1873 AMEND-
MENT BILL.

THIRD READING.

The House went into Committee of

the Whole on Bill (119), “An Act further to amend the Pilotage Act, 1873, and the

other Acts therein mentioned."

HON. MR. POWER, from the Committee, reported the Bill without amendment, and the Bill was then read the third time and passed.

PATENT ACT, 1872, AMENDMENT
BILL.

FIRST AND SECOND READINGS.

The following Bill from the Commons

Bill (55), "An Act further to amend the Patent Act of 1872," was introduced and read the first time.

HON. MR. AIKINS moved that the Bill be read the second time at length at the table.

The motion was agreed to.

I understand that under the administration of the patent laws by the present commissioner it has been decided that even after a year a patent can be held some indefinite time without being infringed upon. In this way many a useful invention is kept beyond the reach of the Canadian people, because the patentee holds it for speculation and cannot get his price. I think the Bill is in the wrong direction; it is drawn in the furtherance of a principle that I know is favored by the Patent Office here as it is at Washington, whose legislation we are copying; but our circumstances are so different from those of our neighbors across the line that their patent laws are not suited to this country,

HON. MR. AIKINS-I know that under the general provisions of the act by applying to the department at any time an extension can be obtained on payment of

HON. MR. AIKINS moved the third a further sum and in this way the principle reading of the Bill.

HON. MR. SCOTT-I think this Bill is an extension of a principle that is a very unwise one, to allow persons to come into Canada, take out a patent and hold it for three years without doing anything

of this Bill is admitted.

HON. MR. SCOTT-That is in the case of where a patent has been taken out for five years and the patentee wants to extend it to ten years, but that clause does not apply to this Bill at all.

744 Free Transmission of News- [SENATE.] papers through the Mails.

HON. SIR ALEX.

CAMPBELL

moved that the Bill be read the second time presently.

HON. MR. AIKINS-Under the provisions of the present law the time may be extended from five to ten years, but this Bill makes provision for a certain class of The department is presided over HON. MR. POWER-I hope that the by a practical man and he is strongly of hon. gentleman will not insist on the Bill the opinion that this Bill is in the interest being read the second time now. of the patentee and of the general public.

cases.

HON. MR. SCOTT-My hon. friend will see that he has entirely misconstrued the object of the Bill, because the extension from five to ten years applies only to a case where a patent is taken out for a lesser period and the patentee having complied with the provisions of the Patent

HON. SIR ALEX. CAMPBELLWe cannot do anything with a Bill of this kind but of Commons has stated in it that under pass it or reject it. The House

certain circumstances the Government can expend a certain amount of money.

HON. MR. POWER-The Senate can

Act desires an extension-the article has always vote against the expenditure of been manufactured here, or imported and public money. brought into general use,-but this Bill gives the right of extension where the article has not been manufactured in the country or brought into use. There is no kind of apology or excuse for a bill of this kind, because you are departing from the principle we have been acting on for so many years, when it sidered

was con

be the

a year ought to limit of time during which the patentee ought to have the exclusive right to a patent without manufacturing. I think my hon. friend had better drop the Bill. It is too serious a matter to be taken up at the end of the Session, and it is only in the interest of some few dozen persons. I do not think Parliament ought to be called upon, at the last day of the Session, to consider a matter involving a very serious new principle.

HON. MR. AIKINS-After the appeal made by my hon. friend, I will allow the Bill to stand for third reading to-morrow, until I have had an opportunity of consulting with the Commissioner.

CHIGNECTO MARINETRANSPORT
RAILWAY BILL.

SECOND READING.

Bill (167) "An Act to provide for the granting of a subsidy to the Chignecto and Marine Transport Railway Company (Limited)" from the House of Commons, was introduced and read the first time.

HON. SIR ALEX. CAMPBELL-We will take the second reading now and allow the third reading to stand till tomorrow, reserving full liberty to the hon. gentleman to make any objections he wishes to urge against it at that stage.

The motion was agreed to and the Bill was read the second time.

FREE TRANSMISSION OF NEWS-
PAPERS THROUGH THE
MAILS BILL.

FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD READINGS.

Bill (161), "An Act to provide (for the free transmission of Canadian newspapers by mail within the Dominion," from the Commons, was introduced, read the first and second time and reported from the Committee without amendments.

HON. SIR ALEX. CAMPBELL moved the third reading of the Bill.

The motion was agreed to and the Bill was read the third time and passsed without debate.

HON. SIR ALEX. CAMPBELL moved that when the House adjourns it stand adjourned until to-morrow at 11 am. The motion was agreed to.

The Senate adjourned at 11.05 p.m.

PATENT ACT AMENDMENT BILL. patentee has one year under this Act to

effect will be this: although a patent may | patentee either to import or manufacture run four years the invention can only be the article in the country in order that brought in during the first year of the four; people who desire to use the invention which is just the thing we do not want. may have an opportunity for obtaining it. We desire to make the law consistent in Of course the proposition to reduce the itself, and to provide that if the Commis- period from three to two years is a decidthis question of sioner thinks proper to extend the patent ed improvement. I hope that at some two, three or four years, as the case may future period when be, the patentee may have the privilege of patents is up again, the time will be still bringing in his invention into this country further reduced. I feel that giving such The applica- latitude is simply favoring speculators during that length of time. It very rarely happens tion must be made within three months and not inventors. prior to the expiration of the twelve that an inventor comes into Canada. He months. The object of this Bill is to generally sells to somebody in Canada, or make it consistent with the law relating to to some American speculator who gets the patent and holds it dangling before the time for which patents may run. saw the gentleman at the head of the de- the public in order to obtain a higher partment, and he considered it important price for it. that the Bill should pass, but if two years was considered too long and one year would meet the wishes of the House, it might pass in that shape.

I

HON MR. SCOTT-The legislation of 1875 is clearly in the wrong direction. There has always been a pressure on the Department by persons applying for patents to have the time extended for the importation of inventions and their manufacture in the country. My own view is this: you simply encourage the speculator. A great many of the inventions in the United States are patented in this country by speculators, who hold them for higher prices, and not to manufacture or sell them. The longer you extend the time the more you foster that spirit of speculation which ought not to prevail. If the patentee is not prepared within twelve months either to manufacture the article patented in Canada, or to supply the trade he should not continue to have the exclusive right to it.

HON. MR. AIKINS-I quite agree
with my hon. friend.

It may be a
HON. MR. SCOTT-
small invention, in itself comparatively
insignificant, but applied to machinery it
may be a matter of great importance and
yet because this middle man holds it at a
high price it cannot be utilized by the
public. He is a dog in the manger; he
will not import it and he will not manu-
facture it. Now, I think that sort of thing
ought not be favored by legislation. I
think one year is long enough for a

HON. MR. AIKINS I move that the Bill be not now read the third time; but that it be amended by striking out "two one year" in the years' and inserting third clause.

The motion was agreed to, and the Bill as amended was read the third time and passed.

CHIGNECTO MARINE TRANS-
PORTATION RAILWAY
SUBSIDY BILL.

THIRD READING.

HON. SIR ALEX. CAMPBELL moved the third reading of Bill (167), "An Act to provide for the granting of a subsidy to the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway Company (limited.)"

HON. MR. POWER-When this Bill was read the second time I intimated to the leader of the Government in this House that I proposed to make some remarks on it, and the hon. gentleman was kind enough to say that these remarks could be made at the third reading as well as at the second. I wish to call the attention of the House to the somewhat unusual character of this measure. The beginning of the preamble says:

"In consideration of the great advantages which would accrue to the Maritime Provinces and the intercolonial trade of Canada

Railway across the Isthmus of Chignecto generally, from the construction of a Ship from Tignish, on La Baie Verte, in the Gulf of St, Lawrence, to a point at the mouth of