Fisher introduced into the Canadian Parliament a Bill which was found to
be generally acceptable and which ultimately became law. This Bill,
usually referred to as the Fisher Bill, provides in effect that if a
Canadian publisher, under license from the owner of a British copyright,
reproduces in Canada an edition designed for sale only in Canada, the
Minister of Agriculture may prohibit the importation into Canada of any
copy of the book printed elsewhere. The Fisher Bill was passed with the
full approval of the Imperial authorities, and is another great concession
to the Canadian trade. Now, if a Canadian publisher buys the British
copyright of a work so far as Canada is concerned, he may protect himself
not only against the introduction of United States and foreign prints,
but even as against the introduction of reprints produced in Great Britain
itself.

The Fisher Bill, which was passed at the instance of the Canadian Society
of Authors with the sanction of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association
and the Executive of the Employing Printers' Association, expressed in
formal resolutions laid before the Government, and with the tacit approval
of the Canadian publishers, placed the Canadian publishing trade upon a
firm basis. It was the final step in securing the establishment of the
Publishing Trade in Canada.

In June, 1900, Professor Mavor and I were called before the Select
Committee of the House of Lords and questioned as to whether in our
opinion the Fisher Bill was intended to be local in its operation and not
to conflict with the Imperial Copyright Laws. We gave the opinion that the
Bill was intended to be confined in its operation to Canada. This opinion
was accepted as a satisfactory explanation and the Bill received no
opposition in England and came into effect without disallowance. By
allowing this Bill to become law, the Imperial authorities gave that