William Wordsworth

“ That the short term of copyright now allowed by the law is a grievance common to all authors whose works are not liable to be superseded ; but your petitioner takes leave respectfully to represent that this grievance falls still more heavily upon those who, like himself, have engaged and persevered in literary labour, less with the expectation of producing immediate or speedy effect, than with a view to interest and benefit society, though remotely, yet permanently. ”

“ That it is highly desirable that the printing of works should be under the control of their authors' representatives, however long those works may have been before the public, in order to secure copies correctly printed, and to preclude the sending forth books without the author's recent or last editions or emendations, by those publishers who are ready to seize upon expiring copyrights. ”

“ That in answer to the objection that the proposed measure would check the circulation of books, it may be urged, first—that to a great majority of publications the measure would be indifferent, they being adequately protected by the law as it now is ; that the works which it would affect, though comparatively few, must be presumed to be of superior merit, and therefore to be those that most deserve or require the aid which the bill proposes ”