Lard Stanley on Monday informed the House that he did
not in:eel to propose just yet the amendments in the Patent Laws suggested by the Commission of which he was chairman. He wanted the House to decide first whether it would not abolish those laws altogether. Three years of patient inquiry had con- vinced him, and Sir Hugh Cairns, and Mr. William Forster that those laws were useless, and before patching them the House ought to decide upon the larger question. Mr. Ricardo, we believe, always held this opinion, and there can be no doubt•that in some trades, notably the engineers, the multiplicity of patents is a great and growing evil. Nobody can move a step for them, and an inquiry will yet have to be made into the possibility of sweeping them away. To destroy the right of property in ideas is, however, an innovation which will require very careful thought.
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