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The Society of Authors will no doubt be gratified that 184 MPs have so far signed the early Day Motion " That this House, mindful of the injustices suffered by authors and other creators of original material through the lending of their works by libraries, with appropirate recompense, urges HM Government to amend the Copyright Act 1956 so as to give them the necessary protection under the law."
Nonetheless there are some surprising absentees. The Motion appeared in the Order Paper as long ago as February 21, yet nearly four months later there is still no signature from Brian Batsford (C.), chairman of publishers B. 1'. Batsford Ltd. who have presumably made a penny or two during their 130year existence; nor from Maurice Macmillan (C.) whose family's firm — founded in precisely the same year — have not done too badly either. Not a peep out of Sir Henry d'Avigdor Goldsmid (C.), former chairman of Pergamon Press, although his counterpart, at New English Library, Sir John Rodgers (C.), has contributed his support. No sign of John Gummer (C.), once a whizz-kid with BPC's Oldbourne Press and Unit 75 (whizzier, it is thought, with his ideas than with his figures), though his expublishing colleague lain Sproat (C.) is well to the fore. Also conspicuous by his absence is William van Straubenzee (C.) who, when PLR was discussed on a Private Member's Friday in December 1971, was congratulating all and sundry on a debate which resolved "that this house urged HM Government to bring their examination of Public Lending Right to an early conclusion."
Not surprisingly, a number of authorpoliticians have given their *Ippon to the Early Day Motion: Nigel FisherW.), Maurice Edelman (L.), Roy Jenkins (L.), Christopher Tughandat (C.), Sir Gerald Nabarro (C.), not to mention young Winston Churchill, whose
grandfather must rank among the century's bestselling authors. But whatever happened
to Harold Wilson (L.), beneficiary of an ad
vance for his autobiography which would pay an author's average annual salary fifty times over? And where is Michael Foot (L.),
the man who stood up at this year's Booksellers Conference and urged the trade to lobby the Government for as many millions
as possible for the greater good of English literature? Was Eric Heffer (L.) too pre
occupied in publicising his Class Struggle in Parliament? Was Tom Driberg (L.) too busy supervising the writing of his forthcoming biography of Hannan Swaffer? No Jack Ash
ley (L.), whose moving Jouney into Silence came out last month; no Bernadette Devlin
(Ind), whose unmoving autobiography came out two years ago; no Gerald Kaufman (L.), author of To §ielld the Promised Land ... Welcome though the Early Day Motion is, It appears once again to demonstrate the de gree of apathy with which the Society of Authors is faced over PLR. If those authors and publishers in parliament who have not signed the Motion are against PLR, then why don't they come out and say so? If they are for it, but can't bring themselves to write their names, then how can they expect anyone else to take an interest?
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