or An Essay on the Right of Authors and Inventors to a Perpetual Property in their IdeasSECTION V. Objection Fifth. A fifth objection, that is urged to a man's having a right of property in his inventions, is, that the course of events, and the general progress of knowledge, science, and art, suggest, point to, contribute to, and aid the production of, certain inventions; and that it would therefore be wrong to give to a man an exclusive and perpetual property, in a device, or idea, which is not the unaided production of his own powers; but which so many circumstances, external to himself, have contributed and aided to bring forth. This objection is as short-sighted as the others. If sound, it would apply as strongly against the right of property in material, as in intellectual wealth. But has a man no right of property in the gold he finds and gathers in California, because the course of events pointed him thither? and the general progress of knowledge, science, and art supplied railroads and steamboats...
This work is part of the International Institute for Social History's collection and appears in Anarchy Archives with ISSH's permission. TO THE PUBLIC. THE AMERICAN LETTER MAIL COMPANY present the following exposition of the grounds on which they assert their right to establish mails and postoffices, in competition with those of Congress. If the public are satisfied of the correctness of the principle, the Company ask their patronage to enable them to sustain it. CONTENTS. 1. Argument. 2. Review of the Postmaster General's Argument. UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE LAWS OF CONGRESS, PROHIBITING PRIVATE MAILS. ARGUMENT. Of the following propositions, almost any one of them is sufficient, I apprehend, to prove the unconstitutionality of all laws pr... (From : Anarchy Archives.)