It becomes needful that the translations which are to be copyright
should be accurately made when the new international law comes into
effect. In the _Consulship and Empire_ of M. Thiers, vol. iii. p. 220.,
purporting to be translated by D. Forbes Campbell, "under the sanction
and approval of the author," the following _happy_ piece of translation
occurs:--
"They urged also, that the Maltese people would offer great
resistance to the destruction of those fine fortresses, and
proposed the reconstitution of the Order on a new and more solid
basis. They had no objection to allow the French language still to
be used there, stipulating only that a college should be
instituted for teaching the English and Maltese languages. The
latter for the advantages of the Maltese people, who should have a
share in its management; they were desirous of placing this new
settlement under the guarantee of some great power, Russia for
example. The English were in hopes that with the English and
Maltese languages spoken by the people who would still be devoted
to them, they should still have an influence in the island, which
would prevent the French from again obtaining possession of it."
The translator has invented a college and system of instruction, because
he did not know how to translate "_langue_!"[1] Thus this important
passage is wholly perverted.
"Ils alléguaient la resistance de la population maltaise à toute
destruction de ses belles forteresses, et proposaient la
reconstitution de l'Ordre sur des bases nouvelles et plus solides.
_Ils voulaient y laisser une langue française, moyennant qu'on y
institût une langue anglaise et une langue maltaise, celle-ci
accordée à la population de l'îsle, pour lui donner part à son
gouvernement; ils voulaient que ce nouvel établissement fût placé
sur la garantie d'une grande puissance, la Russie par exemple. Les
Anglais espéraient qu'avec les langues anglaise et maltaise qui
leur seraient dévotée, ils auraient un pied dans l'isle, et
empêcheraient les Français d'y rentrer._"
[Footnote 1: "Langue" means Order of Knights of Malta, of the
particular "nation" expressed.]