MR. J. SPENCER BALFOUR (Burn ley)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether it is intended to grant a third Electric Light Provisional Order in any suburban district where two Orders are already in force without first revoking one of the existing Orders, and thus affording a guarantee that the policy of the Board of Trade, as already announced, that there should be only two Orders in force in one district, shall not be departed from?
§ SIR M. HICKS BEACHThe Board of Trade have no power to revoke a Provisional Order unless the undertakers fail to comply with the requirements of the Order within the prescribed time. In the only case in which the Board of Trade propose to grant a third Order in a district this Session, they have reason to believe that one of the existing companies will not be in a position to comply with the requirements of their Order within the time prescribed thereby. If this should be so, the Board 1167 of Trade will, when the proper time arrives, consider any application for the revocation of the Order that may be made to them by the Country Council or the Local Authority.