§ COLONEL WILSON PATTENsaid, he 195 wished to ask the President of the Board of Trade, Whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce any measure during the present Session for regulating the construction of lines of Electric Telegraph on public roads and lands adjoining thereto; and whether care has been taken to insert in all Private Bills having this object clauses rendering Electric Telegraph Companies liable to future general legislation?
§ MR. MILNER GIBSONreplied, that with regard to the last part of the question of his hon. Friend, as to whether Companies which had obtained Acts of Parliament to construct Electric Telegraphs would be subject to future legislation, he believed that none of the Acts contained such a clause; but some of them, he believed about one-half, had a clause which gave to Parliament a power of limited interference at the end of ten years. He had a copy of the clause, which stated—
That at any time after the expiration of ten years from the passing of this Act the regulations of the Company with regard to the transmission of messages and the opening of streets shall be subject to a revision of Parliament; and Parliament shall then require and enforce the adoption and performance by the Companies of such modified or other regulations as aforesaid as shall be deemed necessary for the protection and convenience of the public.There was no clause as to general legislation by Parliament, but he proposed communicating with the Chairman of Ways and Means recommending that a clause granting such power should be inserted in any Bill now before Parliament. As to the first part of the question, the subject was one of considerable difficulty. It was undergoing consideration, but he could not undertake, as at present advised, to promise that any Bill relating to the question should be introduced during the present Session.