§ MR. LOUGH (Islington, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that there is a telephone connecting the canteen of the camp at Colchester with the office of a cab proprietor, thus giving him an exclusive privilege, against which the other cab proprietors have appealed to the War Office, and obtained a promise that the use of the telephone should be allowed them; whether the Telephone Company have refused to make the connections; and, if so, whether he will take the steps necessary to carry out the promise, and put all the cab proprietors of the town on an equal footing so far as the camp is concerned?
§ MR. WOODALLIn 1889 the South of England Telephone Company applied for permission to carry a wire on War Department land in order to establish communication between the camp and the Cups Hotel at Colchester. On the recommendation of the General Officer Commanding that the line would be a convenience to the camp, the Secretary of State for War granted the request of the Company. In 1892 several cab proprietors objected that this concession constituted a monopoly in favour of the Cups Hotel, and on the authority of the Company they were informed that on subscribing to a central exchange they would be supplied with similar advantages. It appears that sufficient subscriptions have not yet been promised, and therefore a central exchange has not yet been opened. The War Department has made no promise in the matter, and those who are anxious for the establishment of a central exchange should communicate with the Telephone Company. The War Department will then give further consideration to the subject.