§ MR. J. G. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, if he will state why private electric lighting companies are permitted to run their mains over any public street or thorough fare, and are under no obligations either to their own consumers or the public, whilst vestries are bound to lay their mains underground and conform strictly with the rules of the Board of Trade; and whether, having regard to the the fact that Local Authorities consider mains carried across public thoroughfares a source of danger to the public, he will take steps to require private companies to conform with the regulations applicable to vestries?
§ MR. BRYCEMy hon. Friend is not correctly informed as to the state of the law. Private electric lighting companies having statutory powers are under obligations similar to those imposed on Local Authorities, and are also prohibited from using overhead wires without the consent of the Board of Trade and the Local Authority. Private electric lighting companies not having statutory powers are subject to regulations for the protection of the public prescribed under the provisions of the Electric Lighting Acts, 1882 and 1888, although the use of overhead conductors is not prohibited by those Acts. Moreover, Urban Authorities, under the Public Health Act of 1890, are empowered to make regulations for the prevention of danger or obstruction to the public from wires stretched over, along, or across any street.