§ MR. GRIFFITH BOSCAWEN (Kent, Tonbridge)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether, under the agreement between the National Telephone Company and the Post Office, terminals will be charged by the Post Office and the Company to subscribers on exchanges outside the London area belonging to municipal corporations and other bodies competing with the National Telephone Company.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN,) Worcestershire, E.The Agreement of the 18th November last makes no addition to the cases in which terminal fees are payable on trunk wire conversations between the subscribers of the Post Office, of the National Telephone Company, and of Licensed Corporations. Before that Agreement was concluded the Company had the right to charge terminal fees in all cases on conversations with their subscribers originated by subscribers of other systems. The Post Office and Licensed Corporations had the right to charge similar fees on conversations originated by the Company's subscribers. The Agreement of the 18th November provided that no terminal fees were to be charged on any conversations in which London subscribers, either of the Post Office or of the Company, were concerned. This condition does not apply to any conversations between places outside the London area. Terminal fees are still payable on all conversations between provincial subscribers of the Post Office and the Company, as well as between subscribers of Licensed Corporations and the subscribers of the Company in all parts of the United Kingdom. No terminal fees are now, or ever have been, payable on conversations between subscribers of the Post Office and subscribers of Licensed Corporations.
§ MR. GRIFFITH BOSCAWENDo I understand that the Post Office will not charge terminal fees to subscribers on exchanges belonging to Licensed Corporations competing with the Telephone Company?
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINMy hon. friend must not understand that, exactly. The concession made by the company to the Post Office and by the Post Office to the company is a mutual concession, having exactly the same effect on each side. The Post Office never has charged, and will not charge, any terminals on conversations originated by subscribers to the systems of licensed corporations in the provinces and their own subscribers in London. The general effect of this clause in the agreement is to leave the position of licensed corporations exactly what it was before the agreement was signed, but to give a slight advantage to subscribers to the London Post Office system over subscribers to the National Telephone Company's system in London.
§ MR. CALDWELL (Lanarkshire, Mid)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he can state how many exchange subscribers are attached to the National Telephone Exchange Company's system in the London Telephone area who may be rung up by subscribers to the new Post Office Telephone Exchange.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINThe National Telephone Company state that they have about 40,000 subscribers to their system in the London telephone area, with any one of whom a post office subscriber will be able to communicate.