§ CAPTAIN BAGOT (Westmoreland, Kendal)I beg to ask the Postmaster-Genera' whether, in view of the fact that if post office telephone call offices were established in country village post offices, callers would not be able to communicate with subscribers to the National Telephone Company in the nearest or any adjacent town, in which the exchange? was under the National Telephone Company, he will state if this hindrance to an extension of the telephone system between rural districts and country towns is owing to statute law or some agreement between the Postmaster-General and the Telephone Company; and, if so, will he take steps to remedy this state of affairs with a view to placing country villages in telephonic communication with their market and other towns.
§ THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Lord STANLEY,) Lancashire, WesthoughtonThe absence of the right of intercommunication between call offices and exchanges 643 of the the post office in any provincial exchange area and the system of the National Telephone Company in the same area, is not due to any statutory provision or to any agreement between the Postmaster-General and the Company. It arises from the fact that the Postmaster-General has no power to require the Company to give such intercommunication, glad as I should be if such an arrangement could be brought about.