66. Mr. PIKE PEASEasked the Postmaster-General what would be the total monetary loss sustained by the Marconi Company in respect of any one station in the event of there being twelve months' delay on the part of the company in completing such stations?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELThe loss would be made up of (1) £1,800 by way of monetary penalty; (2) the forfeiture of 2 per cent. interest payable under the contract; (3) whatever additional sum the company might be losing as the interest on capital employed in the undertaking; and (4) the postponement of royalty payments for a year. It is clearly impossible to give an exact estimate of the total.
67. Mr. PIKE PEASEasked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the criticism passed upon the Marconi continuous high-frequency machine passed in 1269 paragraph 26 of the expert Advisory Committee's Report, he will insist on retaining paragraph 3 of clause 3?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELNo doubt the hon. Member has in mind Clause 2 and not Clause 3, which does not touch this matter. Before the provision referred to becomes effective, the Postmaster-General must be satisfied that the Marconi system of continuous waves is as efficient and economical as any competing system. I may add that the Advisory Committee reported in paragraph 26 that the only continuous high-frequency generator they had seen tried with success over long distances was the Marconi machine, and the criticism mentioned by the hon. Member was that the power used for the experiments was not sufficient for commercial purposes, but that there seemed to be no reason why higher power should not be obtained.
§ 72. Mr. HORNERasked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether the solicitor to the Board of Trade will make an immediate inquiry into the transactions involved in the issue of American Marconi shares in April, 1912, by Mr. Godfrey Isaacs and Mr. Percy Heybourn, in view of the fact that the Dublin Stock Exchange entered a protest in connection with the matter to the London Stock Exchange, and that the committee of the London Stock Exchange has deferred the consideration of the question for many months?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Robertson)If, as I presume, the question of the hon. Member relates to the method of the issue of the shares in the America Marconi Company, the Board of Trade have no jurisdiction to hold an inquiry into such a matter.