COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 26 June 1890)

*LORD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH
My Lords, I have a very simple Amendment to move on Clause 3, the object of which is this: The Town Council of Glasgow are in another of their capacities Police Commissioners, and in n third capacity they are Gas Commissioners. Early in the year, under the belief that they were the Local Authority, in their capacity as Gas Commissioners, they made application for a Provisional Order, and proper notice was also given by them as the Local Authority in their capacity as Police Commissioners. The opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown has been given to the effect that they are the local Authority, not as Police Commissioners, but as Town Council. If this Bill passed without amendment it would be necessary for a month's notice to be given before a Resolution can be passed giving sanction to themselves in another capacity to apply for a Provisional Order. As in their capacity as Police Commissioners they have already gone through the proper formalities and passed the Resolution, the object of this clause is to dispense with the necessity for the lapse of another month before the notice could be renewed. No undue advantage can be taken of it, because it only applies where all the formalities have been gone through.

§ LORD HERSCHELL
I should like to call the noble Lord's attention to one point, that is, where the Gas Commissioners are the Local Authority, this Bill would give them an absolute power to veto electric lighting in their district.

*LORO BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH
The noble Lord will find a provision in the Schedule to this Bill in regard to that. I am not able to say off-hand to which particular burghs it will apply, but if there are any cases in which the Town Council as Police Commissioners or Gas Commissioners are made the Local Authority then as the Local Authority they would have, at any rate for a time, the power to veto electric-lighting enterprise. But there is a power vested in the Board of Trade as regards Scottish burghs the same as that regarding England, that if upon due cause shown it is seen that acting as the Local Authority they are making opposition in order to place undue difficulties in the way of electric lighting enterprise, the Board of Trade may give an order to dispense with the consent of the Local Authority.

§ LORD HERSCHELL
But is it stated that that will apply to the cases which are covered by this Bill? Because I cannot help feeling that there is very great risk in leaving the determination of the question as to introducing electric lighting in the hands of the Gas Commissioners. One can well understand that where a Local Body are making very likely a considerable profit by the sale of gas they may be very much disposed to be slow themselves in taking up electric lighting, and not only that, but to stand very much in the way of those who are disposed to take it up, and so deprive those who have an interest in its being adopted, that is to say, the community, of the advantage of the electric lighting. I am afraid the progress of electric lighting in the past has been not a little impeded by the fact that the Local Authorities themselves have been purveyors of gas to the public. It seems to me a little strange to give the power of dealing in that way with 7 electric lighting expressly to Gas Commissioners.

*LORD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH
No doubt there is some force in the criticism which has been made by the noble Lord, but there are two answers to it. In the first place I may state that I am informed, and I believe it to be the case, that the provision which I mentioned when I last spoke does apply, I think, in this case; but I will make absolutely certain of it before the Bill leaves the House. The second answer is that the criticism does not apply so much to Scotland as to England, because it is not so much the custom in Scotland for profit to be made out of either gas or water undertakings as I am informed it is in England. The price of gas is cut much more closely so to speak in Scotland, and if there is any surplus profit it is returned, I understand more promptly, in the shape of a reduction in price to the consumers than is the case in some municipalities South of the Tweed. There is, therefore, not the same temptations to the actions feared by the noble Lord.