POST OFFICE AND TELEGRAPH BILL. (Hansard, 11 June 1940)

§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (LORD TRYON)

My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be read a second time. This House is rich in the number of former Postmasters-General who are now members of the House and I am happy also to see a former Assistant Postmaster-General present. This Bill is the direct consequence of the recent Budget. In that Budget a number of charges were heavily increased. The object, which was legitimate and indeed absolutely necessary, was not connected with the ordinary business management of the Post Office—I think your Lordships will agree that the Post Office has for some years been run on business lines and, if I may say so, successful lines—but the additional charges are really taxes put on to secure additional revenue. Most of them can be made without any legislation, but there are some exceptions. Most of them can be provided for by Warrant or Regulation, but there is one postal charge, and one only, for which it is necessary to legislate: that is the inland registered newspaper rate.

I will take the clauses of the Bill in their order. Clause 1 removes the statutory maximum charge and enables this postal charge to be enacted by Warrant. The charge for registered newspapers will be 1½d. for four ounces, instead of 1d. for six ounces. This change makes necessary the provisions of Clause 2. It will be, I think, familiar to everybody that there are frequently cases where the subscription rate for a newspaper or periodical is a charge which covers the postal rate. It would not be right to impose upon the providers and senders of these newspapers and periodicals the charge for the additional postal rate. Therefore, under this clause the contracts can be terminated so that fresh arrangements can be made. Clauses 3 and 4 deal with the telegraph service proper. Clause 3 imposes a new maximum for inland Press telegrams of 1s. 3d. for sixty words instead of the former charge of 1s. Clause 4 raises the maximum charges for certain special classes of telegrams, that is to say priority telegrams and greetings telegrams, where previously the maximum, was 1s for twelve words. In future the charge for priority inland telegrams will be 1s. 3d. for nine words, and greetings telegrams will in future be charged 1s. for nine words. 514 The innovation of greetings telegrams, I think your Lordships will agree, has been popular, and it has already produced a considerable addition to Post Office revenue. I have made it my business to find out how popular they have been, and I find that, in the last twelve months for which figures are available, no fewer than 4,500,000 greetings telegrams were sent. Therefore we may hope for a very appreciable addition to the revenue by this additional charge.

Clause 5 deals with telephone charges. The Budget charges which were announced included an increase of 15 per cent. on the exchange service and 25 per cent. on the private telephone service. There has been some misunderstanding about what is meant by the private telephone service. It is not the ordinary telephone service which I suppose we all have in our own houses. This increase will operate in cases where persons of busy life and great business activity have private lines between their houses or offices and other places within their control. A private line is a line between two places which does not go through the ordinary exchange. I thought it was necessary to explain that the new charge does not affect the ordinary telephone in a private house. The increase in the charges for telephone calls does not require legislation, but there is a case for change and special arrangements where contracts are involved. People entering into a contract with the Post Office for a telephone service will find themselves liable to be charged more from July 1 than the amount which originally formed part of the contract. Therefore it is only right, and it is arranged in the BILL. that if they do not wish to pay this additional charge the contract can be abandoned. Clause 5 refers to "any local telegraph authority," which really in effect means the Corporation of Hull. The effect of this clause is to give to the Corporation of Hull the same rights as the Postmaster-General has in relation to the public. Finally, I should like to repeat and make clear that this is really a consequence of the Budget, and that these additional charges are a necessary part of the financial effort which we are making to carry on the war.