§ Mr. NIELDasked the Postmaster-General whether the Marconi Company 30W have already started work on the provision of equipment for the second three stations for the Imperial chain; and whether, in view of the fact that the Report of the Committee on Radio-telegraphic Research on the various systems has been prepared and will shortly be presented to the House, he will consider the desirability of preventing such work being undertaken by the Marconi Company at this juncture, and so avoid, in the event of another system being declared preferable to that of the Marconi Company, the waste of public money which would necessarily arise if the contract is amended?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe Marconi Company have been informed that they are at liberty to proceed with their preparations for the erection of the second three stations of the Imperial chain provided that in accordance with Clause 2 of the contract of the 30th of July, 1913, they give notice before incurring heavy expenditure on any class of material for use in connection with these stations. Up to the present time they have only given such notice in respect of the mast material. The Committee on Radio-telegraphic Research to which the hon. Member refers was appointed merely to consider how far and by what methods the State should make provision for research work in the science of wireless telegraphy, and I cannot conceive that their report can have any bearing on the question of the contract for the Imperial stations.