View report page

105
5. By Clause 15 of the Bill the Company is empowered to make one annual statement
of account only in respect of all the undertakings authorised by any Orders or Acts of Parliament
relating to Districts within the Administrative County of London and conferring
powers upon the Company for the supply of electricity therein, instead of a separate statement
of account in respect of each undertaking.
6. Your Petitioners are the Vestry of the Parish of Rotherhithe in the Administrative
County of London, incorporated under the provisions of the Metropolis Management Act,
1855, with a population and rateable value of over 40,000 people and 216,000 pounds respectively,
and possess jurisdiction for the purposes of that and numerous other Acts within the
said parish.
7. Your Petitioners allege that it is unnecessary and inexpedient that the provisions of
the Bill should pass into law and they strongly object thereto for the reasons hereafter appearing:—
8. The County of London and Brush Provincial Electric Lighting Company, Limited,
are at present empowered to supply thirteen Metropolitan parishes or districts, and are applying
to the Board of Trade for the grant of Provisional Orders under the Electric Lighting
Acts in respect to thirteen other parishes or districts, including the Parish of Rotherhithe,
and by the provisions of the Bill are endeavouring to convert their present separate
undertakings and any undertakings which they may acquire in future, into one gigantic
concern, thus practically rendering futile Section 2 of the Electric Lighting Act, 1888, which
provides for the purchase of Companies' undertakings by Local Authorities and the special
purchase clauses which have been inserted from time to time in the various Provisional
Orders granted to the Company.
9. The provision in the Bill enabling the Company to render one statement of account
only in respect of all their undertakings, instead of a separate one for each, as provided for
by Section 9 of the Electric Lighting Act, 18S2, is, in the opinion of your Petitioners, a vicious
one, inasmuch as it will be practically impossible to arrive at a basis for purchase in respect
to any one parish or district, and, taken with the fact that several areas would be supplied
from one large generating station, instead of each area being supplied from its own station,
will practically prevent Local Authorities from exercising their rights of purchase.