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59
that part of the air through which or in which these telegraph
wires were placed." So then it is evident that the Government
in 1882 were mistaken in their views of the power possessed by
local authorities to prevent the erection of overhead wires, and
you will see, Sir, that the London Electric Supply Corporation,
in adopting a general system of overhead wires, have adopted a
system which, if not expressly prohibited by legislation, certainly
was not contemplated by the legislature when the Electric
Lighting Act of 1882 was passed.
Then the two or three points which the Yestry wished the London
Electric Supply Corporation particularly to meet them upon were,
firstly, those to which the other Companies had already assented,
after, as I have said, protracted negotiations; and, secondly, to
give us some prospect of seeing those wires which disfigure some
of our leading streets disappear from view within a limited period.
But in consequence of the Company adopting what I may
describe as a non possumus attitude, we were unable to enter into
negotiations upon clauses, and therefore we are forced into
opposing them upon the merits of the Order.
The fourth objection I was going to refer to is the financial objection.
The Promoters say, by this grand scheme of a station away
from London, at Deptford, they will save something like 50 per
cent. in the cost of production, and that that economy of 50 per
cent. is to be gained at an outlay of only 7 per cent.; so you
see, Sir, according to their showing, there is a net saving in the
cost of production of 43 per cent. Now, Sir, how is that
economy disposed of? Well, one would think the consumers at
any rate would have part of the benefit, but, on referring to the
Order, I find that the London Company seek power to charge
8d. per unit, or at that rate, that is 6s. 8d. for 10 Board of Trade
units, a price equivalent to 8d. per Board of Trade unit,*
whereas they are now only charging 7¼d., and the maximum of
the two Companies who assented to our terms is only 7d. Now,
* A Board of Trade unit is the energy contained in a current of 1,000
amperes flowing under an electro-motive force of one volt during one
hour. To compare the price of the electric light on this basis with the
price of gas, light for light, a unit may be taken as equivalent to 100 feet
of common gas.