On Wednesday in the House of Commons the agreement with
the National Telephone Company was discussed on a Resolution moved by Mr. Lough that the agreement should be refused the sanction of Cie House unless all the recom- mendations of the Select Committee were embodied in it. Lord Stanley in reply pointed out that the agreement already embodied most of these recommendations. He was prepared, for example, to treat the employes of the Company in the way suggested, and the terms of purchase, which were known as tramway terms," goodwill and prospective profits being excluded from the valuation, were substantially those recom- mended. The one point of difference was the question of municipal licenses. These could not be granted to cover a longer period than that left to the Company, since in 1898 it was agreed that the Company should have a right to the same extensions as were given to municipalities. On a division, Mr. Lough's Resolution was rejected by 187 votes to 110.
Previous page
