Mr. Bonar Law said that the Government ought to await
whatever developments there might be in wireless telegraphy in the near future. The Poulsen Company had offered to construct stations at £40,000 each without royalties, as com- pared with the £60,000 each with royalties demanded by the Marconi Company. There had never before been an instance of royalties being paid on gross receipts. Mr. Asquith wound up the debate, saying that he would prefer that the State should erect the stations, but all expert opinion assured him that the delay involved by that course would be considerable. Therefore the only alternative—since the warnings of the departments responsible for Imperial defence were repeated and emphatic—was to employ the Marconi Company as the only body which had proved its ability to undertake the work immediately.
Previous page
