THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19889, 28 March 1930, Page 13

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICE. ADVANTAGES OF RUGBY EXPLAINED. (BRITISH OmCIAL WIRELESS.) (Received March 21' th, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, March 26. In tlie House of Commons Sir Hilton Young (Conservative) drew attention to the decision of the Government to develop oversea wireless telephony through the Pest Office station at Rugby, without the co-operation of the Communications Company. He recalled that this great public utility corporation w;is formed in order to co-ordinate and rationalise the cable and wireless systems of overseas communications.

Mr H. B Lees-Smith, PostmasterGeneral, replying, said that the Government's decision had riot been reached on the grounds of any political doctrine, but in consideration of national interests. The late Government leased the beam stations with wireless telegraphy to the Communications Company, but reserved to itself the future of wireless telephony. The late Government and the Imperial Conference deliberately refused to give any undertaking that they would use the beam service stations for future telephony development. The position when he came into office was that there vere two alternaThe first was to use the beam stations. Their advantages were that they had'the equipment and therefor© it seemed obvious that by combining telegraphy and telephouy m one set of apparatus, economical results could be achieved. , . . The other alternative was that at Rugby he found a great wireless service already in existenoe, the greatest commercial overseas telephonic service in the world. The question was what with reductions in overhead charges and so on, whether rationalisation at Rugby dia not eive greater advantages clian communication in a single instrument at the beam station. The aerial masts at the Marconi stations ran up to about 280 feet in height, whereas the masts at Rugby were between 120 and 150 feet high. The highmast syste"hi cost roughly £34,000 and the low-mast system only about £3SUU. Any loss of power attendant on low masts at Rugby had been made good by the development of a very powerful transmittal, so that, taking the transmitter md aerial together, the Rugby system gave even more power than the Marconi. . If they were going to givfi valuable service all over the world they must have more than one wave-.engtn. Three wave-lengths were necessary for a reliable service. A new wave-length meant a new aerial, aftd with the cheap Rugby aerial the Government got a cheap wave-length. The Rugby system gave great economy in land lines. In order to operate the wireless system thev must have a system of land lines from the central trunk exchange in London to the wireless station. Those laud lines were very expensive and by concentrating all their services on one site, they sa\«l considerable money. In addition, Rugby and Baldock were a grept deal n&arer to London than Grimsby, Skegness, Bodmin, and Bridgewater, where the beam stations were situated, so that while tlie beam stations required 4192 miles ot circuit. Rugby and Baldock required only 785. , , „ . Comparing the use of the Rugby system with the best .offer made by the Communications Conipany, there iyoiild bo a saving of £20,000 to £30.000. , . , ~ , The Postmaster-General added tnat the Government had recently heard from the Canadian Government that they preferred direct service with_tnls country to a service via New Yore, and this would be provided. The Gtfverhment was also willing to a service with Argentina as sobn as the House save authority, while negotiations with the Egyptian Government were making satisfactory progtesS.

ANGLO-EGYPTIAN TREATY. negotiations to commence. (BEITIBH OmcUL VPIBELESB.) RUGBY, March 26. The Foreign Secretary, Mr Arthur Henderson, together with officials of the Foreign Office aftd the Egyptian Legation, to-night riiet the Egyptian Prime Minister, Nahas Pasha, and other members of the Egyptian delegation who have come to Londbfe to negotiate a settlement of the outstanding AngloEgyptian questions. The negotiations will bo based upon proposals for an Anglo-Egyptian treaty published last August after the conversations in London between Mahmud Pasha, then 'Egyptian Prime Minister, and Mr Henderson. Theße propos&ls were described by Mr Henflerson in a covering letter as representing '' the extreine limit to which he could recommend the British Government to go in its desire to achieve ft lastitig and honourable settlement."

Nahas Pasha, who, after the Egyptian Parliamentary election, succeeded Mahmud Pasha as Prime Minister, issued in February a statement describing the proposed treaty as prompted by a spirit of conciliation, and received from the Egyptian Parliament a mandate to make the present journey to London to negotiate. The- British High Commissioner, Sir Percy Loraine, is already in London, nnd Will assist in the negotiations.