Abstract
A MEMORANDUM explanatory of the Wireless Telegraphy Bill which was introduced by Lord Stanley, the Postmaster-General, has been issued as a parliamentary paper. We have already referred to theproposals made in this Bill in our notes columns, but a brief abstract of the memorandum and of the provisions of the Bill may be of interest to readers of NATURE. The paper opens by pointing out that the rapid development of wireless telegraphy which has been and is still going on makes some form of State control practically essential in the interests of the naval and military requirements of the Empire. The United Kingdom stands, in fact, almost alone in not having any such control; in ordinary circumstances the powers of the Postmaster-General do not extend beyond the three-mile maritime limit; although in times of war or emergency the Government can take over the telegraphic business of incorporated companies, this power does not extend to the installations of private individuals. Obviously a private individual, were he maliciously inclined, could cause a great deal of trouble with a wireless telegraphy installation in the neighbourhood of important strategical signalling stations. A certain very limited power of control exists by an arrangement already made with several foreign Powers bv which these Powers undertake not to permit the establishment of systems for communication with the United Kingdom except after consultation with the British Government; this safeguard, such as it is, would naturally fail in the event of war. It is especially in the case of war that control becomes of vital importance, and it is necessary to introduce legislation to meet this event.
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S., M. The Wireless Telegraphy Bill . Nature 70, 349–350 (1904). https://doi.org/10.1038/070349a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/070349a0