We cannot congratulate the Council on the display they make in the pamphlet just issued by them—which we have already noticed briefly—entitled Proposed Telephone Service Franchise. Tender by the Chinw and Jupan Telephone Ca. together with correspondence on the subject between the Municipal Cowneil and the Company. It appears to us from a perusal of the pamphlet that the Council have got themselves into an entirely unnecessary snarl, which might have been avoitled by the use ofa little of that business capacity which must exist in a body of busi ness men. It is advisable in negoti: ting any business deal to adopt a conciliatory tone, instead of which the Council address the unfortunate China and Japan Telephone Company almost as if the latter were trying to rob the community. The Council may have been a little annoyed by finding that when they thought they had a splendid francis: to offer for which there would be keen competition from all parts of the world, only—to use their own words—an "c; tremely limited number of tenders" wore received, and some say that the "extremely limited number" means one, that of the C. & J. T. Ca.
One or two points may be noted in the Company's tender. In clause cd} 1, the Company ask that if the Councils terminate their concession at the end of fifteen years, they shall be repaid all the capital they have expended together with interest ab the rate of ten per cent per annum, less the total of all dividends paid by the Company during the fifteen years. The Council reject this and Propose that the price shall be, as with the proposed Tramway concession, the capitalised income at six per cent of the average of the highest five of the seven years preceding, sale. It seems to have been agree that this point should be submitted to London, and at any rate neither side regarded it as an insuperable obstacle to a settlement. In later clauses the Company protect themselves against any loss or expense that may be caused to them by the operations of other companies, such as the Courcil's Electric Light department and the proposed Tram undertaking. This is perfectly fair and it seems difficult for the plain man to understand why there was so much discussion about it. In the appendix "A" there are some_remarks on underground wires. It is certain that the soil here is most unfavourable to the use of underground wires, that their adoption would add greatly to the expense of the system, and that the constant taking up ai the streets that would be necessitated would be an intoler table nuisance. We note with pleasure
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.