Parlement

1904 · 45063 — London: For His Majesty's Stationery Office By The King's Printer. 1904. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Law and Legal History Science and History of Science Most Recent Listing; Quarto; v 172 pages; Title continues: "With An Index And Tables Showing The Effects Of The Years' Legislation On The Public General Acts; Also The Titles Of The Local And Private Acts Arranged Consequentially And In Classes. " From printer's slug at bottom of the final leaf: "Printed by Eyre and Spottiswoode / for T. Digby Pigott C. B. the King's Printer for Acts of Parliament. " Bound at the time of publication in tan half calf over marbled boards leather titling labels in red and black on the spine a large red morocco label lettered in gilt is mounted to the front cover: "COUNTY OF FLINT / THE LORD LIEUTENANT. " Hugh Robert Hughes 1827-1911 held that office from 1874-1911. The front and rear free endpapers have a "wave" pattern of light stains caused by reaction to the glue used in binding. This does not affect the text leaves at all; they are clean and unmarked throughout. The Acts passed in 1904 included the first Wireless Act -- which asserted and assumed full control over wireless telegraphy in Great Britain under the Post Office. "1 A person shall not establish any wireless telegraph station or install or work any apparatus for wireless telegraphy in any place or on board any British ship except under and in accordance with a licence granted in that behalf by the Postmaster-General. 2 Every such licence shall be in such form and for such period as the Postmaster-General may determine and shall contain the terms conditions and restrictions on and subject to which the licence is granted and any such licence may include two or more stations places or ships. Further text includes penalties and various conditions. "but no proceedings shall be taken against any person under this Act except by order of the Postmaster-General the Admiralty the Army Council or the Board of Trade. " The British Post Office had a significant formative relationship with experiments in wireless from the very earliest stages. And it is interesting that this well-preserved copy of the 1904 Acts has a Welsh connection because the early history of wireless experiments in Britain certainly is thoroughly gounded in Wales as well. Sir William Henry Preece KCB FRS 1834 1913 born in Caernarfon Wales became Engineer-in-Chief of the British General Post Office in 1892. Before that date Preece had been conducting experients in transmitting telegraphic signals over short distances and even over a mile of calm water in the Lake District . Early after Guglielmo Marconi moved to England in 1896 Preece became convinced of the talents possessed by the young Italian inventor and the potential of his apparatus -- over which Preece devoted significant time and energy in demonstrations for the Parliament. Marconi managed to make signal transmissions over 6 kilometers at Salisbury Plain and determined that his next step would be to attempt transmission over open sea. Sir William Preece suggested Wales as a location and directed George Kemp a Cardiff-based Post Office engineer to assist Marconi. Kemp suggested the South Wales coast. Marconi set up his apparatus on the cliff at Lavernock Point along the coast overlooking the Bristol Channel. George Kemp and his nephew Herbert were positioned three miles distant across the channel on Flat Holm Island. Each station had a 30 meter pole erected. After two days of failure Marconi moved his apparatus down towards the water; the longer connection effectively added length to the antenna; full success was immediate -- on the 13th of May 1897. Marconi sent an initial message in Morse code reading: "CAN YOU HEAR ME". Shortly after Marconi received this reply from Kemp: "YES LOUD AND CLEAR". The recording slip for the first message is now kept at the National Museum of Wales. By 1904 when this ground-breaking British law first assigned control over wireless to the Post Office Sir William Preece had retired and George Kemp had resigned from the GP . For His Majesty's Stationery Office By The King's Printer hardcover