Page images
PDF
EPUB

Privileges of Act available notwithstanding constitution of company.

Construction.

Accumulated profits may be returned to

shareholders in paid-up capital.

reduction of

manner and have the same effect as if it were the first registration of that company under the Companies Act, 1862 to 1879, and as if the provisions of the Acts under which the company was previously registered and regulated had been contained in different Acts of Parliament from those under which the company is registered as a limited company.

10. A company authorised to register under this Act may register thereunder and avail itself of the privileges conferred by this Act, notwithstanding any provisions contained in any Act of Parliament, royal charter, deed of settlement, contract of copartnery, cost book regulations, letters patent, or other instrument constituting or regulating the company.

The Companies Act, 1880.

43 VICT. c. 19.

2. This Act shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, be construed as one with the Companies Acts, 1862, 1867, 1877, and 1879, and the said Acts and this Act may be referred to as The Companies Acts 1862 to 1880."

[ocr errors]

3. When any company has accumulated a sum of undivided profits, which, with the consent of the shareholders, may be distributed among the shareholders in the form of a dividend or bonus, it shall be lawful for the company, by special resolution, to return the same, or any part thereof, to the shareholders in reduction of the paid-up capital of the company, the unpaid capital being thereby increased by a similar amount. The powers vested in the directors of making calls upon the shareholders in respect of moneys unpaid upon their shares shall extend to the amount of the unpaid capital as augmented by such reduction. Resolution to be 4. No such special resolution as aforesaid shall take effect until a memorandum, showing the particulars required by law in the case of a reduction of capital by order of the court, shall have been produced to and registered by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies.

registered.

Power to any shareholder within one month after

5. Upon any reduction of paid-up capital made in pursuance of this Act, it shall be lawful for any shareholder, or for any one or more of several joint shareholders, within one month after passing of resolution to require the passing of the special resolution for such reduction, to require the company to retain, and the company shall retain paid upon shares accordingly, the whole of the moneys actually paid upon the

company to retain moneys

held by such

persons.

shares held by such person, either alone or jointly with any other person or persons, and which, in consequence of such reduction, would otherwise be returned to him or them, and thereupon the shares in respect of which the said moneys shall be so retained shall, in regard to the payment of dividends

thereon, be deemed to be paid up to the same extent only as the shares on which payment as aforesaid has been accepted by the shareholders in reduction of their paid-up capital, and the company shall invest and keep invested the moneys so retained in such securities authorised for investment by trustees as the company shall determine, and upon the moneys so invested, or upon so much thereof as from time to time exceeds the amount of calls subsequently made upon the shares in respect of which such moneys shall have been retained, the company shall pay such interest as shall be received by them from time to time on such securities, and the amount so retained and invested shall be held to represent the future calls which may be made to replace the capital so reduced on those shares, whether the amount obtained on sale of the whole or such proportion thereof as represents the amount of any call when made, produces more or less than the amount of such call.

specify amounts

profits returned

6. From and after such reduction of capital, the company Company to shall specify in the annual list of members, to be made by retained under them in pursuance of the 26th section of the Companies Act, sect. 5, and 1862, the amounts which any of the shareholders of the to shareholders. company shall have required the company to retain, and the company shall have retained accordingly, in pursuance of the fifth section of this Act; and the company shall also specify in the statements of account laid before any general meeting of the company the amount of the undivided profits of the company which shall have been returned to the shareholders in reduction of the paid-up capital of the company under this Act.

Power of regis

trar to strike names of defunct companies off

7.-(1.) Where the Registrar of Joint-Stock Companies has reasonable cause to believe that a company, whether registered before or after the passing of this Act, is not carrying on register. business, or in operation, he shall send to the company by post a letter inquiring whether the company is carrying on business or in operation.

(2.) If the registrar does not within one month of sending the letter receive any answer thereto, he shall, within fourteen days after the expiration of the month, send to the company by post a registered letter referring to the first letter, and stating that no answer thereto has been received by the registrar, and that if an answer is not received to the second letter within one month from the date thereof, a notice will be published in the Gazette with a view to striking the name of the company off the register.

(3.) If the registrar, either receives an answer from the company to the effect that it is not carrying on business or in operation, or does not within one month after sending the second letter receive any answer thereto, the registrar may publish in the Gazette and send to the company a notice that at the expi

ration of three months from the date of that notice the name of the company mentioned therein will, unless cause is shown to the contrary, be struck off the register and the company will be dissolved.

(4.) At the expiration of the time mentioned in the notice, the registrar may, unless cause to the contrary is previously shown by such company, strike the name of such company off the register, and shall publish notice thereof in the Gazette, and, on the publication in the Gazette of such last-mentioned notice, the company whose name is so struck off shall be dissolved: Provided that the liability (if any) of every director, managing officer, and member of the company shall continue, and may be enforced as if the company had not been dissolved.

(5.) If any company or member thereof feels aggrieved by the name of such company having been struck off the register in pursuance of this section, the company or member may apply to the Superior Court in which the company is liable to be wound-up; and such court, if satisfied that the company was at the time of the striking off carrying on business or in operation, and that it is just so to do, may order the name of the company to be restored to the register, and thereupon the company shall be deemed to have continued in existence as if the name thereof had never been struck off: and the court may by the order give such directions and make such provisions as seems just for placing the company and all other persons in the same position as nearly as may be as if the name of the company had never been struck off.

(6.) A letter or notice authorised or required for the purposes of this section to be sent to a company, may be sent by post addressed to the company at its registered office, or, if no office has been registered, addressed to the care of some director or officer of the company, or, if there be no director or officer of the company whose name and address are known to the registrar, the letter or notice (in identical form) may be sent to each of the persons who subscribed the memorandum of association, addressed to him at the address mentioned in that memorandum.

Wages and

salary to be pre

The Companies Act, 1883.

46 & 47 VICT. C. 28.

In the distribution of the assets of any company being woundferential claims. up under the Companies Acts, 1862 and 1867, there shall be paid in priority to other debts,

(a.) All wages or salary of any clerk or servant in respect of service rendered to the company during four months

before the commencement of the winding-up not ex

ceeding fifty pounds; and

(b.) All wages of any labourer or workman in respect of services

rendered to the company during two months before the
commencement of the winding-up.

rank equally.

(5.) The foregoing debts shall rank equally among themselves, Such claims to and shall be paid in full, unless the assets of the company are insufficient to meet them, in which case they shall abate in equal proportions between themselves.

discharge same upon receipt of

(6.) Subject to the retention of such sums as may be neces- Liquidator to sary for the costs of administration or otherwise, the liquidator or liquidators or official liquidator shall discharge the foregoing sufficient assets. debts forthwith, so far as the assets of the company are and will be sufficient to meet them, as and when such assets come into the hands of such liquidator or liquidators or official liquidator.

COPYRIGHT.

An Act to amend the Law of Copyright.

5 & 6 VICT. c. 45.

3. The copyright in every book which shall, after the passing of this Act, be published in the lifetime of its author, shall endure for the natural life of such author and for seven years from his death, and shall be the property of such author and his assigns. Proviso: If the said term of seven years shall expire before the end of forty-two years from the first publication of such book, the copyright shall endure for such period of forty-two years.

The copyright in every book which shall be published after the death of its author, shall endure for forty-two years from the first publication thereof, and shall be the property of the proprietor of the author's MS., and his assigns. (a)

Copyright (Musical Compositions) Act, 1882.

45 & 46 VICT. c. 40.

public perform

1. On and after the passing of this Act (b) the proprietor of Printed notice the copyright in any musical composition first published after the restraining passing of this Act, or his assignee, who shall be entitled to and ance. be desirous of retaining in his own hands exclusively the right of

(a) "Book" shall mean and include every volume, part or division of a volume, pamphlet, sheet of letterpress, sheet of music, map, chart, or plan separately published (sect. 2).

(b) 10th August, 1882.

Provision when

ance and copy

right are vested

in different

owners.

public representation or performance of the same, shall print or cause to be printed upon the title-page of every published copy of such musical composition a notice to the effect that the right of public representation or performance is reserved.

2. In case, after the passing of this Act, the right of public right of perform- representation or performance of, and the copyright in, any musical composition shall be or become vested before publication of any copy thereof in different owners, then, if the owner of the right of public representation or performance shall desire to retain the same, he shall, before any such publication of any copy of such musical composition, give to the owner of the copyright therein notice in writing requiring him to print upon every copy of such musical composition a notice to the effect that the right of public representation or performance is reserved; but in case the right of public representation or performance of, and the copyright in, any musical composition shall, after publication of any copy thereof subsequently to the passing of this Act, first become vested in different owners, and such notice as aforesaid shall have been duly printed on all copies published after the passing of this Act previously to such vesting, then, if the owner of the right of performance and representation shall desire to retain the same, he shall, before the publication of any further copies of such musical composition, give notice in writing to the person in whom the copyright shall be then vested, requiring him to print such notice as aforesaid on every copy of such musical composition to be thereafter published.

Penalty on

owner of copy

right for non

notice from owner of right

3. If the owner for the time being of the copyright in any musical composition shall, after due notice being given to him compliance with or his predecessor in title at the time, and generally in accordance with the last preceding section, neglect or fail to print of performance. legibly and conspicuously upon every copy of such composition published by him or by his authority, or by any person lawfully entitled to publish the same, and claiming through or under him, a note or memorandum stating that the right of public representation or performance is reserved, then and in such case the owner of the copyright at the time of the happening of such neglect or default shall forfeit and pay to the owner of the right of public representation or performance of such composition the sum of twenty pounds, to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Costs.

4. The costs of any action or proceedings for penalties or damages in respect of the unauthorised representation or performance of any musical composition published before the passing of this Act shall, in cases in which the plaintiff shall not recover more than forty shillings as penalty or damages, be in the discretion of the court or judge before whom such action or proceedings shall be tried.

« PreviousContinue »