OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "It may be considered a perfect vade mecum to the man of business of the present period as indispensable as it is valuable from the evident painstaking and scrupulous care and ability displayed by Mr. Palmer in the compilation and arrangement of the subjects treated."-The Railway Record, May 5, 1877. "To those concerned in getting up Companies, the assistance given by Mr. Palmer must be very valuable, because he does not confine himself to bare precedents, but by intelligent and learned commentary lights up, as it were, each step that he takes. The volume before us is not therefore a book of precedents merely, but, in a greater or less degree, a treatise on certain portions of the Companies Acts, 1862 and 1867. There is an elaborate index, and the work is one which must commend itself to the Profession."-Law Times, June 9, 1877. All the "The precedents are, as a rule, exceedingly well drafted. notes have been elaborated with a thoroughly scientific knowledge of the principles of Company Law, as well as with copious references to the cases substantiating the principles. Many authors, from indolence it may be, or perhaps incapacity, fall into the failing of making their books so elementary as to be of little or no service to Counsel. Mr. Palmer has steered very wide of such a fault as this. We venture to predict that his notes will be found of great utility in guiding opinions on many complicated questions of Law and Practice. The introductory notes on Debentures are particularly well worked "-Law Journal, June 23, 1877. up "These notes show much care and industry, and contain information which it is particularly useful to have collected The precedents we have The forms of On the whole, we think gone through are generally speaking clear and practical. articles are also concise and well arranged. that the work is a valuable addition to the conveyancer's library."-Solicitors' Journal, October 27, 1877. "Notwithstanding the treatises, which have already appeared on the subject, there had never to our knowledge, been any attempt to collect and edit a body of forms and precedents exclusively relating to the formation, working, and winding up of Companies. This task Mr. Palmer has taken in hand, and, we are glad to say, with much success. Not only the draftsmen, but Secretaries, Managing Directors, and other Officials will find in this Volume varied precedents and forms which cannot fail to be of the greatest service to them The author has evidently not been sparing of labour, and the fruits of his exertions are now before the legal profession in a work of great practical utility."--Law Magazine, February, 1878. Second Edition, price 1s.; or by post, 1s. 1d. BY THE SAME AUTHOR, PRIVATE COMPANIES: OR, How to Convert your Business into a Private Company, and the Benefit of so doing. STEVENS AND SONS, 119, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON, W. THE SHAREHOLDERS' AND DIRECTORS' LEGAL COMPANION: A Manual of EVERY-DAY LAW AND PRACTICE FOR PROMOTERS, SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, SECRETARIES, UNDER THE COMPANIES ACTS, 1862, 1867, AND 1877. BY FRANCIS B. PALMER, OF THE INNER TEMPLE, ESQ., BARRISTER-AT-LAW, BIJUINECR JUL 1878 BODLEIANA LONDON: STEVENS & SONS, 119, CHANCERY LANE, Law Publishers and Booksellers. 1878. PREFACE. THE object of this work, as may be gathered from the title page, is to supply promoters, shareholders, directors, secretaries, creditors, and others with information upon the many legal and practical questions which commonly arise in connection with companies. In England alone there are many thousand companies, formed under the Act of 1862, now carrying on business. The capital invested in these companies amounts to several hundred millions sterling,* and the number of such companies increases at the rate of more than a thousand per annum. Moreover, Acts in terms almost identical with those of the Companies Act 1862 are in force in India, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and large numbers of limited companies have been and are from time to time being formed under those Acts. In these circumstances, it is obvious that the number of persons connected with, and the interests involved in, such companies must be very large. No apology therefore seems necessary for the publication of a work which seeks to convey to such persons practical information in a concise and intelligible form. The following abbreviations are used :— The Companies Act, 1862 (25 & 26 Vic. c. 89) is referred to as "the Act of 1862." The Companies Act, 1867 (30 & 31 Vic. c. 131) is referred to as the Act of 1867." 66 The Author's work on Company Forms and Precedents is referred to as "Company Precedents." 5, NEW SQUARE, LINCOLN'S INN. April, 1878. FRANCIS B. PALMER. * See Appendix to the Report of the Select Committee on the Companies Acts 1862 and 1867. Session 1877. |