proceeding individually named in the record, or of any lessor of the plaintiff or of the tenant of premises sought to be recovered in ejectment, or of the landlord or other person in whose right any defendant in replevin may make cognizance, or of any lessor in whose immediate and individual behalf any action may be brought or defended, either wholly or in part, is hereby repealed. 5. In citing this act in other acts of parliament, or in any instrument, document, or proceeding, it shall be sufficient to use the expression "The Evidence Amendment Act, 1853." 6. This act shall commence on the 11th day of July, 1853. MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT, 1854. 107. Every register of or declaration made in pursuance of the second part of this act, in respect of any British ship, may be proved in any court of justice, or before any person having by law or by consent of parties authority to receive evidence, either by the production of the original or by an examined copy thereof, or by a copy thereof purporting to be certified under the hand of the registrar or other person having the charge of the original; which certified copies he is hereby required to furnish to any person applying at a reasonable time for the same, upon payment of one shilling for each such certified copy; and every such register, or copy of a register, and also every certificate of registry of any British ship purporting to be signed by the registrar or other proper officer, shall be received in evidence in any court of justice, or before any person having by law or by consent of parties authority to receive evidence as prima facie proof of all the matters contained or recited in such register when the register or such copy is produced, and of all the matters contained in or endorsed on such certificate of registry, and purporting to be authenticated by the signature of a registrar, when such certificate is produced. 277. All shipping masters and officers of customs shall take charge of all documents which are delivered or transmitted to or retained by them in pursuance of this act, and shall keep them for such time (if any) as may be necessary for the purpose of settling any business arising at the place where such documents came into their hands, or for any other proper purpose, and shall, if required, produce them for any of such purposes, and shall then transmit them to the registrargeneral of seamen, to be by him recorded and preserved; and the said registrar shall, on payment of a moderate fee to be fixed by the Board of Trade, or without payment of any fee if the Board of Trade so directs, allow any person to inspect the same; and in cases in which the production of the original of any such document in any court of justice or elsewhere is essential, shall produce the same, and in other cases shall make and deliver to any person requiring it a certified copy of any such document, or of any part thereof, and every copy purporting to be so made and certified shall be received in evidence, and shall have all the effect of the original of which it purports to be a copy. AN ACT FOR THE FURTHER AMENDMENT OF THE LAW OF EVIDENCE. 32 & 33 VICT. c. 68. WHEREAS the discovery of truth in courts of justice has been signally promoted by the removal of restrictions on the admissibility of witnesses, and it is expedient to amend the law of evidence with the object of still further promoting such discovery: be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 2. The parties to any action for breach of promise of marriage shall be competent to give evidence in such action provided always, that no plaintiff in any action for breach of promise of marriage shall recover a verdict unless his or her testimony shall be corroborated by some other material evidence in support of such promise. 3. The parties to any proceeding instituted in consequence of adultery, and the husbands and wives of such parties, shall be competent to give evidence in such proceeding provided that no witness in any proceeding, whether a party to the suit or not, shall be liable to be asked or bound to answer any question tending to show that he or she has been guilty of adultery, unless such witness shall have already given evidence in the same proceeding in disproof of his or her alleged adultery. 4. (Repealed.) 5. This act may be cited for all purposes as "The Evidence Further Amendment Act, 1869." 6. This act shall not extend to Scotland. THE COMPANIES ACT, 1862. By section 18, "a certificate of the incorporation of any company given by the registrar shall be conclusive evidence that all the requisitions of this act in respect of registration have been complied with." By section 31, "a certificate under the common seal of the company, specifying any share or shares or stock P. Y Y held by any member of a company shall be prima facie evidence of the title of the member to the share or shares or stock therein specified." By section 37, "the register of members shall be prima facie evidence of any matters by this act directed or authorized to be inserted therein." By section 61, "a copy of the report of any inspectors appointed under this act, authenticated by the seal of the company into whose affairs they have made inspection shall be admissible in any legal proceeding as evidence of the opinion of the inspectors in relation to any matter contained in such report." By section 67, "every company under this act shall cause minutes of all resolutions and proceedings of general meetings of the company, and of the directors or managers of the company, in cases where there are directors or managers, to be duly entered in books to be from time to time provided for the purpose; and any such minute as aforesaid, if purporting to be signed by the chairman of the meeting at which such resolutions were passed or proceedings had, or by the chairman of the next succeeding meeting, shall be received as evidence in all legal proceedings, and, until the contrary is proved, every general meeting of the company, or meeting of directors or managers, in respect of the proceedings of which minutes have been so made shall be deemed to have been duly held and convened, and all resolutions passed thereat or proceedings had, to have been duly passed and had, and all appointments of directors, managers or liquidators shall be deemed to be valid, and all acts done by such directors, managers or liquidators shall be valid notwithstanding any defect that may afterwards be discovered in their appointments or qualifications" (a). By section 106, "any order made by the court in pursuance of this act upon any contributory shall, subject to the provisions herein contained for appealing against (a) All acts done, &c., means done before the invalidity is shown, and does not cover subsequent acts. Re Bridport Old Brewery Co., L. R., 2 Ch. 194. such order, be conclusive evidence that the moneys, if any, thereby appearing to be due, or ordered to be paid, are due; and all other pertinent matters stated in such order are to be taken to be truly stated as against all persons, and in all proceedings whatsoever, with the exception of proceedings taken against the real estate of any deceased contributory, in which case such order shall only be prima facie evidence for the purpose of charging his real estate, unless his heirs or devisees were on the list of contributories at the time of the order being made." By section 115, "the court may, after it has made an order for winding up the company, summon before it any officer of the company or person known or suspected to have in his possession any of the estate or effects of the company, or supposed to be indebted to the company, or any person whom the court may deem capable of giving information concerning the trade, dealings, estate, or effects of the company; and the court may require any such officer or person to produce any books, papers, deeds, writings, or other documents in his custody or power relating to the company; and if any person so summoned, after being tendered a reasonable sum for his expenses, refuses to come before the court at the time appointed, having no lawful impediment (made known to the court at the time of its sitting, and allowed by it), the court may cause such person to be apprehended, and brought before the court for examination; nevertheless, in cases where any person claims any lien on papers, deeds, or writings or documents produced by him, such production shall be without prejudice to such lien, and the court shall have jurisdiction in the winding up to determine all questions relating to such lien." By section 117, "the court may examine upon oath, either by word of mouth or upon written interrogatories, any person appearing or brought before them in manner aforesaid concerning the affairs, dealings, estate, or effects of the company, and may reduce into writing the answers of every such person, and require him to subscribe the same." By section 154, "where any company is being wound |