§ MR. DARBY GRIFFITH, in moving for leave to bring in a Bill to afford shareholders in joint-stock companies facilities for voting by means of Voting Papers, explained that under the present system the vast, majority of shareholders could vote only by anticipation. Shareholders in public companies, unless they were able to be personally present, which was often physically impossible, for no room could be found large enough to contain perhaps 18,000 or 20,000 people, were in the habit of delegating their authority and voting by proxy. The consequence was that the proxies being necessarily given in anticipation, the question was decided before it could be discussed by the meeting of shareholders. The Bill which he asked to be allowed to introduce would effect but a very slight alteration in the present state of the law. The great charter of railway companies was the well-known Clauses Consolidation Act, the 8 & 9 Vict. c. 16, and his proposal was merely subsidiary to that Act, and all the powers which directors and shareholders possessed under it would remain in full operation. What he proposed to enact was this, that when at a meeting of a company a poll should be demanded upon a question put and seconded, Voting Papers should be sent to the shareholders, who should be allowed to vole by means of them. When it was remembered that an instance had occurred in which a great company, being apprehensive of attack, thought themselves called upon to send out something like 10,500 proxies before the report was issued (and they actually received proxies representing £8,000,000 of money) and the shareholders were thus called upon to vote in the dark and by anticipation, he thought it would be admitted there were good grounds for such a measure as this. The principle of voting by papers was familiar to the House; it had been assented to in 915 the case of the Universities, and was sought to he enacted in the Bill for restricting the use of spirituous liquors. He begged to move for leave to bring in the Bill.
MR. HADPIELDseconded the Motion, and said that the question was one of great importance, and the lowering of the duty on proxies proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be a great advantage to shareholders.
§ MR. INGHAMsuggested that the scope of the Bill should be extended.
§ Motion agreed to.
§ Bill to afford Shareholders in Joint Stock Companies facilities for Voting by means of Voting Papers, ordered to be brought in by Mr. DABBY GRIFFITH, Mr. HADFIELD, and Mr. VANCE.