§ MR. DODSONsaid, he had to ask the House to adopt two new Standing Orders in relation to Private Business. The first of these was simply an Order substituted for the 35th section of the Act of last Session for the regulation of railways. It was found inconvenient to have the rules embodied in that clause stereotyped in an Act of Parliament, which could not, like Standing Orders, be dispensed with in any peculiar case; and, therefore, with the concurrence of the noble Chairman of Committees in the other House, an Act had been passed this Session which repealed the 35th section of the Act of last year, on the understanding that, when the Private Bills of this Session had been disposed of, a Standing Order should be proposed to the same effect as the repealed clause. It related to the meetings of incorporated railway companies, and the approval by such meetings of Bills and certificates for conferring additional powers on those companies; and the new Standing Order was substantially the same as the clause, with this modification—that the Standing Order required that a statement of the number of the votes should be deposited at the Private Bill Office, instead of being laid before Parliament or the Board of Trade.
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Ordered, That every Bill originating in this House and conferring additional powers on the Promoters thereof, being a Company already constituted by Act of Parliament, shall after the
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first reading thereof be referred to the Examiners, who shall report as to compliance or non-compliance with the following Order:—
The Bill, subsequently to the deposit of the Petition for the same, shall be submitted to the Proprietors of such Company at a meeting held specially for that purpose.
Such meeting shall be called by advertisement inserted once in each of two consecutive weeks in a morning newspaper published in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, as the case may be, and in a newspaper of the county or counties in which the principal office or offices of the Company is or are situate; and also by a circular addressed to each proprietor at his last known or usual address, and sent by post, or delivered at such address, not less than ten days before the holding of such meeting, enclosing a blank form of proxy, with proper instructions for the use of the same; and the same form of proxy and the same instructions, and none other, shall be sent to every such proprietor, and shall be addressed to each proprietor on the back of the form of proxy; but no such form of proxy shall be stamped before it is sent out, nor shall the funds of the Company be used for the stamping any proxies, nor shall intimation be sent as to any person in whose favour the proxy may be granted, and no other circular or form of proxy relating to such meeting shall be sent to any proprietor from the office of the Company, or by any director or officer of the Company so describing himself.
Such meeting shall be held not earlier than the seventh day after the last insertion of such advertisement, and may be held on the same day as an ordinary general meeting of the Company.
At such meeting the said Bill shall be submitted to the proprietors aforesaid then present, and approved of by proprietors, present in person or by proxy, holding at least three-fourths of the paid-up capital of the Company represented at such meeting, such proprietors being qualified to vote at all ordinary meetings of the Company in right of such capital. The votes of proprietors of any paid-up shares or stock other than debenture stock, not qualified to vote at ordinary meetings, whose interests may be affected by the Bill, if tendered at the meeting shall be recorded separately.
There shall be deposited at the Private Bill Office a statement of the number of votes if a poll was taken, and of the number of votes recorded separately.
Ordered, That the said Order be a Standing Order of this House [to follow Standing Order 70] Standing Order 70 was read, and repealed.
Ordered, That in the case of every Bill brought from the House of Lords in which provisions shall have been inserted in that House, empowering the promoters thereof being a Company already constituted by Act of Parliament to execute, undertake, or contribute towards any work other than that for which it was originally established, or to sell or lease their undertaking, or any part thereof, or to amalgamate the same, or any part thereof, with any other undertaking, or to abandon their undertaking, or any part thereof, or to dissolve the said Company, or in which any such provisions originally contained in the Bill shall have been materially altered in that House, or by which any such
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powers are conferred on any Company not being the Promoters of the Bill, the Examiner shall report as to compliance or non-compliance with the following Order:—
The Bill, as introduced or proposed to be introduced into this House, shall be submitted to the proprietors of such promoting Company and of any other Company on which such powers are so conferred, at a meeting held specially for that purpose.
Such meeting shall be called by advertisement inserted once in each of two consecutive weeks in a morning newspaper published in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, as the case may be, and in a newspaper of the county or counties in which the principal office or offices of the Company is or are situate; and also by a circular addressed to each proprietor at his last known or usual address, and sent by post, or delivered at such address, not less than ten days before the holding of such meeting, enclosing a blank form of proxy, with proper instructions for the use of the same; and the same form of proxy and the same instructions, and none other, shall be sent to every such proprietor, and shall be addressed to each proprietor on the back of the form of proxy; but no such form of proxy shall be stamped before it is sent out, nor shall the funds of the Company be used for the stamping any proxies, nor shall intimation be sent as to any person in whose favour the proxy may be granted, and no other circular or form of proxy relating to such meeting shall be sent to any proprietor from the office of the Company, or by any director or officer of the Company so describing himself.
Such meeting shall be held not earlier than the seventh day after the last insertion of such advertisement, and may be held on the same day as an ordinary general meeting of the Company.
At such meeting the said Bill shall be submitted to the proprietors aforesaid then present, and approved of by proprietors, present in person or by proxy, holding at least three-fourths of the paid-up capital of the Company represented at such meeting, such proprietors being qualified to vote at all ordinary meetings of the Company in right of such capital. The votes of proprietors of any paid-up shares or stock other than debenture stock, not qualified to vote at ordinary meetings, whose interests may be affected by the Bill, if tendered at the meeting shall be recorded separately.
There shall be deposited at the Private Bill Office a statement of the number of votes if a poll was taken, and of the number of votes recorded separately.
Ordered, That the said Order be a Standing Order of this House [in place of Standing Order 70, repealed].
Standing Order 77 was read and amended, by leaving out in line 4 the word "or," and inserting after "71," the words "or 72.
Ordered, That the said Orders be Standing Orders of this House.—(Mr. Dodson.)