§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Somerleyton.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [The EARL OF DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1:
§ Powers under provisions of special Acts and Orders as to capital issues.
§ 1.—(1) Where a company are authorised by special Act to raise capital by the issue of stock or the borrowing of money for the purpose of carrying on any undertaking to which this Act applies, or where the powers of a company to raise capital or borrow money for the purpose of carrying on such an undertaking are limited by the special Act, the company may, if they think fit, notwithstanding anything in the special Act, with the consent of the appropriate Government department, which consent may be given subject 61 to such terms and conditions as appear to the department to be expedient—
- (a) offer for subscription by the public any such stock and at a fixed price lower than the nominal amount of the stock, and all allotments in respect of such stock shall be made as nearly as possible pro rata:
- Provided that if in any case, where the amount of money to be raised does not exceed twenty thousand pounds, it is proved to the satisfaction of the appropriate department that the observance of any of the limitations so imposed on the offering for subscription or allotment of stock would prejudice the success of the issue or the realisation of the best price obtainable, the department may dispense with such limitation;
- (b) where the special Act authorises the creation and issue of ordinary stock, create and issue redeemable or irredeemable preference stock in lieu thereof;
- (c) where the special Act authorises the creation and issue of irredeemable preference or debenture stock, create and issue redeemable preference or debenture stock;
- (d) where the special Act authorises the creation and issue of debenture stock or the borrowing of money to a limited extent, create and issue debenture stock or borrow money to an extent not exceeding half the share capital for the time being issued and paid up;
- (e) pay a higher rate of dividend or interest on preference stock or debenture stock or money borrowed than that authorised by the special Act:
§ Provided that—
- (i) preference stock, whether redeemable or otherwise, shall not be issued under the authority of this Act to a greater extent than shall be sufficient to produce, including any premium which may be obtained on the sale thereof, an amount equal to the nominal amount of the stock authorised to be issued by the special Act or, as the case may be, the amount authorised to be raised by the special Act; and
- ii) no consent given by a department in pursuance of this Act shall have effect until a report of the circumstances of the case has been presented to Parliament by the department and has lain upon the table of each House of Parliament for a period of not less than twenty-one days during which the House has sat, and if either House during that period presents an address to His Majesty praying that consent may be withheld, no such consent shall be given; and
- (iii) the provisions contained in the Schedule to this Act shall apply in respect of redeemable preference or debenture stock issued in pursuance of this Act; and
- (iv) preference stock issued under the authority of this Act shall not affect any preference or priority as to the payment of dividends or capital enjoyed by any preference stock existing at the date of such issue, except with the sanction of three-fourths of the votes of the holders of that stock present (personally or by proxy) at a meeting of those stockholders specially convened for the purpose; and
- (v) debenture stock issued under the authority of this Act shall not affect any priority as to the payment of interest or capital enjoyed by any debenture stock existing at the date of that issue except with the sanction of three-fourths of the votes of holders of such stock.
§ (2) The undertakings to which this Act applies are undertakings for the supply of gas, water, hydraulic power, and electricity, and tramway undertakings, including light railways constructed wholly or mainly on public. roads.
§
(3) For the purposes of this Act—
The expressions "stock" and "stockholder" include shares and shareholder;
The expression "special Act" includes Provisional Orders and orders having the force of an Act of Parliament;
The expression "appropriate Government department" means in relation to gas, water, and hydraulic power undertakings the Board of Trade, and in relation to electricity and tramway undertakings the Minister of Transport.
THE LORD CHAIRMAN (THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE)I move the insertion of the following proviso—
(i) The Department shall require a company making application to them for their consent under this Act to give notice of the application in writing to the council of each county, borough, or urban or rural district within which any part of the undertaking or limits of supply of the company is situate and of the manner in which and the time within which representation may be made with respect to the application, and the department shall consider any representations which may be duly made.I had tabled an Amendment on this clause, but since it was put down the noble Lord in charge of the Bill has been good enough to meet me and to suggest that it should be moved in its present form, in which it covers one of the points mentioned in my Amendment and meets the point upon which I was anxious to have the Bill amended. I am obliged to the noble Lord for meeting me, and I will not explain the thing at length unless your Lordships desire that I should do so.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 2, line 18, insert the said proviso.—(The Earl of Donoughmore.)
§ LORD SOMERLEYTONI think that this Amendment as now moved by my noble friend is perfectly in order, and will meet with the full approval of the Board of Trade.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 2 agreed to.
§ Schedule agreed to.