§ Mr. CHARLES EDWARDSasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Western Counties Shipping Company neglected to hold their annual meeting on or before the 20th January last as directed by the Companies Act; whether he has been appealed to by shareholders to put into operation powers conferred upon him under Section 64 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, to enforce penalties for such default; whether evidence has been submitted to him of alleged misrepresentation in the prospectuses, breach of trust by the directors to shareholders and debenture trustees, and as to alleged reckless sales of assets to such an extent as to form a breach of trust by a mortgagee; and whether he will now use his power to enforce a public inquiry, not only for the sake of the shareholders, many of whom were comparatively poor people and have lost all they possessed, but by exposure through public inquiry to prevent these alleged frauds on the general public?
§ Mr. BALDWINThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I am advised that on the evidence at present available it is doubtful whether proceedings to recover penalties under Section 64 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, can be taken with success, and such proceedings would not 53W result in a meeting being held. Provision is made in the Act for a full investigation by the Official Receiver on an order being made by the Court for the winding-up of a company. Such an order can be made on the petition of a creditor or shareholder of the company, and that would be the proper course in order to obtain a full investigation into the allegations which have been made and generally into the company's affairs,