natural course of price-movements, but as will 
be seen from the following chart the Ordinary 
stock of the Metropolitan District Railway 
Company did not follow the prevailing move 
ment :— 
The reason for this quite exceptional 
course of prices in the case of the Metropolitan 
District Ordinary stock was that a certain 
well-known syndicate of financiers had deter 
mined, first to obtain control of the line by 
buying up a sufficient quantity of stock to 
secure the majority of voting-power, and then 
to electrify the railway. The syndicate, in fact, 
prevented the natural movement of the stock 
by locking up large blocks of it, and so 
temporarily removing it from the influence of 
112 
(The top figure indicates the 
average price, the bottom figure 
the year in which it ruled). 
109 / 
1 896/ 
105 _ 
1895. 
1899 
CO 
1900 1901 
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RLY. 
ORD. STOCK 
1903 88 
1904