BALANCE SHEET AND AUDIT 185 the Act, are ultra vires and invalid [Newton v. Birmingham Small Arms Co. (1906), 2 Ch. 378]. It has been held, how- aver, that auditors cannot insist upon their statutory rights in all circumstances: for instance, the Court will not force them upon a company which does not require their services [Cuff v. London & County Land Co. (1912), 1 Ch. 440]. The effect of the indemnity clause which before the new Act was commonly inserted in a company’s articles of association exempting auditors from liability for acts or omissions not due to their wilful neglect or default, was considered in ze City Equitable Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (1925), 1 Ch. 407, but the provisions of such a clause are now almost entirely avoided for the future by s. 152 of the Act of 1929. The Court has, however, power to relieve an auditor, who has acted honestly, and reasonably, and ought fairly to be excused from liability for any negligence or breach of duty (¢ 72)