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)