300 SECRETARIAL PRACTICE
Duties of
Secretary.

Register of
Share-
holders.

Share-
holders’
Address
Book.

Consolida-
tion.

The duties of a secretary of a statutory company are
necessarily of the same kind as fall to the lot of secretaries of
other companies, and need not be repeated here. In the
case of statutory undertakings, however, such matters as
assessments, and the continuous growth of legislative enact-
ments (e.g. those dealing with workmen’s compensation and
national insurance) and departmental regulations, are pro-
bably in general more before his notice than in the case of
many registered companies.

There are numerous differences between a Statutory
Company and a company under the Companies Acts, and
the more important of these are noticed below.

S. 9 of the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845,
requires a statutory company to keep a register of share-
holders. The section is as follows: —

The Company shall keep a book to be called the ‘register
of shareholders’; and in such book shall be fairly and
distinctly entered, from time to time, the names of
the several corporations, and the names and additions
of the several persons entitled to shares in the company,
together with the number of shares to which such share-
holders shall be respectively entitled, distinguishing
each share by its number, and the amount of the sub-
scriptions paid on such shares, and the surnames or
corporate names of the said shareholders shall be placed
in alphabetical order; and such book shall be authen-
ticated by the common seal of the company being
affixed thereto; and such authentication shall take place
at the first ordinary meeting, or at the next subsequent
meeting of the company, and so from time to time at each
ordinary meeting of the company.

It will be noticed that there is no right of inspection given
of the register of shareholders; there is, however, a right to re-
quire a copy [Mutter v. Eastern and Midlands Railway (1888),
38 Ch. D. 92].

In addition, by s. 10, a ‘shareholders’ address book’ is
required to be kept. This must contain the names in alpha-
betical order, places of abode and descriptions of the share-
holders, so far as known to the company, but particulars of
their holdings are not required to be stated. It is open to
the inspection of shareholders gratis, and copies may be
required on payment. :

Further, when shares have been consolidated into stock,
pursuant to s. 61 of the Act, the company shall, by s. 63,
‘from time to time cause the names of the several parties
who may be interested in any such stock as aforesaid, with