THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 16тa DECEMBER, 1899.
A BILL
ENTITLED
An Ordinance to amend the Companies Ordi-
nance, 1877.
BE it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-
1. This Ordinance may be cited as "The Companies Short title Ordinance, 1899," and shall be read with "The Companies and construc- Ordinances, 1865 to 1890," and this Ordinance and those tion. Ordinances may be cited collectively as "The Companies Ordinances, 1865 to 1899."
2.-(1.) Whenever, before or after the commencement Court of this Ordinance, any shares in the capital of any company empowered under the Companies Ordinances, 1865 to 1890, credited as
to grant relief for fully or partly paid up shall have been or may be issued
non-compli- for a consideration other than cash, and at or before the ance with issue of such shares no contract or no sufficient contract is Ordinance 1
c. 26.)
filed with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, in of 1877, s. 24. compliance with section twenty-four of the Companies ( 62 Vic, Ordinance, 1877, the company or any person interested in such shares or any of them may apply to the Court for relief, and the Court, if satisfied that the omission to file a contract or sufficient contract was accidental or due to inadvertence, or that for any reason it is just and equitable to grant relief, may make an order for the filing with the Registrar of a sufficient contract in writing, and directing that on such contract being filed within a specified period it shall, in relation to such shares, operate as if it had been duly filed with the Registrar aforesaid before the issue of euch shares.
(2.) Any such application may be made in the manner Ordinance 1 in which an application to rectify the register of members of 1865. may be made under section thirty-four of the Companies Ordinance, 1865, and either before or after an order has been made or an effective resolution has been passed for the winding up of such company, and either before or after the commencement of any proceedings for enforcing the liabi lity on such shares consequent on the omission aforesaid, and any such application shall, if not made by the com- pany, be served on the company.
(3.) Any such order may be made on such terms and conditions as the Court may think fit, and the Court may make such order as to costs as it deems proper, and may direct that an office copy of the order shall be filed with the Registrar aforesaid, and the order shall in all respects have full effect.
(4.) Where the Court in any such case is satisfied that the filing of the requisite contract would cause delay or inconvenience, or is impracticable, it may, in lieu thereof, direct the filing of a memorandum in writing, and in a form approved by the Court, specifying the consideration for which the shares were issued, and may direct that on such memorandum being filed within a specified period it shall in relation to such shares operate as if it were a sufficient contract in writing within the meaning of section twenty- four of the Companies Ordinance, 1877, and had been duly filed with the Registrar aforesaid before the issue of such shares. The memorandum shall, before the filing thereof, be stamped with the same amount of ad valorem stamp duty as would be chargeable upon the requisite contract unless the contract has been produced to the Registrar duly stamped, or unless the Registrar is otherwise satisfied that the contract was duly stamped.
3. The jurisdiction given to the Court by this Ordinance Jurisdiction is not by implication to curtail or derogate from its jurisdic- cumulative. tion to grant relief in any such case under section thirty-four
of the Companies Ordinance, 1865, or otherwise.
1907