er as residing in the
shareholders. A controlling power of this kind can only assert itself
through general meetings; and that it may have proper opportunities of
doing so, every company is required to hold a general meeting, commonly
called the statutory meeting, within--as fixed by the Companies Act
1900--three months from the date at which it is entitled to commence
business. This first statutory meeting acquired new significance under
the Companies Act of 1900 and marks an important stage in the early
history of a company. Seven days before it takes place the directors are
required to send round to the members a certified report informing them
of the general state of the company's affairs--the number of shares
allotted, cash received for them, and names and addresses of the
members, the amount of preliminary expenses, the particulars of any
contract to be submitted to the meeting, &c. Furnished with this report
the members come to the meeting in a position to discuss and exercise an
intelligent judgment upon the state and prospects of the company.
Besides the statutory meeting a company must hold one general meeting at
least in every calendar year, and not more than fifteen months after the
holding of the last preceding general meeting (Companies (Consolidation)
Act 1908, s. 64). This annual general meeting is usually called the
ordinary general meeting. Other meetings are extraordinary general
meetings. Notices convening a general meeting must inform the
shareholders of the particular business to be transacted; otherwise any
resolutions passed at the meeting will be invalidated. Voting is
generally regulated by the articles. Sometimes a vote is given to a
shareholder for every share held by him, but more often a scale is
adopted; for instance, one vote is given for every share up to ten, with
an additional vote for every five shares beyond the first ten shares up
to one hundred, and an additional vote for every ten shares beyond the
first hundred. In default of any regulations, every member has one vote
only. Sometimes preference shareholders are given no vote at all. A poll
may be demanded on any special resolution by three persons unless the
articles require five (Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908, s. 69).

Agreement for shares.

A contract to take shares is like any other contract. It is constituted
by offer, acceptance and communication of the acceptance to the offerer.
The offer in the case of shares is