MINING SHARES DISPUTE.

Northern Advocate, 20 September 1910, Page 5

MINING SHARES DISPUTE.

KAPANGA COMPANY'S APPEAL.

UPHELD BY JUDGE EDWARDS

AUCKLAND, Sept. 20

Judge Edwards allowed the appeal in the case of the Kapanga Gold Mining Company against the decision of Mr Kettle, S.M., in the claim by the company against Margaret A. Bridson for £i 43s 4d, calls on forfeited shares. A call was made on April Sth. Respondent had failed to pay on April 22nd, and on June 16th the shares were offered for sale by auction. There being no bid, they were placed on Jie register in the company's nahie, and were subsequently re-issued. The case was dismissed by Mr Kettle, S.M., on the ground that section 352 of the Companies' Act 1908 had not been complied with, as the proceedings were not begun within 14 days after the cill became payable. Judge Edwards reviewed the law at some length. He said that under section 357 there was no limit of time within which an action must be brought, and therefore no objection to an amendment of the claims at ,uiy time. The question to be determined was whether the case was within par. 2 of section 357, and this had been determined by Mr Justice Williams in the liquidation of the Victoria Cornpan v v. Kerr. If untampered by authority, he would have thought that par. 2 of sec. 357 was governed by par. 1 of the same section, and that no part of that section would apply unless there had been a sale of shares. He should have thought the sale and forfeiture of shares had the ordinary result of foreclosure, and that while it extinguished the right of sha-e----holders to shares and to any claim in respect of the shares, it also extinguished the debt which was the basis of the foreclosure. The contrary, however, was decided by Mr Justice Williams. He thought he' was not bound by that decision as a decision. He (Justice Edwards) was bound by it by subsequent legislation. Had the attention of the S.M. been called to the decision of Mr, Justice Williams and to the history of subsequent legislation, he would no doubt have come to the conclusion to which he was himself driven.

The appeal was upheld