COMMERCIAL TRANSMUTATIONS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1427, 8 February 1888, Page 5

COMMERCIAL TRANSMUTATIONS.

A British Parliamentary return was issued recently relating to registered joint stock companies, saya the " Daily News." Their growth in numbers and importance has of late years been so great and rapid as to mark a revolution in the business of the country, or a tendency that way. In April la3t there were 10,804 joint- stocK companies in the United Kingdom, all believed to be carrying on business, and their p.iid up share capital, exclusive of debentures and borrowed money, was 59 1£ millions sterlings, compared with 475£ millions four years before. For some purposes it would be propetto add the amount of British railway capital, amounting to 830 millions, including debenture stocks, and municipal loans (say 150 millions), a3 corporations carry on the business of paving, gas- making, drain-making, &c, and are practically joint-stock companias. Leaving that matter out of the question, it is plain that the competition of companies with private tenders is now very important. A walk down the more busy streets of London would quite startle some of the retired citizenß who left their warehouses and counting houses 15 or 20 years ago. On every doorpost such a one would note the word "Limited" after the name of once well known private firms ; he would be confronted with staring letters forming the title of some international or universal co-operative company instead of plain Jones or modest Smith and Co. No doubt, also he would wonder how his plain old friends managed to struggle against the mas 3of ready capital which joint-stock companies have nominally at disposal. We say nominally, for the capital of the 1,817 companies registered last- year, with capital, was nearly 146 millions, but the amount paid up was less than 21| millions.