LEGISLATION AND MANAGEMENT.—In the 'United Kingdom railways are the property of independent,companies, who construct and work them under the provisions of acts of parliament. The first step consists in organizing a company. Generally a solicitor and a few active projectors draw up a prospectus, call meetings, suggest the names of direc tors, and appoint an engineer to make a survey. In no case does government or auv public body take any part in the initiatory proceedings, or find any part of the capital, By the engineer and solicitor there is much to be done at the outset. Having procured a copy of the survey, the solicitor has to discover the name of every proprietor whose land is interfered with, as well as every tenant or occupant; all which names, with the extent and nature of the laud to be taken, are entered in a roll, called the Book of Refer ence; and, with every person so concerned, a schedule must be lodged, stating all par ticulars. The recipients of the schedules are requested to state in reply, whether they design to assent, to oppose, or to remain neuter; by which means the mind of every oue territorially interested becomes known to the promoters. Laud to be taken for, or dam aged by. railways is valued under different categories: 1. The quantity and quality at so much per acre; 2. The injury caused by cutting off one part of a field from another, called intersectional or severance damages; and The damage done to the amenity or beauty of the place. Besides claiming compensation on these different grounds, the pro prietor demands, for the sake of convenient commuuication, that bridges or level cross ines shall be made across the line, or that passages be left beneath it; also that all ordi nary means of drainage be maintained by culverts. Sometimes he stipulates for a siding or station. Should the lands be let to a farmer, as is very generally the case, he is treated with separately fot the loss he is likely to sustain during his lease, including any loss by tnexhausted manure in the lands appropriated. Being thus compensated for his claims, the farmer continues to pay his rent as usual without deduction, according to the obliga tions of his lease, and any question is saved between landlord and tenant. Such is an outline of the usual method of settling "land-claims," though much depends on the feeling on both sides, At one time enormous sums were asked and paid for alleged damage to land; now, the claims are more moderate, and in few instances is damage to amenity an element of consideration.
Until a statutory enactment is procured, the shares of a company are in that embryo state called scrip. Allotted to applicants by the provisional directors, the shares are "taken up" by a small instalment of from 5s. to 20s. Per share. These pre liminary sums are paid into a specified bank, the receipt of which is the scrip or certificate that so frequently becomes the subject of eager transfer among jobbers. The bank deposits of the allottees constitute the fund from which are paid-1. Expense of survey; 2. Expense of advertisements, prospectuses, etc.; 3. Parliamentary expenses; and 4. The amount to be lodged with an officer of government as a guarantee that parliament shall not be troubled with a merely pretended scheme. Should the bill not pass, the sum last mentioned is returned, and is, along with any residue, divided pro rata among the holdars of scrip. Should the bill .become law, scrip-holders are required to present their names with the amount of their respective shares for register at the office of the secretary of the company. " Calls" are next made on the shareholders. If the shares be £10, a call of £2 10s. per share, at intervals of three months till the whole is paid, is customary. Any failure to pay calls by a prescribed day incurs the risk of forfeiture. In authorizing a company, parliament gives power to raise so much money by shares, and so much by borrowing. The amount that may be borrowed is equal to a third of the stock, but it cannot•be legally borrowed until all the shares have been issued, and at least one-half of all the shares has been paid up. The lender has a mortgage over the whole property of the company, called a debenture (q.v.). The entire amount paid for shares and borrowed on mortgage forms the "capital account" of the company. See CAPITAL. ACCOUNT, in which an explanation is offered of the manner of disbursing from capital and also from revenue; it being from revenue alone that dividends can be legally paid.