AFFAIRS. The affairs of a company may be investigated by Board of Trade in spectors. A company may alSo by special resolution appoint inspectors to investigate its affairs. The Companies (Consolidation) Act, 190S, Section 109, provides as follows : " (1) The Board of Trade may appoint one or more competent inspectors to investigate the affairs of any company and to report thereon in such manner as the Board direct " (i) In the case of a banking company having a share capital, on the application of members holding not less than one-third of the shares issued : " (ii) In the case of any other company having a share capital, on the application of members holding not less than one-tenth of the shares issued : " (iii) In the case of a company not having a share capital on the application of not less than one-fifth in num ber of the persons on the company's register of mem bers.
" (2) The application shall be supported by such evidence as the Board of Trade may require for the purpose of showing that the applicants have good reason for, and are not actuated by malicious motives in requiring, the investigation ; and the Board of An I.O.U. does not require to be stamped ;
but if to the above simple form of I.O.U. are added such words as " I promise " or " I agree," or a date is given when the money will be paid , they may have the effect of converting it into a promissory note or an agreement, and in either case such a docu ment would require to be stamped in order to be produced as evidence in a Court. A promissory note, however, can only be stamped before it is made ; an agreement, except under a penalty, must be stamped within fourteen days.
An I.O.U. is not a negotiable instrument. It may, if necessary, be produced in Court as evidence of a debt, though it is not a proof of the amount owing.