. Legislative regulation of railway finance in England . essary 2 to bear in mind the analogy of the Kings highways. This remark,misleading as it appears now, was well representative of the cur-rent belief. Then, again,the early acts followed very closely in their general scope, the provisions which had been applied to canal companies. The earliest canal acts, however, gave no power of3 borrowing, while the railways had been permitted to borrow from 4 the beginning, to a certain extent. Thus the act of May 21, 1801,the earliest railway act providing for the construction and main-tenance of a r
. Legislative regulation of railway finance in England . essary 2 to bear in mind the analogy of the Kings highways. This remark,misleading as it appears now, was well representative of the cur-rent belief. Then, again,the early acts followed very closely in their general scope, the provisions which had been applied to canal companies. The earliest canal acts, however, gave no power of3 borrowing, while the railways had been permitted to borrow from 4 the beginning, to a certain extent. Thus the act of May 21, 1801,the earliest railway act providing for the construction and main-tenance of a railway from Wandsworth to Pitlake, provided, Pro-prietors may raise L30,000 by shares of one hundred pounds each, 1. Report of Royal Commission on Railways, 1367, p. vii. 2. C. F. Adams; Railroads, p« 82. 3. The first act in which these pov/ers appeared was passed in 1770By degrees the borrowing powers of public companies were restrictedto one-third of their share capital. See Report of Royal Commissionon Railways, 1867, p. vii. 4. 41 George 3, C. to be numbered and deemed as personal estate. Names of proprietorsto be entered in a book, and tickets of their shares distributedto them. Proprietors may raise £15,000 more if necessary, bysubscription or mortgage. Before 1847 considerable laxity, however, prevailed inthe manner of framing the provisions governing the raising ofcapital. But the great burst of railway extension in 1836 awakenedsome degree of legislative activity, and the committees of Parli-ment on railway bills began to feel the necessity of enactingclauses conducive to the public welfare. A select committee wasappointed to inquire into the matter, but no legislation -Tookplace. But the restrictions imposed by Parliament, in 1837 andsubsequently on the obtaining of railway acts, temporarily arrested I speculation. In-1839 a select committee was again appointed to inquireinto the state of railway communication, as a result of whose I recommendations a general s
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