. Legislative regulation of railway finance in England . hing good in itself, but as a measure of self-defence againstthe operations of the stock conversion and investment these conversion companies had achieved some apparent success insecuring and duplicating large blocks of railway stocks, the rail-way directors it their plea for powers to follow the exampleof the conversion companies . Their reason was that there mightbe danger to the properties if large blocks of their stocks weremerged in successive trusts. If such duplications were a neces-sary evil, it was better that
. Legislative regulation of railway finance in England . hing good in itself, but as a measure of self-defence againstthe operations of the stock conversion and investment these conversion companies had achieved some apparent success insecuring and duplicating large blocks of railway stocks, the rail-way directors it their plea for powers to follow the exampleof the conversion companies . Their reason was that there mightbe danger to the properties if large blocks of their stocks weremerged in successive trusts. If such duplications were a neces-sary evil, it was better that they should be effected by the rail-ways themselves rather than by certain irresponsible conversioncompanies, which were making it a business to effect such duplica-tions for speculative purposes. Besides other objectionablefeatures, the special danger apprehended from theoperation of theconversion companies was that as holders of large blocks of stock Returns for 1908 was 12,845, double track or more, and 10,263single track, making a total of 23, they would possess a voting power which might be used to thwartthe policy of the directors conceived in the best interest of thecompany. There appeared to be much justification for this it must be noticed that the argument of the railway companiespostulated that the operations of the conversion company had alreadjproved such a financial success that shareholders hi d a stronginducement to avail themselves of its agency. This, how ever,was not exactly the case. Take the London & South-We stern as anexample, we find the price of the companys ordinary stock in May,1889, when the scheme of the conversion company was first put intooperation, was 5,180. Ax this price, £3,000 would have bought£1,666 of stock. The latter amount of stock sold at the price ofI?17 9, which prevailed at the time1 when the company lodged itsbill for duplication, would have realized £2,970. On the otherhand hand, if an investment of a simi
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