Some Instances of Freak Company Promoting Some strange cases of company promoting were recalled by Mr. H. W. Jordan at a lecture before the Certified Accountants Students' Society at Winchester House. The subject of the lecture was company law and practice.
The lecturer said that last year a grocery company was registered with a capital which included 900 employees' shares of one penny each. The capital of another company was £468 15s., divided into 112,500 shares of one penny each, its principal object, according 10 its memorandum, being to carry on the business of bankers. A generation or more ago a company was actually registered with a capital of £1, divided into farthing shares. A few years ago a company was formed to "acquire and turn to account mines, railways, concessions, and monopolies." The optimism of its promoters was refreshing, for, whilst fixing the initial capital at the very modest sum of £100, they apparently contemplated conducting operations of sufficient magnitude to warrant a capital of several millions. A company was registered a little time ago to acquire valuable and extensive business premises in London; its capital was £2, divided into 480 shares of one penny each.
Some years ago a company was formed with the object of gathering sea foam and extracting gold therefrom. Many credulous persons subscribed for shares, but unfortunately the venture did not prove a commercial—success. Thousands of pounds were subscribe ed in the early nineties by people who were persuaded to believe that it was possible to make excellent wine by the simple method of importing compressed dried grapes from Spain, Italy, and elsewhere, saturating them with English water, and in due time extracting the "juice" and subjecting it to a special process. Scientific statements supporting the scheme were quoted, but it collapsed in a few months.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.