H.—3

8

V. A return in like manner authenticated shall from time to time, as occasion shall render it necessary, be filed in the office of the said Begistrar of the name and place of abode of any person who shall have been appointed chairman, director, or secretary, within one month after such appointment shall have been made. VI. A copy made from the said deed and of any alteration in or addition thereto which may have been made and filed as aforesaid, and a copy of any such return of any such chairman, director, secretary, or members, certified under the hand of the Begistrar of the Supreme Court, shall in all proceedings, civil or criminal, be received in evidence or proof of such deed and of any such alteration or addition as aforesaid, and of the authority of the officer named in any such return, and also of the fact that all persons therein named as members were such at the date of such return. VII. All appointments under and by virtue of any last will and testament, codicil, or of any deed or act which shall have been at any time previous to the passing of this Act, or which shall hereafter be duly made and executed, of the directors of the General Estate and Orphan Chamber, or of the secretary of the General Estate and Orphan Chamber, as executors, administrators, tutors, curators, or agents, or as executor, administrator, tutor, or agent, as the case may be, shall be deemed and taken to be a valid appointment of the General Estate and Orphan Chamber hereby constituted. VIII. In all actions, suits, and proceedings, whether civil or criminal, the evidence of any person being a member of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber shall be admissible in like manner as if such person were not a member thereof. IX. All actions and suits and all other proceedings at law to be commenced or instituted for and on behalf of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber against any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, or others (whether members of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber or otherwise), for recovering any debts or enforcing any claims or demands duo to the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, or for any other matter relating to the concerns of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, shall and lawfully may after the passing of this Act be commenced or instituted and prosecuted to a final judgment or sentence in the name of the secretary of the General Estate and Orphan Chamber as the nominal plaintiff, applicant, or petitioner, for and on behalf of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, and shall and lawfully may, subject to the provisions of any Act, law, or ordinance which may be in force, or which may hereafter be enacted on that behalf, prosecute any criminal action for any fraud, crime, or offence committed against or with intent to defraud the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, or the members thereof jointly; and that no action or other proceedings shall abate, discontinue, or be rendered ineffectual by reason of the death or resignation of such secretary, but the secretary for the time being shall always be deemed to be the plaintiff, applicant, petitioner, or prosecutor in any such action, suit, or other proceedings, as the case may be ; and that all actions and suits and proceedings at law to be commenced or instituted by any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, or others, whether members of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber or otherwise, against the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, or against the said members thereof jointly, shall and lawfully may be commenced,* instituted, and prosecuted to a final judgment or sentence against the said secretary of the General Estate and Orphan Chamber, as the nominal defendant or respondent for and on behalf of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, or for the members of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber aforesaid, and not against the General Estate and Orphan Chamber, or against the members or any of them. X. It shall and may be lawful for the secretary of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber to bring and maintain any action, suit, or other proceeding at law against any person being an officer or member of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber for or on account of any claim or demand which the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber may have against such person, in like manner as if he were not an officer or member thereof. XL It shall and may be lawful for any person being an officer or member of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber to bring and maintain any action, suit, or other proceeding at law against the secretary of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber for or on account of any claim or demand which he may have against the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, in like manner as if such person were not a member of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber. XII. No claim or demand which any member of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber may have in respect of his share of the capital stock of the said copartnership, or of any dividends, interests, or profits payable in respect of such shares, shall be capable of being set off; and no claim in reconvention shall be brought on account of any such share or dividends or profits against any demand which the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber may have against such member on account of any other matter or thing whatsoever; but all proceedings in respect of such other matter or thing may be carried on as if no claim or demand existed in respect of such capital stock, or of any dividends, interests, or profits payable in respect thereof. XIII. It shall and may be lawful for any two directors of the General Estate and Orphan Chamber to execute any bond or other act for and on behalf of the said General Estate and Orphan Chamber, to draw up and execute any inventory or liquidation, distribution, or other account: and all such bonds, acts, inventories, and accounts so executed shall be equally valid as if the same had been done and executed by every one of the members thereof. XIV. This Act shall be deemed and taken to be a public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of by all Judges, Magistrates, and others, without being specially pleaded.

Enclosure 4. An Act to Limit the Liability of Members of certain Joint-stock Companies. Wheeeas it is expedient to enable members of certain joint-stock companies to limit the liability for the debts and engagements of such companies to which they are or may be subject: