Flux, Prof. A. W., Internal Migration in England and Wales, 1881-91 Giffen, Sir R., F.R.S., Our Trade Prosperity and the Outlook..... Hewart, Beatrice, The Cloth Trade in the North of England in the Sixteenth ... 20 323 • Kershaw, John B. C., An Investigation of the Cause of Trade Fluctuations... McLean, Prof. S. J., Federal Regulation of Railways in the United States State Regulation of Railways in the United States Price, L. L., Some Economic Consequences of the South African War Vinogra-loff, Prof. P., Agricultural Services 1 308 Adams, Brooks, America's Economic Supremacy. By S. J. Chapman Bastable, Prof. C. F., La Théorie du Commere International. By Prof. The Theory of International Trade, with some of its Applications to Economic Policy. By Prof. F. Y. Edgeworth Bawerk, Prof. E. von Böhm-, Einige Strittige Fragen der Capitalstheorie. 211 REVIEWS (continued)— PAGE ... 221 Bonar, James, and Hollander, J. H., Letters of David Ricardo to Hutches, Brentano, Prof. Lujo, and Kuczynski Dr. Robert, Die heutige Grundlage Gomme Daniels, Prof. W. M., The Elements of Public Finance. By Prof. C. F. ... Dechesne, Laurent, L'Evolution Economique et Sociale de l'Industrie de la 215 529 519 75 By Prof. F. C. 377 72 Ely, Prof. Richard T., Monopolies and Trusts. By Prof. F. C. Montague Gilman, Nicholas Paine, A Dividend to Labour: A Study of Employers' 83 Hauser, Prof. H., Ouvriers du Temps Passé (xve-xvie siècles). By Prof. 374 Hi 1, Joseph A., The English Income Tax; with special reference to Ad- Hobson, John A., The Economics of Distribution. By Prof. A. W. Flux 380 538 ... ... Hunter, Sir William Wilson, &c., A History of British India. By Prof.. 370 Jones, Prof. Edward D., Economic Crises. By A. C. Pigou 523 Kinder, Francis S., The Effect of the Recent Changes in Monetary Standards 385 ... Kley, Dr. W., Bei Krupp, Eine Socialpolitische Reiseskizze. By Adelaide 78 Kulemann, W., Die Gewerkschaftsbewegung: Darstellung der gewerkschaft- 218 Leonard, E. M., The Early History of English Poor Relief. By Rev. L. R. 518 Liesse, André, Le Travail aux Points de Vue Scientifique, Industriel et Social. Lohmann, Dr. Friedrich, Die staatliche Regelung der englischen Wollindustrie 529 375 REVIEWS (continued) — Mackay, Thomas, 4 History of the English Poor Law, Vol. III., from 1834 ... ... Palgrave, R. H. Inglis, F.R.S., Dictionary of Political Economy. By Henry PACE 80 527 372 87 ... 526 372 Raffalovich, Arthur, Le Marché Financier en 1897-1898. By E. Castelot... 90 531 ... 67 538 ... Smith, E. J., The New Trades Combination Movement: its Principles, Trevelyan, George Macaulay, England in the Age of Wycliffe. By Prof. Vincent, James Edmund, John Nixon, Pioneer of the Steam Coal Trade in 60 ... 214 372 Warner, George Townshend, Landmarks in Industrial History. By H. A. L. 82 Wyckoff, - 75 NOTES AND MEMORANDA:- Barlow, Montague, The Economic Legislation of the Year 1899 Carlyle, R. W., Famine Administration in a Bengal District in 1896-7 Hutchins, B. L, Notes towards the History of London Wages Johnson, Arthur H., Professor Ashley on the Commercial Legislation of NOTES AND MEMORANDA (continued)— Osborn, Christabel, Bulletin of the United States Department of Labour Unwin, G, A Seventeenth Century Trade Union OBITUARY:- Droz, Numa Dunbar, Prof. Charles Franklin Feriara, Prof. Francesco Sidgwick, Prof. Heary NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS RECENT OFFICIAL PAPERS PAGE 261 226 540 394 117 113 114 274 585 117-127, 275-284, 432-145, 592-602 108-113, 264-274, 430-431, 577-558 RECENT PERIODICALS AND NEW BOOKS... 128-139, 283-291, 146-451, 603-611 THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL MARCH, 1900 THE PROMOTION OF COMPANIES AND THE GERMAN Company Law was entirely changed and recast by a statute passed in 1884, which introduced a number of checks and restrictions of an entirely novel character. Many fears were expressed at the time. All enterprise was to be hampered in the future and driven to foreign countries. No persons of means and standing were to be found who would incur the liabilities. and risks to which directors and promoters were to be subject under the new state of things. Sufficient time has now elapsed to show that the forecast of these prophets of evil was based on misapprehension. The statistics prove conclusively that the formation of new companies, far from being arrested by the greater stringency of the law, has been progressing in a most remarkable manner, and that the career of German companies has, on the whole, been most prosperous.2 Some of the new 1 See Ring, Aktiengesetz 2nd. ed. Berlin, 1892; Pinner, Das Deutsche Aktienrecht; Berlin 1899; Esser, Die Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin, 1899; Riesser, Die Neuerungen im Deutschen Aktienrecht, Berlin, 1899. 2 There were in Germany in 1896 according to Professor R. van der Borght's estimate (Conrad's Handwörterbuch, Vol. I., 2nd. edition, pp. 192-194) 3712 companies limited by shares with a total paid-up capital of over £340,000,000, and with reserve funds amounting altogether to £58,000,000; the annual net earnings of 3249 companies amounted to about 32,400,000, or about 10 per cent, of the paid-up capital. It is safe to assume from the figures given that not less than one-half of the total number of these companies were formed after the Act of 1884. In the blue book published by the departmental committee of the Board of Trade in 1895 (7779) a letter is quoted from Mr. Gerb of the British Consulate General at Berlin estimating the total paidup capital at £200,000,000, (see p. 29). I showed at the time (see p. 30) that the capital must be at least £300,000,000, and the statistics given in the text prove conclusively that Mr. Gerb's estimate was still further from the truth than I suspected. No. 37.-vOL X. B |