STATE OF MAINE. IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND 5 FORTY-FOUR. AN ACT in relation to Manufacturing Corporations. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen2 tatives in Legislature assembled as follows: 3 SECTION 1. The treasurer of every company now, 4 or hereafter incorporated in this State, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton, wool, silk, iron, steel 6 or other materials, shall publish semi-annually, in the 7 months of January and July, in some newspaper 8 printed in the county wherein the manufactory of 9 such materials is established, and in case no paper is 10 printed therein, then in some newspaper in an adjoin11 ing county, or in the newspaper published by the 12 printer to the State, a correct statement of the amount 13 of all the assessments voted by the company and 14 actually paid in, the net amount of the then existing 15 capital stock, the amount of all debts due from such 16 company, and also the amount of the capital stock 17 invested in real estate, buildings, machinery, and other 18 fixtures. If any such treasurer shall neglect or refuse 19 to publish such statement, he shall be fined, not ex 20 ceeding two thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not 21 exceeding one year, on indictment and conviction 22 thereof. And if he shall neglect or refuse to publish 23 such statement, or shall knowingly publish a false 24 statement, with the fraudulent intent to injure any 25 creditor of such company, he shall be deemed guilty 26 of a high misdemeanor, and on indictment and con27 viction thereof, he shall be punished by fine, not ex28 ceeding five thousand dollars, imprisonment in the 29 county gaol, not exceeding one year, confinement in 30 the state prison to hard labor, not exceeding ten years, 31 or any or all of said punishments, according to the 32 aggravation of the offence. SEC. 2. No person shall be chosen a director or 2 treasurer of any such company, or continue to hold 3 either of said offices unless he be a stockholder therein. SEC. 3. All such companies are hereby expressly 2 prohibited from contracting debts exceeding at any 3 one time, the amount of the capital stock invested in 4 real estate, buildings, machinery and other fixtures 5 within the State of Maine, and in no case, shall the 6 debts exceed one half the amount of the capital stock 7 paid in and remaining undivided; in which case, the 8 stockholders shall not be liable individually, for the 9 debts of their respective companies. But if the debts 10 of such companies shall at any one time exceed the 11 limitations aforesaid, then the stockholders in such 12 companies shall, at once, become liable individually 13 for all the debts of their respective companies. And 14 such liability shall continue for the same period of 15 time, and such proceedings shall be had to enforce 16 the same against such stockholders, and also contri17 bution between stockholders, as is provided in chap18 ter seventy-six of the Revised Statutes. SEC. 4. All such manufacturing corporations as 2 shall observe the requirements of the last section, shall 3 be exempted from the operation of sections eighteen 4 and thirty of chapter seventy-six of the Revised Stat5 utes; and section fourteen of chapter seventy-eight of 6 the Revised Statutes, is hereby repealed. |