The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-01-12
FORTY THOUSAND
TO EIGHT THOUSAND
Receipts at Secretary Of
States Office Fall Off.
IN ONE YEARS. TIME
The Insurance Business Carries Great
est Part of Receipts.
CEVfN Raj R0&DS DllRlNC TpE YEAR
IN ONE YEARS. TIME
SEWN RAILROADS DURING THE YEAR
Secretary Suggests That The Laws Touching
Corporations be Revised, and Dstri-
butd. Graduated Tax on
Charters Advised.

InaTterS huVlSeOs
Secretary Of State Thompson has com
pleted and given out his report. He
says:
Within the last two fiscal years there
have been issued from this office SIX
hundred and sixty-tive grants OF pubic
lands, on which account the sum OF 50,
3S46y has been received and paid into
the Treasury This amount slightly eX-
ceeds that for the preceding period, and
the number of grants issued is about
eleven per cent greater.
SUPREME COURT REPORTS.
During the last two fiscal years | have
paid into the Treasury on account of the
sale of Supreme Court Reports the sum
OF s7.692.59. have had several numbers
of the Reports reprinted, but there are
still some thirty numbers Of the Re
ports out Of print, or practically So These
are numbers Ii, IS, 19, q, Al to 81, 81, 81
to SO, GO to 60. 20 to II, 80, 81 and "a to
81 numbers 16. 20 and 81 are being re-
printed
..The Legislature of 1899 reduced the
price of the Reports from 81 TO $l.50 per
volume. At this price the State possibly
RECEIVERS the OIlSlual COST Oh the ENSpOTlS
1t will be noted however, that more
reports are sold since the reduction than
before. Indeed The amount of money
arising from the sale of Reports in the
last two years is about thirty three and
one third per cent greater than in the
preceding two years, notwithstanding the
reduction in price.
suggest that it would be of advantage
IN al Of hn
haps to the legal profession, if the cur
rent numbers could be put upon sale
earlier. This could be done by requiring
the Reporter to deliver the final copy
at a fixed time after the adjournment
of the court and the Public Printers
TO deliver the printed volumes within
specified time afterwards.
The number of charters granted during
the past two years is $50.
The law for the formation of corpora
lions in North Carolina is imperfect, and
in many respects behind that in force
in other States. As it now exists, it is
an imperfect piece of patch work, and
! have no doubt that a revision of the
whole will present itself to the General
Assembly as eXpedient. And when so
revised, the Secretary of State should
be authorized to have the law printed
in pamphlet form for general distribu-
ton. Hardly week passes without bring
ing requests from parties in or out of
the State for copies of the Corporation
Law of the State. which this office is of
course unable to supply. The Secretary
Of State is thus forced to state the es-
sential features of the law in his CORE
spondence.
The State desires to obtain revenue. !
suggest that some revenue may be de-
rived from the corporation business by
tax graduated according to the capital
stock of the company applying for letters
patent. AS the law now stands, the tax
before the Clerk of the Court is, $25,
whether the capital stock of the corpora
ton is $500 or 100000.
In connection with the matter of cor
porations, / desire to call attention to
the fact that chapter 10 of the Acts of
1885 declares that certain corporations
therein named shall be formed under the
general law and in no other way, un-
less 1t be made to appear that the pur-
pose of the corporation cannot be obtained
except by an act of the General Assem-
bly,; and vet, in the face of this, every
General Assembly proceeds to incorporate
every character of company that can
the general law. If all companies which
should be incorporated under the general
law were forced to be Incorporated in
that way this office would have more
readily a list of all the corporations in
the State. and perhaps two weeks of
every session of the General Assembly
could be devoted to more mature consid-
GRAFTON of public topics.
RAILROAD COMPANIES.
The following railroad companies have
filed articles of association in this Of
fee during the last two fiscal years:
The Carolina Northern Railroad Com
pany.
Pennsylvania Railroad Company
Mount Airy and Eastern Railway Com
pany.
Linville River Railway Company.
The Raleigh ard Eastern Railway Com
pany.
Southport, Wilmington and Western
Railroad Company
The Great Eastern Railroad Company
The number of insurance companies
that have domesticated themselves I'M
der the Craig Law is 142
The secretary suggests that the clerks |
of the Legislature file with the Public |
Printers, press copies of the manuscript |
hled with the Secretary of State, so there |
VIII be no variations between the printed |
laws and the copies on file with the |
Secretary of State, and that bills be |
typewriter instead of engrossed by |
hand. To obviate the difficulty of the |
Secretary in making clear and unques- |
tionable copies of the acts, he suggests |
that the Legislature elect outside |
OF the Legislature a committee of three
persons, as, for instance, a competent |
lawyer, practical proof reader and |
some one of clerical fitness to examine |
all enrolled bills under the supervis- |
ion of the Legislative Committee on |
course this would entail the expenditure |
OF small amount of money, but ! be-
Bears k1,n