And We do hereby further will and ordain that the Chairman may, with the consent of the meeting, adjourn any general court from time to time and place to place, but that no business shall be transacted at any adjourned general court other than the business left unfinished at the general court from which the adjournment took place.
And We do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the Governor, Deputy-Governor, and Committeemen shall, after the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, hold their respective offices subject to retirement by rotation as hereinafter provided, that is to say, at the general court to be held in the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, and at every succeeding general court, three members of the Board shall retire from office, and that, until all the present Board shall in turn have retired, the members of the Board to retire shall from time to time be determined by ballot or otherwise amongst the members of the present Board, or such of them as for the time being shall not have retired, but afterwards the members of the Board to retire shall be those who shall have been longest in office since their last election, and as between members of the Board of equal seniority the member or members to retire shall be determined by lot; provided always that the Governor and Deputy-Governor shall not both retire at the same time, and that in the ballot for determining who shall retire in the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, the Governor and Deputy-Governor shall not both be included, but only one of them, such one to be determined by lot; and in the event of neither the Governor nor the Deputy-Governor being selected by ballot to retire in the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, one of them to be determined by lot shall retire in the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty-six. And provided always that a retiring member of the Board shall be eligible for re-election, and that, if the retiring member be the Governor or Deputy-Governor of the Company, he shall be eligible for re-election, or any other member of the Board shall be eligible for election as Governor or Deputy-Governor respectively; and in the event of any member of the Board being elected to the office of Governor or Deputy-Governor, in the place of the retiring Governor or Deputy-Governor such member shall be deemed to have retired from his former office.
And We do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the Company at any general court at which any members of the Board retire in manner aforesaid shall if it be the turn for the Governor or Deputy-Governor to retire first fill up that office, and then shall fill up the other vacated offices, including any office rendered vacant by the election of any member of the Board to the office of Governor or Deputy-Governor as aforesaid, by electing a like number of persons to be members of the Board; and that every election or re-election to the office of Governor, Deputy-Governor, or Committee shall be conducted in the manner and according to the forms from time to time to be prescribed by the bye-laws of the Company, and that such notice of the names of every candidate for election or re-election to any such office shall be given as may be required by the bye-laws for the time being in force.
And We do hereby further will and ordain that notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, any member of the Board may at any time give notice to the Board in writing of his wish to resign, and on the acceptance of his resignation by the Board, but not before, his office shall be vacant.
Nothing in this our charter contained shall affect the power given by the original charter to the Company to remove any Governor, Deputy-Governor, or member of the Committee who should not demean himself well in his respective office.
And We do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything in the original charter contained, any casual vacancy occurring among the members of the Board through death, resignation, removal, or other cause, except the expiration of the period of office, may be filled up by the Board or the remaining members of the Board, whatever there number may be, and if the casual vacancy occur in the office of Governor or Deputy-Governor, such vacancy may be filled by electing any one of the remaining members of the Board; and if so filled up a casual vacancy shall be deemed to have occurred in the office of the member of the Board so elected to the office of Governor or Deputy-Governor; provided always that any person so chosen to fill up any casual vacancy shall retain his office until the next general court held for the election of members of the Board, and at such general court the Company shall either confirm such person in his office or shall elect some other person to hold such office in his place, and provided always that the person so chosen and confirmed as aforesaid or the person elected by the Company in his stead (as the case may be) shall retain his office so long only as the vacating member of the Board would have retained the same if no vacancy had occurred, and provided always that, notwithstanding any vacancy in the Board, the continuing members of the Board may act so long as there remains not less than four members of the Board.
And We do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the corporal oath thereby required to be taken on the occasions and by the persons therein mentioned shall no longer be required to be taken by any person on any occasion whatsoever.
In witness whereof we have caused these our Letters to be made patent. Witness Ourself at Westminster, the ninth day of September, in the forty-eighth year of our reign.
BY WARRANT UNDER THE QUEEN'S SIGN MANUAL.
PALMER.
[Seal.]