Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 1).pdf/460

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436
NORTH DAKOTA REPORTS.

the rights of certain persons to the offices of directors of the Argus Printing Company, a corporation. This statute provides that upon the application of any person or body corporate aggrieved by any election held by any corporate body, or any proceedings thereof, the district judge of the district in which the election is held must proceed forthwith summarily to hear the allegations and proofs of the parties, or otherwise inquire into the matters of complaint, and thereupon confirm the election, order a new one, or direct such other relief in the premises as accords with right and justice. This appeal must be decided as we determine which of two persons had the right to vote 546 shares of stock. The total amount of stock which had been issued at the time of the meeting to elect directors was 570 shares. At this meeting A. W. Edwards voted these 546 shares of stock for the following directors: A. W. Edwards, H. C. Plumley, M. R. Flint, Alexander Griggs, and William A. Stevens. At the same time and place one E. O. Faulkner voted these same shares for Alexander Griggs, W. A. Stevens, B. F. Spaulding, H. C. Plumley, and E. O. Faulkner as directors. In whom was the right to vote this stock? The stock at one time was the property of A. W. Edwards. For the purpose af securing a debt which he owed to J. J. Hill, this stock, with 10 other shares, was transferred upon the corporate books to E. O. Faulkner, confidential clerk of Mr. Hill. Certificates representing the total number of shares, 556, were issued directly to Mr. Faulkner, the same being signed by Mr. Edwards as president of the company, the old certificates held by Edwards being canceled. The stock, therefore stood on the books of the corporation in the name of E. O. Faulkner.

Where there has been no transfer of the stock on the books of the corporation a pledgee of such stock may not vote it. The beneficial ownership is still in the pledgor, and the records of the corporation still show him to be a stockholder. In none of the cases cited in which the right to vote was adjudged to be in the pledgor, instead of thepledgee, had there been a record of the transfer made. See McDaniels v. Manufacturing Co., 22 Vt. 274; in re Baker, 6 Wend. 509; ex parte Willcocks, 7 Cow. 410; Strong v. Smith, 15 Hun. 222. We have discovered an Oregon