1. Introduction
2. Social attitudes to company law : 1720 to 1855
3. Christian socialism and the debate on limited liability
4. The reasons for the enactment of, and the form taken by, English limited liability legislation, 1855-1856
5. The first fifteen years of limited liability company legislation in England 1855-1870
6. The 1870s and early 1880s : the growing acceptability of limited liability incorporation
7. The consolidation of company law 1886-1914
8. Limited liability company legislation in the colonies : the Australian experience 1864-1920
9. Conclusions.