Lawful object requirement bars company registration where proposed lottery ticket sales in England would be unlawful.

A company could not be registered for a stated object that necessarily involved selling lottery tickets in England where that activity was prohibited by the general law. Section 41 of the Lotteries Act, 1823 was construed as requiring authorisation by a competent Act of Parliament for the place of sale, and Irish legislation limited to sales within Ireland did not authorise sales in England. Because the proposed business would involve an unlawful act in England, the company lacked a lawful object and the Registrar was not bound to register it.

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Issues: Whether a company could be required to be registered where its stated object was to sell lottery tickets in England for the Irish Free State Hospitals Sweepstake, and whether section 41 of the Lotteries Act, 1823 was satisfied by authorisation under Irish legislation.

Analysis: Section 41 of the Lotteries Act, 1823 prohibited the sale of lottery tickets unless the sale was authorised by an Act of Parliament having jurisdiction over the place of sale. The Irish Free State legislation authorised the sweepstake only within Ireland and did not authorise sales in England. The words used in the 1823 Act were construed as referring to an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, not an Irish enactment made after the Union, and the company's proposed object would therefore involve an unlawful act in England. A company cannot be formed for a purpose that necessarily involves illegality.

Conclusion: The proposed company was not formed for a lawful object, and the Registrar was not bound to register it. The appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A company cannot be compelled to register where its declared object necessarily involves conduct prohibited by the general law, and statutory permission confined to one territory does not authorise sales in another territory absent a competent Act of Parliament for that place.

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