The Act provided for two types of company registration: provisional, and complete. The filing requirements for complete registration were more extensive than those for provisional registration. Given that there was no requirement for companies granted a certificate of provisional registration to submit the remaining information in order to become completely registered, the Act was not hugely successful as many of its provisions applied only to completely registered companies. The Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 applied only to England and Wales, and Ireland; it did not apply to Scotland. Limited Liability Act 1855 Prior to the commencement of the Limited Liability Act 1855, shareholders were generally treated similarly to partners in a common law partnership, and had unlimited liability for the debts and obligations of the companies in which they held shares. From 1855, it became possible for shareholders to benefit from limited liability as a matter of routine, provided the companies in which they held shares were registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies under the 1844 Act. The aim of this act was to incentivise the creation of new joint stock companies, while giving investors, the majority of whom did not play an active role in day-to-day management, protection from liabilities incurred by company directors. Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 The Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 abolished the dual registration system of the 1844 Act; provisional registration ceased to be possible. In exchange for providing shareholders with the benefit of limited liability, companies were required to submit certain information to the Registrar for Joint Stock Companies, including memoranda and articles of association (which had not previously been divided in this way), and annual reports. The 1856 Act also mandated that there be a Registrar of Companies for each of the UK's three jurisdictions. This system remains today, with a separate Registrar of Companies for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; 'Companies House' is merely a brand adopted by the registrars. Company registration in Scotland commenced in 1856, with the first company registered being the Daily Bulletin Company Limited, a newspaper publisher. The first Registrar of Joint Stock Companies for Scotland was George Deane, from 1856 to 1858, before he was transferred to the London office of Companies House to be Chief Clerk to the Registrar for England and Wales. The remaining staff were transferred to the office of the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (Q&LTR), who took