120 The Bulletin. 



certified in tlie office of tlie register of deeds, liave the guaranty of the 

 Commonwealth back of it, and say to all the world, "This title is secure." 

 There would be no necessity — on the other hand, it would be perfectly idle — 

 to further investigate that title. You have the guaranty of the Common- 

 wealth of North Carolina back of it. 



How do we undertake to do this? First, we establish the court, and then 

 establish the procedure. The procedure is this : You own some land, and 

 you go to the clerk of the court in your county and tell ban that you wish to 

 have the title to your land certifie<l and registered. The clerk issues summons 

 just as in special proceedings for the division of the estate of a man who died 

 without leaving a will. The summons runs in the name of the State, and goes 

 to every man who may be interested, to the State of North Carolina, and to 

 all who might be concerned. It gives notice, as far as possible, to all possible 

 claimants of the real estate. Now, the clerk of the court has heretofore 

 appointed an examiner of titles. This examiner takes your petition after a 

 due season, the summons having run due length of time, goes to the books and 

 investigates the title, taking sufficient time to assure himself of the safety of 

 the title. He makes his report to the judge. The judge of the court sets a 

 day for hearing on which all parties can be heard who are claimants for the 

 title. If they come in, they are heard; if not, the judge goes through the 

 title himself. The day is appointed, the case is heard, and the judge hands 

 down his decree. He hands down a decree that Mr. Scarboro, say, has the title 

 in fee simple to a certain plat of land, the boundaries of which are registered, 

 and makes an order that the register of deetls in his county shall make an 

 entry of that title upon a book set apart for that purpose, as a registered 

 title secured by the guaranty of the State. So far, so good. Mr. Scarboro 

 has obtained by the process of the court a title, not simply by tenure, but a 

 title by the judgment of the law of the land. Now, on the next day some one 

 comes to buy Mr. Scarboro's land. A lawyer comes in to look up the title. 

 The purchaser says, "Now, I don't care to pay you $25 to look up this title 

 when it has been looked up by the State of North Carolina and the guaranty 

 of the State is back of it." 



So much for the title. Next for the conveyance. You have this certificate 

 of title issued by the decree of the court through the register of deeds. Now, 

 if you want to mortgage your land, instead of going to an attorney, having a 

 deed drawn up and the title investigated, you go to some banker. I take it 

 that every self-respecting farmer goes to the bank for his money, and not to 

 the money lender. Let him go to the bank and say, "I have here a regis- 

 tered certificate of title to 400 acres of land, the tax valuation of which is 

 $5,000." The banker says. "We are a little skeptical about that ; we are 

 afraid of defects in your title in past years. We want to look up your title, 

 and will delay you three or four days, or at least one day, and you pay our 

 attorney $50 for the privilege of bori'owing this money." The landowner 

 says, "No ; I have paid my money once and forever. As long as I and my chil- 

 dren hold this land, we pay no lawyer to look up the title. The title is guar- 

 auteetl by the Commonwealth. If you are going to lend me your money, you 

 lend it to me on the assurance of the Commonwealth of North Carolina." So 

 you avoid the attorney's fee for looking up the title, you avoid the delay, and 

 in all probability you are able to negotiate your loan. Compare that with 

 the ordinary course of business. If I own now 100 aci'es of land and 100 

 shares of stock of equal value, and I want to borrow $500, I offer to give a 

 mortgage on my land. But the banker who is going to loan me the money 

 prefers my stock, because the conveyance of it is so simple. If I should 

 undertake to mortgage my land, I would have to go through the whole system. 

 Now, the Torrens system undertakes to make the certificate of the ownership 

 of land as available to the landowner as the certificate of shares of stock is 

 available to the stock owner. 



I take it that you understand the procedure and the nature of the Torrens 

 system. If any do not, and wish me to elaborate on the details, or if any 

 difficulty has been presented to your minds, let me answer your questions. 

 Meanwhile, I will take up some of the arguments against it. 



You hear it said in some places that the Torrens land system will be expen- 

 sive. Now, my friends, it cannot be nearly so expensive as the present land 



