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The Country Goitkmaii s Magazine 



employment of highly skilled and therefore costly 

 professional assistance. Secondly, an element 

 of uncertainty through the admitted possibility 

 of a wrong inference being drawn from the evi- 

 dence even by the most skilful conveyancer, and 

 from the difficulty of ascertaining beyond doubt 

 that all the evidence is fully and clearly before 

 him. Thirdly, this examination involves delay, 

 sometimes such delay as entirely to frustrate the 

 object of the party dealing ; and lastly, it has 

 the disadvantage of being cumbrous from the 

 mass of documents that has to be preserved. In 

 contrast to this, title by registration is a tangible 

 ascertained fact. The entry in the record is 

 conclusive. There is nothing to deduce or infer 

 or, in the conduct of ordinary dealings, to 

 necessitate professional assistance. The time 

 occupied in such dealings need not exceed that 

 required for transacting the like dealings with rail- 

 way scrip, or with propertyin shipping,andthe in- 

 sti'ument evidencing title would rarely exceed 

 the size of a sheet of letter paper. The results 

 of conveyancing by deed are so graphically and 

 perfectly stated by Lord Cairns that, though 

 often referred to, I will again venture to quote 

 from his great speech on the occasion of intro- 

 ducing his Bill for Registration of Title in the 

 House of Commons, in 1859. His lordship 

 says : — " You buy an estate at an auction, or 

 you enter into a contract for the purchase of the 

 estate. You are very anxious to get possession 

 of the property you have bought, and the 

 vendor is very anxious to get his money. On 

 the contrary, you cannot get the estate, nor 

 can the vendor get his money until after 

 a lapse — sometimes no inconsiderable por- 

 tion of a man's lifetime — spent in the pre- 

 paration of abstracts, in the comparison of 

 deeds, in searches for encumbrances, in ob- 

 jections made to the title, in answers to those 

 objections, in disputes which arise upon the 

 answers, in endeavours to cure the defects — 

 not only months, but years, frequently pass in a 

 history of that kind ; and I should say that it 

 is an uncommon thing in this country for a 

 purchase of any magnitude to be completed- — 

 completed by possession and payment of the 

 price— in a period under, at all events, twelve 

 months." The Commissioners state that " those 

 who are capable of taking broad views know- 

 well that every reform having the effect of ex- 

 pediting business also leads to increase profits."' 

 In this there is a transparent fallacy. No doubt 

 expediting business generally tends to increase 

 profits, but the question here is — whose profits ? 

 It was not the hand-loom weavers who profited 



by the expediting of the production of cotton 

 fabrics through the instrumentality of machines, 

 neither will it be the solicitors who will profit 

 by their functions, as such, being superseded 

 in the ordinary dealings with land by way of 

 transfer, mortgage, &;c. It would, however, be 

 both unreasonable and unjust to ascribe the 

 failure of this measure to any corrupt orjnterested 

 opposition on the part of the profession, so long 

 as there remain radical defects such as in the 

 judgment of this Royal Commission, and as 

 admitted by Mr Spencer Follett, the head of the 

 department, " render it impossible to give the 

 system the success it ought to receive to render 

 it of sufficient public advantage." The evidence, 

 moreover, is sufficient to shew that some at least 

 amongst the leading conveyancers were willing,, 

 nay, desirous to adopt the system, if only the 

 measure under which it was applied were such 

 as they could conscientiously advise their clients 

 to come under. More than one-seventh of all 

 the lands in Ireland have been passed through 

 the alembic of the Estates Court, with only one 

 case of error of sufficient importance to be worthy 

 of notice ; and in Australia no less than 18.233 

 distinct titles (a considerable proportion of them 

 complicated or blistered) have been placed upon 

 the record without practical injury or injustice to 

 any one. Under the system there in force, the 

 requisitions which the applicant for registration 

 is required to satisfy are : — ist. That he is in 

 undisputed possession. 2d. That in equity and 

 justice he appears to be rightly entitled. 3d. 

 That he produces such evidence as leads to the 

 conclusion that no person is in a position to 

 succeed in an action of ejectment against him. 

 4th. That the description of the parcels of land 

 is clear and accurate. These being satisfied, ad- 

 vertisement and the service of notices callingupon 

 all claimants to shew cause against the applicant's 

 title within reasonable time, are found to be suffi- 

 cient safeguards against risks arising out of tech- 

 nical defects, and (in accordance with an ancient 

 practice under English law), in the event of non- 

 claims within the prescribed period, indefeasible 

 title is issued to the applicant. The require- 

 ment of accurate description of the land is next 

 objected to on the score of expense, but a fair 

 consideration of the evidence will show the com- 

 plaint on this score to be greatly exaggerated 

 not to say, blameless. Colonel Leach, R.E., of 

 the Survey Department, states in reply to 

 queries 316 and 318 : — " The expense of survey 

 is from is. to 2s. per acre, according to the size- 

 and character of the property ; but the cases in 

 which we have to require a new survey are ver)r 



