FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 109 



THE TORRENS SYSTEM OF LAND TRANSFER. 



BY PROF. J. H. BREWSTER^ ANN ARBOR. 



It is generally well understood that the so-called "Torrens System" 

 has to deal with the registration of title to, and transfer of land. As 

 this system is suggested as a measure of reform, the question naturally 

 occurs at the outset of any consideration of the subject: Why is any 

 change in our present system thought to be necessary or desirable? It 

 is only by bearing in mind certain prominent characteristics of our 

 present system of recording deeds and transferring title to real estate, 

 and by recognizing certain defects in this system, that the need or de- 

 sirability of some change is apparent and that the advantages of the 

 Torrens system of registration and transfer can be seen. 



The great characteristic of our present system is that tit!e to 10:1 1 

 estate passes, generally speaking, only by the execution and delivery of a 

 deed of conveyance by the grantor to the grantee. This deed is then re- 

 corded at length in books kept in a public record oflflce. In order to be 

 recorded so that it may be notice to subsequent dealers in the land de- 

 scribed in the deed, the deed must first be properly executed by the 

 grantor and then it must be authenticated properly by some public officer 

 — a notary public or justice of the peace, or other officer, who usually 

 certifies that the deed was acknowledged before him by the grantor. 



The general theory underlying such a system is that the records will 

 show the title to the land described in these recorded conveyances. And 

 the popular belief undoubtedly is that there is such a thing as showing 

 by the records a good title. 



But, assuming that the records are correctly made, that is that all 

 conveyances are correctly transcribed from the originals into the public 

 books, the fact is that there are so many things which seriously affect, or 

 may afifect, the title to land which the records do not and cannot show, 

 that it is really impossible to show by the records alone a perfect title 

 to land. 



Many matters vitally afl'ecting title cannot appear of record. For ex- 

 ample, the fundamental fact of delivery of the deed, upon which the trans- 

 fer of the title to the land described in it entirely depends, is not estab- 

 lished by the fact that the deed is recorded. The record is, generally 

 speaking, prima facie evidence of delivery, but the presumption of de- 

 livery arising from the record may always be rebutted, and in many cases 

 expensive litigation has been necessary in order to establish this one fact 

 of delivery — and often after such litigation the person supposing that he 

 has title to land finds that in reality he has none, simply because there 

 was no delivery (as the law understands it) of his deed in his chain of 

 title. 



Nor do the records show, the genuineness of the signatures of either 

 the grantor or the authenticating officer. A forged deed transfers no 

 title even to an innocent purchaser ; and forgery may, in law, be accomp- 

 lished even when the signature to a deed is a genuine signature. For 

 example, a prominent lawyer induced a client to sign a deed granting 



