402 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



appreciated by capitalist buyers, large and small ; and 

 true, and richly productive. Co-operation has been made 

 effective between realised capital and advancing Agri- 

 culture. 



None of this would have been possible without the security 

 provided by Land Registry. Such registry cannot of course 

 indicate or appraise the value of the properties to be pledged. 

 But it guarantees an indefeasible title, for which the Crown 

 makes itself responsible. Valuation has to be provided 

 for b}/ other means. In some countries land tax gives some 

 sort of clue — to such an extent that special valuation 

 can be dispensed with, land tax being optionally accepted 

 in lieu of specific valuation. In the kingdom of Saxony the 

 " taxation unit " [steuereinlieit) may serve as a fair index. 

 From what I have seen of the valuation carried out in 

 Prussia — I was there at the time and my predecessor was 

 one of the valuers — I should not be inclined to accept 

 that unreservedly. However, valuation is a matter that 

 mortgage organisations — whether similar to landschajten or 

 more co-operative — like the Mortgage Societies in Denmark 

 and one in Saxony — or else purely joint-stock organisations 

 may provide for themselves. The foundation upon which 

 the transaction has to be built up is absolute guarantee 

 of the title by registration. 



Like our neighbours on the Continent, we likewise have 

 for a long time made attempts to introduce a land register 

 applicable to all kinds of property in this countr}^ Some 

 of us have heard of the admirable way in which that institu- 

 tion works among our Transatlantic cousins, that is, in our 

 Australian Colonies and New Zealand, and in some parts 

 of Canada and all the West Indies, where, as well as in 

 the United States, it passes by the name of the " Torrens 

 system," owing to its having been first advocated and 

 introduced (in South Australia) by Sir Robert Torrens. In 

 truth we may be said to have been " hankering after it " 

 ever since the time of Henry VIII. Both he and Queen 

 Elizabeth issued orders to establish it — which orders failed. 

 Lord Westbury took the matter up in 1862. Since then 

 we have seen strenuous efforts made by succeeding Lords 



