THE CUR A RE\'1KW And Bulletin 



THE PRESENT STATUS OF PROPERTIES IK LAND IN EASTERN 

 CUBA. CUBAN LAND TITLES ABSOLUTELY GOOD.- 



BY G. E. HARRAII. HOI.GUIX, CUBA. 



Sccoiui Part. 



1. The preliminar}' or pre;:aratory stage is occupied with the gathering of all 

 facts relating to the character. idcntit\'. rights and interest in the estate, of the 

 individual co-owners, documentary evidence on which the j-arties ba.-c their claims, 

 or. in default of such evidence, the testimony of witnesses in substantiation nf their 

 claims, being i^resented to the court. The provision making obligatory the presen- 

 tation of all claims, complaints and i)rotests before a certain date, after which time 

 none will be admitted, was an imjiortant feature of the order; for one great obstacle 

 to the >uccessful rmd speedy termination of surveys in the past had been the con- 

 cealment of doctiments affording proof, and the withholding of information needed to 

 establish the location in the hacienda of certain points, such as the center or starting- 

 l)oint for the survc}\ 



2. The second stage, which includes the two proceedings of demarcation and 

 the determination of validity of titles, is heralded by the calling of a meeting, at 

 thirty days' notice, at which the co-owners of the property and of the adjoining 

 haciendas are to be present to elect a "sindico," or common representative. This 

 important personage in the proceedings is the representative of the majority, against 

 whose actions the minority may protest in a separate ])rocceding at their own ex- 

 pense. If within the thirty days preceding the meeting at which the sindico is to be 

 elected any co-owner shall present a j^rotest against the location of the center or 

 against any of the statements made by the petitioner soliciting the survey (deslinde), 

 the co-owners are summoned to a meeting to vote upon the points under protest. 

 Each co-owner has at least one vote, but to those holding more than twenty-five 

 'pesos de posesion"' one vote is allowed for every twenty-five "pesos'' held. If the 

 points in controversy are not settled, as occurs when the majority of votes does 

 not equal two-thirds of the "pesos de posesion" constituting the property, three 

 outsiders, men of repute, are chosen to determine the controverted points within 

 twenty days. The election of a sindico follows. At the same meeting, an official 

 survej'or is appointed by a majority vote of the co-owners. 



All data necessary for demarcation being now in the hands of the court, an order 

 for the survey is issued, the center from which the operations are to be begun being 

 indicated. The work must be completed within sixty days from the receipt of the 

 order. A period of 120 days, which may be extended to t6o by the judge, is allowed 

 for the surveyor to complete the topographical plan and the appraisal of the lands, 

 which are classified as wooded, fertile, savannah and useless. 



In the meantime, the work of passing upon titles has been going on. At a 

 meeting called soon after the election of the sindico, two Referees on Titles (califi- 

 cadores) are elected by the co-owners, a third, who must be a b-wyer, being appointed 

 by the judge. Their work deals with matters relating to titles in "pesos de 

 posesion," by which phrase is to be understood the proportionate share or interest in 

 the estate possessed by a comunero (co-owner). An arbitrary valuation having been 

 placed in former times upon an estate or hacienda, and the total number of dollars 

 at which it was thus valued being divided among those occupying the lands or 

 having a recognized right to any portion of it, a man's interest or share in the estate 

 is expressed by the number of "pesos de posesion" (dollars of possession, or dollars 

 of interest) which he holds, as evidenced by existing documents or by occupation, 

 with evidence accepted as valid by the court for establishing his claim. The Referees 

 on Title examine all claims presented, pass on their validit}'. and present the result 

 of their findings in a report in which they state abo the amount of the total posses- 

 sion held (in dollars of possession), together with the area corresponding thereto. 

 .\ny p'rotest against their findings must be presented within fifteen days, and is 

 decided by a majority vote of the co-owners whose claims have been recognized as 

 legitimate by the referees. 



.3. The third stage of apportionment is then entered upon. Within a period 

 of thirty days after the order issued by the judge, the Referees on Title present a 

 statement indicating the areas that correspond to each co-owner's share of the estate 

 (or number of dollars of possession), and providing for the equal distribution, among 

 the co-owners, of the w^ooded lands, the savannahs and the useless portions. Careful 

 provision is made, as far as is possible, for the equitable sharing of water facilities. 

 This i)lan of the aijportionment is placed in court, subject to protest, for twenty 

 days, at the expiration of which time, no protest having been entered, the findings 

 are approved by the court. Finally, each tenant in common receives a plan of his 

 portion, executed by the official surveyor, and attached to a copy of the proceedings 



• In view of the fact that Juan Galberto Gomez has petitioned Gov. Magoon to have the system of 

 Hacienda Comunera abolished, this article will prove extremely informing. — Editor CUBA REVIEW. 



