Travers.—Thomson’s System of Survey from a Legal Point of View. 281 
diately connected with the surveys of the waste lands, but also at the hands 
‘of those who are engaged in the business of conveyancing ; and, as I differ 
from the views of the Surveyor-General on the expediency of adopting the 
system in question, I propose—premising that my own knowledge of the 
practice of surveying is limited,—to offer a few remarks upon his paper, 
with the view of eliciting further discussion. 
It is unnecessary that I should dwell upon the necessity of accuracy 
in the description of the “parcels” in conveyances of land. For, not 
merely lawyers, but almost every intelligent person who has had any prac- 
tical acquaintance with our system of dealing with land as a marketable 
property, is more or less aware of the difficulties which result from errors 
on this point. Indeed our law books are full of cases arising out of such 
errors, and no warning is more strongly held out to the student of the art 
of conveyancing, than that of taking the greatest possible care in regard to 
the description of the property to be conveyed. The importance of this 
point is fully recognized in connection with the system of dealing with land 
under the Land Transfer Acts in force in this Colony; in which mere 
verbal descriptions are, as much as possible avoided, in favour of reference to 
plans prepared by duly qualified and certificated surveyors. Andthe certainty 
that before many years have passed, all the land in the Colony belonging to 
private individuals will be brought within the provisions of these Acts, 
renders it imperative that the most reliable system of surveying known to 
science should be used in connection with alienations by the Crown, as 
well as with subsequent subdivisions of the land so alienated. 
Now, it will be remembered that, in 1874, Major Palmer, a surveyor of 
great eminence, and who happened at the time to be in the Colony in con- 
nection with the observations of the transit of Venus, was requested by the 
General Government to examine and report upon the existing surveys of 
the Colony, and as to the best means of getting rid of the serious 
difficulties which were then known to exist in connection with them. 
Major Palmer undertook the duty, and, in April 1875, presented to the 
Government a most valuable report on the subject referred to him; in 
which he pointed out the causes and extent of error which had been com- 
mitted,—involving, as he showed, the waste of enormous sums of money,— 
and recommended a course for the future, which would, in his opinion, not 
only remedy the errors already existing, but also provide, at a very moderate 
cost, for the completion of such trigonometrical surveys as would ensure 
the proper degree of accuracy in the ordinary sectional surveys. In deal- 
ing with the subject referred to him, he first gave a sketch of the history of 
each of the surveys then being carried on in the Colony, and an opinion of 
its worth ; and then proceeded to point out the best means of remedying 
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