36 Operation of the 



Record already established, admitted, to a great extent, of the 

 limitation of the Imperial Acts to general principles, leaving 

 numerous subsidiary details to be embodied in rules and orders 

 issued under judicial or ministerial authority, on merely laying 

 the altered rules before Parliament pro forma, whenever 

 experience may suggest. 



It is very unfortunate that this separation between legislative 

 and judicial elements has not been found practicable in regard 

 to Mr. Torrens's Acts. The result has been to add greatly to 

 the labour of revision. The details are thus not only rendered 

 more prolix, but the necessity for completeness in each is more 

 imperative in consequence of its inflexibility as a legislative 

 enactment. To this very difficult task, I have, nevertheless, 

 directed my earnest attention ever since I entered on office. 

 Even as early as August, 1863 (seven months after the Act came 

 into operation), I had prepared in conjunction with my late 

 lamented colleague, a draft of numerous amendments which we 

 deemed advisable. These were submitted to the Government of 

 that day, but circumstances do not appear to have hitherto 

 allowed of their being considered. In 1866 the New Irish 

 Bill became law, and our correspondence with the secretary of 

 the society formed for its promotion had so strongly impressed 

 us with the importance of creating a Land Titles Court as an 

 adjunct to the Property office that we resolved, even without any 

 sanguine hope of our views being at once adopted, to submit a 

 further draft or amendment embodying provisions for this 

 purpose. Numerous further amendments were also introduced, 

 partly from our own experience since submitting our former 

 draft in 1863, and partly suggested by the actual amended 

 legislation in Victoria during the same interval in reference to 

 the corresponding Act of that colony. The whole Act was also 

 recast, and its provisions analytically arranged. This latter 

 draft was submitted with a letter to the Colonial Secretary dated 

 10th April, 1866, entering with rather more detail into the 

 amendments proposed than would suit the object of the present 

 paper. Most of them might be, however, classed under one or 

 other of the following heads, with the enumeration of which I 

 will close this paper : — 



1. The separation of the Land Titles Department from that of 

 the Registrar- General, whose other duties are quite distinct ; 

 and the recognition of the present Deputy Registrar- General 

 (who is already solely charged, in point of fact, with the general 

 conduct of the Ministerial business of the new system), as a 

 separate officer, under the name of "Recorder of Titles." This 

 designation, which is borne by the corresponding officer in 

 Ireland and Tasmania, is convenient for the purpose of avoiding 

 confusion between the new and old Registers, and the separation 

 of duties will promote the efficiency of both departments. 



