674 
PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 
factories and see such well-clad, well-nourished, bright, and happy- 
looking young women. "Factory legislation is but the elder sister of 
free and compulsory education ; they must work hand in hand, and 
their co-operative success in New Zealand augurs well for racial 
development in the future. States do not grow healthily from the top 
downwards, and undoubtedly the country that secures wholesome 
conditions of life and freedom to its weakest members, that keeps a 
standard of good citizenship before its young workers and its women, 
lays a foundation of social strength and peace not easy of assault. 
3.— THE TORRENS SYSTEM OF REAL PROPERTY LAW. 
By J. B. GREGORY , B.A., LL.M ., Barrister- at- Law, Lecturer on the Late of Property 
in the University of Melbourne. 
I propose to offer a few remarks upon the system of real property 
law which, originally introduced into South Australia by Sir R. R. 
Torrens, has since been adopted, with modifications in point of detail, 
throughout Australia. I shall take as my type the law in force in 
Victoria, which is the only form of the system with which I can claim 
more than a cursory acquaintance, but I believe most of what I have 
to say will apply to the forms of the system in force iu the other 
colonies. 
The principal object of this system was to remove or lessen the 
difficulty and expense of proving title, either as between vendor and 
purchaser, or mortgagor and mortgagee, or in a court of law ; and the 
general method of the framers of the system was to apply to land the 
principles of the law of merchant shipping. This law was framed to 
carry out the policy of the Navigation Acts, which conferred great, 
and in many cases exclusive, privileges of trade upon ships owned and 
built in the dominions of the British Crown. In order to carry out 
the provisions of these Acts it was necessary to provide a means of 
readily determining the owner or owners of a British ship, and for this 
purpose the system of registration was devised. In this way the law 
relating to ships came to differ from the law relating to other chattels 
to which no evidence of title beyond possession is ordinarily required. 
The general principles of the system were these : Every British 
ship had to be registered with a public officer who issued to the owner 
a certificate of registry. All dealings with the ship bad to be by 
instruments of a stated form, and took no effect until they were 
registered by the same officer. The result was that it was always 
easy, by inspecting the registry, to ascertain that some definite person 
or persons were the owner or owners of the ship either absolutely or 
subject to charges of an easily ascertainable character. 
It must be noticed that this effect was obtained by admitting 
to registry instruments of a stated description and form only. And 
among the instruments excluded from registry were all instruments 
creating trusts and other equities. Under the older Merchant 
Shipping Acts equities affecting ships were not recognisable in any 
way at law or in equity, but under the more modern Acts such 
interests have been made binding personally upon the persons who 
have subjected themselves to them, though not upon purchasers even 
with notice. 
