The Sun.
London, England, 1830-09-07 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PAPER.

LAW OF REAL PROPERTY.—We.
SECOND REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
(Continued from oar Paper of £atur4ay.) '
By the Register Acts for Middlesex, 'Yorkshire,
and Ireland, the memorial of the deed is required to
be under the hand and Seel of, one of the grantors or
grantees, his heirs, executors, or administrators,
guardians or trustees, and attested by two witnesses,
one of whom must be one of the witnesses to the
execution of the deed, which witness must, by oath
before the registrar, prove the signing and sealing
of the memorial, and the execution of the deed. If
the memorial be executed more than forty miles from
the district, it may be proved by affidavit. These.
Acts do not provide for cases where ell the witnesses
are dead, or for deeds from corporations under their
corporate seal. The authentication required by these
Acts is useleis; the memorial may be proved by one
witness to the execution of the deed, by a grantee,
or a mere nominal party; yet this authentication
puts the parties in every instance to considerable
expense and trouble; almost every affidavit costs
nearly 205.; and it is evident that the attendance of
a witness, and his deposition before the registrar, in
most instances, must cost much more. It is esti-
mated, that the number of deeds to be registered in
England and Wales, in each year, would not be less
than 70,000.

We think that a perfect system of authentication
would be attended with burthens which would over-
balance its advantages, and that any authentication
at the Register Office may be dispensed with, where
the instrument shall be registered within a limited
time, and the execution by all the executing parties
shall appear to be attested by two witnesses, whose
descriptions shall be stated. But that where an in.
strument shall not be so attested, or shall not be
brought to the Register Office within twelve months
after its date (which latter circumstance may induce
suspicion of want of authenticity) the execution by
all the granting parties should be acknowledged at
the office, or proved by affidavit.
It is to be observed, that u fabricated instrument
will not acquire validity from registration; yet as we
propose that office copies of registered instruments
may be given in evidence, except where parties re-
quire the original to be produced, we have thought
it expedient to require the attestation or authentica-
tion we have mentioned. This regulation as to the
mode of execution will not be attended with any
expense, and is consistent
.• with the present habits
as to the -execution. of deeds, and it will be some
guard against fraud and forgery.
Out of the number of deeds of all descriptions
' executed (probably exceeding 1.50,000 in every year)
very few cases of forged deeds have been brought
before the Courts in our time. Solicitors, before
whom deeds are brought every day for inspection on
behalf of their clients, never require proof of the
authenticity of the instruments produced, if they
appear to be attested in the usual manner ; and the
possibility of forgery is never taken into considera-
tion in the investigation of titles even of the great-
est value. The difficulties in forging deeds is very
great, and the chance of effecting the object is very
small. In many cases it must be requisite that the
title should be known, and in almost all cases a pro.
fessional man must be employed to draw the deed.
Registration would, indeed, facilitate the acqui-
sition of a knowledge of the title, but the non- •
registration, or long-delayed registration of the in-
strument, would afford strong suspicion as to its
authenticity, and frequently defeat it altogether;
and the forger would scarcely ever be bold enough'
to put the instrument out of his own reach, and into
the power and under the view of those to be de-
frauded by it.
We do not think it necessary to require any au-
thentication of wills. The registration of wills can
afford no facility for fabticating them, but will have
a contrary tendency.

Caveats will stand on a different footing from
other instruments, as they will have the immediate
effect of impeding transactions; yet we think that
caveats need not be authenticated ; they will give
no interest, and the detection of the forgery must
be immediate.

The memorials of judgments, statutes, and recog-
nizances should, we think, be authenticated by the
signature of the proper dicer.
A similar regulation should be made with respect
to the memorials of Crown debts.
The memorials of decrees or orders of Courts of
Equity, and the notices of bill and appeals, may be
authenticated in a similar manner.
Acta of Parliament, and awards under inclosure
Acts, will not require authentication.

AS TO TUE EFFEUT TO BE GIVEN TO REGISTRATION

WITH RESPECT TO PRIORITIES.

Ad every claim on real property, whether legal or
equitable, created by writing, may be put on the
Register so as to afford means of notice to all par-
ties interested, we think it should be enacted that
registered rights acquired for value should be pre-
ferred to unregistered rights, and such registered
rights, whether legal or equitable, should have pre-
ference according to their priority, so that a subse-
quent equitable right shall not obtain precedence
over a prior registered right by tacking to it a legal
right prior to the former on the Register.
Such a rule is actually established in Ireland by-
the effect attributed to a clause in the Irish Act, 6
Anne, e. 2. s. 4.; enacting, that every deed, a tne.
modal whereof shall be registered according to the
Act, shall be effectual, both in law and equity, ue.
cording to the priority of time of registering such
memorial, according to the right, title, awl -inte-
rest of the person conveying the lands in such
deed contained, against every other conveyance
or disposition of the lands comprised in any suct►
memorial as aforesaid. _

• The same effect hits been proposed to be obtained
by a provision which should make registration con-
structive notice. This plan appears open to many
objections ; it would lead to vatious questions, and
we think it not conformable to the spirit of our
law; the present Registers established in Ireland,
and in some of the English counties, and in several
of the Colonies, are held not to constitute notice ;
and the same is the ease with other instruments of
a private nature publicly recorded, as judgments and
decrees and hirolments of deeds. We therefore dis-
approve of this proposal.
Agreeably to the present law, a voluntary con-
.veptoce should not prevail agaiing a conveyance for