The Sun.
London, England, 1830-08-26 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 26, 1830.

Toner being, a. lawyer, the matter never went before a
Jury. When confined in Ilchester gaol, he caused inquiry
to be made as to certain inquests held in the gaol, and
some extraordinary facts came out in evidence. He be-
lieved that many a murder had been committed in prison
which had never been brought to light, for want of an
honest Coroner. • He thought that by returning Mr. Wak-
ley the freeholders would do themselves more honour than
they ever had done themselves by any proceeding they had
ever adopted. They had attained immortal honour in
electing Mr. Hume as their parliamentary representative,
but that was comparatively nothing to the manner in
which they would distinguish themselves by the election
of Mr. Wakley to the office of Coroner for the County ;
because an individual more highly gifted with talents
adapted to such an office could not be found.—(Applause.)
Several other highly-respectable gentlemen, principal!)
of the medical profession, but also consisting of tradesmen
and lawyers, addressed the meeting in furtherance of its
object ; and, after a number of resolutions had been carried
without a single dissenting voiceor hand, a Committee was
formed, who are to sit daily at the Crown and Anchor, and
the meeting broke up.

never conclusive, and In many cases it cannot be
had. A change of the possession of the title-deeds
does not, and cannot, always follow the creation of
an interest in land. In case of a settlement by a te-
nant in fee, who retains an estate for life, the deeds
are not parted with ; in this case the presumption
fram the possession of the title-deeds altogether fails.
There are other cases of the creation of partial inte-
rests, in which the deeds are retained by the party
entitled to the possession of the land. And, where
deeds relate to land which has become divided as to
ownership, it is obvious that they can attend the
possession of only one part of the land. So, secon-
dary and reversionary estates or charges are:not ac-
companied with the possession of the deeds. Be-
sides, duplicates are often executed of important
deeds, such as settlements ; these sometimes afford to
more than one party at the same time, the presump-
tion of ownership, arising from the possession of
the deeds.
Vi shall proceed to mention some of the various
cases, in *Nob (else titles are most easily made by
Suppression of documents.
The seller or mortgagor may have been the abso-
lute owner of the fee simple, and may produce the.
instruments by which his ownership was constituted;
but he may have executed some settlement, by
which his interest has been reduced to a tenancy
for life. The possession of the estate and of the
title deeds will have remained unchanged; and in
order to impose on a purchaser, or lender of money,
he need only .keep back the settlement.
Again, the seller or mortgagor may be heir-at-law
of the fast proprietor, and may claim as such heir,
and may suppress u will giving him a limited inte-
rest.; or he may be heir-at-law, or general devisee,
of some deceased proprietor, who may have made a
settlement giving him a limited interest, and he may
claim as such heir or devisee, and may suppress the
settlement.
A proprietor in possession may have mortgaged
the estate, and having withholden or got back the
'deeds on some pretext from the mortgagee, and thus
being in possession of the deeds, or else plausibly
accounting for their non-production, and concealing
the mortgage, he may offer the property as an unin-
cumbered security.
Again, a settlement may have been executed,
limiting a life-interest to the hu..bund, with power to
appoint the estate to the issue of the marriage as he
may think proper, and giving it, in default ofappoint-
ment, to the eldest son in fee or in tail. The eldest
son, after the death of his father, may take posses-
sion of the property claiming under the limitation in
default of appointment; he may sell it or mortgage
it ; yet an appointment may have been made, under
which the seller or mortgagor may have no estate,
or a life estate only, or an estate charged with por-
tions for younger children.
Again, various instances may occur, in which re-
vocation of former appointments may be suppressed,
and the revoked appointments may be produced as
giving a title.
These are some of the cases in which the oppoi,
tunity of fraud, by the suppression of deeds, most
frequently occurs, and in which no special state of
circumstances is requisite.
In most of the cases we have referred to, and in
many others of a similar description, which might
easily be mentioned, where a putty is desirous of
committing a fraud, the fraud can be practised with-
out difficulty ; it requires no skill, no acquaintance
with the technical operation of legal instruments, no
accomplice; and in most of the cases discovery is
not likely to be immediate, mid frequently not to
take place, until after the death of the patty prac-
tising the fraud.
But it is important to observe that the same mis-
chief may arise, without intentional suppression or
fraud, from accident, inadvertence, or ignorance.
The deed not produced may have been misled or
forgotten ; it may have been executed by a deceased
party, and deposited with a stranger, and its exist-
ence may be unknown until it is casually discovered,
or it may have been omitted to be Nought forward
by the person in whose custody it was, front his not
keowing. the nature of the deed, or not understand-
ing its effect.
The suppression, loss, or non-production we have
adverted to, may have taken place during any of the
successive ownerships through which the. property
has passed during the whole period necessary for
making a title.
Notwithstanding the dangers thus to be en•
countered, a person who has entered into a contract
of purchase in the usual way, without any informa-
tion as to the title, is compelled to fulfil his contract,
unless he can object to the title shown ; the pos.
sible existence of documents unproduced not being a
ground of defence.
No doubt can be entertained that the mischiefs
which might be expected to flow from such a suite
of things exist to an extent which ssould alarm the
holders and purchasers of lands, if they were aware
of the risk to which they are exposed ; told that in
a great number of instances estates, and especially
securities for money, are defeated in consequence of
latent effects of title arising from the non-production
of documents. Au examination of the Appendix to
this Report, and of that to 'our former Report, we
believe will afford abundant evidence on this head,
although it is to be observed that, owing to various
causes, it is difficult to produce many instances svell
authenticated. Cases which come into Courts of
Justice do not appear in the printed Reports, unless
they furnish occasion to lay down some new prin-
ciple of law; yet the records of conflicts between
persons, who have taken successive securities on the
same land, are sufficiently numerous : indeed, many
of our text books contain distinct heads, with sub-
divisions referring to decided cases on various parts
of the general subject. It is to be observed, that
in most instances the case is so free from doubt, that
the party against whom a document is brought for.
ward, yields without a straggle, or upon terms of
compromise, often without even taking the opinion
of Counsel; and the professional agents employed
on each side either keep no exact memorial of the
transaction, or, for various reasons, may be supposed
to be. unwilling to bring it to the public notice. It
may be confidently said, however, that there is
scarcely a professional man of considerable standing
who has not met in his own practice with instances,
or at least had some brought within his observation.
But a very inadequate estimate will be formed of
the evils of the present system from merely consi-
deringthe cases, in which a loss actually does arise
to purchasers or mortgagees, from titles proving de-
fective in consequence of the suppression of deeds;
it is a consideration of the greatest importance, end
one which presents the existing evil in the strongest
light, that in all transactions respecting 'sales and
mortgagees of real property, suppression of title is
treated as a risk to be apprehended, and against
which it; is the . duty of the
instituted
In the process
of a professional
to ionaltc g;hard lay every means iu hit aligeio:elesti title,
r.it
anyay only
eritar e
en,clitevit,ehr document,
ielj;pietliier,s,isnnc
existence
tahlite%l:lle.oiri
bi)yuta of
various
yariroosuss,3l,l
tend sources of information, existing generally or in
from the o
particular . cases,
cctt pie arer
of h resortedte o'
Inquiries are made
lands and from persons
who 114141 long dwelt in the neighbourhood ; county
odtaeuunetit:lt;:slito:fejiolatirislt.,:ghitglitis:).(ateli:ultrtttistsexsfe:,:osi rtrseleessments, awards under mega. the Crown, grants of ennui.
ties, records of fines end recoveries, enrolments of

assignment, operates as a protection against secret'
The mode in which a terra, attendant by express'
' estates and Astir§ may be thus illustrated :—Tho
owner of the inheritance, with the benefit of an 'at,
tetulant term, makes a settlement or a mortgage; op
confesses a judgment, and no step brisket) to matte
the term a protection to the settlement, tko ; ft, I
lie afterwards conveys the inheritanee Lou pur.el it
no not 14'er
for valuable consideration,
,who has
these acts of the vendor, situ who takes the ft,,le.„6„ftt
tiou of obtaining the command of the teiml-1,;":
assignMent of it to a trustee for his belnitfit. if au:
jargons claiming UM or the settlement, tscc„
inotittnt
1I
proceedings against the purchaser for tl I* 1
.
ment of their claims, he may deterit is'ebt" )113
l;
fur a long
setting up the term. The term basingl himself
h'
period--generally for mu)
yhundred years—operate*
virtually as a bar to these claims.
The term being kept on Foot,
mit su ce * ,
chaser for valuable convid ' withoutlsal" Pm
may,
by
having
it
lasi
ned eration, notice
t.O a trustee of his °wit
110Mitititi011, avail himselfg
nil
aerates
and
, of it as a protection -against
i charges made from the time of its
ereutiot athe '
„
1 .OWII to time of his purchase.' 4
It is obvious that the term to be inside Use of as
a protection must be AAOh As will confer-the right to
the possession,