The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-30 00:00:00

ward the Ministerial plan for facilitating the Sale of
Incumbered Estates in : •
to admit the project to be possessed of all toe quali-
ties attributed to it by romantic expectetion ;—a man
may be allowed to doubt the certainty of its Lein}; the
absolute and grand panacea fur which fr,land has
been waiting for uncounted centuries ; and
still there will be no denying that there is in it much
of the boldness which tempts success, and that it
points to further movements which must be resultant
in the end.
The plan amounts to setting up an effectual Court
of Chancery ;—one which shall work and do work, and
this in the life of man, instead of leaving the results,
like changes in the elements of the heavenly bodies,
to comparison by posterity. Disputed or incumbered
estates, on the application of any of the disputants,
are under the discretion of the new Court to be sold,
and the proceeds divided according to such scale of
equity as shall be provided or determined, all such de-
cisions to be thenceforth a good title. Upon which
the question arises, why something of the same
kind cannot be done in other cases. There is
a general impression that in this country,
nobody, speaking generally, likes to show his titles
to land. Everybody suspects weakness, in what
nobody has taken effectual measures to make clear
and strong. Why then should there not be a general
agreement to start from a new point? Assign a
Moderate term for the announcement of claims
against the actual holders; with provision of
Course for lodging and registering now-existing re-
versionary and contingent claims as well as others, but
with penalties, or rights of action for them, against ma-
licious claimants. And to such property as at the end
of that period is not disputed, give a title which shall
be good thenceforth ; with provision for the registra-
tion and consequent ready proof of future transfers.
The objection to registration has hitherto been, that
it would rake up dangerous claims. But it is better
to take the chance of what may be raked up in a limited
term, with the prospect of security where none shall
arise, than to live from father to son in insecurity.
Where claims within the proposed term are made, the
Court must try its powers ; but in a large proportion of
cases, it isjpresumable claims would not appear. It might
be possible to write a novel, where the heir or heiress
to large estates should be spirited away and carried
into the dominions of Prester John, to the prevention of
putting in their claims within the limited time. But
to chances of this nature may be applied the doctrine,
that de minimis non curat lex. The substantial mass
must not be sacrificed, through fear of romantic
exceptions.
There is in this to attract an interest to the further
progress of the plan.
On Friday the Poor-laws (Ireland) (Rate in Aid)
Bill was considered in Committee and reported. An
amendment proposing to take the rate from the land-
lord, was supported only by a miserable minority of
31 against 101. It is astonishing how hard men fight
for the first dip into the dish ; though when the
tables happen to be turned, they are fluent in protest-
ing that all that is taken from the operative or the
tenant is virtually taken from the landowner. The
House met on Saturday to receive the report.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
AN OLD REFORMER.
London, April 30, 1849.

THE LEGAL TITLE ASSURANCE
COMPANY.

(Provisionally- Registered, January 17, 1849.)
Capital, 2,000,000/., in 80,000 Shares, of 251. each.
Preliminary Deposit, 2s. 6d. per Share
Prospectuses and full information may be obtained at the Tempo-
rary Offices of the Company, 13A, Cannon-row, Westminster, on ap-
plication to

G. F. HOWE, lon. Sec., pro tern