The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-18 00:00:00

chase money was generally required to bo paid at a par-
ticular place on a particular day. The conditions to
which he alluded practically meant that the purchaser
must determine for himself whether he was going
to purchase a law-suit or an estate with a
good title. In nine cases out of ten they meant that the
purchaser should not object to the title, in case there
might be hereafter some different construction put
upon what lawyers called an obscure will. (Hear.)
Purchasers should not object because of procuring that
testament, and he should be bound to accept the title
although he or his descendants should be ousted from
the possession by some flaw in that obscure will.
The conditions of sale practically meant that a purchaser
should not object if it might thereafter turn out that a
particular man or a particular woman was not born in
wedlock. In fact the whole character of those condi-
tions of sale peculiar to Ireland, and the natural conse-
quences of the condition of the law by which real pro-
perty was disposed di at present in Ireland, really were to
involve every purchaser of land in Ireland in all the eources
and seeds of litigation arising from the course of careless
conveyancing which now existed, and which bad been
now increasing for centuries in Ireland. The whole
effect of that accumulation of small incumbrances, in
consequence of the practice so general in Ireland of
continuing those old incumbrances on record, of con-
tinually making them the subject of transfer, in conse-
quence of the imperfect registration system with reference
to landed titles, and the absence of a registration system
with reference to charges on land, together with the le-
gislation of that House with reference to judgment debts
(.7 and 8 Vict., cap. 90). The natural consequence of
that anomalous condition of the law must be to deterio-
rate the selling value of the landed property in Ireland.
—(Hear.) He would venture to say there was no Member
of the bar of either country who would not undertake
to ride with confidence upon the construction, operation,
and effect of the statute to which he had just referred.
There was no prudent or rational man in Ireland
who would not shrink from investing capital
in the purchase of property in Ireland, so
long as he was obliged to purchase on
conditions which would expose him and his children to
future children. The proceedings in the Master'S-offide
to sell an estate must strike every rational man as the
very opposite of that which every prudent auctioneer
would recommend. After the conditions of sale had been
settled the estates were put up for sale at a particular
place and on a particular day. The sale must take place
at that place and time, according to the rules of the
Court of Chancery. Now he contended that the
Master might be at liberty to sell the estate subsequently
to that particular time it he had the opportunity, even
thought it might be the result of private and prolonged
treaty, so long as the parties interested in the pro-
perty were prepared to ratify the Master's proceeding,
He warned the House of the danger of legislating with
reference to questions purely Irish, but more especially
those which had relation to the tenure of land, without a
perfect knowledge of the nature and operation of the laws
of property—he warned them not to do so without con-
sulting practical men, well versed in the laws with regard
to property in Ireland. He gave credit to the Solicitor-
General for the introduction of the Incumbered
Estates Bill of last year. It had accomplished
much good, and so long as it remained unrepealed per-
sons would be prevented from lending money upon pro-
perty already deeply, if not irretreivably, mortgaged.
Nothing—not even the prophecies of the most sanguine
Minister of the Crown—would induce many of the landed
proprietors of Ireland to believe that their property
really was their own ; indeed, the Emperor of China
had as much right to the properties of many of the
lauded propietors of Ireland as they themselves had.
There were estates in Ireland with which he was well
acquainted, which if sold at their highest value were
wholly unequal to the payment of the principal and
interest now charged upon them. The Bill, how-
ever, threw some impediments, such as compelling
the mortgagor to search for judgments against
him, in the way of the transfer of land which it would
be well to remove. Now it was most desirable that the
utmost facility should be given to the embarkation of
capital in incumbered estates ; care :hould be taken to
remove every obstacle, and to give the capitalist the
utmost security in his investment. (Hear, hear.)
He wished the House to bear in mind that there was no
subject connected with Ireland that was more im-
portant than the state of agriculture ; as long as
they shrunk from the consideration of the question,
all their efforts by poor-rates or otherwise, would be of
tehdrotueghdetahle wmitehd themedium
o f c
he could assure
them that all their efforts would fail. Ho thought the
proper
nhnetry
Incumberedn werehrEe rsi t daeetsettesartmepsi
course to be pursued was to appoint a commis-
sion and refer to them all litigated claims, and
t i
questionatThaei l
those claims might be decided under the Act
that constituted the commission, and all doubt and
difficulty w ould be then removed, and no ques-
tion would be raised as to the legitimacy
of one part or the other, and a good
title could bo given to the purchaser. He wished to call
the attention of the House to tge statements of Mr.
Senior, one of the Masters of the Court of Chancery in
this country. Now, what was that gentleman's opinion
with respect to the incumbrances on land in this country?
vAleyn Seniorancin
gsays,imposes
s"I am awaregreatdiffic hutltya,t thegrea s
t! texspemnseo,f con-
veyancing
delay, and great uncertainty upon the transfer of land.
Thore is scarcely a title marketable in the legal sense of
the term, meaning a title without a flaw ; scarcely any
title that is not subject to some legal doubt. A
man who has agreed to sell a field for 300/.
does not know that he has not contracted to spend 5001.
in proving his title, while he who has agreed to buy
does not know that he has contracted to spend 500/. in
getting the title approved. England is the only civilized
country requiring a 60 or even a 40 years'
title. In every country but this the transfer
of prop( rty was made through a notary's
book, but the land is transferred in the same
way as stock. He had in his hand a return
very indicative of the condition into which agricul-
ture was rapidly
falling in Ireland ; this was a re-
turn from seine extensive lime quarries in one of
the most flourishing agricultural districts in Ire-
land. These quarries were situated in the county
of Kilkenny. In 1845 these quarries sold 160,223
barrels of lime, but since then there had been
a gradual diminution
in the sales in every
successive year, and in the last year, 1848, they
had fallen to 24 793 barrels. He could not state
suits
that twenty yearn was
Court not
to the House a fact which established more clearly
than this how rapidly the agricultural interest of Ireland
was falling. It might be thought an exaggeration, but
ri neverthelessusual
periodit
for u
was true
Chancery to extend to when they related to
the sale or transfer of landed property.—(Hear.)
All the cases he had referred to were in the Court of
an
u
Chancery; but be would now mention one in the Court
of Exchequer. He had not selected any exceptionable
instance; he had taken them indiscriminately from a large
number of cases which had come under his own personal
observation. If it had been necessary he could have
placed before the House instances of delay, and of the evils
arising from the present system, far greater than any
which he had yet adduced. The case to which he wished
to refer was that of Power v, Power, in which
the amount paid to the lawyers was 7,0001, being at the
rate of 62 per cent. upon the yearly income ofrttibesEroon,
perty which was the subject-matter
ofltLation
There was one instance of the enormous landed
which the present legal system imposed up
practical
proprietors, and he was satisfied that nod
to enhance the
pct
move-
ment could be originated more calculated
value of landed possessions, and more calculated to do
away with this legal nuisance than
a measure to facili-
tato an efficacious and speedy transfer of property
in Ireland. It cost the receiver in one instance no
less than 2082 to evict a tenant who owed 521. for rent,
and to obtain possession of his farm. He would only
now trouble the House with an instance of the sacrifice
endured by a landowner who instituted what
was called an " amicable suit," which was instituted
generally at the suit of a friendly creditor, in
order to enable the inheritor to pay his debts.
There were twenty-three answers. In the course of na-
ture a defendant occasionally died, and on the death of
a defendant, however amicably disposed his representa-
tives might be, a bill of revivor and supplement became
necessary. There was a "decree to account" obtained
three years after the institution of the suit,
which must have been prosecuted in perfect
good faith and with great energy. Nothing but the
most extraordinary energy on the part of the profes-
sional men engaged in that proceeding could have ob-
tained a " decree to account" in three years after the
filing of the original bill. There was a decree for a sale
of the property in 1839. A portion of the
estate to pay the debts, amounting to 17,0001.
was offered for sale in 1839, the same year
as the decree for a sale was pronounced. That portion
was purchased for a sans of about 25,0004, but from the
technical objections made by purchasers great delays
took place in trying to complete the titles. The pur-
chasers availed themselves of all manner of difficulties,
and got out of the sales. The same lands, with the
same title, and with the same conditions of sale, were set
up again in in 1845, but not being then likely from the
fall in the price of land and the " liables" on the title to
produce enough to pay the debts, additional lands were
added, and a sale effected at a loss of 27 per cent.
(Hear, bear.) Aseording to the practice and usage
of the court the purchaser was compelled to lodge
one-fourth of the purchase-money to abide the struggle
and conflicts, which imposed in many cases an objection-
able and defective title on him ; and in this instance
the investment amounted to 22,0001. odd. When
the estate came to be sold for the purpose of
distributing the purchase-money among the parties
entitled to it, it only produced 19,6001. If they longer
entrusted the Court of Chancery with the administration
of incumbered estates he had no hesitation in saying
that great injustice would be done to the mort-
gagor, the tenant, and all persona who had
an interest in these estates. As the Solicitor-General
intended to introduce a measure to modify the Act of last
session, which had given general dissatisfaction, he
would mention a few facts with respect to the working
of that measure. He referred to the case of " Gold-
smith v. Glengell," entitled " An Irish Cre-
ditor's Suit," in which there were no less
than 180 defendants. An attempt was made to
make the whole of the suits which arose in the
cause depend upon the issue of the first. The