The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-07-10
Too Many Words.

during the year 1910, there were re-
corded in the Registers office in New
York city about twelve thousand deeds,
including hereunder leases, contracts,
or other Instruments, and about six
thousand mortgages The average cost
of recording d decd was 81 25 Of a
mortgage - -. SO that during one
year about $4,000 was paid to tire
Register for recording instruments in
his Office. Paid 20 what purpose
Largely Tor copying into books > vast
mass OF supcriluous words. Old set
phrases which have come down to us
from bygone times when, as Steele says.
tautolo@y was the first, the second, the
third excellence in lawyer. "The
universal practice is to extend deed
by means OF repetitions, Pathology and
circnmlocution The origin of this abuse
is to be traced to the cupldity of con-
veyancers.
Eighteen thousand times in one year
in one office Were written and paid for
these words, ''hath granted, bargained,
sold. aliened, remised, released, con-
veyed and confirmed, and by these
premises doth grant, bargain, sell, alien,
remise, release, convey and confirm"
Here are twenty-four words, which, if
written $4,000 times, make 432, 900
words, for copying which owners of real
estate paid some 5000. OF what use
are theyl None whatever say | Rev.
Stat. 74S, see l. 1t is there provided
''every grant or devise of real estate or
any interest therein hereafter to be exc
cuted shall pass all the estate or interest
OF the grantor or testator unless the in
tent to pass less estate or interest
shall appear by express terms, or be
necessarily implied in the terms of such
grant Why, then, is it necessary to
use more than one word, John Doe
grants to Richard Roe! Instead of
twenty-four words, ono. Instead of
1872, 900 only $4,000; instead of 5000,
less than $50. The word "grant" would
suffice for mortgage as well as deed,
for the qualification of the estate would
"appear by express terms" Still, as
there is in common speeches, the words
deed, mortgage, which have a well
recognized legal meaning, why not use
them john Doe "deeds" to Richard
Doe, John Doe mortgages to Richard
Roe
The foregoing is an illustration drawn
from only one part of the deed 1t
could be drawn from any and every part.
Useless repetition which, day after day,
year after year, is accommodating in our
record offices, necessitates the use OF
thrice as many books as need be. 1t Is
injuring our profession. Every dollar
given to mechanical labor therein is ii
dollar taken from brain labor. Every
dollar Of useless expense attending the
transfer of real estate letters it just so
much, and in the end we lose by it.
The drawing OF deed has come to be
wholly perfunctory thing, except the
filling up of the blanks properly. We
no longer charge for the printed part.
Why then continue the use of words for
which We are not paid when the only
reason they We're originally used was to
get an increase of payl Mr.. Barbour,
in his Chancery Practice, recognizes the
force of this rule in an amusing way.
In one of his later editions, in note to
form for creditors bill, he naively
says that, the compensation per folio for
drafting bills in equity having been
abolished, he has shortened the form as
much as possible.
There are in full covenant warranty
deed Of city lot, under our present
forms, about thousand words; in a
mortgage, containing interest and in
surance clauses about seventeen hundred
words. The description of city lot
rarely takes over one hundred and fifty
words deducting these which are a
constant quantity, l venture to affirm
that jus1Rs valid instruments, containing
all the essence, but stripped of the YER
biage, can be drawn with fourth of the
words, making a saving of three fourths.
Corr. Albany Law Journal.