The Portland daily press., 1894-02-15
LAND TRANSFER REFORM.
Address of Hon. c. f. Libby Before the
Maine State Bar Association.

ASftNSS''N'SN y
ci0tiOn:
The trend of modern thought in many
directions was indicated by The pubic dls-
cussions at the different Congresses OF
professional men, held at chicago our
ing the Worlds Columbian Exhibition,
and the attention OF mem befs OF our
own profession was undoubtedly arrest
ed BY the prominence given at the Real
Estate Congress, to what is known as
the "Austrahanp or "Torrens" System
of registration Of Titles The discuss.
ions at that Congress certainly empha-
sized the fact that the present method OF
transferring title to real estate IS unsat-
isfactory and burdensome, on account OF
the uncertainty, expense and delay con-
nected with the transfer. When we con-
slider how great these difficulties are IN
the large centres of population IN this
country, it is not strange that people are
beginning to inquire whether some BET
ter method has not been or cannon De
found. There is reason TO believe tina
a remedy has been found. and has stood
the test of many years. trial in English
speaking communities. 1t has been the
subject of investigation by parliament
airy and legislative committees, ana tne
literature of the subject is to be founo III
so may legal magazines and other per
odicals that the general features OIL Tue
system can hardly have escaped the aO-
tention of any students in our profession.
md VET / am inclined to think tnaG Ine
details of that system have been lnVesb4-
gated by but comparatively rev OF our
number, Nhilel may seem TO pc bTea1-
ing rather trite subject IN undertaR 4i
To disouss the merits of the SO called Tor
rens system. | can but believe that tue
matter is of sufficient Importance to the
nrofesson and to the public to justify me
in occupying part of your time with
that subject at this annual meeting. MY
object is not to attempt to gamer new
materials or present new points OF view,
but rather to CLEAN in field where
OTHERS have labored, and to extract from
the materials furnished by them, such
portions as will enable you TO under
stand what the Torrens System OF Regis
trauion means, and the evils which it is
intended to remedy. In doing so, shall
not attempt to specify always where
credit is due, but make: reference n an
appendix to the sources IroH WHICH
have drawn.
A consideration of some of the difficult
ties which attend the search of d title
under our system of registration of deeds
may naturally lead to better apprecla-
ton of the Torrens System itself. Regis
traton of deeds, which was introduced
by the early colonists OF New England,
has been SO long in vogue in this coun-
try. and SO generally adopted, that we are
naturally led to assume that it has mani
fest advantages over all other systems OF
land transfer, and especially over 5ys-
tenn where evidences of title are not
spread upon the public records. Ara yet
SO distinguished an authority as Aora
Cairns. when introducing into Parma
meut bill for forming Landed Estates
Court for England declared that the
objections to a Register OF Deeds are SO
manifest that hardly any person IN the
present day would venture to propose
it.'' He further said: 1T would not
simplify title in the least. 1t only puts
on a formal record the Whole OF tha IL
multitude of deeds and conyeyances, OF
the extent and complexity of which
we already have SO much reason to COM
plain. You have to Investigate ana
search as before; in addition to that.
you have to pay for searches IN the Reg
lister, and also to pay, in some shape OF
other. the expense of placing the deeds
nnon itn And we are to bear i'll mind
that these declarations are made with
the experience of a Register of Deeds IN
both Middlesex and Yorkshire Counties
in England; of the value OF which an
other English lawyer has said: III TINS
antiduated and useless kind OF remedy
had anything to recommeho II, We
should find that Middlesex and YORK
shire were preferred to other counties
by intending purchasers. Experience
shows, on the contrary, that no value IS
set on the Deeds-Register, while the ex-
pense of all transactions is appreclaply
increased in those counties without any
corresponding benefit to those con
cerned." While we would not be willing
to adopt the English system, under
which conveyancing is SO expensive as
to affect seriously the selling value OF
real estate, especially where small par
GELS are involved, yet it must be admit
ted that there is some GROUND 1or Ihe
criticism. The difficulty with our sys-
tenn is that it does not show with any
certainty what it purports to do, and
that is, the legal title, and Ghe lniofma-
tion it has to give is so involved with ex-
traneous matter that the search Itself Is
tedious and costly, and must be supple
mented by careful inquiry as TO matters
outside of the record In order TO attain
even proximate certainty in the results.
What this search means in the large cen
tres of population in this country, we
can readily see by considering the sltua-
tion in cities like Boston, Chicago and
New York: and what is true OF these
cities, is true in a lesser degree In small
er communities. In the county OF
Suffolk. 1913 record books sufficed for the
recording of all deeds and other instru-
ments in that country, from the esta b.
lishment of the registry in 1850 to the
1900 Ninety years later, the number
had increased to 1874 large folio vol
umes, of over 600 pages each, and THIS
number is increasing at tie rate of more
than 60 volumes year. Since the de-
structlon of the books 10 the Registry OF
Deeds blythe great fire in Chicago in 1871
there have accumulated in the recorder $
Office in Cook county, more than 400
large books of records of deeds and mort
cages; and at the present rate of annual
Increase the books will soon be SO num-
erous as to require large building fol
their keeping in New York city the
accumulation of record books has become
SO great in the Registry of Deeds that
searches of title can no longer be carried
OH by private persons, but recourse must
be had to official searchers. who are
aided by supplemental indexes prepared
by themselves. In that State, an at
tempt has been made to simplify and
classify these records. by adopting what
is known as the Block" System of reg
istration, by which deeds and other in
suruments are classified and indexed ac-
cording to the location of the property.
While this is partial remedy, it by no
means remedies the evils due to length
ening chain Of title, where no part is
stronger than the weakest link. Ii any
registration system, the expense and
LABOR increase as time goes on, and in
nopulous cities, where real estate has
$50 ~ ,,reat yalue the time and