The San Francisco call., 1896-02-10

i
ana the Registrar nave made mistake. Be-
| lore b can make known his claim has trans
| Ierr ed the property to c, who OF course relies
upon the certificate and takes absolute title.
Has B right to proceed in an action at law
10 set the transfer aside? Unless some pro-
vision were made in the act for this con-
ungency, the answer must be eyes," because
otherwise the Registrar would have usurped
the functions of judge; that is, when he pre-
tenos to decide as between and he is really
| exercising judicial function, and it not being
In accordance with due process OF law the pro-
ceeding is nullity. To obviate this the fol-
| lowing section is incorporated in the act:
| "Al dealings with the land or any estate
| therein, after the same has been brought
under this act, and all liens, incumbrances and
charges upon the same subsequent 10 the first
registration Thereof, shall be admitted to be
| subject to the terms OF this act and TO such
amendments and alterations as may hereafter
| be made. The bringing OF land under this act
| shall imply an agreement which snail run
with the land that the same shall be subject to
| the terms of the act and all amendments and
all alterations thereof"
In other words, by bringing his land under
| this act the owner makes an agreement that
the registrar may supervise all transfers OF
title that may hereafter take place.
| The registrar is created an arbitrator Tor the
! purpose OF deciding those, questions. 1t has
| frequently been held that an agreement to
submit matter to arbitration; as, for exam
| pie, the ordinary arbitration clause in insur-
| ance policies, is valid, and although this ques-
| tion must first be decided in the courts before
absolute safety is felt, it would seem to be
valid condition; at least such was the opinion
| OF the eminent constitutional lawyers who
passed upon the Illinois act
| The provision extending the statute for five
| years to minors and infants is one which has
| occasioned much difficulty. Ordinarily, of
course, the statute of limitations itself does not
run as against person who is under disable
ity. But if we were to except minors or luna
/ tics from the operation of this act 1T would be
necessary to examine every title, for certainty
could not exist long as there was possi-
bility of an adverse claim.
| No clear starting point can be had which
does not cut off all claimants alike. This sec
| ton was taken from the burnt record act of
| Illinois, already referred to as amended in
1887. and which amendment has thus far
| proved satisfactory.
The certificate granted by the Registrar is an
| absolute guarantee of title. Should the Regis
| trar and his examiners make mistake the
| State is responsible But it is urged that if A
succeeds in getting certificate to land to which
| B is justly entitled, may not wish to have
| damages merely, but may wish his Identical
land restored. II may be homestead or dwell
| ing to which he is particularly attached. To
this the answer is the possibilities of error are
very few. In the course of eighteen years in
New South Wales and Tasmania not single
| claim has been made against the Government.
There is of course the possibility of a certlf-
cate being forged, but this exists to even
greater extent in the present system. and the
| cases at present in which a notary has been de-
| ceived as to the identity OF the person making
| the oath are exceedingly rare.
| So long as A retains the title B is not in any
way prevented from still recovering the land
| from him in an action. But if transfers it to
| G, an innocent holder, then is compelled to
| make his claim for damages to the State.
In Australia there has been created an lnsur-
ance fund and q tax of one-fifth of per cent is
| levied upon every transfer for the purpose of
| indemnifying the Government. This feature
has not been incorporated in the Illinois sys-
! tenn, owing to the fiye-year limitation clause.
Where, as in Australia, arb rbitrary time was
! fixed, it was found necessary TO guard against
| the possibility of mistake, but it was thought
in Illinois that the five-year clause would give
ample opportunity for adjusting every possible
case.
| The limits of this paper forbid detailed ex-
animation of all the features of the act. Once
| given conclusive starting point, its workings
appear to be simple and perfectly feasible, and
| 1t seems to be- in the opinion OF the best real
| estate lawyers who have seen the plan in
actual operation, that there is no insurmount
able objection to the application OF the system
I to his State and country.
| 1t is commonly urged that the fact that sit
has worked remarkably well in Australia,
where the source OF title is very near and where
| the complications in transfers are very few, is
no argument for its adaptabiity to this coun-
try.
| Lord Coieridge, late Chief Justice of England,
in 1872 in speaking of the applicability of this
| system to England declared he ''had never
| been able to perceive the obstacle to applying
| to land the system of transfer which answered
SO well when applied TO shipping. but as his
| learned brethren one and all had declared that
| to be impossible he had become impressed
! with the belief that there must be something
wrong with his intellect, he failed to per-
| ceive the imposslbility. The remarkably clear
and logical paper which was read by Sir r. R.
Torrens relieved him from that painful i'm
| preston, and the statistics of the successful
| working of his system in Australia amount to
demonstration, so that the man who denies
| the practicability of applying it might as well
deny that and make 4.
1t seems to me that with US in California the
application OF the system should be particu-
| larly easy We have had, under the control of
our Spanish land grants, a well-known instance
of an attempt TO form conclusive starting
point by the application to the commission of
No SfI no 90 fl-nl, xyf.t1
State, and whatever errors are upon our
land title records will be perpetuated as time
goes on. 1t is certainly subject for considera-
tion as to the advisability of thorough study
of this question in order to impress the Legis-
lature with its Importance.
REVIEW OF THE RECORDS.
The most important loan made the past
week was of $150,000 to Adolph Sutro for
one year at 6h per cent by the Hibernia
Savings and Loan Society, on blocks $40,
671, SIT, 676, 1853, 764 and 765, and portions
of blocks 667. 62S, 669, 672, 667, 668, 669
and 672, outside lands land a lot at the south
east corner of street and Seventh avenue,
and another at the northest corner of J
street and Seventh avenue. Other large
loans were:
By the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society,
for one year at 615 per cent, $4,000 on lot
lot 80 :413x32; lot on the east line of Valencia,
103 south of Quinn, S0x50; lot on the east
line of Valencia, 80 south of Quinn, 23:SxS0;
lot on the east line of Valencia, 165 north of
Fourteenth, east $50, north POS, west
80 :7s4, etc, and lot on the east line
of Valencia, 55 Is south of Quinn, 47:4x80;
$50, 900 TO E. f. Preston, on property on the
south line. of Post street, 275 east of Grant
avenue, 81 :6x62:6; $4,000 to the Oakland
Freight and Transfer Company, on property
on the southea line of Bluxome street, l:S
northeast of Fifth, 81 :Sx120; and by the Ger
man Savings and Loan Society, $4,000 for
one year at 81 per cent, on q lot 25x125 on
the west line OF Castro street. 90 north of
Twenty-first, lot 50x125 on the east line of
Sanchez street, 150 north of Fourteenth, and
a lot 250x125 on the west line of Castro street,
ITO north of Twenty-frst.
The largest release granted last week
was by Alexander Boyd and Jacob y.
Davis Of $3.50, 900 against the property of e.
j. Baldwin, ct the northeast corner of
Market and Powell streets. Other i'm por-
tant releases were:
BY the German Savings and Loan Society,
$4,000 to Christian Gehert on property on the
northwest corner of Webster and O'FaIrell,
62:6xS7 IS; by the same bank 10 Joseph Ross,
$11 900 on property on the south line OF Bush,
1877 IS east Of Stockton, AS :10x137;6 and $13,-
900 on property ON the west line of Cough, 125
north OF McAliister, 25x1U0; also a lot on the
1