The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-02-07
PART OF REPORT OF COMMITTEE
OF THE RESEARCH CLUB.

! countries. adopt a system or register
! ing land title, in place OF the meI
evidence of title, such as deeds, Pre-
bate proceedings, wills, etc.
abolishes the necessity of histories c
title or abstracts, and substitutes
system of insured certificates of title
as certain and prompt as the ordinar
certificates of stock in a corporation.
The objections to the present system
may be summarized, as Expense, De
lay, Insecurity.
Expense, because OF the CONSTANT,
increasing chain of conveyances, AM
consequent expensive abstracts; AM
opinion of counsel on the title.
Delay, because of the necessary alb
stracts, of furnishing evidence to sup
ply the breaks in the record of the
title, and of negotiations to correct de-
fects, opinion of counsel on the title
Insecurity, because of mistakes in
the abstracts, and because a court Of
| law may give an opinion contrary to
! the opinion of counsel (for counsel
| do make mistakes of law Often nc
| counsel can foretell what a jury would
find on the facts, if before him for
| opinion on facts, as well as law. De-
| lay is further occasioned by these de-
fects, and real estate is proverbially a
| "slow" asset.
Experience in Massachusetts indi-
Gates that the Torrens system will cor
rect these defects.
1. 1t will make land quick" asset.
2. Initial registration will be equal
to single transfer under the present
system. In subsequent conveyances
the transfer will be much less. In Or
!:
to three dollars.
8. Promptness. When once regis
tered the transfer or mortgage includ-
ing the examination of the title can
be completed within an hour.
4. The records are simplified and
shortened. No conveyances are re-
corded. deed is only a binding con-
tract to sell and to deliver the certif-
cate of title to the buyer, and an
authority to the buyer to transfer the
title on the registrars books.
In general, the principles of the
Torrens land system in the United
States are:
l. An examination of title by
court of competent jurisdiction, with
actual or constructive notice to all
claimants, and unknown owners.
2. A registration of the map and
the title found upon such examination.
8. Issuance by an administrative
officer of a certificate of such title,
with it's membranes thereon noted.
4. The recalling of such certificate
and the re-registration of title with
every subsequent transfer.
5. The barring of any claims or in
terests in the land not noted on the
original certificate and the copy there
of issued.
6. Indemnity against loss by mis-
take or fraud on the part of the pur-
chaser by a government insurance
fund.
In Canada, further valuable pro-
vision is made in the law, for, in On
tario, there is a procedure for regis
tering the fact that the claimant is in
adverse possession without record
title, claiming to own the premises.
The preliminary certificate merely
proves the fact of adverse possession
from the date of the certificate, which !
would ripen into a registerable title, |
after the lapse of a sufficient period of |
years. In this Territory now, it |
would require ten years before the GER
tificate only could be used to secure a |
vent title being proved by previous
possession in addition thereto, as is /
lone today. 1t is an admirable
method of preserving evidence. We
believe that this is a very valuable adj
lition to the law, if to be introduced
here.
Therefore, we recommend that
statute for registering land titles be
passed for this Territory, that the
statute of Massachusetts be made a
model in adapting the system to the Il
leeds of this Territory, with the addi-
ion Of the possessory title certificate,
IS found in the Province of Ontario.
Following is the appendix to the pre-
report of the committee on
and title registration:
photography relating to this system.
eferring to books accessible in Homo
lIu.
Dumas on Land Title Registration,
ives about four lectures on the history
f the subject.
Jones on Torrens Land System is a
olume of 500 pages, giving the Mani
oba and Ontario Acts, and referring to
,nglish Acts. Owned by Robertson &
Wilder.
Leonard A Jones has written a lead
1g article in the spring of 1902 Civ
lg the condition of the law in the
United States. SO Am. L. r. No. 3.
a valuable collection of articles is
,und in "a Central Law Journal, 281, &C
nd the late news in regard to the do 7
g of Virginia and other states is found r
| 81 Central Law Journal. 461.
The legal decisions upon the subject
/ the United States are the follow e
lg: t
Illinois and Ohio. declared their first @
cts unconstitutional, People VS.. Chase,
IS ILL.,, 526, and State VS.. Guilbert. Sc
hio St. r., SIS. 617. The defects have t
cen remedied and the law sustained in f
eople VS.. Simon, 176 ILL.,, 1855; Douglas 9
5. Westfall, SO Northwestern Reporter.
5 (Minn.), and the leading case of
yler VS.. the Judges, etc, us Mass, l
D; IS Am. St. r., IFS. s
All of the reports are full Of matter c
-hich will be great value to the Legis- I