The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-01-11
REPORT Of
LAND COURT.
Judge Weaver informs
the Chief Justice
OF Work.

Judge P. L. Weaver of the Court of
Land Registration, the first to fill that
position, has made a report to the Hon.
w. F. Frear, Chief Justice of the Ter
ritory. Judge Weaver was appointed
| by Governor Dole on July q. 1903, and
| was advised by the Governor and
| council that the expense appropria-
| ton for the court was available for the
| expenses of a visit by him to the Court
of Land Registration at Boston, to
prepare himself for the organiza ton
of the court The trip was made and
a complete set of books and blanks
| Ut released, but the Auditor refused to
pay any bill contracted during the six
months ending December 81, 1903, and
the account of travelling expenses and
procurement of records is still unpaid
The court opened for business on
October 10, 1903. From then to Janu-
airy 1, 1904, six applications were made,
one for a city lot in Honolulu valued at
$4,000 and five for new sugar plan
tations on Maui with an area of about
5000 acres assessed at IS an acre.
From Jan. 1, 1904, to Jan. 1, 1905, IS
applications were made, % of which
described town or city lots and coun-
try lands. The former included the
town site of Wahiawa. The country
lands include 1904 acres of hui land
at Holualoa, Kona to which there are
about 400 conveyances to abstract.
There are also lands on Maui and Ca
hu. 1.-THE land act in it's present form, -
Judge Weaver says, sis not well adapt
ed ito the registry of title in hui lands
and some remedial legislation for that
purpose in needed apart from the land
act During 1904, thirteen applica-
tions We're completely disposed of, and
the remainder are in various stages of
disposition.
The tnirty-four applications made de-
scribe 1O.2SS acres of country land as
sessed at 100000, and 72,50S square feet
of town property assessed at $296,O0O'
making a total of $4,000 as the as
sessed value of realty.
Judge Weaver gives the very favor
able comparison of the Hawaiian with
the Massachusetts court, for the first
year of each, which has already been
published in the Advertiser. He shows !
the land cases In the Firs Circuit !
Court for 1904 as being twenty-eight /,
in number, with seven verdicts render /
ed and twenty-one cases unfinished,
comparing the record with thirty-four
petitions in the lard court, with de-
crees rendered in thirteen cases and
10 appeals taken. Thirty-two surveys
and maps have been examined or cor
rected and approved.
THE system of land registration,
Tudge Weaver says, has proved its
in two cardinal points: First
it has shown to the owners prompt
Iy the defects in their sur
veys and saved them from trouble
hereafter, and, second, it has cleared
the title of minor defects promptly by
a proceeding in rem, notably in remov-
ing clouds on title by reason of unre
leased mortgages or defective execu-
ton of conveya 1ces.''
Again, he says; THE fact that the
certificate insures title to the land has
caused owners of small homes to re-
sort 10 the court as an insurance a.
gainst future litigation, it has caused ]
ST eculators in land to acquire al in
sured title that they may use it as
a quick asset; it has caused corpora
tons to find serious errors in their sur
vevs in time to correct the mistakes /
and avoid future damage" :
Judge Weaver recommends to the
Chief Justice certain amendments to
The law.