The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-01-13
TO WIPE
OUT COURT


that the Legislature pass an act abol-
ishing the position which lie holds and
turn the matter over to Judge Of the
Circuit Court to handle, thereby saw
ing considerable expense to the Terri
tory. Other recommendation of i'm
portance in regard to the change of
land laws which come under the juris-
diction of this court are also made.
Judge Weaver's report says:
To the Honorable A. S. Hartwell
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
Territory of Hawaii.
Dear Sir:-I have the honor to sub
NIT as my report of the operation of
the Court of Land Registration for the
years 1908 the accompanying table
which shows that the Assessed Value
of the property registered in 1908 was
S1S7,52O.OO and that 90 Certificates were
issued.
The total number of Petitions filed
up to the end of the year was 156,
describing 14,29S.5S Acres of land. OF
this property Certificates have been is
sued describing 1864 Acres having
an Assessed Value Of $1,17O, 455.OO. The
certificates of title, being policies OF
insurance of title issued by the Gov
eminent to that amount, the insurance
premiums of $1,17O.46 have been depo-
sited with the Treasurer.
As to the general consideration OF
the Land Registration Act l would say
that the working of the act has con-
tinued to prove it not only a necessity,
if titles are to be quickly adjudicated,
but a great time and labor saving
procedure in others. Questions of til
tie, of boundary and of heirs are set
tied in one action. The act has con-
tlnued to prove useful in perfecting
faulty surveys and in establishing rec
ords of street lines which have not
been established in many cases.
AS to any amendments to the Act
tor perfecting it's working machinery,
1 suggest only two charges:
First. Section 2432 of the Revised
Laws provides that every holder of
certificate of title shall hold the same
free from all membranes except
those noted on the certificate and ex-
cept the following:
flrSU.
Second. "Ttaxes within two years
after the same have been assessed
against the land"
recommend that this lien of two
years be enlarged to five years to cor
! respond with the change in the law OF
tax lien since the Land Registration
Act was passed. See s. L. 1905-Act
So. Second: Also I recommend that
Section 1899, referring to a temporary
judge in case of vacancy in the office
or of his absence or inability TO per.
form his duties" be amended by add
ing thereto the words disability or
disqualification" to remove any doubt
about such power in case of disqualf-
! tication.
| Another matter of amendment of
greater Importance, I recommend, not
as an improvement in the working of
/ the act, but as measure of economy.
| The experience elsewhere is that
better and quicker results are had
from a separate court which we have
adopted here. So far as I have been
able to learn, whenever the ordinary
courts have had this work added to
their duties, it has been because OF
the constitutional limitations on the
power to create new courts.
BY giving the duties of the Judge
of the Court of Land Registration to
one of the three judges of the Circuit
Court of the First Circuit, and MAX
ing the clerk of his court the Regis
trar of the Land Court, salaries of a
special Judge and Clerk will be cut
out. Judging from past experience,
by cutting out these salaries and re-
ducing slightly the fee allowed to ex-
miners Of titles, the court can be run
at no expense to the Government. The
costs deposited and turned into the
Treasury will balance the amount
drawn. The policy of paying out a
salary for part of his time to a Judge
OF separate court is not apt to in
duce experienced attorneys to accept
the position. The present Judge of
the Court has felt the duty to MAIN
tain the Land Registration Act until
it had proved its usefulness and prac-
ticability. Tt has now done so and the
future will only add to the present ex-
perfence.
Therefore recommend that the Act
be so amended as to transfer the du-
ties of the Judge of the Court of Land
Registration to a Judge of the Circuit
Court, with the confidence that the
public have learned to benefit by the
Act and that the procedure is estab-
lished and known.
The Court has been used here as a
modern imnrOVement over the ancient