The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-12-19
WORK STATE
SOLONS TOAMEND
TORRENSLANDLAW
Act Will Be Made Workable After
Several Years Of Legal
Tinkering
REGISTRATION OF TITLE
UNDER SYSTEM SIMPLE
Research Companies Chief OBJ
stacle To Safe and SimpIi-
fled Property Legislation

| AT the next session or the Leg1sla-
ture the active campaign for the estab
lishment of true Torrens law in New
| fight made TO have the amendments
passed which are necessary to make
the New York law workable. The task
is not an easy one, but its accomplish
ment is expected this year.
| The Torrens system for registering
land titles is bound to come because il
is right. Every new method, however,
displuces an older method, which often
is of long standing. The coming of a
new way inevitably brings with it a
conflict with those whose livelihood and
interests are wrapped up in the old
| process.
/ Although in successful use in other
parts of the void for over sixty years,
I IL is less than twenty years since the
drst law went into operation in the
United States. Illinois (lS95), Ohio
I lS9G), California (lS97), and Massa-
Echusetts (lS9S) were the pioneer States
Fin Torr"ns legislation. Today fourteen
States (besides Philippine Islands and
GHawaii have Torrens laws.
/ When the agitation for Torrens
law gained strength ten years ago, the
title companies, by this time dominant
in the title-scRrching field. found their
lucrative business in turn threatened
Eby new method which was as far
superior to their own az their method
had been superior to that Of the old
style scarchcrS whom they had sup
planted
| lfp nd ho
system, by when titles are transferred
! almost Ms quickly, safely, and cheaply
as bank stock, became 80 insistcnt that
II became impossible to prevent the
passage of a law The influence of the
| title companies, however, was tremeu.
| dOus, and the commission appointed by
Governor Hughes in 1907 made the
mistake of Introducing features into
the law which were foreign to a true
! fOrrrns system, and were introduced
either at the suggestion of the title
company representatives or with the
dea Of conciliating them IN order to
win their favor and permit the law
20 pass. Thus they succeeded in Omar
ring the act"
Why the New York Law Has Failed
The New York law, with its com
promises and foreign features, passed
1908, but was failure from the
start. In New York County only thir
| teen titles have been registered, of
which five have been withdrawn and
me cancelled, leaving seven titles a.
the net result of eight years operation.
There were four features in the 1908
aw which caused its failure and which
are found in no successful Torrens law.
First Registration was not made
permanent titles could be withdrawn
Second Payment into the assurance
Fund WAS optional and. the State
county was not back of the fund.
Third Examination of titles for tn,
initial registration was not made of
fetal but was put into the hands Of tn,
title companies and private examiner,
as private money making proposition
Fourth--The initial court proccrdin,
was made as complicated, lengthy, an,
expensive, seemingly, as the ingenuity
Of the lawyers could devise.
The strength of the Torrens system
lies in its stability and safety, in it,
simplicity and in the economy of it
operation.
! The 1908 law, which violated nearly
every fundamental principle of the Tor
rens system, failed of public confidence
was 50 expensive. that no owner coulu
afford to use it and became the laugh
ing stock Of all title people.
Progress Of Amendments
In 1915 amendments were prepare,
that followed in principle the success
! full Mas sachusetts law and the Mode
net of the American Bar Association
md were introduced in the Legislature
| but too late in the session to get gene
raj public support.
In 1916 the same anne ndments wer
again introduced and there rallied be
hind them such civic associations as tn
! Chamber Of Commerce. the Bar AssC
citation, the New York County Lawyers
Association, the State League of Build
| ne and Loan Associations, the Cit.
zens Union, and many other assOcia
ti0ns, besides numerous indi vid"als ant
| firms.
The 1915 campaign was not wholly
successful. The representatives of tn,
title companies were present urging
! that the law remain unchanged. A
compromise dill resulted which.
! finally passed, corrected the first named
fault by eliminating the withdrawal
feature, so that registrations are now
permanent Payment into the assurance
fund was made compulsory, but the
State was not put back of the fund.
RI" program for 1917 comprises the
'hrCe f""'ur"s not passed in 1916. The
state (Ceunty) must hack the assur-
ance fund to establish public cOnfd
"nce; the preliminary examination Of
title must be- made exclusively official
md the initial proceedings must be
shortened and simplifed.
Torrens Law Simple
The TOrrens system once established
is simplicity itself After all the titles
in tn" county are registered, even the
plant in the public office will fall into
disusr, because under the Torrens sys.