10 'Che Conservative.
Every reform
TIIKTOKKIIN.S I.AAV.
meets with op
position. Any man who starts out with
a now idea ( or one new to his neighbors )
counts on Uncling it resisted , though ho
may have only the vaguest guess as to
where the resistance will come from.
Most people have at bottom a kind of
liking for things as they are , and con
sider any suggested improvement with
instinctive disfavor , though they may
like it well enough when they look at it
a little more closely. In the case of the
proposed reform in the system of con
ferring title to real estate , there is an
other reason for timidity ; hearing that
titles are to come directly from the
state , instead of from the former pri
vate owners , people infer that this
means state ownership of land ; they
think of socialism , or perhaps a faint
image of the late Henry George arises
in their minds ; and they think they
would rather not risk a change , nor any
venture into the unknown.
Now the system of registration known
as the Torrens Title system is meant
for exactly the people who want things to
stay as they are used to thinking of
them. It intended . to assure to the
farmer whose father left him a farm ,
and to the widow whose husband left
her their home , that that farm and home
shall be theirs for all time , if they want
them , instead of leaving it open , as our
present laws do , for some man whose
grandmother failed to sign some deed ,
years ago , to come in and take them
away without redress. Again , it is not
an experiment. The original plan has
been in operation for forty years in
Australia ; Prussia has essentially the
same system ; an adaptation of it has been
in force in the province of Ontario since
1887 ; Massachusetts and Illinois have
authorized it by legislative enactment ,
and other states are considering it.
The central idea of it is not to confer
uuy strange or enlarged powers on the
state , but on the contrary to require of
the .state Ut protection to the rights of
the citi/en , in regard to a largo and im
portant class of property.
The position of the law at present is
this : "prove your property , and wo will
protect you in the enjoyment of it ; "
and this applies with perfect impartial
ity to a pair of shoes , a cow , a ten-story
ottice building or a quarter section of
land. Now , the theory on which this
proposed improvement is advocated , is
that lands and buildings are not exactly
on a level with perishable and movable
things , but that they are of sufficient
public importance to justify the govern
ing power in fixing and maintaining the
ownership of them in an ordoi ly and
systematic way. There is in the law
governing the holding of real property
so much still in force of the old "com
mon law , " the ancient traditionary law
of England , which our fathers brought
to this country with them , that to re
quire a land-owner to "prove his prop
erty" is not only a hardship but an im
possibility as well. It is not like identi
fying a cow or a pair of shoes ; the
points that the law theoretical ! } * re
quires to be observed in alienating or
devising a piece of land are well-nigh
infinite , and when multiplied by the
number of times a holding has changed
hands , to require an owner to prove
that they have all been attended to is
no less than absurd. In fact , it would
be a bold lawyer who would claim that
there is a single absolutely good and in
defeasible title to real property now in
existence in Nebraska ; except where
land is still held under the original
United States patent.
This suggests the root of the whole
matter ; a patent from the government
leaves no question as to ownership ; then
why , after starting a piece of land in
with a perfect title , by so simple a pro
cess , should that method be at once dis
continued , and all future owners left to
their own resources ; with finite intel
ligence to cope with infinitely compli
cated reqxiirements ? For even when
you hire an attorney , as you must , to
help you , his knowledge , though vast , is
still finite.
It is curious and edifying , though
scarcely comfortable reading , to see what
the law really does require a man at pres
to know about the past history of his
land. THE CONSERVATIVE will make
a short statement of some of these things
in a later number.
Now , the Australian or Torrens sys
tem begins by cutting off all the ancient
history in which lies the main danger
to a land-owner's securityand then pro
vides a simple , expeditious , cheap and ,
above all , sure method of making future
transfers , as outlined in THE CONSERVA
TIVE of December I. When a piece of
land is once under the provisions of the
act authorizing the system , everything is
plain sailing thenceforth for its owner ;
but before he gets that far there are a
good many details to be attended to.
In other words , the state , before de
claring such a man the owner of such
and such property , and becoming re
sponsible for that decision , will take
great care to award its certificate to
none but the man who is justly entitled
to it.
It is usual for the state legislature in
mailing the iiecessaiy enactment , to leave
it to the option of the several counties
whether they will take advantage of it or
not. This is the plan followed in Illinois.
In Massachusetts the entire state was
placed at once under regulation of a
court of registration , the clerk of which
was given the state title of recorder ;
and upon any land-holder making ap
plication to have his property registered
under the act , the register of deeds for
that county becomes thereupon assist
ant recorder. Uniformity throughout
the state is secured by having all these
officials subordinate to the one at the
capitol. The court of registration also
;
delegates its functions to local boards ,
to which it stands in the relation of a
court of appeal.
When now a property-owner wishes
the protection offered by the statxite , he
files a formal application with the
proper official , in which he minutely
describes the land which is to bo regis
tered , his estate in it , the manner by
which he obtained title , his family re
lationship , and any other matters that
may serve as a basis for investigation
by the board ; and asks that a certiU-
cate of ownership be issued to him.
The court then refers the application to
one of its examiners of title , who
searches the records and investigates all
the facts in the case. If he finds any
defects , such as missing signatures or
defective acknowledgments to old
deeds , he so reports , and the applicant
is given an opportunity to make the
record good.
If the examiner reports favorably ,
then the court orders due notice to be
given to all parties , by the usual means
of publication , that at such a time title
will be awarded ; and if there is no op
position , on the day set a decree of con
firmation and registration is entered.
This decree "binds the land and quiets
the title thereto" and is "conclusive
upon and against all persons , including
the state. " Moreover , it "cannot be
opened. " That is , once the applicant
has received his decree , he can sleep
soundly on his land , knowing that
no claimant can disturb his possession
of it in the future. This , however , is
providing he has done nothing dishon
est in the matter. It is an old maxim
of the law that "fraud vitiates any
transaction into which it enters ; " and
it is usual to make a special exception ,
to cover this case , in the statute. But
even in case of fraud , a petition for re
view must bo filed within a year of the
date of the decree , or it is too late ; and
during that year , the decree cannot ,
be altered if an innocent purchaser has '
come between. The year once up , the
registered owner is secure ; even an
honestly injured person cannot bring
suit against him with the intention of
dislodging him. The state has decided
him to bo the rightful owner , and the
state , not ho , stands good for the con
sequences.
To meet the case of a possible injus
tice being done by an award of title ,
there is established , wherever the Tor-
reus system is in force , an assurance
fund , made up by a very small assess
ment on each case handled. In Massa
chusetts , one-tenth of one per cent of
the value of each piece of land regis
tered is to bo contributed to this fund
until it amounts to § 200,000 ; and this
sum is to bo constantly on hand to re
imburse "any person who without neg
ligence on his part sustains loss or damage -
ago , or is deprived of land" by the oper
ation of the system. But his action for
damages must bo brought against the
