of the land, and whether there are any encumbrances or other
burdens registered as affecting it. If there are encumbrances,
the register states their amount and who are entitled to them.
The purchaser then usually[1] prepares a conveyance or transfer
of the land (generally in a short printed form issued by the
registry), and the vendor executes it in exchange for the purchase
money. If there are mortgages, he pays them off to the persons
named in the register as their owners, and they concur in a
discharge. He then presents the executed instruments at the
registry, and is entered as owner of the land instead of the vendor,
the mortgages, if any, being cancelled. Where “land certificates”
are used (as in England and Australia), a new land certificate is
issued to the purchaser showing the existing state of the register
and containing a copy of the registered plan of the land. The
above is only a brief outline of the processes employed. For
further information as to practical details reference may be
made to the treatises mentioned at the end of this article.
England and Wales.—The first attempt to introduce general registration of conveyances appears to have been made by the Statute of Enrolments, passed in the 27th year of Henry VIII. But this was soon found to be capable of evasion, and it became a dead letter. A Registration Act applying to the counties of Lancaster, Chester and Durham was passed in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, but failed for want of providing the necessary machinery for its observance. The subject reappeared in several bills during the Commonwealth, but these failed to pass, owing, it would seem, to the objection of landowners to publicity. In 1669 a committee of the House of Lords reported that one cause of the depreciation of landed property was the uncertainty of titles, and proposed registration of deeds as a remedy, but nothing was done.
During the next thirty years numerous pamphlets for and against a general registry were published. In 1704 the first Deed Registry Act was passed, applying to the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1707 the system was extended to the East Riding, and in 1708 to Middlesex. These Middlesex and Yorkshire registries (modified considerably in practice, but not seriously in principle, by the Yorkshire Registries Acts 1884, 1885, and Land Registry [Middlesex Deeds] Act 1891) remain in operation, and are greatly valued by the smaller proprietors and mortgagees, owing to the security against fraud which they provide at a trifling cost. The selection of these counties seems capricious: its probable explanation is that in them trade was flourishing, and the fortunes made were frequently invested in land, and a protection against secret encumbrances was most in demand. In 1728 and 1732 Surrey and Derby petitioned, unsuccessfully, for local registries. In 1735 the North Riding Deed Registry Act was passed. In 1739 a General Registry bill passed the Commons, but did not reach the Lords. Next year the Lords passed a similar bill, but it did not reach the Commons. In 1759 a General Registry bill was thrown out by a majority of one. In 1784 Northumberland unsuccessfully petitioned for a local registry. After this the subject went almost out of sight till the Real Property Commission of 1828. They reported in 1830 in favour of a general register of deeds, but though several bills were introduced, none were passed. In 1846 a committee of the House of Lords reported that the marketable value of real property was seriously diminished by the tedious and expensive process of the transfer of land, and that a registry of title to all real property was essential to the success of any attempt to simplify the system of conveyancing. In 1850 a Royal Commission reported in favour of a general register of deeds, and in 1851 Lord Campbell introduced a bill accordingly, but it was opposed, and was dropped. In 1853 Lord Cranworth introduced a bill, which passed the Lords but not the Commons.
Hitherto only registration of deeds had been considered, but in 1854 a new Royal Commission was appointed, which reported in 1857 in favour of a register of title. The scheme they recommended was substantially embodied in a bill introduced in 1859 by Lord Cairns—then Solicitor-General—but a dissolution stopped its progress. In 1862 Lord Westbury had the satisfaction of carrying the first act for registration of title. This act enabled any landowner to register an indefeasible title on production of strict proof. The proof required was to be such as the court of chancery would force an unwilling purchaser to accept. Only a few hundred titles were registered under this act, and in 1868 a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the causes of its failure. They reported in 1870, making various suggestions of detail, and especially adverting to the great expense caused by the strictness of the official investigation of title before a property could be admitted to the register. In the same year Lord Hatherley introduced a Transfer of Land Bill, but it was not proceeded with. In 1873 Lord Selborne introduced a Land Titles and Transfer Bill, following more or less the recommendations of the report of 1870, proposing for the first time compulsory registration of title upon every next sale after a prescribed date. Lord Cairns again introduced this bill (with some modifications) in 1874, but it had to be dropped. In 1875 Lord Cairns’s Land Transfer Act of that year was passed, which was much the same as the former bill, but without compulsion. This act had no better success in the way of voluntary general adoption than the act of 1862, but as its adoption has since been made compulsory, its provisions are important. Its most noticeable feature, from a practical point of view, is the additional prominence given to an expedient called “Possessory” registration (which also existed under another name in Lord Westbury’s Act), whereby is removed the great initial difficulty of placing titles on the register in the first instance. Two sorts of registration were established, “Absolute” and “Possessory.” The effect of an absolute registration was immediately to destroy all claims adverse to the registered title. But this was only to be granted on a regular investigation of title, which, though not so strict as under the former act, yet necessarily involved time and cost. Possessory registration, however, was to be granted to any one who could show a prima facie title—a quick and cheap process. But the effect of such registration would not be immediately felt. It would not destroy existing adverse claims. It would only prevent new difficulties from arising. In course of time such a title would be practically as good as an absolute one. In 1885 the duke of Marlborough introduced a bill for a registry of titles, and in the following vacation Lord Davey wrote three letters to The Times advocating the same thing on the general lines afterwards adopted.[2] In 1887 Lord Halsbury, by introducing his Land Transfer Bill, commenced a struggle with the opponents of reform, which, after ten years of almost continuous effort, resulted in the passing of his act of 1897, establishing compulsory registration of title. Lord Halsbury introduced bills in 1887, 1888 and 1889. Lord Herschell, who succeeded him after the change of government, introduced bills in 1893, 1894 and 1895, these last three being unanimously passed by the House of Lords on every occasion. The bill of 1895 reached committee in the Commons, but was stopped by the dissolution of parliament. In 1897 Lord Halsbury (who had returned to the woolsack) again introduced the same bill with certain modifications which caused the Incorporated Law Society to withdraw its opposition in the House of Commons, and the act was finally passed on the last day of the session. Under it the Privy Council has power to issue orders declaring that on a certain date registration of title is to be compulsory on sale in a given district. The effect of such an order is to oblige every purchaser of land in the district after that date to register a “possessory title,” immediately after his purchase. The compulsory provisions of the act extend to freeholds and (by a rule afterwards made) to leaseholds having forty years to run. No order except the first can be made, save on the request of a county council. The first order was made in July 1898. It embraced the whole administrative county of London (including the City of London), proceeding gradually by groups of parishes. Under this order upwards of 122,000 titles had been registered by 1908, representing a value exceeding one hundred millions sterling.
Under the operation of this act, at the expense of a slightly increased cost on all transactions during a few years, persons dealing with land in the county will ultimately experience great relief in the matter both of cost and of delay. The costs of a sale (including professional assistance, if required) will ultimately be for the vendor about one-fifth, and for the purchaser (at the most usual values) less than half, of the present expenses. The delay will be no more than in dealings with stock. Mortgagees will also be protected from risks of fraud, which at present are very appreciable, and of which the Redgrave and Richards cases are recent examples. Further particulars of the practical operation of the acts will be found in the Registrar’s Reports of 1902 and 1906, embracing the period from 1899 to 1905 inclusive, with comments on the general position, suggestions for future legislation, &c. In the autumn of 1908 a Royal Commission under the chairmanship of Lord St Aldwyn, was appointed to inquire into the working of the Land Transfer Acts. The evidence given before them in October, November and December 1908 comprised a general exposition by the registrar of the origin and history of the acts, and the principles of their working, and suggestions for amendments in certain details. It also comprised the experience of several landowners and others, who had found the acts highly beneficial, and who had carried through a large number of dealings under absolute titles, without professional help, very quickly, and at a greatly reduced cost.
Scotland.—In Scotland registration of deeds was established by an act of 1617, which remained unaltered till 1845. There are also acts of 1868 and 1874. The registry is in Edinburgh. Deeds are registered almost invariably by full copy. The deeds are indexed according to properties—each property having a separate number and folio called a “search sheet,” on which all deeds affecting it are referred to. About 40,000 deeds are registered annually. The consequence of the existence of this register is to render fraud in title absolutely unknown. Forty years is the usual period investigated. The investigation can, if desired, be made from the records in the
