THE LAND LAW

Evening Star, Issue 22380, 2 July 1936, Page 1

THE LAND LAW

, ; HISTORICAL SURVEY LARGE FIELD FBR RESEARCH . Mi - D. A. Young, examiner of titles and assistant land registrar, indicated the large field for research in constitutional, economic, political, and social history offered by the land lan - , in his address last night at a meeting of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Institute of Public Administration. The president (Mr H. L. Gibson) was in. the chair, and there was a good attendance. "; ■ Opening his address on * Land, its Tenures, and State Protection of Titles,’ Mr Young reminded the members of the institute that they were required to devote portion of their time and energy to the study of the historic, economic, and political sciences. Ho advocated a study of tho land law to enable them to gain an idea of howimportant to the; State were the .rules which regulated the manner in which land could be owned, used, and disposed of. In a comprehensive review tho speaker traced the changes of the land law throughout tho ages down to the present day to show how the land lawof the Dominion had evolved, and indicated the changes by which rights to own and transfer land gradually cama into" existence, and showed how an easy and safe method of effecting transfers was devised. Land in its legal sense was shown by Mr Young to be-an all-embracing term, including not only the surface of the soil, but the space above and below it. He gave a. bird’s-eye view of all tho bewildering varieties of land tenures and the rights and obligations attached to them and claimed that land was tho most natural and the most satisfactory security for credit. _ The speaker demonstrated the obvious necessity for some system by which a man who bought, leased, or mortgaged land for residential, occupational, business, or investment purposes could be able to obtain safety and simplicity of title which would give him security against unknown claims and avoid expensive investigations. He then detailed tho various attempts made to secure such, a system. Mr Young referred to the six features of a perfect conveyancing system laid down by Sir Charles FortescueBrickdalc, registrar of the land registry, London. These were security, simplicity, accuracy, cheapness, expedition, and suitability to its circumstances, and were to be found in the land transfer' system in New Zealand. After explaining ,; this system and tho operation: of, the Laud Registry Act of 1860, Mr Young detailed the many responsibilities imposed upon the registrars in preventing any of tho restrictions imposed by the Legislature ppon land aggregation and in assisting scientific land subdivision, town planning, housing, and settlement schemes. The speaker also dealt with Native land and the validity of the Treaty of Waitangi, and reviewed the various classes of Crown lands, indicating how they were disposed of in freehold estate! or leasehold terms. At the conclusion of his address Mr Young was accorded a hearty vote of thanks on the motion of Mr N. R. MTsaac.