STATE AND ECONOMY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 15

STATE AND ECONOMY.

reply to criticism.

LANDS and deeds offices,

STATEMENT BY REGISTRAR

'A recent article in the Herald stating that th e ' n 10 vo ' unie work jn the Lands and Deeds Registry Offices had not been accompanied by a fully corresponding reduction in the staff was commented upon by Mr. William Johnson, district land registrar, in Auckland yesterday. While admitting that the figures quoted 'frere substantially correct, Mr. Johnston gaid the posh' oll regarding staff, on the authority of the permanent head of the department, on December 31, 1929, was 191 permanent and temporary officers. On December 31, 1931, the number was J64 representing a total reduction of 27 and a reduction of 10 on the figures quoted •in the article. It might also be observed Mat t' ie department produced a revenue, Estimated for the current year at £53,660. " No cognisance has been taken," said j] r Johnston, "of the earthquake at Kapier, which was responsible for the destruction of 36.000 land title certificates »nd probably 20.000 mortgage documents and numerjus other instruments evidencing interests in land such as leases, charges ami liens. The enormous amount of work entailed in the replacing of these important papers has already necessitated jth 6 increasing of tho Napier staff from •even to 25 officers, and I understand that additions are still being made. Temporary Men Displaced,

"Again, the article contains no reference to the duties discharged by the department in pursuance of the Land Transfer (Compulsory Registration of Titles) [Act 1924, an enactment placed on the Statute Book by the late Mr. Massey to enable tho conversion of all land titles from the cumbrous and expensive deeds system to the land transfer system of registration. At its inception the wprk under this Act was done by temporary clerks under the supervision of examiners of titles, but last year it was found possible, owing to the falling away in the registration ol land dealings, to displace the temporary men', and accordingly their pervices were terminated. " Toward tho end of the year, as land 'dealings continued to ease in number, more permanent officers were detached from the ordinary work of the department and detailed for duty under the Act referred to. In this way all available permanent clerks have been absorbed, while the output of new land transfer titles has increased in Auckland alone from 1600 in 1923 29 to over 5000 in 1931-32. It may be necessary to add that , although the Land Transfer (Compulsory Registration of Titles) Act renders a social service in effecting a considerable saving in legal costs to the land-owning public, the service is not a gratuitous one, a moderate fee being charged on the issue of each land transfer title, which in practice is sufficient to recoup the department in respect of its outlay. Special Qualifications. "Summarised, the position is that wheie finv surplus has arisen in the staff of the department it has been disposed of either bv retrenchment, by transfer to xsapiei for rehabilitation work, or by absorption in reproductive work under the Compulsory Registration of Titles Act. _ . The department is fortunate in having ample work available during this period lor its officers who, of necessity, because c-i the State guarantee appended to the land titles issued by the department, and because of the amount of money invested on mortgage of land in the Dominion (£299,000,000), are required to have high ]egal qualifications and a considerabl© technical training to ensure protection to the Stale from claims against tne Land Titles Assurance Fund, and to ensure to the public the efficient service to which it is entitled. In the event of an economic recovery such officers, if lost to the depai pient, could not readily be replaced.