Wellington Independent SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 1871.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3163, 1 April 1871, Page 2

Wellington Independent SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 1871.

We are much "ratified to learn that Government, acting upon the strong representations which have bcr-n made by the Registrar- General of Land, and some oi' the largest landowners in the colony, have derided to issue licenses to land brokers, under the Land Transfer Act. This is a step which will do much to popularise the new system of registration, and to place its advantages within the reach of all who have any dealings in land. There is no doubt that if* the practice under the act were limited to solicitors, a considerable pro- ! portion of those who had transactions in land would continue in the old paths, fearful lest any turning aside should only add to the expenses which were j already so grievous to be borne. It is not' doing lawyers an inju«tice to say that many of them at least would naturally take care that any transaction under the Land Transfer Act effected by them under instructions from a client would prove to be more expensive than if it were completed in the ordinary way, and would be an effectual preventive against further dealings of the same kind. It is one of the great advantages of the Torrens' system that land registered under it can be dealt with without the intervention of a lawyer. When a man has once brought his property under the net, he can say to an intending purchaser that the whole matter of . conveyance can be settled in a few irinutes, and at a very trilling cost. Of course it is not by any means necessary that the aid of a solicitor should be obtained to register land under the act, in any but those cases where the titles are lengthy and involved Indeed, in all ordinary cases, we see no reason whatever why a man should not go direct to the Registry office, obtain an application form, (ill it up himself, and hand it in, with the deeds and the necessary fees, to the Registrar. We understand that all the officers of the department are expressly instructed to give every facility and assistance in this class of transactions. Besides the great advantage of being able to effect transactions under the act at a very small cost, and in a very simple manner, any person placing his land under the act, or purchasing land registered [under it, obtains an absolutely indefeasible title, a title which can only be upset on proof of fraud. As an illustration of this statement, we quote the following passage from the report of the Registrar-General for Queensland, where the system has been in operation since 1861 : — " There ha\e not as yet been any demands made upon the Assurance Fund, either successful or unsuccessful. That fund, at the close of the year 1809, amounted to £3735 9s 7d." And again, — " Asa general rule, auctioneer's deem it sufficient guarantee of title to state, ' Title under the Real Property Act.' " In Tasmania the experience has been precisely similar, aud the success of the system in South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales, has been all that its most ardent advocates could have desired. Schedule Q. of the " Land Transfer Act." which we reprint elsewhere, specifies the fees which may be charged by land brokers for transacting business under its provisions, so that any person employing a broker to act for him, can ascertain for himself the exact amount which he will have to pay, and will, therefore not be liable to have a demand made upon him for a dozen " attendances," and other duties which his solicitor would have assured him could not have been dispensed with. Persons residing ia the country will abo find it o great advantage to be able to employ a land broker to conduct their business, as their personal attendance in town will thus be rendered unnecessary. A principal may place the utmost reliance upon his broker, inasmuch as the Registrar-General may not only cancel a license upon proof of " malfeasance or incapacity," but every person to whom a license is to be issued must give bond, himself in dSIOOO and two sureties in £500 each, that he will duly and faithfully act in the capacity of land broker in accordance with the provisions of the act. We are informed that an extraordinary number of applications fur li censes have been received from land agents nnd others, residing in various parts of the colony. There can be no doubt that the change decided on will diminish the business of conveyancers, but " tho greatest good for the greatest number" inubt be the guiding principle in all Government interference. Title deeds will not as formerly lie in the office sufes of lawyers, but in the offices of the land registrars, and the practice ol having recourse to a lawyer in every transaction hence arising will doubtless become rarer and rarer. Nor can it be doubted that much simplification in existing laws will necessarily follow. No one can regret a change which will make property more easy of acquisition, more secure as an investment, and more easily transferable when circumstances require it. Nor will any one lament that the cumbrous phraseology, and the mysterious circumlocutions of conveyances are consigned to the iimbo whither John Doe and Richard Doe have gone before — especially when they see that under the new system their bill of costs bears the same proportion

to the dreaded document that bore that name as the new conveyance does to the old- "When so much is said about settlement on the land, and the future prospects of the North Island sustaining a vast population, it is gratifying to think that a system has been introduced which will virtually cheapen tho price, and simplify tho difficulties attending the acquisition of land. Whatever imperfections the working of the Act may disclose will be of easy remedy, and we can conceive of nothing so likely to popularise it and make it extensively useful as the alteration now announced.