Act is just as popular in the other colonies as it is in ours. I notice in the Sydney papers, just at foot of advertisements for sales of land, that "Torrens's Title" is always put. It seems to me that there is so great an advantage in the holders of property having a simple, intelligible, indefeasible title, as far as it can humanly be made, that no difficulties ought to stand in the way of carrying out such a wonderful reform. That is all I can say.''

Also on page 50:—

"Doctor Hancock, during his labours of thirtythree years to amend the land-laws of Ireland, has consistently put forward the view that a radical reform in our conveyancing system is an indispensable condition for creating a peasant proprietary.

"Mr. Urlin (draftsman of the Bill referred to), in a paper read before the Social Science Congress, held in Edinburgh in 1880, gave his opinion on this branch of the subject, as follows:

"The general result, so far as Ireland is concerned, is that admirable opportunities have been thrown away, and several thousands of titles, after passing through the renovating process of the Land Court, are now year by year deteriorating, fast losing the signal benefit which was conferred,

and becoming as cloudy and confused as titles were a quarter of a century ago. It is very unfortunate at the present moment that opportunities of this kind have been lost, and that land transfer is fast becoming almost as difficult and as costly in Ireland as it is elsewhere. For there are large numbers of Irish tenants ready to purchase their holdings, and the unhappy events of the last few months have rendered many landlords willing to sell at a reasonable price. The delay and cost is, however, such as to impede these transactions. I strongly recommend that existing methods be simplified in favour of such purchases by occupying tenants, and that the expense of them be reduced, as it might be, by two-thirds. Of course, an effective and compulsory registration of title should form part of the scheme, for it would be almost a mockery to subject these small freeholds to all the vexatious incidents of the ordinary system of conveyancing and real-property law, a branch of law which, it may be remarked, is, except in a few minor details, the same in Ireland as in England. It is of high moment to the peace and welfare of the empire that discontented tenants should be turned into satisfied and industrious freeholders; and if the legal process be simplified

E

(as it might be), the operation might in numberless cases be carried through on terms satisfactory to the present landlords. From what I have endeavoured to express in the fewest possible words, it follows that simplification of existing methods, supplemented by a general registration of ownership, is especially important at the present moment. And what is required for Ireland at a critical time like this is equally suited for, and would be warmly welcomed by, small proprietors of land in other portions of the empire.'

"Mr. Henry Dix Hutton, through whose valuable assistance (as I have already acknowledged) I was enabled in the Bill of 1863 to modify the provisions of the Australian Act to meet the conditions existing in Ireland, has contributed a valuable paper on Peasant Proprietorship to the recent Congress of the Social Science Association in Dublin.

"The following extracts from that paper bear with special force on this branch of our subject. Mr. Hutton says:

66 6

Since the year 1870 Irish Church lands have been sold to about 7000 purchasers. Of these purchasers, it is estimated 5000 were bond fide occupiers engaged in farming operations, and converted by sales under the Irish Church Act into

peasant proprietors. By an omission, which is strange and regrettable, no provision was made for enabling the Church Commissioners to grant, either directly or through the Landed Estates Court, a Parliamentary title, which might have been entered on the Record of Title. The same remark applies to purchasers under the Bright clauses of the Land Act of 1870. Consequently these small landowners are left under the operation of the old system of conveyancing, although the practicability and importance of registration of title for peasant proprietors is not contestable or contested.'"

And on page 54:—

"OFFICIAL REPORTS ON THE WORKING OF THE SYSTEM IN THE COLONIES, IN REPLY TO LORD KIMBERLEY'S CIRCULAR (see Blue Book, May 10, 1881).

"Mr. Henry Gawler, for twenty years Examiner of Titles in Adelaide, in reply to the questions put in Lord Kimberley's circular to the several Colonial Governments, states as follows:- Up to the present time (October, 1880), no difficulty whatever has occurred in carrying out the ordinary transactions in land, such as transfers, mortgages, and leases; and there can be no question, as regards such transactions, the Torrens system is a complete

success, land in fact being as easily and as securely dealt with as stock in the funds.

"As to trusts, it appears to me that the question is, Do we by virtue of the machinery of the Real Property Act place cestui que trusts of land in a worse position than they are placed under the ordinary system? In my opinion cestui que trusts of land under the Act are, if anything, in a better position. The power of caveating, whether by the Registrar-General or others in their behalf, is ample, and, in addition, the words "no survivorship" in a certificate of title issued to two or more persons as trustees has been found a most valuable protection to beneficiaries. As to indefeasibility of title, this important result of the Torrens system of registration of titles has not yet been upset.'

"The Registrar-General of Queensland replies:About 15 per cent. of the lands alienated from the Crown before the Real Property Act came into force is now brought under the operation of that Act. The amount so alienated since that date is 3,826,634, which, being all under the Real Property Act, if added to the quantity brought under it by application, gives 3,913,947 acres under the Act, being about 98 per cent. of all the lands alienated.'

"From the reply of the Registrar-General of New