In very early times, and in small and simple communities, the difficulty afterwards found in estab lishing title to land does not arise, owing to the primitive habit of attaching ceremony and publicity to all dealings. The parties meet on the land, with witnesses; symbolical acts (such as handing over a piece of earth, or the bough of a tree) are performed; and a set form of words is spoken, expressive of the intention to convey. By this means the ownership of each estate in the com munity becomes to a certain extent a matter of common knowl edge, rendering fraud and mistake difficult. But witnesses die, and memory is short ; and one of the earliest improvements con sists in the establishment of a sort of public record kept by the magistrate, lord or other local authority, containing a series of contemporary notes of the effect of the various transactions that take place. This book becomes the general title-deed of the whole community, and as long as transactions remain simple, and not too numerous, the results are quite satisfactory. Of this character are the Manorial Court Rolls, which were in the middle ages the great authorities on title, both in England and on the Continent. In the land registry at Vienna there is (or till lately was) a continuous series of registers of this kind going back to 1368, in Prague to 1377, in Munich to 1440. No doubt there are extant manorial records in England of equal or greater antiquity; since the abolition of the manorial courts in 1925-26, these are passing gradually into the keeping of local authorities under the superintendence of the master of the rolls. Where dealings become more numerous and complicated, written instruments are required to express the intentions of the parties, and afterwards to supply evidence of the landowner's title. It appears, too, that as a general rule the public books already described continue to be used, not withstanding this change; only (as would be expected) the en tries in them, once plain and simple, either grow into full copies of the long and intricate deeds, or consist of mere notes stating that such and such deeds have been executed, leaving the persons interested to enquire for the originals, in whose custody soever they may be found. Here we have, in effect, the system of Pri vate Investigation of Title, assisted by Registration of Deeds. It prevails in France, Belgium, parts of Switzerland, in Italy, Spain, India, in almost all the British dominions and colonies (except where superseded by a formal Registration of Title), in most of the States of the American Union, in the South Ameri can republics, in Scotland and Ireland, and in the English coun ties of Yorkshire and Middlesex. Where it exists, there is gen erally a law to the effect that in case of dispute a registered deed shall prevail over an unregistered one. The practical effect is that a purchaser can, by searching the register, find out exactly what deeds he ought to enquire for, and receives an assurance that if, after completion, he registers his own conveyance, no other deeds—even if they exist—will prevail against him.
The more perfect system of Registration of Title consists in collecting the transactions affecting each separate estate under a separate head, keeping an accurate account, generally by means of a map, of the parcels of which each such estate is composed, and summarizing authoritatively, as each fresh transaction occurs, the subsisting rights of all parties in relation to the land itself. This system prevails in Germany, Austria, and in most other parts of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, in parts of Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, nearly the whole of Canada, some of the states of the American Union, to a certain extent in Ireland, and is in course of establishment in England and Wales. On a sale
the purchaser can see in a few minutes from the register (or from an authorized copy of it called a land certificate) who is the owner, what are the burdens (if any) and who owns them, and can at once prepare a transfer, usually in a short clear printed form. The vendor executes this in exchange for the pur chase money, the purchaser presents it at the registry, the neces sary alterations are made in the books, a new certificate is issued to him and all is over.
Private investigation, assisted in Mid dlesex and Yorkshire by Registration of Deeds, is still the prev alent system. The purchaser has a right to demand a perfect title, beginning with a good root, at least 3o years old, but this right is frequently much modified by special contract. On an average, an investigation of title takes about a month. The cost is ad valorem, on a sliding rate, the rate diminishing as the value increases. At typical values—say £500, £2,000 and £20,000, it is LI°, £33 6s. 8d. and £126 13s. 4d. respectively. Both parties pay these costs, so the total cost is double these amounts. In Middlesex and Yorkshire a few shillings more for registration and searches are paid by the purchaser. Owing to the absence of a register, fraud by suppression of deeds, though rare, is not unknown—especially in regard to mortgages.
About 1855 the superior merits of Registration of Title began to be ventilated: in 1857 a Royal Commission reported in favour of it ; in 1859 a government was introduced and in 1862 the lord chancellor (Westburn) carried an act establishing it, but on a voluntary basis only. The act of 1862 was replaced by another in 1875 (passed by Lord Cairns with the support of Lord Selborne) still on voluntary lines. The House of Lords passed strong com pulsory bills in three successive years. The opposition came in the Commons, where the professional interest was sufficient to secure a "block," which was only finally removed in 1897, at the price of very heavy concessions. Under the Land Transfer Act of that year, coupled with orders in council made under it, registration of the title has been compulsory on every sale and long lease in the county of London ever since 1899. By the end of 1927 upwards of 352,00o titles had been registered under it, represent ing a value of over 35o millions sterling. Compulsory orders have also been made as to Eastbourne (1925) and Hastings (1928). Particulars can be obtained from the circulars issued gratis by the Land Registry (Lincolns' Inn Fields, London, W.C. 2) or (for a few pence) from the chief Registrars' Annual Reports.
In 1922, Lord Birkenhead carried a Land Registration Act founded on the report of a royal commission under Lord St. Aldwyn (1909–I I) and a committee of enquiry (1919) under Sir Leslie Scott. There is thus every probability that the system will, in due course be gradually applied by orders in council under the new scheme of 1922 (which took permanent shape, in Lord Cave's Land Registration Act of 1925) to the whole of England and Wales. To give a few typical figures— the cost of a sale (both parties' solicitors' and registry fees) under registration of title at £500, £2,000 and L20,000 value is Li I los. od., £29 6s. 8d. and L39 6s. 8d. respectively, with state guar antee of title thrown in. The registry produces an annual surplus, out of which L160,000 of capital expenditure on site and building has been defrayed and an insurance fund valued at £133,000 has been built up and is increasing.