RECORD OF CONVEYANCES, by public officers and for the public to examine at will, is universal iu the United States, but unusual, incomplete, and imperfect in Eng land. The statutes of each state provide for the appointment of an officer, sometimes called the register of deeds, whose duty it is to receive and record all warranty and quit claim deeds, mortgages, and assignment of the same and leases for a term beyond a specified limit, which may be presented in properly authenticated form, The duties of this office are very often made part of the county clerk's functions. The recording officer must certify that the conveyance has been presented and recorded at the specified date. Conveyances made after the first is recorded are Void, and any conveyance not recorded is void as against a subsequent bones fide purchaser from the person in whose favor a recorded conveyance has been executed. But between the parties to the convey
ance the recording or non-recording is of no moment. As a rule also the rights which have accrued to any party before the registry cannot lie affected by such recording. But how far the recording is to be regarded as a constructive notice and to whom it acts as notice, are matters governed entirely by the state statutes. It is usual to allow a properly recorded deed to be introduced in evidence without further proof of its execution, and in states the record itself is admitted as evidence. It is generally held that actual notice received by a second purchaser or mortgagee destroys all priority of claim which would otherwise arise from his being the first to record his conveyance. Differing views are held by the courts as to what circumstances will constitute a good notice.