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THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REAL PRO-
PERTY ACT.
LECTURE BY MR. TORRENS.
In accordance with a numerously signed rcquisi-
sition, Mr Torrens delivered a very able lecture on
Saturday evening last, at the Olympic Theatre, upon
the South Australian Transfer of Real Property Act,
which Act was originated by him, and carried
through the legislature of that colony, and is now
before our own Legislative Assembly, having received
the assent of the Council, into which it was intro-
duced by Mr Coppin. The attendance upon the
occasion was both numerous and respectable, and all
present seemed to take a deep interest in the subject.
Upon the platform were — His Excellency the Gover-
nor, Captain Bancroft, his Honor Mr Justice Pohl-
man, the Mayor, and the following members of the
Legislative Council and Assembly :— The Hon. Geo.
Coppin, the Hon. Mr Thompson, the Hon. Mr
Highett, the Hon. Mr Vaughan, and Messrs Bailey,
Service, Cachie, Amsinck, Johnston, Heales, Em-
bling, Humffray, Howard, Carr, Wilkie, Greeves,
Hadley and Gray.
The chair was taken by his Honor Mr Justice
Pohlman,
The chairman said that in the absence of
the Hon. the Chief Justice, Sir William
Stawell, he had been called upon to take the
chair. It was at all times a pleasure to be called
upon to take the chair at a public meeting, but he
took that post with some hesitation on the present
occasion, inasmuch as he had come unprepared to do
more than introduce the gentleman who had kindly
consented to give those present a lecture on the work-
ing of one of the largest improvements made in
modern times in the sister colony of South Austtralia.
Of course he had come, like others, to seek information
from the most authentic source upon this subject, and
they would not therefore expect him to prejudge a
measure on which he was but ill informed himself ;
but he hoped to gain information from the valuable
lecture of Mr Torrens, whom he now begged to intro-
duce. (Cheers.)
Mr Torrens thanked the meeting for the kind re-
ception accorded to him. It encouraged him in ful-
filling the rather arduous task which he had under-
taken. He should feel much gratified if he thought
that his own shortcomings would not be allowed to pre-
judice the cause he had in hand. That cause was of so
much importance that a man might well become
absorbed in it. His embarrassment arose not from
any poverty of material, but from the vastness of the
subject ; there was so much difficulty in selecting
what to omit and what to bring prominently forward.
that there was danger, in trying to avoid being
wearisome, that an indistinct impression might be
made where it was desirable to give a most distinct
and clear view of the subject. He felt also that
the subject was not new. It had been brought pro-
minently before the people of Victoria in the Legisla-
tive Council by Mr Coppin. Th« press of the colony
had also in a series of very able articles treated many
points of the bill in a manner which must be very
distinct and clear to all readers, but more than all,
the professional men of the colony had also brought
the subject before the public. Last year he found that
Mr Carter, a member of the bar, Mr Justice Barry,
and above all the Chief Justice, had given evidence
which established all the great principles which the
South Australian Act established, and that in a
manner as clear as he could lay before the meeting.
The law of real property was costly, cumbrous, and
unsuited to the people of Victoria. Doubtless, this
was a disputed point, but if this proposition met with
such general approval, he would proceed to ask how
we had arrived at such a state of things. The fact
was, that the law of real property was never brought
forward or devised as a system to facilitate or render
certain our transactions in dealing with real property.
The system grew up, and never was designed as a
whole. Our great jurists have not had tine to bring
up a code or system of laws. Under the feudal
system of the Norman kings, the jurists were engaged
rather in finding the means of evading the exactions
levied upon them than in framing a code of laws
relative to the transfer of land, and their subjects in
endeavoring to reconcile with common sense and the
requiremts of a civil era the complicated system
relating to landed property. This was the reason
why we had always so long tolerated the system.
With the leave of the meeting, he would read a quo-
tation from Blackstone, showing that that eminent
author entertained the same opinion which be had ex
pressed. The speaker then read as follows : — "Hence
law in particular, which being intended for universal
reception, ought to be a plain rule of action, because
a science of the greatest intricacy, especially when
blended with the new refinements engrafted on feudal
property, which refinements were from time to time
gradually introduced by the Norman practitioners,
with a view to supersede, as they did in a great
measure, the more horuoly but more intelligibls
?ntxims of distributive justice among tbo Saxons :
no/I to say the truth these sehol'JBtic reformers hava
transmitted their dialect and finesses to posterity so
interwoven in tha body of our le^e.l polity, that they
cannot now bo taken out without a manifest
injury to the substance. Statute after statute
has in after time been made to pare off
thtse troublesome excre?concts, and restore
.he common law to its pristine simplicity and vigor ;
and the endeavor has greatly succeeded, but still tho
?cars are deep and visible, and the liberality of our
nodern courts of justice is frequently obliged to have
recourse to unaccountable fictions and circuities in
irder to recover that eqnitable and subttintiM ju»
ice wh oh for a lone time iras totally buri6tl beneath
tbe narrow rules and fanciful liicetis.i of a ractaphysi
i-il and nornvil jurisprudence.' That was the sl.it'!
?u.:iit of an accredited authority ou Eaglish l»w. He
described how tho3o processes arose with whioli our
law was encumbered. When they found that frum
fjiir.l Bacon to Lord St. Leonards, the greatest iu
'ellects o- Bueland had endeaTored to aiter the lavj.1
of roal property, a::d saw how utterly they had failed,
they mit^ht b*7 th%t imprivemeut was quite hopeless
ind impossible, that the lair waa incapable of being
lurther patibed, and that it wai so tangled a vi con
fused that they must t :ke a eponpe and wipe it all
mt, and bei|iu afresh. (Cheers ) IS seenitd to him
that the foundation was lai i in error, the ground
iliwi wa3 unstable, -aud upon such b.
'wndation it was impossible to raisa a
Iron [superstructure. It wai, therefore,
ifcessary to re-novt- the foundation and
ilear away fie rubbish. (Cbeara.) Having t;st ib
lished tbi-- clear at»-r'-, 'bn u*-xfc question was wb.ic
hf-y wero t- builil th-ro-.in, »cd how the? wera to
V.i. Id it. (Ch-nrs) Should t'vj uu't lUBrcly fi
nan's ingenuity, and leave laadi J pi '? joitv in uu mp
tihle condition during the iutro iuotiou of a measure
?iir resulnting it ? Ho for one had not the auiiacitj
t- propose anything uutried or new to the inhabit »utb
if tbo colonies whfa so much was at stake on (h-j ro
lult. (Hear.) The shipping law baJ, hofferer,
given universal tritiafuction, and had accomplished atl
'bat was expected from it, Iu dosling with this de
scription of property there were no such difficulties as
in thu c»oo of land It ueemed strange that tha owaer
of a vessel could go into a Gustuin house, and in a few
?ninut:s transfer that v».=s9! io another p'trcy, but if
'je hud the twenty thonaandth pait of an ^orp hsuiusc
mill iu n professional man, and inuur coasiderahUt
delay andexpanso, and yerhaps puicbiee a lansuit with
die laifi. (Ubeers aud laughter.) Ui:-ler tlieBeciroum
r.tancts he wanted to beinfurmed why it was t':at the
3»me p-oce?s nhnuld not be applied to runl pr'ip°rby,
whieh forBixtHoil je»rs past bad been applied ti
i.rnperly in shipping ; and if this was not sh iwed,
ha would say, ' we hava trie.J a msana of dealin:;
with land, and we need uot go further.' The present
law of real propeity w;is peculiar to the EigiiB1!
p«ople ; thero was netbing like it in the rest of
Europe. In thn Hanse- towns there was a system in
existence for 1S00 years almost the same as that
existing now in South Australia, He proposed to
apply to land the sntao system which all merchants
w'ero familiar with iu reference to transactions in
shipping and in the funds. He had now been more
than eighteen mouths engaged in applying this
system to land, and he hud found it much
more easy of application t» land than to
shipping. (Cheers.) He had heard it said,
beoiuseofthe diffirenie between lands, and fund*,
nnd shipping, it would be impossible to apply tho
same law to all. Ha could only say that it was far
more easy, for shipping could bo moved, but laud
could uot be tnk»n beyond thy jurisdiction of Iho
Courts, who had tho power of transfer. Again, tbe
land could not bo divided as the ship wan, giving the
hold to one party and the quartar-deck to another ;
bnt this could lit) done with laud, a portion of which
oould not be givu to a purchaser with such an in
strument of transfer as would L'ivo a title to tl.o 64th
part of a ship, the portion which c.tjM be legally trans
ferred and keptin the same registry. In budau i;ccouut
ofearh dealing could be kept mspar.ite laid diatinct,
und it waa in this rtipeot that ho foucd doling with
land more easy than dealing with shipping. In ont
respect there was a very generul concurrence betweon
t'lose who wished to deal with the tatv of real pro
party. They ware all ao convinced that it was uu
wiBe to try a new experiment in a matter of such im
portance, thnt when they had to their hands a
svstein which had stood the test of time, they tried
to avail of. it. Fur tbis reason they had all
gone to the Shipping Act, and it, waB ou tbis account
that there wai fiuch n rc3einblnnce botweeu thai; Act
ami tbe measure of Sir fluah Cairns, which measure
had been brought forward iu this colonj jud in New
-'outh Wales. I; was vain to expcot -\ perfect Act,
?w no perfect low was ever made or ev«r would bo,
aud men should therefore direct th ir lirao to bring
ing forward within a reaBwiiuMe :i -o as go;id a
measure £..- they oould chvisa. The measure intro-
duced by Mr Coppin here was the South Australian
bill, with such amendments as an experience of
eighteen months had pointed out to those who had
the management of the bill. The measure of Sir
Hugh Cairns had not yet stood that trial. (Cheers.)
He would now point out how they differed. He had
received notices of the two bills from England. Sir
Hugh Cairns did not recommend the South Australian
bill, but he had recommended a measure almost iden-
tical, and it was said that this measure
would burthen the country with a very
heavy expense. Under the present system,
however, all titles, whether complicated or not,
had to be submitted to a court established for the
purpose, and at a very heavy expense. But after
applying to the court the party had not an in-
defeasible title. It was to be subject to further in-
quiry and investigation. It was only the purchaser
from him who obtained an indefeasible title. There
was therefore nothing to induce a man who did not
wish to sell to get a title out of the court, and it was
not therefore reasonable to suppose that persons
would avail of them. Again, the time occupied in
the tranference was sixteen months; and was it
likely any person would accept such a dilatory mode
of proceeding? It was on these grounds that the
plan of Sir Hugh Cairns was condemned. (Cheers)
Upon smii'.ir c rounds the Juritt, wh'lst spsikinr
favorably cf -ho S: nth Australian Act, condemned the
author of it iu very unmeasured t?ruiB. (Cheers ai;d
Linuhtcr ) He had net time now to defend, himself,
but the time might come when he could do so. (Cheers )
I£e had . il«o n copy of the Law Magazine, of which
Lord Brougham was the editor, and which slid, in
speaking of the R=al Property Ast offouth Australia,
that though defective in language ami in some
oth«r respacls it waa more complete than nny lcea
sure of a similar kind which had bjen hitherto pre
pared by the lawyers of Kuglaad. (Cheers.) This
wa3 tho opinion of pcraonB with whom he (Mr Tor
ren;) had had bo communication, and who h^d
attacked thu author of the bill. (Chews.) But
there wa» one matter which these writers did not
notice — a matter of great, importance, which wai
omitted in Sir Hm.jIi Cairnn's bill. This omission wts
common t.. uilla on the subject. It coutr.ined no
provisions relative to leasehold property. Uutfer t^iU
bill there should be two Bystsms of law, ihe one deal
ing with property held uuder lease, and the other
with property held ia fee simple. Tbis wai a seriuus
nbjsction to the English act. It waa ol jected to the
South Australian law thit it contained a greater
number of clauses than tho measure of Sir H Cairns,
but he would point out as the reason, that it dealt
with both descriptions of property And further still,
the Bouth Australian Act directed what was
to bs done in particular oases. This was left in
o'her acts to officers of th« courts — a power and
responsibility which he (Mr Torrens) couceived were
too creat to be granted to such persons. Upon this
«urj«:t, he would make yet one further remark,
relatire to the nusatinr of clauses in the Son th Austra
lian Act. The other bills were divided iaxo two por
tions, and the South Australian Act contained a
greater number of clauses than either of them; but
this number was smaller than the aggregate of tho
other bills : ao that thin wan a very futiU and vague
objection at the bett. (Cheers) He would v.on ex-
plain as well as he could the South Australian tjystom.
And first with regard t* bringing land titles under
the new system. It was enacted that all lands alie
nated froM thr-. Crown after the_ Act came into force
were to be subj-xt to ita /operation by tbe mere fact
of ita alienation. So far the Act was compulsory, but
iu all other cases there was an option with the owner
of the property as to whether he would bring his land
under it or not. This could be done by an appli
cation from the owner or a persoa having a life inte
rest in the property, or from tin intending
purchaser. He perceived by the publio press that an
erroneous iinprenssion prevailed in reference
to tbis portion ol the Act, It was not lutonded that
where persons had possession of land undpr a written
contract, time tltes- persons must have the oonour
rence of the previous proprittor before bringing tha
property under the Aot. It was desirable that this
should be obtained, but when tbe previous proprietor
was absent from tho colouy, how^was it to be accom
plished \ This explanation ho tondered in conse
quence of a letter whioh appeared iu the Argut some
time ago. An application was submitted to a legal
practitioner — a barrister, or solicitor — whoso duty it
would be to search ints the title, as if engaged on
the part of a purchosor. In addition to thia a decla
ration having the effect of an oath would be taken
from the applicant or proprietor btforo a justice of
the peace, setting forth regularly the nature of his
interest in the land and the liens and oncumbr&nces
upon it ; and stating there were no othei liens or en
cumbrances to his knowlodgc. Tins application was
submitted to the laud Titles Commissioner, from
whose board professional legal gentlemen were ex
cluded. This provision had given great offence
to tha legal gectlemeu, but he (Mr Torrens)
believed these gentlemen were mistaken in this rec
peot. The objection to legal gentlemen sitting at the
Board wa?, that they might be employed in the morn
ing in drawing up a case for a client, and in tho eve
ning they might Bit in judgment on the sumo onse
which they had prep.ired in tliH morning. Ic waa
consistent with common eense that thU exclusion
should be mo.do ; but it was not intended to excludo
legal gentlemen as such. In Santh Australia the dia
Unction was understood, aslegM gentlemen prac'iaing
there either 83 bmrisfeTS or solicitors paid a yearly
Ikons'! of LB, and if they gave up practica they dis
oo.jti'iued 'his piynunt. Legal semletnea were,
liTJTjver, nu« only admitted to tho Bjird, but ho (.Mr
Torreii») would say, that the experience und know
ledge which theBa gentlemen acquired in thfir profes
sion, and the improvement of intollaotuil ; power
which the praoti.e of auch a profession couferred,
rendered them most eligible for such a poaUhn. An
application such as ho hid referred to having been
st-ut iu, a report wa3 brought up of all matters which
could aff-ct the title i'i any way and tKe Board
teen decided whether it would r-j ot tk-d
application us based upon an unsound title, by which
there w&H a risk of defrauding any pcraJn. But ia
casi: it eliouhl turn out, notv.'ittiBtactlinj car'ful inves
tigation by the sulidcors of the Ho-trJ, aud Ion; ad
vjr.isiug in tbe newspapers, tbnt a title was issued
by wu*ch -uuie p- -on might be defrauded. *unh p'r
son had bis'remedy under the .''jutu Australian Act.
Ia chin Act a small per ceuta^o was UvisJ on tbe
laud, and this onstitited a s.-rt of insurance fund If,
tfcten, i he rightful owner could prov* his title iu tbo
Supreme Court, he would havo his remedy, not by an
notion ef pjVolment, but by tka recovery of a sum of
money equal to the full uniount paid for the land,
with the entire costs of the suit.. This was to be paid
by the person obtdininj an indefeasible title, but if
Buoh person were dead, or absent from the colony,
then the remedy would lie against the insurance fund,
or in the ev?nr, of that failing on the revtnue. (Hear.)
This appeared t-- ha consistent with justioe and com
mon a-.ns1. B it what w;iu I'm case undtsr the old
law, Rhould nn error- :j9 discovered uui-r
similar ciroumuauceu 1 If iho laud was
conveyed iu error, not only was the land
giv.sn to the rightful owner ; b t *ll the build
ings and iraprovtiuienta upon it were a'a» given.
(Cheers) Ho (Mr Torrers) had known utter ruin
broURbt upon pers -ns by tliii) iricaas I!'.1 had known
iu S mth Australia a case in which Isn-.I -rorth L700
or LSOO, with buildings upon it worth L'20,000, was
claimed in tMs way. Thia was iu a villt^A near Fort
Adelaide. The land belonged to a working man, and
all the value of ihe improvements went into tho
pooket of a weUthy gentleman. He had no doubt
but that iu the city of Melbourne there were similar
casts of land being taksn possession of in all good
faith, and which it was afterwards discovered were
wrongly taken up It was strange bow custom re
conciled men to injustice ; but tho English people
had eubmitted to this ir.jtistioa because they were
unconscious of it. Aa it was impossible to separata
the improvements fioin the land, all that could be
dons was to give the money value of the improve
ments to the portion making them. He was :-.fraid
this subjeci was a very dry one, and that it wns only
tho iattiMsfc of his hearers in it which enabled
him to be beard with anything like patienu;.
(Oheera ) He would now describe whet he considticd
the oornerit'ine of the system. The greatest piece of
mechanism of t.'o South Australian Titles Aot was
the titles registration book. Uudsr thisnystern the
titles were etowed away in a strong room, to be
burned, perhaps, ia the course of lime, and in th 'r
room a -;ertificato of title wns issued, which was in
fact nothing more, than a Crown grant, '.'.'his grant
was issued in duplicate, and ono of these uas tt t-tiund
in the office and the other given to tlis o ,?ncr of tho
land. Whenever thia land was dealt wiiii in finch a
ruannor that the fee simple was triincfi.i'reJ, the pro
prietor had t3 Burrender up his certifioato of title to
the Crown, and the Crown i»Bued a fresh one ; so
that every man'd title was distinct, and no man held
property but by a Crown grant. (Jhe,ers.) The
wisdon of Ihia prinoiplt had been recognised by a
very Ui^h authority in this colony ; ior Air Justice
13\rry had pointed out that it was the only way he
could conceive or recommend for doiug awuy with
what he cilled tbo retrospective history of ti les. This
retrospectivo history of titles waa the great
evil which it was desirable to get rid
of, for it was the so:irca of the delays
under t»o preBent system. At preaaut a purchaser
bad to look not only Into the title of the last owner,
but also into those of nil tho previous nwiian, and to
use t1 at all the formalities of la-.r and praciico had
been cnnplieil with; und if nuy.JooumentjWaa missing
chr t tits was uiiSDund, and probably altogether bad,
nubjeotiug tbo purchaser to the greatest incou
veni'-no*, or rendering the seller unable to compertbe
putulmer to take the land. There waa another still
more sarions evil, an inBtanoe of which was now
pending b'.fore the South Australian courts. If thero
was the slightest flaw in a title, and any person
got into possession of the property, though he never
had or ever pretended to have a title, he could
remain in ocoupation. In the ensn to whioh he re
ferred there was a document lodged in the Supremo
Court of Calcutta, relating to other lands ns wall us
that in South Australia. The Supreme Courb of
Calcutta had given an attested copy of that document;,
which it waa held would be sufficient to pis- nny
amount of money in tbe fjiids or chattel property,
but it oould not be taicn as eridence of till./ for
thiii small piece of limd, atui on this ao
oouut the owuer could uot tject (be man
iu possMsion of hi* home, who never erea pretended
that he had any title, but simply sat tiown there ond
would not go out. (Cheers and laughter.) This
man could not be got out n-ithout sanding a ooir.mU
eion to Calcutta to swear thit they law the ti;ln. and
tbis would cost ft rly lime* the valui t.f the pirC2 of
land. (Renewed laughter.) Of course, nonn hut
men of trained intellects conld look int- matti-rslike
this, and such men must be well p.vid for doini: i«
The peopleof Australia were an advancing community.
They did not want to by delayed f.r' weeks and
months for transfers of land, and therefore the
existing law was uueuiUd to their rcquir-'menl3 A*
Mr Juntice Barry had sai-J, findiug the evil narrowed
iiito thu neck of the retrospective hi-tory of tilloa,
they should seizi that neck aud clicks it at one;, nnd
then substitute the Bimple certificates of tills.
(Cheers ) If a portion only of tho land wis trans
ferred, the purchaser or grantee could obtain a certi
ficate for the b»lancs remaining unsold Undrr tha
present law the sume dflotls might relate co different
properties, and might net be delivered up whsu tha
property was gold, hut only a covenant b-»
givin to produce them ; but whern tht
population waa as migratory in it was here thia pr.v
vision was futile, and hu had known many ca^es in
whioh titles of this description had bscoma uaelesi.
A sain, when a township was laid out under tha
South Australian Act, the proprietor was bound to
supply purchasers withan accurate map, drawn by a
licensed surveyor, and the proprietor was compelled
to deposit bis certificate of title in tbe Registry
office, together with memoranda of sales filed in tha
nauipg of the purchasers, aud 1-aving numbers refer
ring to the m-p, and signed by competent witnesses.
In order to show the ahoit time occupied by thcai
tranaaotionH, especially when compared with tha
period consumed by Iho innumerable delays of tha ?
old, and, in thiB colony and Great Britain, the exia;
inu system, he said that a short time before his
arrival here Mr Justice Gwynne went into hh (Mr
Torrens') office for the purpose of examining and see
ing for himself the manner in which theue transfers
were effected, and whilst ho waa looking round the
offioc one of them waa made, and the whole affair
settled, the purchaser walking out with an indefea
sible title, and the vendor with the money in his
poeket. The lecturer then dessribed tha
manner iu which, under this law, land
is leased. Ho said that in his opinion the
provisions made for that purpose were not the least
of the improvements of the Act. The system adopted *
was simply thia. A book was kept for the express
purpose, signed and sealed by the Registrar General.
In that book the land or property to be leased was
described, and all that bad to be done was under tha
description of the property merely to fill in the names
of the several parties to the lease, sotting forth tha
number of years for whioh the lease wai issued, and
all tha other conditions of such lease. Thus all
repetition and unnecessary verbiage generally at
present uaed in these instruments was excluded by
the terms of the Aot, such as the setting forth that
the lessor had a right to be the lessor, &o. (Cheers
and laughter.) Tbat lease was drawn up in duplicate
by the Registrar jQencr.il, wko when the lease was
brought in, wrote' up»u it the name of the lessee, tha
amount of rent, the number of years for which such
property was leased, fto., and also entered it in tha
register book where the particulars of the property
were described. That was one of the forms of tha
certificates of lease he had before him, and purported
to bs book 1», page «3. The lease having been thus
recorded, Euch certificate waa signed by the Registrar
General, with a memorandum of tbe date, and it nu
that whieh when signed by one of the judges served
to transfer the laud. Thua a pnrchaser ef any land
wishing to know whether auch land or property was
leased, referred at once either to the lease or to tha
duplicate, which was reserved in the strong room at
the Registrar General's office ; so that, should tha
original lease be lost, another might be obtained from
the duplicate upon making Affidavit of tha loss. All
these particulars were also recorded upon the grant, or
certificate of title, and tho benefit of having all thoio
conditions recorded on the back of the ce.ttfioate, was
evident, as in case tha owner wished to sell or mort
gage th» property, all the particulars le^ardiug auch
were at once seen by referring to the certificate ; be
cause if there was nothing on tho b^-ck, thcu there waa
nothing against it, since tho law said if no lea^e, &c.
was record'-'d then it had no existence. As to tho
provisions of the Act with reference to mortgaging,
no part of thv system haJ proved ao beneficial, and so
portion of it hud been ho much opposed by
mombjrs of the legal profession. 'Ihe pre
sent mode of fictitious sales, and fictitious
reoanveyaucing of the property back nguiu,
was entirely done away wi'.h. Under the present
existing law very great injuaajo v;t,s often dono. It
ofteu happened that a party having lent money upon
land, foreclosed tho mortgage aud £old the property,
under the apprehension that h. hud a perfect right to
do so, and afterwards discovered that in cuuscq'ieuoa
ot a.iine notice or form not having uetm aouialijtf with, ' ?
| the sile was illeynl, all the Uausaclions were futile,
? aad he him-elf.waa involved in great loas and ex
piuac. Wtiat thay. wanted was to Ba,y what they
infant, and to mean whnt t ey said. Oa Vie conti
nent of Europ-a this whs torm«l lijpothuc:itiou, that
was, they did nut want to ae.l t'ao land, but merely to
put; itin pawn. All that w-ia Tvncssi-y to ulf-efc this
waa ta aet forth the namoa ot itio parties pawning,
de3jription of tbe property to bo pawned or mort
gaged, tho name of the lender of ths money, the
amouut lent, tho terra for whioh lent, and the condi
tions of the loan.: The Registrarthen ootcrediu a book
kept hy hioi for tha purpose, brief particulars
of tho mortgage, to whom mortgaged, the amount of
such mortgage, tho rate of interest, when it wa3 to
be paid, aud when the principal was to be paid. All
the privileges secured to tho mortgagee under thn old
law wers reserved to him under the new. Thus, in
case tho mortgager failed to pny either interest or prin
cipal at tho appoiutsd time, the mortgagee, by giving
one month's notion, could recover aud take all steps
the Bamo aa uuder tbe propsnl Act. A?iin, any
person borrowing money upon any proparty, an
acknowledgment of tuviug received such was written
across the back of the certifi jcte of titlo, and when
the money waa paid, a release was mads in the sama
manner. The same form was also followed in those
inaUnc*s where auy land was encumbered with a
dower to a wiio or child. A paper was drawn up
netting forili the full particulars of such encumbrance,
and duly signed and witnessed. This was then taken
to the registry office, entered upon the baok of tha
certificate of title, and made valid by the signature
of tha Registrar General. In the case of the scquea
tntion of an estate the principle was the aame. It
was provided that one person should have power to
transfer the land aa being possessed of the feo simple.
The parties interested in such sequestration appointed
a curtain .' number of trustees, and the Registrar
General issued a uertificato of titlo to them in precisely
tbe aame manner as to the original owner. It was
also provided that the registorod proprietor of any
such estate might insert in any trust iestrument the
words ' no survivorship '' in order to onaure that th«
original number of appointed trtiste a iijighc always
be kept up, sinca it hud been found ucc. .riling to the
evidence taken before Mr Freahfield, that in those
cases in which tbo number of trustees were so
maintained, the instances of fraud were
far less numerous than in tbosa in
whioh from a variety of uauees tha
number, became gradually decreased. Tkm ia
the wise of the death or refligmuiou of auy trustee,
another would have to be appointed, n;ul eithor the
Msignr-e or curator of intestate esta! on must in that
case appoint another. UaneficluiroH uudsr any trust
mittht under this aot outer a. oavcat at the Reentry
office forbidding auy further transactions with such
trusts. If such were done a note or memorandum of
auuh caveat would be entered against the number of
such certificate of title. Therefore in the ease of any
Attempt being imade by snob trustees to deal with
the property, the Registrar- Gonentl would imme
diately see by tho notice tbat suoh had been objected
to, and consequently-nothing oould by any possibility
bo done until the matter had been satisfactorily
set'led between the trustees and tbe persons lodging
tbe caveat. (Hear, bear.) It frequently happened
tbat even the fathers of famiU^a dil not wish their
!)'???- fatally, much less the world, to know what pra.
\N. wan made for them, therefore in such oasea
certifio'ites of tjtlo with the necessary memorandum of ?
suoh provision made upon i -m, oould be lodged
under seal with the Registrar- General; tuuj the pri
vate uffiirn of any person would be kept peifvatly
secret, and yet in caee of death everything by tkis
simple manner would bo perfectly straightforward and
plain. In tbe oase of the transmission of laud to any
other parlies, either through the death of the original
proprietor or any other causes, all that was neossary
was that the circumstances of the ease should be for
warded to the' Rsgistrar- General of the colony, and
the transmission either in the oase of death or bank
ruptcy would -take place to the assignee or others
jusc as under the present Act. (Cheers )
That concluded tho account of the mode of dealing
with lauded property under the South Australian
Real Property Act. Sinre hia residence in Mel
bourne, short though that had biwn, ha hud found
tbat, whatever dilfereucts of -opinion might exist, it
was the universal opinion that tho ? tillora' of land
should 'jo tbe owners of the land which tiiey tilled.
(Cheers ) From what he bad seen since he had beea
in thia colony, ho believed that the people, generally
Bpeaking, approved of ths system of South Australia

— the system upon which that colony had been
founded, and to which it owed its prosperity. That
. system had been largely extended by the different
building societies. There was a great anxiety amongst
nil Englishmen to become the pasaesaors of a portion
of land — in fact, that anxiety was, be might say, a
peculiar national characteristic ; and grent en
eouragement for the attainment of this, ob
ject had been offered in South Aus
tratiV But what, he would ask, bad been the
result t He firmly believed that under the old system,
so far from the acquisition of land in small parcels
and at a small value being beneficial to th«s poorer
and working classes, it had proved most injurious,
owing to the heavy legal expenses attendant upun the
transfer. Men were ruined by the law expenses, and
he doubted whether it would not bo bettor that the
land should not be given them unless the law of trans
fer were so altered as to permit transactions in land
to be carried on in a simpler manner and at far ksa
expense than heretofore. (Cheers ) The law of
Transfer of Real Property Act effected that altera
tion. Jjord Brougham had said that the possession of
land in small parcels was a luxury that might be en
joyed by the rich, but was ruinous to the poor, and
in that opinion he fullr concurred from his expe
rience in the colonies. He begged to thank the elect
ing for the very great attention they had given him
whilst endeavoriuji to explain a subject which '-'as so
dry that nothing could well enliven it. No doubt in
dealing with a question of such great
scope and importance, he might have left
out much that should have been said, and
much which he had Baid might have been obscure.
But he could only say that ho would be happy to give
any information that lay in his power upon the
subject to any person who might desire it. (Cheers-)
His Excellency Sir Hekrt Barely, in moving a
Tote of thanks to Mr Torrens, said, as one of those
wno had bad the pleasure of listening to the lecture,
ho believed they would all join him in a vote of
thanks to Mr Torrens. As legislation was still pending
upon the subject to which their attention had that
evening been directed, it would not be becoming in
him to express any opinion on the question. But he
thuught he might safely say, and that they would
oil agree with him in saying, that it would be well if
all great social reforms could be explained to them in
as olear, straightforward, and businesslike a manner
as had. been done by Mr Torrens. (Cheers.) He
would, without detaining them any longer, call upon
them to join him ia a vote of thanks to Mr Torrens
for hip very able and interesting lecture. (Q-reat
cheering.)
The Mayor seconded the vote of thanks, which
was carried by acclamation.
Mr TonnKKs said he very cordially thanked them
for their kind reception of his humble exertions. He
could assure them that such encourigetnent from those
whom he might call his fellow citizens, for they were
all Australian colonists, was the best reward that he
could receive for the years of labor which he had
devoted to that subject. (Cheers.) It was the best
reward, and therefore ho begged sincerely to thank
them for it. (Renewed cheers.)
On the motion of the Mator, a vote of thanks was
unanimously accorded to his Honor Mr Jnstios
Pohlman, for his kindness ia presiding upon the
occasion, and the meeting then separated.

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