Page:An essay on the transfer of land by registration.djvu/17

 very anxious to get possession of the property you have bought, and the vendor is very anxious to get his money. But do you get possession of the property? On the contrary, you cannot get the estate, nor can the vendor get his money, until after a lapse—sometimes no inconsiderable portion of a man's lifetime—spent in the preparation of abstracts, in the comparison of deeds, in searches for encumbrances, in objections made to the title, in answers to those objections, in disputes which arise upon the answers, in endeavours to cure the defects—not only months but years frequently pass in a history of that kind; and I should say that it is an uncommon thing in this country for a purchase of any magnitude to be completed—completed by possession and payment of the price—in a period under, at all events, twelve months. Sir, the consequences of this were stated in the report of the Commission to which I have referred in words so apposite that, if the House will permit me, I should desire to read to them. The Commissioners state in their report: ' When a contract is duly entered into the investigation of the title often causes not only expense, but delay and disappointment, sickening both to the buyer and seller. The seller does not receive his money, nor the buyer his land, until the advantage or pleasure of the bargain is lost or has passed away.' Unquestionably, Sir, that is one, and a very great, evil under which we labour. But that is not the greatest evil. I can well imagine that the purchaser of an estate would be content to submit to delay, and even to some considerable expense, if he were assured that, when the delay and expense were over—upon that occasion at all events—he would have a title as to the dealings with which, for the future, there would be no difficulty; but, unfortunately, that is not the case. Suppose I buy an estate to-day. I spend a year, or two or three years, in ascertaining whether the title is a good one. I am at last satisfied. I pay the expense—the considerable expense—which is incurred, in addition to the price which I have paid for my estate, and I obtain a convey-