Page:An essay on the transfer of land by registration.djvu/18

 of my estate. About a year afterwards I desire to raise money upon mortgage of this estate. I find some one willing to lend me money, provided I have a good title to the land. The man says: ' It is very true that you bought this estate, and that you investigated the title, but I cannot be bound by your investigation of the title, nor can I be satisfied by it.' Perhaps he is a trustee who is lending money which he holds upon trust. He says: 'My solicitor must examine the title, and my counsel must advise upon it.' And then as between me, the owner of the estate, and the lender of the money, there is a repetition of the same process which took place upon my purchase of the estate, and, consequently, the same expense is incurred as when I bought it; and for the whole of that I, the owner of the estate and the borrower of the money, must pay."

In the United States, rather than encounter these vexations, delays, complications, and costs, purchasers are usually content to accept the hazardous alternative of the personal guarantee of vendors.

Reverting to an objection raised some time back, "that registration of deeds affords no safeguard against frauds such as those of Dimsdale and others, whilst it opened the door to frauds of another kind," I will now state a few cases which have come under my own observation.

Some time previous to the adoption of registration of title in South Australia, A deposited at the bank, by way of equitable mortgage, the deeds of his property, and subsequently executed a regular deed of mortgage of the same lands to B, accounting for the non-delivery of title-deeds by saying that he had left them at his station many miles up country. B registered the mortgage deed, and thus obtained priority. The bank lost the money. This could not have happened had registration of title been in operation, because the registrar could not register without production of A's certificate of title, which would be locked up in the banker's safe, and a caveat lodged by the banker would afford complete protection.