Page:An essay on the transfer of land by registration.djvu/28

 that it may concern a party dealing with him to be cognisant of. The duplicate being filed in the Registry Office, searches are needless, except to ascertain the non-existence of caveats or inhibitions, and even that is accomplished without reference to an index, as each registered instrument bears a number or symbol indicating the volume and folium of the register where the history of the title is recorded. Charges and leases are created, transferred, released, or surrendered by brief endorsement on the certificate of title and entry in the register as above described. This duplicate method has the further recommendation that in the event of destruction by fire, or otherwise, of any instrument evidencing title, the duplicate remains available for every purpose.

In mortgage and incumbrance, the old fiction of transfering [sic] the legal estate is abolished, and the object is attained by a direct instead of a circuitous procedure. The usual remedies are declared by the act to be secured to the mortgagee or encumbrancee. The mortgagor retains his certificate of title, bearing endorsement notifying the mortgage. He can thus deceive no one, yet he retains full facilities for a second mortgage; and when all such charges are cleared he may, if he desire it, obtain a clean certificate freed from all record of the past. It is no uncommon thing for a mortgage to be completed in the space of an hour, at a cost of ten shillings to twenty shillings. No portion of the system has worked so beneficially for the community.

The following is the practice as regards equitable mortgage. The borrower executes a contract for charge in the authorised form, either for a specified sum, or, as is more usual, for such sum as may appear due upon balance of account at any future date. This instrument, with the certificate of title, is held by the creditor, who does not register, but lodges a caveat forbidding the registration of any dealing with the land until fourteen days, or other named period, have elapsed after notice of intention to register the same has been served by the