deed will be affected. (t) It would be beyond the scope of this work Priority of title. to enter on the refined and technical doctrine of actual and constructive notice, which will be found fully discussed in the notes to Le Neve v. Le Neve, (u) and in the authorities on equity jurisprudence. It may be objected to the above view of the section, that what the legislature had in view was, not merely the protection of a diligent mortgagee, but substantially, that whenever the property in chattels is changed, it should be changed in a particular manner, (v) but it must be observed that this Act does not make registration essential to the validity of a bill of sale. Until some decision has interpreted the intention of this enactment, it will be prudent for a mortgagee at once to register his security. (2) By sec. 11 it is enacted that a renewal of registration shall not become necessary by reason only of a transfer or assignment of a bill of sale. In ex parte Shaw, (w) it was decided that a transfer made subsequently to 1854, by a mortgagee alone, without the concurrence of the mortgagor, of a bill of sale made before the passing of the Bills of Sale Act, 1854, did not require registration under that Act, or under the Amendment Act of 1866, as against the trustee under the bankruptcy of the original mortgagor. Where goods comprised in a duly registered bill of sale were assigned bonâ fide, but the transfer was not registered, nor was any re-registration of the bill of sale effected; it was held, under the repealed Act of 1866, that after the expiration of five years the original bill of sale became absolutely void. (a) A bill of sale holder cannot, by transferring his interest to a third party, confer a better title than he himself possesses. () registration. 11. The registration of a bill of sale, whether Renewal of executed before or after the commencement of this Act, must be renewed once at least every five years, and if a period of five years elapses from the registration or renewed registration of a bill of sale without a renewal or further renewal (as the case may be), the registration shall become void. (1) The renewal of a registration shall be effected by filing with the registrar an affidavit stating the date of the bill of sale and of the last registration thereof, and the names, residences, and occupations (u) 2 W. & T. L. Cases, p. 35. (t) Wyatt v. Barwell, 19 Ves. 439. (w) 25 W. R. 686; 36 L. T. 805; 46 L. J. Bank. 114. (x) Karet v. Kosher Meat Supply Association, 2 Q. B. D. 361. (y) Exp. Odell, re Walden, 39 L. T. 333; 48 L. J. Bank. 1. Form of register. of the parties thereto as stated therein, and that the bill of sale is still a subsisting security.(2) Every such affidavit may be in the form set forth in the Schedule (A.) to this Act annexed. A renewal of registration shall not become necessary by reason only of a transfer or assignment of a bill of sale. (3) (1) The repealed Act 29 & 30 Vic., c. 95, formerly regulated the renewal of bills of sale. By sec. 14 of this Act any judge of the High Court of Justice, on being satisfied that the omission to file an affidavit of renewal within the prescribed time was accidental or due to inadvertence, may extend the time for renewal on such terms as he thinks fit to direct. (2) It is not the registrar's duty to inquire whether this affidavit complies with the provisions of the Act. (*) (3) A transfer or assignment of a registered bill of sale does not require registration. (a) Under the Bills of Sale Act, 1866, which required the registration of a bill of sale to be renewed once in every five years, it was held where the goods, under a bill of sale originally duly registered, were within five years assigned bonâ fide, but the assignment was not registered, nor was any re-registration of the bill of sale effected; that after the expiration of the five years the bill of sale became absolutely void, and the goods being in the possession. of the grantor, were not protected against his creditors.(1) 12. The registrar shall keep a book (in this Act called "the register") for the purposes of this Act, and shall, upon the filing of any bill of sale or copy under this Act, enter therein in the form set forth in the second schedule (B.) to this Act annexed, or in any other prescribed form, the name, residence, and occupation of the person by whom the bill was made or given (or in case the same was made or given by any person under or in the execution of process, then the name, residence and occupation of the person against whom such process was issued, and also the name of the person or persons to whom or in whose favour the bill was given), and the other particulars shown in the said schedule or to be prescribed under (z) Needham v. Johnson, 8 B. & S. 180. (a) Sec. 10. (b) See Karet v. Kosher Meat Supply Association, 2 Q. B. D. 361; 46 L. J. Q. B. 548; 36 L. T. 694; 25 W. R. 641. this Act, and shall number all such bills registered in each year consecutively, according to the respective dates of their registration. Upon the registration of any affidavit of renewal the like entry shall be made, with the addition of the date and number of the last previous entry relating to the same bill, and the bill of sale or copy originally filed, shall be thereupon marked with the number affixed to such affidavit of renewal. The registrar shall also keep an index of the names of the grantors of registered bills of sale with reference to entries in the register of the bills of sale given by each such grantor. Such index shall be arranged in divisions corresponding with the letters of the alphabet, so that all grantors whose surnames begin with the same letter (and no others) shall be comprised in one division, but the arrangement within each such division need not be strictly alphabetical. 13. The masters of the Supreme Court of Judica- The Registrar. ture attached to the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, or such other officers as may for the time being be assigned for this purpose under the provisions of the Supreme Court of Judicature Acts, 1873 and 1875, (c) shall be the registrar for the purposes of this Act, and any one of the said masters may perform all or any of the duties of the registrar. Rectification 14. Any judge of the High Court of Justice, on of register. being satisfied that the omission to register a bill of sale or an affidavit of renewal thereof within the time prescribed by this Act, or the omission or misstatement of the name, residence, or occupation of any person, was accidental or due to inadvertence, may, in his discretion, order such omission or misstatement to be rectified by the insertion in the register of the true name, residence, or occupation, or (c) 36 & 37 Vict. c. 66; 38 & 39 Vict. c. 77. Entry of satisfaction. Office copies. by extending the time for such registration on such terms and conditions (if any) as to security, notice by advertisement cr otherwise, or as to any other matter, as he thinks fit to direct. The tendency of the cases for some time past has been to relax the severity of the rule that a slight misdescription vitiates a bill of sale. (d) The former practice in case of insufficient registration was within twenty-one days to move on affidavit for leave to take the bill off the file, and to re-register it with a fresh affidavit.(e) 4 15. Subject to and in accordance with any rules to be made under and for the purposes of this Act, the registrar may order a memorandum of satisfaction to be written upon any registered copy of a bill of sale, upon the prescribed evidence being given that the debt (if any) for which such bill of sale was made or given has been satisfied or discharged. Under the repealed Act (sec. 6) the duty of ordering satisfaction to be entered was discharged by a judge. The practice was for the debtor to obtain from the creditor a certificate of the satisfaction of his claim, signed in the presence of a solicitor. This certificate, together with payment of the debt, was verified by the affidavit of the solicitor attesting the creditor's consent; and on this evidence an order was made to enter up satisfaction, which was then endorsed on the filed bill of sale at the Queen's Bench Office. Under this Act satisfaction will be entered in the register, on leaving with the Registrar the prescribed consent and affidavit. 16. Any person shall be entitled to have an office copy or extract of any registered bill of sale, and affidavit of execution filed therewith, or copy thereof, and of any affidavit filed therewith, if any, or registered affidavit of renewal, upon paying for the same at the like rate as for office copies of judgments of the High Court of Justice, and any copy of a registered bill of sale and affidavit, purporting to be an office copy thereof, shall in all Courts, and before all arbitrators or other persons, be admitted as primâ facie evidence thereof, and of the fact and date of (d) See per Mellor J., Halkett v. Emmott, 47 L. J. Q. B. 436; 26 W. R. 632; Exp. Hattie, re Wood, 39 L. T. 373. () Re Wright, 27 L. T. 192; re O'Brien, 10 I. C. L. App. 33. registration as shown thereon. Any person shall be entitled at all reasonable times to search the register and every registered bill of sale, upon payment of one shilling for every copy of a bill of sale inspected; such payment shall be made by a judicature stamp. The section alters the present practice as to proof of a bill of a sale, and avoids the trouble and expense of calling an officer of the Queen's Bench. Under the repealed Acts, a certificate of registration of a document purporting to be a bill of sale, with the date and indorsement of the names of the parties, was no evidence that an affidavit satisfying all the requirements of the statute had been filed with the bill of sale. () Neither was a certificate of registration of "a document purporting to be a copy bill of sale together with an affidavit,” sufficient evidence of the due filing of the bill of sale, unless there was also proof that the document registered was a true copy of the original bill of sale.(g) 17. Every affidavit required by or for the pur- Affidavits. poses of this Act may be sworn before a Master of any division of the High Court of Justice, or before any Commissioner empowered to take affidavits in the Supreme Court of Judicature. Whoever wilfully makes or uses any false affidavit for the purposes of this Act shall be deemed guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury. A false statement in the affidavit was formerly a misdemeanour at Common Law. (h) Perjury is punishable by penal servitude not exceeding seven years, or by imprisonment. 18. There shall be paid and received in common Fees. law stamps the following fees, viz.: On the affidavit used for the purpose of re-registering a bill of sale (to (f) Mason v. Wood, 1 C. P. D. 63; 24 W. R. 41. ... 5s. (g) Halkett v. Emmott, 26 W. R. 632; 47 L. J. Q. B. 436; 38 L. T. 524. Grindell v. Brendon, 6 C. B. N. S. 698; 7 W. R. 579. Waddington v. Roberts L. R. 3 Q. B. 579. (h) R. v. Hodgkiss, L. R. 1 C. C. R. 212; 39 L. J. M. C. 14. |