he would also reap the more immediate reward of a nation's gratitude.

We do not require to point out to the present enlightened generation of lawyers, that any reform of this nature would not lessen their emoluments, even if there were any so unpatriotic and professionally unwise as to think more of their own profit than of the public good. Not only would the arrangements under the new Act, of themselves cause a multiplicity of business for many years; but, instead of a stray charter of resignation, or extra infeftment, they would be called upon to prepare a greatly increased number of dispositions, for which they would receive ad valorem fees. It is difficult to estimate the amount of commerce in land which is prevented by the present cumbrous system of titles, and the impossibility of a proprietor calculating upon receiving the price at once when sold. A few speculations are occasionally made; but, as a general rule, land and houses are only bought to be kept and handed down to heirs. It is when one has made his fortune in other pursuits, that he enters the land market, and then it is a residence he wants for the evening of his days, or an estate to give him position and weight in the country. But abolish the present restrictions, and perfect as the Scotch system would then be, when allied with our present public registration, traffic in land would be vastly increased, and, as a necessary consequence, the business of law agents would be improved. It is but a short-sighted policy at any time for professional men to stand, on personal grounds, in the way of improvement (and, to the honour of Scottish conveyancers, they offered little opposition to late changes which, for the moment, seriously affected their incomes); but it would certainly be a very suicidal policy of any lawyer to seek to perpetuate abuses which prevent business from flowing in far more abundantly than it would do if they were abolished.

The changes indicated must sooner or later be accomplished, in order to harmonize land-rights with modern ideas; but, as several years may elapse before they are submitted to Parliament, we turn to a more limited subject, for the discussion of which the most ardent feudalist must be quite prepared. We refer to the question, whether the notarial instrument of sasine ought to be abolished. Mr Rodger, who does not possess the same profound respect for the authority of Sir Thomas Craig, Mr Walter Ross, and the juridical styles, as conveyancers in general disputed the notion, that the instrument was introduced by James I. "In all my researches," he says, "I have nowhere discovered the least particle of evidence to entitle us to impute to James I. any share of the merit or demerit of devising the notarial instrument of sasine, or of bringing it into use." "In short," he continues, "what more likely than that it originated in pure accident." We have no doubt it originated in a very simple way, notwithstanding the importance which, in after years, was attributed to it. Some notary more careful, or timid, or

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more affected with the cacoethes scribendi than his brethren, instead of trusting to the recollection of the witnesses, that sasine had been given, probably to some non-resident proprietor, or leaving it to be proved by any short memorandum of his own on the back of the precept, embodied a history of the transaction in a notarial document. Others, prompted by the same causes, or following his example, did likewise, and the document gradually grew and flourished until it reached that grand climax of legal perfection in former times, "the fertile source of many a cruel fraud." It is undoubted that sasine was, for a long period, given in Scotland without an instrument being expede; and in England, where sasine was also given in some form, the instrument was not in use. But what shall we say of the present practice, where the instrument is still retained, although the fact of giving sasine is no longer required. We are quite aware that what is now meant is, that the notary gives sasine by granting the instrument; but if it was considered unnecessary to retain the old symbols of delivery of earth and stone on the lands, it is surely far less necessary that an instrument, originally designed as a record of that fact, should be retained. Formerly it had a meaning, now it is perfectly meaningless; for the giving of sasine by producing the warrant to a notary-public, and his expeding an instrument to be recorded in the register, is the giving neither of real nor symbolical possession. It is only a clumsy device by which a title is retained, for which there is not the slightest necessity, and at a time, too, when the public declaim loudly, and quite justly, against the feudal fetters in which land is still bound. Even when there was some rational meaning in the instrument, it did not possess any virtue or validity in itself. Its efficacy depended upon registration; and the recent Act, 8 and 9 Vict., c. 35, so entirely adopted this view, that it reduced the instrument into a mere schedule suitable for entering the record. Professor Menzies truly remarks, that the design of the Act "was to strip both the instru ment and the ceremony of everything not conducive to that upon which its efficacy has always virtually depended, viz., the registration of it." In this the Act, doubtless, accomplished great good; but it was evident to every one that it was merely a step to the entire abolition. The question which necessarily suggests itself is, whether there is any necessity for maintaining a document which is avowedly only used for the purpose of registration, if registration can be obtained without it? It is surely unnecessary in this age to have any delivery, either real or symbolical, of land, a practice only necessary and suited to rude and barbarous times; but if it should be deemed expedient that legislation on this matter should only proceed by slow and timid steps, and that there is still a necessity for preserving some rag of a ceremony, then the sasine might consist of a notarial docquet upon the charter or disposition, bearing in a single sentence, that the notary had given sasine to the disponce of the lands described in the deed. The docquet might

be inserted in the register, with a full description of the lands. When more than one document required to be presented to the notary, the docquet would be written upon the last of the series, and shortly stating the deeds presented to him. This method would partially reduce the expense, and would be a step in the right direction, which may probably commend itself to timid reformers more than a broader proposal; but we believe professional, and assuredly also public, opinion, are ripe for more. An enactment providing that registration of the charter or disposition would have the same effect as a recorded instrument of sasine would, we think, have all but universal approval. This is a principle already not unknown to our law. It was adopted in the Lands' Clauses Consolidation Act; and property of the worth of several millions, is now held upon no other title by railway and other public undertakings. The 80th section of that Statute (8 Vict., c 19) provides, that feus and conveyances of land," being duly executed, and being registered - in the Particular Register of Sasines kept for the county, burgh, or district in which the lands are locally situated, or in the General Register of Sasines for Scotland kept at Edinburgh, within sixty days from the last date thereof, which the respective keepers of the said Registers are hereby authorized and required to do, shall give and constitute a good and undoubted right, and complete and valid feudal title, in all time coming, to the promoters of the undertaking, and their successors, and assigns to the premises therein described, any law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." The form of conveyance which is provided by the Act, contains neither procuratory of resignation nor precept of sasine; and, where the promoters of the undertaking held a conveyance containing these clauses, or which may be completed by infeftment, it is not necessary for them to record the conveyance, but they may make up a title in usual form. There are, of course, many reasons which might make it advisable to cheapen the conveyance of lands to public companies, which do not exist in the case of private individuals. Land, on being acquired by great public bodies, may be said to pass out of the market for an indefinite period, and there is less risk in making an innovation for their advantage, such as has been described. It is, moreover, the policy of Government to encourage works of public utility, by diminishing as much as possible the expense of creating them. All that we desire to point out is, that the principle of recording conveyances, and holding such registration as a valid feudal title, is not unknown to the law of Scotland; and that, if it can be shown to be a proper and advisable thing, there need be no hesitation in adopting it, from a reluctance to break in upon the ancient usages of the country. The purity of the register of sasines has already been soiled by the admission of conveyances; and the sole question now is, Would it be proper to extend, for the benefit of private individuals, an alteration of the law already introduced for the benefit of public undertakings? There is another example of a

recorded disposition being held a valid title, which, although not so pertinent a precedent as that under the Lands' Clauses Act, we must mention, chiefly on account of the exalted source from which it comes. All conveyances from the Sovereign, of property under the control of the Woods, Forests, and Land Revenue Commissioners, are recorded in Chancery, and the title is thenceforth complete. The holding inserted is blench, for payment of a penny, "if asked only." There is a class of companies, somewhat differing from the public undertakings referred to in the Lands' Clauses Act, but which are not less deserving of encouragement, to whom the abolition of the sasine would be a great boon-we mean Building Societies. The operation of these most excellent institutions is very much hampered by the heavy expense of titles. In the Act regulating them (6 and 7 William IV., c. 32), they are permitted to insert in their rules forms of conveyance, etc., for carrying the purposes of the Society into execution; and in practice, we believe, printed forms of dispositions and bonds are used; but the permission in the Act does not, of course, extend to the completion of the title of a member after he has acquired a house; and upon small properties, such as those which are acquired through such Societies, the burden of sasine, and making up titles with the superior, fall very heavily. The next chapter to that of the Statute of William IV., which regulates Building Societies, amends the law of Scotland as to erasures in sasines. We think it is a pity the Act did not erase the sasine entirely from our conveyancing practice.

In England, a large section of the community are presently agitating for a very extensive reform in connection with their land rights. The agitation arose out of the attempts which have been made to secure for that kingdom such a system of registration as we have enjoyed for upwards of 200 years. The ignorance which seems to prevail with respect to the proper functions of a land register, and indeed, of the necessity and advantage of distinct and specific titles to landed property, has led many to aim, not at a registration of land rights, but of the lands themselves, for the purpose of reducing titles to mere extracts from the register. They propose that a tabular record of lands should be kept, like the register of a company's stock, and transferences to be marked off, in red ink, in the most summary manner imaginable. A Blue Book was issued last session, by a Commission appointed to inquire into the subject of registration; and those of our readers who imagine feudal forms to be perfection, and may be inclined to think we go too far in the observations submitted, would probably be the better of dipping into this report. They will there see the kind of theories and expedients to simplify and cheapen land transference, which are not only abroad, but gravely discussed in a Parliamentary committee, and submitted to Parliament; and, perhaps, on reflection, they may see the necessity of making prudent concessions in time, to the advancing necessities and ideas of the age. If, instead of

prudent concession, a policy of dogged resistance be adopted, then the public will ultimately make short work both of our feudal forms and feudal principles.

Review of the Month.

Business of the Court. The brief experience which we have had of the Court of Session Act has been altogether in its favour. The transference to the Lord Ordinary of the purely formal business, with which so much of the valuable time of the First Division was every morning occupied, has been a source of great satisfaction to all parties to none more so than the judges themselves; for not only has a considerable saving been effected in the public time of the Court, but privately, the judges are saved the necessity of reading so many long petitions, for the most part on such inviting topics as trenching, farm-buildings, agricultural improvements, and factorial accounts. It appears, however, that by the view which has been taken of sect. iv., their Lordships' past experience on such matters will still be partially available to the country. The summary petitions and applications, which are by the above section sent to the Lord Ordinary, are declared to be those: "which are not incident to actions or causes actually depending at the time of presenting the same;" and in this forbidden category, a petition for recall of factory has been placed. If such an application cannot competently be made to the Lord Ordinary a fortiori, every petition for powers can only be made to the Inner House,-a construction which, however justified by the phraseology, must surely have been beyond the intention of the framer of the Statute. But the saving which has been effected in this department of the business of the Court, has had the best effect in a variety of ways. The judges have now more time for the reading of the record before the case is argued; and the result is a visible improvement in the mode in which the case is disposed of. Counsel now understand that it is more than ever necessary to be short and to the point. The irrelevancy of the prolix gentlemen,-whose theory of duty to their client is the very fallacious. one, that it can only be properly done by means of a very long speech, is at once stopped; and should it appear, from the opening, that there is nothing in the case, judgment is given on the spot. In short, business is now done, and as little is said as possible. It need not therefore excite surprise, that by such vigour and energy on the part of the judges, the arrears are fast disappearing. The rapid rate at which this is being effected, will be best shown by a comparison of the progress already made, with what was accomplished during the whole of the winter and summer sessions of last year. Taking