SECOND READING. (Hansard, 27 February 1867)

§ MR. GOLDNEY,

in moving the second reading of this Bill, said, that its purpose was to enable married women to part with their right of property in land without the expense and inconvenience entailed upon them by the present law. Previous to 1834, when the recommendations of the Peal Property Commisssioners were carried into effect by the passing of the Fins and Recoveries Act, the mode of barring an entail and the mode by which a married woman could dispose of her interest in property were by aid of certain legal fictions, the great inconvenience of which was the expense by which it was attended. Since 1834, however, under the operation of an Act passed in that year for the abolition of fines and recoveries, an entail might be barred by deed, and a married woman might dispose of her real property by deed, to be acknowledged by her as her free and voluntary act before two Commissioners, and such Commissioners were to return to the Court of Common Pleas a certificate of such acknowledgment, which was to be filed. In another Act, the 17 & 18 Vict. further provisions were made with regard to the acknowledgment of deeds by married women; and there was also a subsequent Act, which enabled them to dispose by deed of certain reversionary interests in personal estate; but the requirements of these Acts contributed to render what was a very simple matter a very cumbrous proceeding in practice. The result was, that owing to the number of acknowledgments which were rendered necessary, it had actually, since 1834, cost married women no less a sum than £1,500,000 for what he could not help designating a very unnecessary piece of machinery. In the Bill before the House he sought, as far as possible, to do away with a great portion of the expense of these acknowledgments. He proposed that instead of there being two Commissioners for receiving the acknowledg- 1134 ments of married women in each case there should be only one, who should be disinterested and altogether unconnected with the property. He also proposed that the acknowledgment of married women should not necessarily be accompanied by separate certificates and affidavits, but should be simply indorsed on the deed of conveyance itself. Another inconvenience he proposed to remedy. A large emigration took place from this country to India, New Zealand, and other places, and numbers of persons who possessed property in this country found it desirable to remain in the colonies. At present, when they wished to dispose of such property they sent home instructions with a power of attorney; but instead of the agent being able to transmit the proceeds of the sale, it was necessary to prove that the person granting the power of attorney was alive at the time the deed was executed in this country. In that way a further delay of eight or ten months took place. He proposed, therefore, that there should be no longer a necessity for a further certificate as to the person being alive at the time of the execution of the deed in this country. The Incorporated Law Society had expressed their entire approval of the principle of the Bill.