§ (1.) So long as a land certificate, office copy of a registered lease, or certificate of charge is outstanding, it shall be produced to the Registrar on every entry in the register of a disposition by the registered proprietor of the land or charge to which it relates, and on every registered transmission or rectification of the register, and a note of every such entry, transmission, or rectification shall be officially endorsed on the certificate or office copy, and the Registrar shall have the same powers of compelling the production of certificates and office copies as are conferred on him by Sections one hundred and nine and one hundred and ten of the principal Act as to the production of maps, surveys, books, and other documents.
§ (2.) Where a land certificate or office copy of a registered lease has been issued the vendor shall deliver it to the purchaser on completion of the purchase, or if only a part of the land comprised in the certificate or office copy is sold, he shall, at his own expense, produce, or procure the production of, the certificate or office copy in accordance with this section for the completion of the purchaser's registration. Where the certificate or office copy has been lost or destroyed, the vendor shall pay the costs of the proceedings required to enable the Registrar to proceed without it.
§ (3.) A new land certificate, office copy of a registered lease or certificate of charge shall not be granted by the Registrar in place of a former certificate, or office copy, which has been lost or destroyed, unless the applicant has filed with the Registrar a statutory declaration and such other evidence, if any, as the Registrar may think necessary, stating the fact and circumstances of the loss or destruction of the former certificate or office copy, nor until at least three advertisements of the application to the Registrar shall have been published at intervals of not less than seven days in a leading London newspaper as well as in a local newspaper circulating in the district in which the land is situate, and such indemnity (if any) given as the Registrar shall think fit.
§ (4.) Where a transfer of land is made by the registered proprietor of a charge, in exercise of the power of sale conferred by the charge, it may be registered, and a new land certificate may be issued to the purchaser, without production of the former land certificate, but the certificate of charge (if any) must be produced or accounted for in accordance with this section. Subject to any stipulation to the contrary, the proprietor of a registered charge shall not be entitled to have custody of the Land Certificate, or to require a Land Certificate to be applied for:—
- (i.) On the first registration of freehold or leasehold land, and on the registration of a charge, a land certificate, office copy of the registered lease, or certificate of charge, as the case may be, shall be prepared, and shall either be delivered
311 to the registered proprietor or deposited in the registry as the said proprietor may prefer; - (ii.) If so deposited in the registry it shall be officially endorsed from time to time, as in this section provided, with notes of all subsequent entries in the register affecting the land or charge to which it relates;
- (iii.) The registered proprietor may at any time apply for the delivery of the certificate or office copy to himself or to such person as he may direct, and may at any time again deposit it in the land registry;
- (iv.) The preparation, issue, endorsement, and deposit in the registry of the certificate or office copy shall be effected without cost to the proprietor.
§ The registered proprietor of any freehold or leasehold land or of a charge may, subject to any registered estates, charges, or rights, create a lien on the land or charge by deposit of the land certificate or office copy of registered lease, or certificate of charge; and such lien shall, subject as aforesaid, be equivalent to a lien created by the deposit of title deeds or of a mortgage deed of unregistered land by an owner entitled in fee simple or for the term or interest created by the lease for his own benefit, or by a mortgagee beneficially entitled to the mortgage.
§ CAPTAIN BETHELL (York, E.R., Holderness)moved to leave out the first words of the clause, for the purpose of asking the Attorney General if he had given further consideration to a matter upon which he had spoken to the hon. and learned Gentleman. His object was to make procedure the same in all cases of transfer of land, so that the person selling should be compelled to produce one of the three certificates here mentioned before the land could be properly registered. It was done in nearly every case, but there were some cases with which it was necessary to deal.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he had considered this point, and had consulted authorities. The reason for the clause was to provide for production where such was absolutely necessary. For all practical purposes that object was attained, and it was not desirable to leave out the words to meet exceptional cases.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ MR. HALDANE, on behalf of Mr. BILLSON, moved in Sub-section (3), after "until," to insert "notice of the application has been advertised in the London Gazette and."
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he could not quite assent to the Amendment, as it would enormously increase the expense. The Amendment was cumulative. The hon. Member contemplated an advertisement in the London and local papers and also in the Gazette. Would the hon. Member agree to amend the clause so that it should read:—
or until at least three advertisements of the application shall have been published at intervals of not less than seven days in the London Gazette, as well as in the local newspapers"?
§ * MR. KIMBERthought that to advertise three times in the London Gazette would be to throw away money. To advertise once would be enough to get the advertisement repeated in all the provincial newspapers. Advertising in the London Gazette was extremely expensive, and it would be quite sufficient to advertise in the paper of the county in which the land was situated.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he was in the hands of experienced Gentlemen who knew more of the subject than he did, and invited an expression of views. He had thought that three insertions in the Gazette should be required but let it be one insertion if that was thought sufficient, and if it was thought that the advertisement should appear in a London newspaper as well, that could be kept in. He proposed after "until" to insert:—
one advertisement of the application shall have been published in the London. Gazette, as well as in the local newspaper circulating in the district in which the land is situated.
§ * MR. GEDGEdid not think that advertisement in the local newspaper was enough, certainly it was not in the counties near London—Surrey, for instance. He rarely read the Surrey local paper, and it was not much taken in, and certainly was not read for its advertisements. If advertised once in the London Gazette and three times in the leading London papers, and in the local papers, the desired publicity would be secured.
§ SIR H. FOWLERsaid it must be remembered how important was the object in view, the substitution of a certificate 313 for a lost title. There was, of course, the danger of fraud, and one advertisement would not be sufficient precaution. Of course men should not lose their title deeds, but if they did here was the machinery provided by which a certificate would be available for mortgage.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid he could only interpose again by the leave of the House. What the right hon. Gentleman had said had great weight. It might be sufficient to leave the clause as it stood and add the words, "one advertisement in the London Gazette."
§ SIR H. FOWLERBut not the words leading London newspaper, or a definition will be required.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALproposed after "least" to insert "one advertisement of the application in the London Gazette and."
§ MR. ASQUITHsaid he did not know whether it was relevant at the moment, but he must protest against the insertion of the words "leading London newspaper."
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid the words did not come in here.
§ MR. ASQUITHhoped there would be opportunity of considering it, he had something to say on the point.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Further amendment made: Omit the words "of the application to the Registrar."—(Attorney General.)
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALmoved: In Sub-section (3) after "advertisement" to insert "in a London morning newspaper."
§ MR. ASQUITHsaid that these words were an improvement on the words of the Bill, which might have given rise to very difficult questions of discrimination. He did not know on what principle the selection of the London paper would be made. He assumed the Government had considered the question carefully, but he should imagine that there were morning newspapers published in London which nobody ever saw and which nobody had ever read.
§ MR. B. L. COHEN (Islington, N.)asked the Attorney General whether such papers as The Economist, The Spectator, and The Saturday Review, were not London morning newspapers?
§ MR. WEIRsuggested the insertion of the words, after "newspaper," "not being a newspaper published on Sunday." [Loud cheers.]
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERALsaid that to meet the convenience of hon. Gentlemen, he was quite willing to withdraw the Amendment, and move to insert the words "London daily, newspaper."
§ SIR H. FOWLERsaid that originally there was no mention of the Gazette. Now that they had get the Gazette they did not want another London newspaper. They wanted the local newspapers.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Amendments made: After "advertisement," insert "in a London daily morning newspaper."
§ Omit the words "in a leading London newspaper as well as."
§ After the word "days," insert "three advertisements."—(Attorney General).
§ Clause 9,—