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Leader (1850-1860), 9th April 1859, Edition 2 of 2, Page 19, MUTUAL ASSURANCE SOCIE

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      ' The Law Of Real Prope Ltty. [Communica...

      law __ this fabric , handed down to us from our forefathers , gathering , as a rolling snowball , increased bulk in its onward progress- ^ lias eventually arrived at our feet in its present unwieldy condition . ^ Xet , bulky and confused as the present system of Keal Property Law is , its component parts are so inextricably interwoven , so dependent on one another for mutual support , and for the working of the whole machinery , that in the present attempt to remodel it , many contingencies connected with the old structure rise up , like breakers ahead , when least expected ; and well-skilled indeed must be the hand to guide a bill through the surrounding dangers without being swamped in gurgite vasto .

      Sir Hugh Cairns has boldly undertakenthis task , and although every praise is due to this accomplished lawyer for the masterly manner in which he has constructed his bills , yet there are certain difficulties connected with them , and difficulties which appeal * to us of so insurmountable a character , and so greatly prejudicial to the interests of a . certain class of the public , that we cannot refrain from laying before our readers , as concisely as possible , what would be their effect should they become Law .

      Registry restored confidence , and led to their increased demand in the market , and a proportionable rise in their value . In England there is not that timidity as to titles ; a purchaser here may invest his money in land with perfect security , if backed by the advice of a good conveyancer . The plan of registration has already been tried here , to a certain extent , in lands belonging to the Crown , corporations , or to colleges ; and yet they are not more run af ter , nor do they fetch a

      more marketable price than the lands of private individuals . Many landowners hold their lands under a title that would not be a good marketable one , trusting to length of time and the Statute of Limitations to make good then- possession . Would it benefit this class to have to come before a legal inquisition to prove a title that would not bear ° the light , making patent to all the world the weakness of their claim .

      We consider these objections in themselves a sufficient apology for bringing them under popular discussion . The space a newspaper can afford will not admit of those of a more technical character that might be raised on the subject . The great evils that exist in the present state of the law are apparent ; and we are willing to give due credit to Sir Hugh Cairns for the very skilful attempt-he lias made to gra ]> ple with so conijJicated a subject . But care should be taken in doing good that harm does not follow , for the remedy is of ten worse than the disease . .

      The object of the " Titles Bill" is this . Should the owner of property wish to secure an infeasible title , he may do so by applying to the Court which is to bp established for adjudicating upon these cases , and which , af ter a careful investigation of the evidence in support of liis title , will give a certificate , if it approves . The owner having obtained the necessary certificate has it then registered in the Registry of Landed Estates Office . Now this arrangement , per se , is very plausible and proper . Nothing could be a fairer or more reasonable proposition than that the owner of an estate should do his Best to secure it for himself and his offspring , and no doubt he would attain that end most effectually by having liis title cleared up and duly registered . When the landowner has no other interest but his

      own to consult , this method of proceeding is very satisfactory ; but when , as it frequently happens , the hinds are subject to incumbrances , and several claim under the same title ; when conflicting Inter £ sts < clash . together , and one man , in order to improve his own position , prejudices that of another , the case assumes a very different form . Many hold their lands under derivative titles ; many have sold a small portion of their estate , covenanting to produce their title from a particular date . Now , supposing ^ a purchaser should compel the vendor to come before the Court and substantiate his title according to the proposed

      system ; it may be , the title although a safeholding one , and , " for all practical purposes of the present method of conveyancing , a good one , yet would not be able to bear the severe test of being sifted before a legal tribunal . Is it in accordance with the principles of justice that a man ' s whole property should be endangered by a small encumbrancer subjecting his title to a refusal by the Court ? For a title once weighed in the balance and found wanting—once branded by a rejection—would be avoided by all future purchasers as unsafe . Again , take the ordinary case of mortgagor and mortgagee . Suppose the property mortgaged for almost its full

      value—the mortgagee is perfectly satisfied with the oxisthig state of things , Knowing that in default of payment of his money advanced ho has his remouy by foreclosure . How much more precarious would be hid security should the mortgagor fo through the ordeal of proving a doubtful title , houltl it happen , as it often does , that a landowner wishes to , contract a secret mortgage , meaning shortly to redeem his property , and , for reasons of his own , wanting the transaction to bo private , this arrangement could not be accomplished under the new '^ bill without a publicity which would render the attompt nugatory . It is very questionable whether the benefits expected to bo derived from the working of this now macliinory aro sufficient to counterbalance the evils to which it must necessarily give rise . It has been argued that the system has already boon tried ; with groat success , in Ireland 5 that there is there a mania fur registered lands , find that it is difficult to complete a purchase without registration . Does i . fc follow that because the . plan has answered well with Irish property , that the same success will attond it when workod in England P It is notorious that the titles of many estutes in Ireland have for years past boon of a very questionable land , and that tho introduction of the

      *R N 472. Apiui. 8. 1859-1 The Leader, 4...

      * r 472 . Apiui . 8 . 1859-1 THE LEADER , 467

      Mutual Assurance Socie

      ings of the " Vice-Chancellor ' s Court to justify us in advocating a change of the law as affecting policyholders . Against the cogency of many of these observations we are- fully aware that a large number of persons in the assurance world are likely to reply that in mutual societies , limited liability is stipulated for by the policy , which takes the form of a special contract ; but the best rejoinder to this observation is the fact that the order of Vice-Chancellor Kindersley for so unprecedented a call on the assured in the " Security Mutual" arises out of a claim made under a policy .

      If policy holders could in any sense be regarded as adventurers , who connect themselves with the Institutions in which they assure , in a similar manner , and with the same objects in view _ as shareholders , there would be no need "for calling attention , especially to the position of the assured in mutual offices . Argument is , however , not wanting to show that , in no sense whatever , is it possible to place them in the same relation The Legislature has , between 1793 and 1858 , emphatically declared , by the passing of no less than twenty-four acts , that it is an imperative duty to encourage prudence and forethought amongst the

      working and industrious portion of the people to join benefit societies , and no such solecism in the preseni enlightenedperiod of progress can possibly be permit ted to exist of interposing difficulties and penalties in the way of the middle classes , who are anxious to do precisely the same thing which their poorer neighbours have been almost forced into by ten Acts of Parliament ,. within as many years . If it be sound legislation to encourage frugality amongst the " poor , it surely does not follow to be political wisdom to hinder it amonjj the more affluent .

      MUTUAL ASSURANCE SOCIETIES , No . III . LIABILITIES OF THEIR POLICY HOLDERS , The order made by Vice-Chaneellor Kindersley on the policy-holders of the " Security-Mutual Assurance Society , " by which each contributory is now called on to make a payment of 30 Z . in respect to every II . lie may have paid to the office in shape of premiums , shows that the legal position of the assured in mutual offices is really a very critical one .

      During the last four years . an unprecedented number of assurance companies , both proprietary and mutual , has been compelled , to relinquish business , and there is no evident reason that before , long as m any more societies may not break down . There can be no doubt that the chief cause of their failure has been mismanagement , as there is still an ample field of life assurance to be cultivated . Were the losses incurred in these concerns confined to shareholders , only little need be said on behalf of the assuring public . But now the order of the Vice-Chancellor furnishes a striking instance that the prudential person who invests his savings ; in

      a life policy is liable to the same vicissitudes as thespeculative shareholder ; for in the eyes of the law , the term shareholder , in the case of mutual assurance companies , means any person who is an assured member thereof , and , in the event of pecuniary embarrassments arising , he holds the identical position in respect to the society of an avowed shareholder in a proprietary company . Fortunately , we have some mutual societies that the country may \ yq \ 1 be proud of ; , but recently even old and respected instiutions , -which by the outward world were looked upon as towers of strength , have been

      compelled to seek amalgamation on terms of great loss to tho shareholders ; and as it is impossible for any but tho fW initiated to know anything precisely of the real state and condition of our largest coinpanics , it is just possiblo that many others may be in no better condition than thoso which Have actually disimpcarcd ; and in every way in which tho subject muy be regarded the chances are high that some nmtunI offices may be included in tho list . So fm \ however , at * younger societies are concerned , the danger to the assured is much greater ; but whether the company be young or

      old , tho reasons ore tho same against tho present state of the law , which views the policy-holders in mutual societies as shareholders , remaining unaltorcd . Wo aro unwilling to create any unnecessary feeling of uneasiness in the mimls of assurors in mutual offices , or we might submit to tho consideration oi' our readors a variety of aspects in which serious diflioultios may present themselves , We have no wish to point out and give prominence to ninny of the ( signal failures of mutual adventures , in order to ground well-founded upprohonsioiiH of the dnngors wo mny linvo to encounter for the Uturo . There la enough in the recent

      prooood-From the peer to the peasant , the vicissitudes arising from sickness , disease , and death , unless otherwise provided against , occasion great pecuniary suffering to their families . Thcreis . often . other protection or safeguard from . those evils than the adoption of the principle of life assurance ; and the Government -of-the ' . country should give the same le « -al facilities , for its practical adoption by all classes . Friendly societies , beyond mere legal privileges and ' fiieilities , have had conceded to them other advantages , such as investing at a ln ' rrli mta nf interest in Government securities , and

      exemption from stamp duty ; but these need not be sought for mutual assurance . societies . They may , however , . fairly lay claim to the right of limited liabity , the cheap and easy modes of-suing and being sued , appointing trustees and vesting property in them , easy modes of settling disputes ,- and the complete control which the society has over its officers and agents . Within the two or three last years , various bills have been proposed for the regulation of these societies , but they have been-but indifferently ' received by those interested in assurance matters . That the Friendly Societies'Acts are -well adapted to the go vernment of

      assurance societies , is testified by the practical proof that throe of our best and decidedly most successful institutions have been enrolled under them for upwards of a quarter of a century . Besides these , there are several other societies , although not of equal magnitude , which are known to work well under the Friendly Societies' Acts . Had it not been for the passing of the 3 & 4 Viet .., cap . 73 , and the still more stringent Acts , f ) ik 10 Viet ., c . 27 , and the 13 & 14 Viet ., c . 11 / 1 , which effectually excludes : iU assurance schemes , properly so called , it is obvious that we diouhlnoAv have had a Greatly increased number of good nwurunco

      institutions conducted under those Acts , and which wouJLcl , under any * circumstances , whether successful or . unsuccessful , have * aflordcd complete protection nffjiinst tho disastrous const-i / nences which have ' befallen the policy-holder * in tho " Security Mutual . " An attentive porunnl . of ' thu 18 and IJ Viet ., 0 . 101 r by any one limctionlly conversant with the management of a life -wwn-nneo Boeiety , cannot fail to convince him how well adupUnl it is , with but slight modifications , for tho regulation of assurance sociotio * . Tho bent guarantee for the Kovornmont of nny concern i » tfood iimniigomont , and the complete ilwlom of action and direct control which every member 1 ms over it * alhurs will generally cause , » liqultliy vigilance to liu at all times cent over tho energy , skill , and discipline of its oflicorfl If wns tho almost entire absence of tho possibility of nny such general supervision tinder ho Joint-Stock Companies Act , tho 7 H 8 Viet ., c HO , -which occasioned a porfuct swarm of bo-

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 9, 1859, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09041859/page/19/