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up his quarters in the Fleet or Marshalsees; and then, to extend his judgment, to gain some part of recompence for being undone by his kindness to his friend, whose estate is far short to recompense his damage, although he was never worth a groat more than what he got by these means. My application is, that, if these judgments came to be entered, persons of subsequent concernment would come to the discovery of them, and thereby avoid, or be timely relieved against them.

The difficulty to borrow money proceeds not from its scarcity, but the diffidence of good security; for it is generally known, that those who need it not, and have estates, may borrow what they please on easy terms, when as persons in debt cannot procure it without much trouble and charge.

If moneyed men could safely deal in purchases or mortgages of lands, the obstruction whereof is only concealed and undiscoverable incumbrances, they would not keep their treasure lying by them without profit to themselves, or use to the publick, but set it abroad to benefit; and none, who are owners of land, could want money, at any time, to serve their occasions. This would promote trade and commerce betwixt all men.

The too frequent and abominable villainy of forging, erasing, altering, and antedating of conveyances, would be wholly pre vented by the means of this registry.

It will very much assist executors to discover their testators debts of record, whereby to know how to make due administration with safety to themselves.

Objections may be made, which, though weak in themselves, yet some may think them fit to receive an answer: As

1. The matter proposed would discover men's estates to their prejudice, their debts would be made known, and so their credit and reputation weakened; and others, who desire to conceal their fortunes, would be discovered to the world, and thereby liable to taxes and burthensome offices, which now they avoid.

Answer. As to the first, the support of credit and repute, by having poverty undiscovered, is like the concealing of a wound till it comes to an uncurable ulcer; and the effects of it can never recover the patient, but will at last destroy him, and deceive all who trust in him.

As for the other, it is most just and equitable, that they should bear and undergo taxes and burthens proportionable to their estates, and not lay it on the shoulders of those who are of less ability.

2d Ob. It would give opportunities to pick holes, and find out defects in men's conveyances.

Answer 1. Many persons, having once gotten a possession, hold by wrong, on pretence of conveyances which they have not, occasioning many suits for discovery thereof; which need not be, if the publick registry did demonstrate it.

2. The registering may be brief and short, setting forth the ef fect of the conveyance. Besides, scarce any in these days do sell

or grant land, without keeping an exact copy or counterpart, by which defects, in case there be any, will more appear, than it can do by the registry.

3d Ob. It would put purchasers to an unnecessary trouble and charge.

Answer. The charge will be inconsiderable to the great satisfaction they receive, by being freed from the danger of precedent titles; and the trouble cannot be much, when an office for the purpose is kept in the shire-town, or chief city of the county.

There is yet another objection, which, though perhaps it will not be openly owned, yet may covertly prove more obstructive than all the rest; and that is, the growing students of the law, who observe, with admiration, the vast wealth and honour acquired by their predecessors in their functions, may see cause of despairing the like to themselves, if this preventive remedy is set on foot. But the genuine and candid exposition of the law's use and intention, forbids all contradiction of what tends to the publick tranquillity and welfare; and, therefore, I hope, there needs not much to be said in confutation of what will not be publickly asserted.— And this I dare aver that many learned lawyers have been deceived in their purchases, by precedent titles of the very money which they got in controverting the like cases for their clients..

Having thus far discoursed of the great benefit, and, indeed, absolute necessity of what is proposed, I shall add my conjectures of an order, manner, and likewise the charge in execution of the business in hand.

1. That the registry be kept in the shire-town, or chief city of each county, and all incounties of cities and towns, saving some great cities particularly to be mentioned, be included within the out county, it being not worth the attendance for some incounties alone.

2. That the entry of each deed, grant, fine, common recovery, will, and conveyance be in large books of royal paper bound, which are more durable than parchment, and to contain only the date, parties names, consideration, lands granted, to whom, for what term or estate, what uses, upon what conditions or limitations, and the endorsement or subscription of witnesses, omitting all other covenants; and this is to be done briefly and concisely, only the lands granted to be full and at large, for expedition-sake; the purchaser may bring an abstract with him, which being compared and examined by the register, and the deed signed by him, the entry may be made by the abstract.

3. If the deed contains lands in several counties, then an entry to be made in each county, as to so much as lies within the same. 4. As for judgments, statutes, and recognisances, to be briefly entered with their dates, number, rolls, and courts where recorded, in such and so many counties, as the cognisor's lands do lie in ; and, in case of subsequent purchases, then where, when, and as often as such purchases shall be made, for the discovery whereof, the creditor or purchaser is to take care at his peril.

5. As for copyhold estates, they are always conveyed openly in the Lord's court, by way of surrender, and therefore need no other discovery; but, in case of leases made, or terms granted by deed of copyhold estates, by the Lord's license, or otherwise, those to be registered.

6. This registering not to be used as binding evidence of the making or execution of any deed (in regard it is done at the instance of the grant, in the granter's absence) but only to serve for a discovery of it to such as shall be concerned.

7. To the end the present generation may reap some benefit of this work, that all deeds, assurances, and real incumbrances, made or created since the year 1660, be registered within a year, at the peril of the grantees or cognisees being postponed.

8. That all other registries be made within four months after the date, and then to be effectual as from the date, at the peril of being postponed to all intervening before it is registered, but not to be forecluded of registering at any time, running the hazard of postponing. And if any will so far rely upon his security, and his granter or cognisor's integrity, without registering it, to stand good against all but creditors and purchasers.

9. That an exact alphabet be kept of all the granters and cognisors names, with their titles and additions, and the number or folio wherein their art is registered. And, in regard some persons are called by several sirnames, with alteration of title and addition, that, for better assurance, another alphabet be kept of the names of the towns and places wherein the lands granted do lie, for both these alphabets together must be infallible.

10. As for fees of the office: Every entry, not exceeding three sheets, each sheet containing twelve lines, and eight words in every line, two shillings, and for every sheet exceeding, six pence.

For the alphabeting of each entry, six pence.

For a search and sight of the entry, for every ten years, five shillings; and, if for any less number of years, eight pence for each year.

For copies of every sheet written as aforesaid, six pence.

A TREATISE

CONCERNING REGISTERS TO BE MADE OF ES. TATES, BONDS, BILLS, &c.

With Reasons against such Registers.

By the Honourable Mr. WILLIAM PIERREPOINT. MS.

THE

HE expences, concerning such registers, would be unsupportable to the subjects of this kingdom; their charges for the first year (by being compelled to register their deeds made in

times past) would be above six-hundred thousands, and above two-hundred thousand pounds, for every year for the time to

come.

And such hath been the carelessness (if not worse) of trustees, widows, their second, or other husbands, guardians of orphans, sequestrators, and other plunderers, in the late times of troubles, concerning deeds which came into their hands, as not in one estate of twenty, but some defect in law would be found therein, if every person might peruse their deeds, as all might do, if they

were recorded.

Many now quietly enjoy their lands, chief rents, and other just profits out of the lands of other persons; because, it is believed, they have good deeds to shew for them, and questionless their an cestors, or those under whom they claim, had such deeds; many have intired their manors, by several purchases and exchanges from freeholders, within their said manors, and thereby made great improvements; some deeds are lost, registers would discover the wants of those deeds, many hundreds of persons would thereby lose their lands, chief rents, and just profits out of the lands of other persons, and have their inclosed grounds thrown open to

commons.

Creditors lend their monies on judgments, statutes, recognisances, mortgages, bonds, or bills; judgments, statutes, and recognisances are recorded, the nature of them, suits thereunto; the defect therein is that the records of judgments are so difficultly to be found out, for, judgments being recorded in Chancery, by rules of common law, in the King's-Bench, in the Common-Pleas, in the Exchequer, and many hundreds in every term, in time as they happen, it is scarcely possible to find them in due time, to the great damages of many persons.

These defects may be redressed by making fit alphabetical kalen. dars of judgments in every of those courts, and such kalendars may be easily done, and will be readily made by the clerks in those several courts, if by act of parliament some reasonable fee be allowed to such clerks for so doing; as to take two pence for search for every year, as is allowed by the statute 27 Elisabeth, chap. iv. for search for statutes merchant, and of the staple.

Mortgages are of like nature with judgments and statutes; wherein lands mortgaged are of double value to the money lent on them; and with general warranty against all persons, and the monies to be repaired at six or twelve months, so as seldom to be incumbrances on lands, longer than for the mortgager's life; therefore, it may be of greater benefit than prejudice to record mortga ges. But therein will be difficulties which will require serious consideration, as, amongst others, because some mortgages are made by absolute sales with defeasances collateral, and some purchasers arc concerned to keep ancient mortgages on foot, assigned to trustees for security of their purchases.

In the time of the Rump, an act of parliament, as they falsly called it, was by some men there violently prosecuted for register.

ing all deeds, pretending what they so pressed was to prevent frauds against purchasers and creditors, but they were such who had no money to lend, or wherewith to buy lands; the registering of mortgages for the time to come was not much opposed, but that did not satisfy them; their aims were their private gains to have or sell registers places, thereby to share amongst themselves above a hundred-thousand pounds yearly: The officers, in such registers, would have to themselves so much at least, over and above all charges and expences therein.

If bonds and penal bills (which are quick securities, and but for short times) should be made void, if not registered, the prejudices which might happen thereby to creditors are apparent.

Quadraginta hath been writ for Quadringenti, forty for fourhundred; then he who had truly lent two-hundred pounds on such a bond, if this mistake had been discovered, could not, in the court of common law, have recovered on that bond more than forty pounds; and so may easily be mistakes in quinquaginta for quingenti, fifty for five-hundred, nonaginta for nonagenti, ninety for nine-hundred, and so for many others; but, the mistakes not being discovered, the creditors have had their monies lent well paid, without demand to see the bonds, or hear them read, or being put to any charges or troubles in suits.

Bonds and bills are no effectual incumbrances on lands, until sued to judgments.

When kalendars are made, whereby judgments may be speedily discovered, then there can be little prejudice by not recording bonds and bills; but the recording them would destroy trade, two parts of three, in trade, being carried on upon credit.

Many tradesmen have borrowed great sums of money, and taken up wares on bonds and bills; have lived well, and paid all their creditors to their satisfactions; have enriched this kingdom, and raised good estates to themselves and their heirs, who at some times have owed to several creditors, on bonds and bills, much more than they were then worth; which if it had been then known, and which registers would have laid them open, they would have had their bonds and bills sued against them to judgments, when it would have been to their ruin; but each creditor, believing those persons did owe nothing, or but little but to themselves, did not sue or molest their debtors.

In like condition would have been many gentlemen free-holders and farmers, who were necessitated to borrow money, and take up goods on their bonds and bills, for the managements of their estates, to provide stocks, and other necessaries; which if it had been known at all times, what they owed to all creditors, would then, when they had not been able to pay, have had their bonds and bills sued to judgments, and thereon their lands and goods seized, their bodies imprisoned, or they to lie hid, or to fly into foreign parts, to the inestimable damages of this kingdom thereby bereaved of the benefits from the abilities of their minds, and la bours of their bodies.

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