done in a few minutes at small expense. The transfer of land in South
Australia is done in a few minutes at small expense at the Government
registry. The transfer of land in England requires an uncertain time
and cost--usually some weeks, and 5 per cent on the purchase money;
sometimes months, and 10 to 25 per cent on the purchase money. It is
equally expensive and slow in the register counties of York and
Middlesex. The Acts of Brougham, Bethell, Cairns, to facilitate
transfer have not materially reduced the evil. In many cases, however
much the land may be wanted for public or other purposes, the lawyers
tell you that no title can be made without a private Act of
Parliament--so effectually has the land been tied up.

The common idea is that this peculiar difficulty, delay, and cost in
the transfer of land arise from the law of inheritance and the legal
machinery of entail; but stock in the funds can be virtually entailed
and made to "follow the estate," and yet this stock can be
transferred just as readily as any other stock.

The explanation is known to every lawyer; but I have met with more
than one Member of Parliament who, though blatant about entail,
understood no more about the matter than a chimney-sweep.

The point is that, under English law, the trusts in the case of stock
attach to the trustees, not to the stock; in the case of land, the
trusts attach to the land itself as well as to the trustees. Hence,
when I purchase stock of trustees I need not trouble about how they
apply the purchase money; in the case of land I have to go into the
whole title.

A simple illustration. I provide for a daughter L300 a year by