The Gazette 1958-61

of Title Act 1891, which makes personal represen tatives upon whom freehold registered land devolves trustees for the persons beneficially entitled, is not to be construed as making personal representatives trustees for the purposes of that Statute ; this Section of the Statute of Limitations 1957 is henceforth extended to Section 7 (i) of this Act, which provides that the personal representatives shall hold real estate for the persons beneficially entitled ; the effect of this is that, for the purposes of the Statute of Limitations personal representatives upon whom the real estate devolves are put in the same position as personal representatives upon whom freehold compulsorily registered land devolves. Personal representatives, whether as respects realty or personalty, will in future be able to rely on the Statute of Limitations, except where they are guilty of fraud (Section 26). In the Schedule, all Sections of the Probate Acts of 1857, ^58, 1859, 1876 and 1892, providing for the resealing of English, Scottish and colonial grants of probate or of administration is henceforth repealed, as this procedure has in fact been suspended since 1923. NOTE.—The Administration of Estates Bill, 1957, as passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, together with a very useful explanatory memorandum, may be obtained from the Government Publications Sales Office, Arcade, G.P.O., Henry Street, Dublin, for i/-, or 1/2, including postage. LEARNING THE LAW In publishing his Learning the Law in 1945, Professor Glanville Williams had rendered an invalu able service to future students of English Law by pointing out the pitfalls which the novice should avoid and encouraging the budding lawyer to know the proper sequence of Law Reports and cite them properly. The success of this new venture was assured, but not even the most optimistic could have foretold that six editions of this invaluable vade-mecum would have been published in twelve years. The sixth edition, published in 1957, contains 60 more pages than the earlier edition; apart from new material, references to new books and new law journals have been brought up to date. There are two new excellent chapters on " the Interpretation of Statutes " and " General Reading". This latter chapter is a most entertaining account of the effects of the mention of the law and of lawyers upon English drama, fiction and biography, not to mention jurisprudence and famous trials. The lawyer who has laboriously mastered all the advice and learning contained in this slim volume will know at his fingertips the principal textbooks and other aids

for the purpose of registering deeds, it must hence forth be in writing, and, for the purposes of rents and profits, it will relate back to the time of death. A beneficiary may require the personal represen tatives to register an assent or a conveyance in the Registry of Deeds at his expense (Section 21). Section 87(2) of the Local Registration of Title Act, 1891 is henceforth amended to include personal property and compulsorily registered land, as well as pure real property, as formerly ; henceforth, on the death of a sole registered full owner, or of the survivor of several registered full owners, who are not tenants in common, the personal representatives shall alone be recognised by the Land Registry as having any rights in respect of the land, and any registered dispositions by them shall have the same effect as if they were the registered owners. The production of an assent or transfer from the personal representatives in the prescribed form shall authorise the Land Registry to register the person named in such assent or transfer as full owner or limited owner, but the costs of registration shall be borne by such person. Following the decision in Vaugban v. Cottingham (1958), the Land Registry is no longer required to register any owner of land in his capacity of personal representative. Section 21 of the Regis tration of Title Act 1942, which now only applies to compulsorily registered land, will henceforth be extended to all registered land; therefore the Court may, after a lapse of six years from the death of a registered owner order that an applicant for registration be registered as full owner, provided it is satisfied that the personal representatives of the deceased owner are either dead or out of the juris diction (Section 22). The jurisdiction of the Circuit Court under Part III of the Act shall be exercised by the Circuit Judge of the Circuit where the land is situate (Section 23). PART IV.—Miscellaneous The Supreme Court and High Court (Fees) Order 1956 applied up to now only to the Principal Probate Office in Dublin as the six District Probate Registries were not offices established under the Court Officers Act, 1926 ; consequently the Probate fees in Dublin were double those in district registries ; this anomaly is now being remedied, and henceforth a uniform scale of fees will apply in all district registries, as well as in Dublin (Section 24). Provisions are made for the full exercise of the functions of the Probate Officer in the Principal Registry in Dublin by the Assistant Probate Office, in case of absence or illness (Section 25). Section 2(2) (d) of the Statute of Limitations, 1957 had provided that Section 86 (i) of the Registration