Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1905

Abstract

To what extent does the modem conveyance of estates in land in the United States by deed derive its validity from the English Statute of Uses, 27 Hen. 8, c. IO? No doubt the student, and especially the teacher, is inclined to magnify the importance of mere matters of history, because it is so much easier to understand or explain many of the terms and doctrines of real property law by approaching them historically, and, indeed, many of them cannot otherwise be understood at all. And yet we all have this constant, serious, and often difficult task, of separating matter of merely curious speculation for the learned antiquarian from what is still a part of the living law, to say nothing of that which has colored what remains or is of practical value in understanding it. There has always been a mystery to me about the source from which the present day deed of land has its force and validity, and therefore the search for this elusive, evanescent, and largely imaginary unknown quantity has been conducted for some time with much interest and with the results set out below; which, though unsatisfactory, may aid to a better conclusion.


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