The great value of “Politics in New Zealand” lies in the fact that it gives the workings of many Populistic ideas put into actual practice. In this country the People’s Party has been obliged to theorize and resort to an appeal to the reasoning faculties of the people. It has been unable to point out many illustrations of the actual working of its theories, except by reference to foreign countries. For example, to sustain its contention for public ownership of railroads, it has been obliged to use the lines in Germany and other monarchies as illustrations. The United States is such a vast domain as compared with countries in Continental Europe, that considerable discrimination is necessary in order to draw a fair conclusion. Besides, the European countries are so old that the habits of the people are a great factor not to be lightly dismissed. In using New Zealand, however, as our object lesson, the conditions are more, nearly parallel. It is true that country is much smaller than the United States, but in point of age and habits of the people, there is much similarity. Accordingly, New Zealand is without doubt the best object lesson in the world for proving the soundness of Populistic theories. Those who have either bought or sold real estate in the older portions of the United States, understand the difficulties and uncertainties surrounding land titles under the system which is in vogue generally. As Prof. Parsons points out, it is often necessary to search through many big volumes of deeds and mortgages, and carefully construe the provisions of various wills and conveyances in order to follow the title to its source, and form an opinion as to its validity. And even then the opinion of the most accomplished expert may prove fallacious, and the purchaser may lose his land through some defect of title. As early as 1860 the New Zealanders passed an act to remedy this condition of things by establishing what is known as the Torrens system of title registration. The owner of land may give the registrar his deeds and the claims of all persons interested, and the registrar investigates the title once for all. He accepts it if he finds it valid, and registers the applicant as proprietor, giving him a certificate to that effect. The certificate gives an indefeasible title in fee, subject only to such incumbrances and charges as may be entered on the register. An independent purchaser has only to consult the register to learn at once who is the owner of the land, and what burdens, if any, rest upon it. He is not obliged to trace the title back to the Government Patent. This system is now in force in some places in the United States, but its adoption is generally opposed by those who profit by examining titles—that is to say, the lawyers.