From historical chains to derivative futures: Title registries as time machines

Abstract

For centuries, transferring ownership of land under common law was a slow, complex process requiring the construction of a chain of paper deeds evidencing multiple decades of prior possession. In 1858, colonist Robert Torrens developed a new system for the transfer of land in South Australia, where the land was understood by colonial powers as ‘new’ and without history. With the intention of making land a liquid asset, Torrens’ system of title registration shifted the legal basis of title from a history of prior possession to a singular act of registration. Analysing the structure and effects of title registration, engaging with interdisciplinary work on time, and taking H.G Wells’ iconic time travel novella as a point of departure, I argue that title registries can usefully be understood as time machines. Like the machine H.G Wells imagined, title registries use fiction to facilitate fantastical journeys in which the subject is radically temporally dislocated from the material constraints of history. As with time machines, it tends to be a transcendental white male subject who is most likely to survive this dislocation. While based on fiction, the impacts of title registries are very much real, facilitating humanity’s arrival at racist, dystopic landscapes in the here and now.

Pendant des siècles, le transfert de propriété de terres sous le régime de la common law était un processus lent et complexe qui exigeait une chaîne d’actes mettant en évidence de nombreuses décennies de possessions antérieures. En 1858, le colon Robert Torrens mit en place un nouveau système pour le transfert de terres en Australie du Sud où les terres étaient considérées par les pouvoirs coloniaux comme « nouvelles » et sans histoire. Dans l’intention de transformer les terres en liquidités, le système d’enregistrement de titres fonciers de Torrens déplaça le fondement légal de titres d’une série de possessions antérieures vers un acte unique d’enregistrement. En analysant la structure et les conséquences d’enregistrements fonciers, en entreprenant des recherches interdisciplinaires sur le temps et en prenant la nouvelle emblématique sur le voyage dans le temps de H.G Wells comme point de départ, je soutiens que les titres fonciers peuvent être considérés de façon très utile comme des machines à remonter le temps. Comme la machine qu’H.G Wells imagina, les titres fonciers utilisent la fiction pour faciliter les voyages fantastiques à l’intérieur desquels le sujet est radicalement et temporairement séparé des contraintes matérielles de l’histoire. De même qu’avec les machines à remonter le temps, il a tendance à être un sujet masculin, blanc et transcendantal qui en toute probabilité survivra à cette séparation. Bien que basées sur de la fiction, les répercussions des enregistrements de titres fonciers sont tout à fait réelles, facilitant l’avènement de l’humanité aux paysages racistes et dystopiens d’ici et maintenant.

Durante siglos, la transferencia de la propiedad de la tierra en virtud del derecho común fue un proceso lento y complejo que requería la construcción de una cadena de escrituras que evidenciaban varias décadas de posesión previa. En 1858, el colono Robert Torrens desarrolló un nuevo sistema para la transferencia de tierras en el sur de Australia, donde la tierra era entendida por las potencias coloniales como ‘nueva’ y sin historia. Con la intención de hacer de la tierra un activo líquido, el sistema de registro de títulos de Torrens cambió la base legal del título de un historial de posesión anterior a un acto singular de registro. Analizando la estructura y los efectos del registro de títulos, involucrándose en el trabajo interdisciplinario a tiempo y tomando la icónica novela de viajes en el tiempo de H.G Wells como punto de partida, se argumenta que los registros de títulos pueden entenderse como máquinas del tiempo. Al igual que la máquina que H.G Wells imaginaba, los registros de títulos usan la ficción para facilitar viajes fantásticos en los que el sujeto se desplaza de las limitaciones materiales de la historia radical y temporalmente. Al igual que con las máquinas del tiempo, el más probable a sobrevivir esta dislocación tiende a ser un sujeto masculino blanco trascendental. Aunque están basados en la ficción, los impactos de los registros de títulos son muy reales, lo que facilita la llegada de la humanidad a paisajes racistas y distópicos en el aquí y ahora.

Keywords:

• Time
• title registration
• land
• property
• colonialism

Mots clés:

• temps
• enregistrement de titres fonciers
• terres
• propriété
• colonialisme

Palabras clave:

• tiempo
• registro de títulos
• tierra
• propiedad
• colonialismo

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the editors of Social and Cultural Geography for giving me the honour of delivering this lecture. Early drafts were made better thanks to detailed feedback from Nadine El-Enany, Nick Piska, Nicole Graham and an anonymous reviewer, discussions with Kojo Koram and Gavin Sullivan, encouragement and direction from Lee Godden and Fleur Ramsay, and help navigating the MERS literature from Alan White and Steve Zorn. All errors are mine alone.

Notes

1. As of 2010, more than a third of land in England and Wales is still owned by the aristocracy (Country Life, ‘Who Really Owns Britain?’ http://www.countrylife.co.uk/articles/who-really-owns-britain-20219 (16 November 2010)).

2. See Mabo v The State of Queensland (no 2) (1992)175 CLR 1.

4. Breskvar v Wall (1971) 126 CLR 376, p. 381.

5. Poovey’s quote reads: ‘In the world idealized in double-entry accounts, there are no dangers (such as highwaymen, pirates and bandits): all the ships return safely, all the moneys are realised; the haggling and bargaining of the marketplace are long past, and the future has already arrived. Like uncertainty, risk and human labour have disappeared from view, and the only threat worth noting is the one an error poses.’

6. Oxplore, ‘Can time travel ever be possible?’ https://oxplore.org/question-detail/can-time-travel-ever-be-possible?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral#998 (Retrieved 7 March 2018).^⁠.

7. Oxplore, ‘Don’t stop me now!’ https://oxplore.org/question-detail/can-time-travel-ever-be-possible?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral#998 (Retrieved 7 March 2018).^⁠.

8. Since the recognition of native title in Australian common law in 1992, indigenous Australians who successfully prove they have retained their native title since before British settlement can register their title on a different register. Native title is inalienable and the National Native Title Register does not operate on Torrens principles. For excellent critiques of native title in Australia see Kerruish and Purdy (1998) and Watson (2002).

9. Noel Pearson argued in 1991 that the Torrens title registration system was designed with the express intention of rendering legal the wholesale dispossession of Aboriginal Australians from their land (Ainger, 1991). Whether or not this claim is true, the system was clearly designed for use by white settlers buying stolen Aboriginal land.

10. In the classic science fiction film ‘Blade Runner’ (1982), replicants are androids which look identical to humans but have superior strength, agility and intelligence. The superior model of replicants was built to have a short life-span (four years) to prevent them from developing empathy.

11. For an excellent discussion of the cultural life and social disciplining of mortgages in the context of time, see McClanahan (2017).