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ON THE ADVANTAGES OF POSSESSING LANDEDPROPERTY IN SCOTLAND .
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1 he security of property, is the great cause of the prospe-rity of any country. Where property is insecure, the induce-ments to exertion are diminished : For it is only by that un-ceasing industry, which security excites and cherishes, thatany society can become opulent or powerful. It is to thespirit of the British constitution, and to those laws, which arethe safeguards of individual right in property, that we owethe great, and still increasing prosperity of these kingdoms.
In no country in Europe , are the rights of proprietors sowell defined, and so carefully protected, as in Scotland . Theprocess of investiture, by charter and sasine, ascertains themanner in which the proprietor becomes possessed of hislands, whether as the heir of his ancestor, or as a purchaser ;and in general fixes their limits or boundaries, with the ut-most accuracy. The Scotch system of records affords ad-vantages both in the security and conveyance of property, thatare unknown in any other part of Europe . All burdens on landmust be recorded, to render them effectual; and by referringto the particular register, their nature and extent can be easi-ly discovered. A purchaser is thus guarded against the ef-fects of all deeds which might operate to his prejudice ; as bya knowledge of the nature and extent of the burdens affectingthe estate, he may regulate his conduct accordingly.
The rights of the Scottish proprietor being thus fully se-cured by a series of recorded deeds, at once ample and expli-cit, he can pursue the improvement of his lands, with the cer-tainty of reaping every advantage that may result from it.