A STUDY IN LEGAL ADMINISTRATION AND RECORDS SHARON ...

land ... which decreases the value of the land or the
owner's interest or the interest of one who has an
estate that may become possessory at some future
time (such as a remainderrnan, lessor, mortgagee,
reversi~ner).~~
Acts that decrease the value of the land include mining of the terrain and
destruction of houses, gardens, or trees. 'Wasten can also describe:
inaction by a possessor of land causing
unreasonable injury to the holders of other estates in
the same land?
The Court of Chancery functioned as a separate court in Upper Canada
from 1837 to 1881. There were attempts to secure equitable jurisdidion before
1837 but they were unsuccessful. Prior to that date, therefore, the court lacked
a vehicle for dispensing equitable justice. Obviously no Chancery records were
generated before 1837 and this vacuum apparently had a negative effect on
subsequent record keeping and maintenance.
Chancery case files are extant only from 4869. Two explanations may be
postulated for the dearth of files for the first thirty-two years. Beginning in 1857
Chancery Court judges were required to go on circuit to county towns." County
courts were not always courts of record and this situation may have jeopardized
record keeping during the judges' rounds. Second, in 1 868 the responsi bility for
keeping Chancery Court records was transferred from Registrar of Chanœry to
Clerk of Records and Writs.' Possibly record keeping under the registrar had
not been well-executed. It can be concluded that the record keeping
environment for Chancery Court materials was less than optimal. The final