default of appearance and investigation of title
Historical Development of Default Procedure in Partition Proceedings. The treatment of default in partition proceedings cannot be properly understood unless it is placed within its legislative history. Before statutory partition was introduced, the right of a co-owner to seek division of common property was rooted in the general law, including Roman-Dutch principles. But the old law was not supported by a detailed procedural machinery specially designed for partition. Once the legislature entered the field, it did so because co-ownership had become a practical evil requiring a statutory remedy. The earliest statutory intervention was Ordinance No. 21 of 1844. Its preamble is of great historical value, for it disclosed the very mischief which moved the legislature. It recognized that “the undivided possession of landed property is productive of very injurious consequences to the inhabitants of this Colony” and that it was “expedient to provide a remedy for the same in c...