VPRS 871 Returns of Selections made at Land Offices, Sections 7 and 12 Amending Land Act 1865

This series consists of the returns sent from District Land Offices to the Department of Crown Lands and Survey in Melbourne (VA 538) relating to the selection of land under Sections 7 and 12 of the Amending land Act 1865. It would appear that each day that a Land office was open for selections to be made it was required that a return be sent. These returns relate to the selection of land in Agricultural Areas consisting of one or more parishes.Details on the pro forma to be given were the date upon which the selection was made, the order of priority, the name of the selector and the area selected in acres as well as the section and allotment, the amount of rent to be paid and details of the solicitor's certificate.Section 12 of the Amending Land Act 1865 allowed persons to make application for the outright purchase or selection or for a lease of land in declared, surveyed and proclaimed agricultural areas for the purposes of residence and cultivation. The lease could be granted for a term of seven years at a rent of two shillings per acre per annum with the lease to be executed within three months of application. Rent was to be paid half-yearly with a half-years rent in advance. The lessee was to reside upon the land for at least three years and make improvements to it. If these terms were met, after that three years, there was a right of purchase of the land at the price of one pound per acre. Allotments, as determined by the Board of Land and Works, were to be between 40 and 640 acres with no individual being able to select more than 640 acres per year.Applications were to be made in the form set down in the Schedules to the Act in person at a land office and be accompanied by a half-years rent in advance. The priority of the order of applications was to be determined by lot. Any refusal of an application was to be notified within thirty days in the Government Gazette with the reasons for refusal or disallowance being given.Under Section 7 of the Amending Land Act 1865, persons who had already taken leases under the Land Act 1862 under Sections 23 and 24 and Sections 33 and 34, where the transactions were incomplete or the term of the lease had not expired were allowed, under the Amending Land Act, an extension of time of twelve months. These applications may be found in VPRS 852 Applications for Leases, Section 7 Amending Land Act 1865 and in VPRS 834 Assignment of Rights of Selection, Section 7 Amending Land Act 1865 where persons were applying for land assigned to them by previous owners or lessees.

本系列档案收录各地区土地办事处报送至墨尔本王室土地与测量部（Department of Crown Lands and Survey，档案编号VA 538）的土地选地回报报表，相关规则依据1865年《土地修订法案》（Amending Land Act 1865）第7条与第12条制定。
据推断，但凡土地办事处当日开放受理土地选地申请，均需提交此类回报报表。此类报表涉及的土地选地活动均发生于包含单个或多个教区的农业区内。
报表需严格遵循规定填报格式，具体内容包括选地日期、申请优先级、选地人姓名、所选地块面积（单位：英亩（acre））、地块分区与分配编号、应付租金金额，以及律师证明书相关详情。
1865年《土地修订法案》（Amending Land Act 1865）第12条允许申请人在经公告、勘测并正式划定的农业区内，申请一次性购买土地、选地或租赁土地，用于个人居住与农业耕种。租约期限为7年，租金标准为每英亩每年2先令，申请人需在申请获批后3个月内签署租约。租金需每半年支付一次，且需预付首期半年租金。承租人需在该土地上实际居住满至少3年，并完成土地开发改良。若满足上述条件，在3年期满后，承租人有权以每英亩1英镑的价格一次性购买该土地。
土地与工程委员会（Board of Land and Works）划定的分配地块面积需介于40英亩至640英亩之间，且个人年度选地总面积不得超过640英亩。
申请人需亲自前往土地办事处，提交符合法案附表规定格式的申请，并预付首期半年租金。申请优先级将通过抽签方式确定。若申请被驳回，相关部门需于30日内于《政府公报》（Government Gazette）发布通知，并说明驳回或不予批准的具体理由。
1865年《土地修订法案》（Amending Land Act 1865）第7条规定，此前已依据1862年《土地法案》第23、24条及第33、34条签署租约，且交易尚未完成或租约期限未届满的申请人，可依据本修订法案获得12个月的延期期限。此类申请可在以下两类档案中查询：一是VPRS 852《1865年土地修订法案第7条租约申请》，二是VPRS 834《1865年土地修订法案第7条选地权利转让》，后者涉及申请人申请由原土地所有者或承租人转让的土地。