VPRS 13044 Register of Licensees, Sale and Bairnsdale, Section 42 Amending Land Act 1865

Section 42 of the Amending Land Act 1865 was designed to allow the use of lands on or adjacent to the goldfields to the advantage of the general population without interfering with the operations of miners. Occupation , at a modest rental, was to be temporary and for the purposes of residence and cultivation. Each renewable licence was to cover a maximum of twenty acres for no more than one year although persons could apply for multiple licences. Rental, to be paid to Receivers of Revenue or Paymasters, was fixed at the rate of two pounds ten shillings per annum for less than 10 acres and at four pounds per annum for an area of between 10 and 20 acres. License holders were required to make identifiable improvements - to enclose their allotments and cultivate a prescribed proportion of the area to demonstrate their bona fides.As this land had already been surveyed for mining purposes and to determine the extent of the auriferous (or gold-bearing) lands, applications could be ruled upon efficiently and expeditiously. An application under this section of the Act was able to be submitted to either the Department of Crown Lands and Survey in Melbourne or at the office of the local representative or agent of the department. Some 36 land offices were established throughout the Colony to deal with applications received under this Act. The application would be registered in an Applications Register and allocated a number in order of receipt. The application was then investigated and reported upon by a local commission. Those applications for All Districts received at Melbourne were then indexed by name of applicant and the allocated number.The functions of this commission were to investigate and report upon every application, to protect the public and local interests and promote the advantageous occupation of land. Commissions included in their membership the Surveyor-General, the Assistant Commissioner of Lands and Survey, the Secretary for Mines, chairmen and members of Mining Boards and Shire Council and were assisted by District Surveyors, other officers of the Department and Mining Surveyors who had made the surveys of the sites applied for. These commissions or enquiries were made in district centres and other principal centres of population on and in the vicinity of the goldfields. The decision with respect to the application arrived at by the commission was then entered in the Applications Register. For district registers, it became the practice to register and arrange applications with them directly relating to specific sittings of the commission at a specific place on a specific date.With the granting of the application, application then had to be made to the Governor-in-Council, as prescribed in the Act, to grant a licence of occupation to the successful applicant. In the same way, cancellations and / or revocations of licences and transfers of licences had to be approved by the Governor-in-Council. Some of these records may be seen in VPRS 863 Orders in Council Regarding the Issue and Cancellation of Licences , Land Acts 1865 and 1869.Once this leave had been granted by the Governor-in-Council, the licence was issued and an entry was then made in the Licence Register. Details given in the Register were the number of the license and the date of issue, the name of the licensee, the county and the parish in which the land was located, the details of the section and allotment and its area. The opposite page then had a series of sections where payments of the yearly fees could be entered. A remarks column was used to extensively note the history of the licence. It provides details of large numbers of transfers of licences under the provisions of Section 31 and Section 19 of the Land Act 1869 including, in some cases, the relevant file number. It also recorded transfers of licenses to other holders by administrative action or inheritance, subsequent purchases of the land, the revocation or cancellation of the license and the numbers of any associated correspondence.At some point after the granting of the application, a file was created upon which were placed the original application and other subsequent correspondence with respect to it. These files have also been allocated sequential numbers (see VPRS 624 Land Selection Files, Land Act 1865). The numbers on these files do not coincide with any other number allocated during the application or the licensing processes at either the district or central levels. It is hypothesized that there has been created at some point a register to these files and their numbers which is not (as at July 2002) in custody.In August 1868, additional regulations were made under Section 42 of the Amending Land Act of 1865. These regulations extended the distance from a goldfield within which selections might be made to thirty miles and authorised the issue of eight licences per person thus allowing each selector to obtain 160 acres. Applications were able to be made once again both locally and at the Central Office. Land had been surveyed in preparation and commissions were held immediately upon the Regulations coming into operation to decide upon these applications. Records in custody show that these applications were kept separately in the Applications Registers, although, once licences were granted, they were entered into the existing Licence Registers. Details given in the Register were the number of the license and the date of issue, the name of the licensee, the county and the parish in which the land was located, the details of the section and allotment and its area. The opposite page then had a series of sections where payments of the yearly fees could be entered. A remarks column was used to extensively note the history of the licence. It provides details of large numbers of transfers of licences under the provisions of Section 31 and Section 19 of the Land Act 1861 including, in some cases, the relevant file number. It also recorded transfers of licenses to other holders by administrative action or inheritance, subsequent purchases of the land, the revocation or cancellation of the license and the numbers of any associated correspondence.From the Licence Registers, it is apparent that much of the land selected and occupied under Section 42 of the Amending Land Act 1865 was either purchased under Section 31 of the Land Act 1869 or converted to leases under section 19 of the Land Act 1869. Other selections were able to be purchased at public auction, whilst others remained under the occupation of licensees for a lengthy period of time with licences able to be transferred or bequeathed.

1865年《土地修订法案》（Amending Land Act 1865）第42条旨在让普通民众得以使用淘金场（goldfields）范围内或毗邻淘金场的土地，同时不干扰矿工作业。以适度租金进行的土地占用需为临时性质，仅用于居住与耕作。每份可续期执照的最大覆盖面积为20英亩，有效期不超过1年，但个人可申请多份执照。租金需缴纳给税务署员（Receivers of Revenue）或出纳员（Paymasters），收费标准为：不足10英亩者，每年2英镑10先令；10至20英亩者，每年4英镑。执照持有人需开展可识别的改良工程：圈定分配地块，并耕作规定比例的土地，以证明其诚信资质。

由于该土地此前已为采矿目的完成测量，并确定了含金（auriferous）土地的范围，因此申请可得到高效且迅速的审批。依据该法案本条提出的申请，可提交至墨尔本的王室土地与测量部（Department of Crown Lands and Survey），或该部门当地代表或代理机构的办事处。该殖民区共设立约36个土地办事处，处理依据该法案提交的申请。申请将被登记至申请登记簿（Applications Register），并按接收顺序分配编号。随后由当地委员会对申请进行调查并出具报告。在墨尔本收到的各地区申请，将按申请人姓名与分配编号编制索引。

该委员会的职能包括：对每份申请进行调查并出具报告，保护公众与本地利益，推动土地的合理占用。委员会成员包含测量总监（Surveyor-General）、土地与测量部助理专员（Assistant Commissioner of Lands and Survey）、矿业秘书（Secretary for Mines）、采矿委员会（Mining Boards）与郡议会（Shire Council）的主席及成员，并由地区测量员（District Surveyors）、部门其他职员以及完成过申请地块测量的矿业测量员（Mining Surveyors）提供协助。此类委员会或调查会在淘金场范围内及周边的地区中心与其他主要人口中心开展。委员会作出的审批决定将被记入申请登记簿（Applications Register）。对于地区登记簿，通常的做法是将与特定日期、特定地点的委员会会议直接相关的申请进行登记与整理。

申请获批后，需依据法案规定向总督会同行政局（Governor-in-Council）提出申请，为获批申请人颁发占用执照。同理，执照的撤销/废止与转让也需经总督会同行政局（Governor-in-Council）批准。相关部分记录可在VPRS 863《1865与1869年土地法案相关的执照颁发与撤销行政令卷宗》中查阅。总督会同行政局（Governor-in-Council）批准该许可后，将颁发执照，并在执照登记簿（Licence Register）中进行登记。登记簿中记录的信息包括：执照编号、颁发日期、执照持有人姓名、土地所在的郡与教区、地块所在的分区与分配编号，以及土地面积。登记簿的对页设有若干栏位，用于登记年度费用的缴纳情况。备注栏用于详细记录执照的历史信息，包括依据1869年《土地法案》第31条与第19条开展的大量执照转让详情，部分记录还包含相关档案编号。此外，登记簿还会记录通过行政措施或继承产生的执照转让、土地后续购买、执照的撤销或废止，以及相关往来函件的编号。

在申请获批后的某个阶段，会创建一份档案，存放原始申请及后续相关的所有往来函件。此类档案也被分配了连续编号（详见VPRS 624《1865年土地法案土地选择档案》）。这些档案的编号与申请或执照审批流程中，地区或中央层面分配的任何编号均不重合。据推测，曾针对这些档案及其编号创建过一份索引，但截至2002年7月，该索引并未被妥善保管。

1868年8月，依据1865年《土地修订法案》（Amending Land Act 1865）第42条制定了额外条例。这些条例将可选择地块的距离上限从淘金场周边扩展至30英里，并授权每人可颁发8份执照，使每位选择者可获得160英亩土地。申请可再次通过本地渠道或中央办事处提交。相关土地已提前完成测量，条例生效后立即召开委员会会议审批此类申请。现存保管记录显示，此类申请在申请登记簿（Applications Register）中单独存档，但一旦获批执照，便会被录入现有的执照登记簿（Licence Register）。登记簿中记录的信息包括：执照编号、颁发日期、执照持有人姓名、土地所在的郡与教区、地块所在的分区与分配编号，以及土地面积。登记簿的对页设有若干栏位，用于登记年度费用的缴纳情况。备注栏用于详细记录执照的历史信息，包括依据1861年《土地法案》第31条与第19条开展的大量执照转让详情，部分记录还包含相关档案编号。此外，登记簿还会记录通过行政措施或继承产生的执照转让、土地后续购买、执照的撤销或废止，以及相关往来函件的编号。

从执照登记簿（Licence Register）中可以看出，依据1865年《土地修订法案》（Amending Land Act 1865）第42条选定并占用的大部分土地，要么依据1869年《土地法案》第31条完成购买，要么依据1869年《土地法案》第19条转为租赁。其他选定地块可通过公开拍卖购买，另有部分地块由持有人长期占用，执照可进行转让或遗赠。