VPRS 13782 Rent Roll, Hamilton, Agricultural and Grazing Licenses and Leases, Land Acts from 1884 to 1901

All licenses for the occupation of Crown lands and leases of Crown lands required the payment of rent in amounts and at intervals as stated by legislation or regulations made under the authority of legislation. Rents could be paid either by post or personally to the Melbourne office of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) or to local Receivers and Paymasters as designated for each parish and Land District (subsequent to the formation of the Occupation Branch in c 1874). Receivers and Paymasters were often local Clerks of Courts.Previous to the passage of the Land Act of 1869, the payment of rents had been recorded in Registers of Licensees and Lessees. These continued for Section 33 of the Land Act 1869 and at the offices of local Receivers and Paymasters. Within the Department of Crown Lands itself and the Occupation Branch these Registers were superseded by the Rent Rolls.Details given in the rent rolls are the name of the licensee or lessee, the details of the location and size of the land, details of the payments of fees and of the date and amount of regular periodic payments of rent. Remarks include details of subsequent purchase of the land, of any transfers of leases or licenses to other holders and the subsequent payments made by those persons, any cancellation or revocation or instances of abandonment of the land by the occupier.Notifications of rents due at a particular date were circulated by notice or by lists published in the Government Gazette. The latter allowed local officers to be aware of the rents due in their areas. When the rents were paid to these officers, the payments were recorded in the local records and returns forwarded to the Department. Examples of these records may be seen in VPRS 809 Returns of Pastoral Rents Received. At the Occupation Branch, clerks (the rent rollers) were employed whose sole duties were the updating and maintenance of the rent rolls and preparation of certificates documenting payments where these were to be credited against the purchase price of land. Originally from about 1877, a rent roll clerk was attached to each "District Land Office" within the Occupation Branch.Rent rolls, like registers of applications, were arranged according to sections of a specific Land Act. For major provisions such as Sections 19 and 20, Land Act 1869 or Section 29, Land Act 1898 and Section 35, Land Act 1901, the rent roll recorded only payments relating to that section. Payments for obligations under other sections of the Land Acts could be included together in one roll. Separate rolls were kept for payments made in each Land District.Section 42 of the Land Act 1884 (as confirmed in the consolidated Land Act 1890) provided for the issue to grazing area lessees (under Section 32 of the same Act) of licences to occupy for agricultural allotments not exceeding 320 acres in extent. Persons who had selected that amount of land under previous Land Acts were not eligible for this provision. Those who had selected less than the 320 acres could select the amount of land necessary to make it up to 320 acres.Rent was set at one shilling per acre per annum with the licensee to reside on the allotment and make improvements to it. During the period of this license the land could be resumed by the Crown for a number of specified purposes with the repayment of any rentals or if the terms of the license were not complied with. If these conditions and conditions relating to the control of vermin and fencing were complied with at the end of this time, a lease for up to 14 years was able to be applied for at the rental of one shilling per acre per annum or a Crown grant could be obtained by the payment of the full purchase price of fourteen shillings per acre. Lessees could obtain a Crown grant at any time during this fourteen year period by the payment of the difference between the rent already paid under the lease and the set price of fourteen shillings per acre.This Section was amended in Section 44 of the Land Act 1898 to divide lands into three classes for the purpose of the licensing of these agricultural allotments. No more than 200 acres of first-class lands were to be licensed at the rent of one shilling per acre per annum; no more than three hundred and twenty acres of second-class land at the annual rental of ninepence per acre. Both types of land were to be licensed for no more than six years.In the 1898 Act, Sections 58 and 59 provided for the extension of the licensing and leasing provisions for agricultural allotments to grazing allotments. Sections 59 and 61 of the Land Act 1898 allowed for the issue of residential or non-residential licenses for grazing allotments on third-class land. A license to occupy could initially be issued for up to six years for 640 acres. If conditions relating to the provision of fencing and the destruction of vermin were met, a lease for 14 years could be obtained at a cost of sixpence per acre. Rent payments could be used to defray the cost of purchase at ten shillings per acre.Under the consolidated Land Act of 1901, agricultural allotments were dealt with under Sections 47 (licensing) and 49 (leasing) and grazing allotments by Sections 54 (licensing) and Section 56 (leasing).From late 1907 the Department of Crown Lands and Survey began changing to cards for its recordkeeping systems with the rent roll being reported as mainly on cards by 1917.VPRS 13782 / P1 was previously registered as Units 113, 116 and 138 of VPRS 631 / P Rent Rolls.

所有王室土地（Crown lands）占用许可及王室土地租赁均需按照立法或依立法授权制定的法规所规定的金额与周期缴纳租金。租金可通过邮寄或亲自前往土地与测量署（Department of Crown Lands and Survey，档案编号VA 538）墨尔本办事处缴纳，亦可缴纳至各教区与土地区（Land District）指定的本地收款与出纳员——该设置始于约1874年拓殖分支（Occupation Branch）成立之后。收款与出纳员通常为本地法院书记员。
在1869年《土地法》（Land Act 1869）通过之前，租金缴纳情况均记录于持照人与承租人登记簿（Registers of Licensees and Lessees）。该登记簿在1869年《土地法》第33条相关业务中继续沿用，并由本地收款与出纳员的办事处留存。而在土地署本部及拓殖分支，此类登记簿已被租金登记簿（Rent Rolls）取代。
租金登记簿所载详情包括持照人或承租人姓名、土地位置与面积详情、费用缴纳详情，以及定期租金支付的日期与金额。备注栏内容包括土地后续购置情况、租赁或许可向其他持有人的转让详情及受让人后续的缴纳情况、土地被占用者取消、撤销或遗弃的相关案例。
特定日期到期的租金通知会以公告或刊登于《政府公报》的名单形式发布。后者可帮助本地官员知晓其辖区内的到期租金。当租金缴纳至这些官员处时，缴纳情况会记录于本地档案，并将回报报送至土地署。此类档案的示例可参见档案编号VPRS 809的《牧地租金收缴回报（Returns of Pastoral Rents Received）》。在拓殖分支，受雇的文员（即租金登记簿管理员）的唯一职责为更新和维护租金登记簿，并编制可用于冲抵土地购置价款的缴纳证明。自约1877年起，拓殖分支的每个“地区土地办事处”均配备一名租金登记簿管理员。
租金登记簿与申请登记簿一样，均按照特定《土地法》的条款分类编排。对于1869年《土地法》第19、20条、1898年《土地法》第29条以及1901年《土地法》第35条等主要条款，租金登记簿仅记录与该条款相关的缴纳款项。而依据《土地法》其他条款产生的义务缴纳款项，则可合并记入同一本登记簿。每个土地区均设有单独的登记簿。
1884年《土地法》（Land Act 1884）第42条（经1890年合并版《土地法》（consolidated Land Act 1890）确认）规定，向依据同一法案第32条获得许可的牧地承租人发放许可证，允许其占用面积不超过320英亩的农业分配用地。依据此前《土地法》选定该面积土地的人员，不得享受本条款优惠。此前选定土地面积不足320英亩者，可补足至320英亩。
租金定为每英亩每年1先令，持照人需在分配用地上居住并进行土地改良。在该许可有效期内，若偿还了相关租金或未遵守许可条款，王室可因若干特定事由收回土地。若在许可期结束时遵守了相关条件以及害兽防控与围栏管理规定，则可申请为期最长14年的租赁，租金仍为每英亩每年1先令；亦可通过缴纳每英亩14先令的全额购置价款，获得王室土地授予状。承租人可在这14年期间的任何时刻，通过补缴已缴纳租金与每英亩14先令的固定价款之间的差额，获得王室土地授予状。
1898年《土地法》（Land Act 1898）第44条对本条款进行了修订，将此类农业分配用地的许可划分为三类土地。一等土地的许可面积不得超过200英亩，租金为每英亩每年1先令；二等土地的许可面积不得超过320英亩，年租金为每英亩9便士。两类土地的许可期限均不得超过6年。
1898年《土地法》第58、59条将农业分配用地的许可与租赁条款扩展至牧地分配用地。第59与61条允许为三等土地上的牧地分配用地发放住宅或非住宅占用许可。初始许可期限最长可达6年，对应许可面积为640英亩。若满足围栏建设与害兽灭杀相关条件，则可按每英亩6便士的成本获得为期14年的租赁。租金缴纳款项可用于冲抵每英亩10先令的购置价款。
在1901年合并版《土地法》（Land Act 1901）框架下，农业分配用地依据第47条（许可）与第49条（租赁）进行管理，牧地分配用地则依据第54条（许可）与第56条（租赁）管理。
自1907年末起，土地与测量署开始将档案记录系统转为卡片式管理，至1917年，租金登记簿的主要载体已转为卡片。
档案编号VPRS 13782 / P1此前曾登记为VPRS 631 / P《租金登记簿（Rent Rolls）》的第113、116及138单元。