VPRS 13779 Rent Roll, Hamilton, Sections 19 and 20 Land Act 1869

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 Within the Department of Crown Lands itself and the Occupation Branch these Registers were superseded by the Rent Rolls.Details given in the rent rolls are the name of the licensee or lessee, the details of the location and size of the land, details of the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.Under Section 19 of the Land Act 1869 selectors could apply for a three-year licence to occupy Crown land. The rent was set at two shillings per acre and a maximum of 320 acres per selector was allowed. On application a deposit of half a years rent was paid. If the application was refused, the deposit was refunded. Section 20 of the Act placed conditions on the three-year licence; selectors were required to improve their allotment by the erection of fencing and a dwelling, cultivation of their land and the destruction of vermin and noxious weeds. After the licence term had expired, the selector was eligible to apply for a seven-year lease or a Crown Grant to purchase their allotment. Grants or leases were only approved if improvement conditions had been met. If a selector opted for a seven-year lease, the yearly rent was used to pay off the purchase price of the land.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.Units 1, 2 and 4 of VPRS 13581 / P1 were previously registered as Units 107, 108 and 110 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规章所规定的金额与周期缴纳租金。租金可通过邮寄或亲自缴至王室土地与测量部（Department of Crown Lands and Survey，VA 538）墨尔本办事处，亦可缴至为各教区及土地区指定的本地收款与出纳员（Receivers and Paymasters）——该指定机制始于约1874年土地占用科（Occupation Branch）成立之后。收款与出纳员通常由本地法院书记员兼任。
在1869年《土地法》（Land Act 1869）颁布之前，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条项下仍继续使用，并存放于本地收款与出纳员的办事处。而在王室土地部本部及土地占用科内，此类登记簿已被租金登记簿（Rent Rolls）所取代。
租金登记簿所记载的详情包括：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。备注栏则涵盖土地后续购买、租赁或许可转让至其他持有人及该等受让人后续缴款情况、土地被占用者取消、撤销或弃置的相关情形。
特定日期到期应付的租金会通过公告或刊载于《政府公报》（Government Gazette）的清单予以通知。后者可让本地官员知悉其辖区内的应缴租金。当租金缴至该等官员处时，缴款情况会记录于本地档案，并将报表报送至王室土地部。此类档案的示例可参见VPRS 809《畜牧租金收缴报表（Returns of Pastoral Rents Received）》。在土地占用科内，会聘用书记员（即租金登记员），其唯一职责为更新和维护租金登记簿，并开具用以证明缴款情况的证书，该等缴款可用于抵扣土地购买价款。自约1877年起，土地占用科下的每个“地区土地办事处”均配备一名租金登记员。
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条及《1898年土地法》（Land Act 1898）第29条、《1901年土地法》（Land Act 1901）第35条等主要条款，租金登记簿仅记录与该条款相关的缴款。而依土地法其他条款产生的缴款义务，则可合并记录于同一登记簿。此外，每个土地区均分别设立租金登记簿。
根据《1869年土地法》第19条，选地者（selector）可申请为期三年的王室土地占用许可。租金定为每英亩2先令，且每名选地者最多可申请320英亩土地。申请时需缴纳半年租金作为押金。若申请被驳回，押金将予以退还。该法第20条对三年期许可附加了条件：选地者需通过修建围栏与住宅、耕种土地以及灭杀害虫与有害杂草来改善其地块。许可期限届满后，选地者可申请七年期租赁或王室土地授予（Crown Grant）以购买其地块。唯有满足改善条件的申请，方可获得授予或租赁许可。若选地者选择七年期租赁，则以年度租金抵扣土地购买价款。
自1907年末起，王室土地与测量部开始改用卡片系统进行档案管理，至1917年，租金登记簿已主要以卡片形式留存。
VPRS 13581 / P1的第1、2、4单元原登记为VPRS 631 / P《租金登记簿（Rent Rolls）》的第107、108、110单元。