VPRS 1319 Index To Register of Lessees and Grants, Section 33 Land Act 1869

Section 33 of the Land Act 1869 made provision for those who had been lessees under the first subdivision of the second Part of the Amending Land Act of 1865. This subdivision of the 1865 Act repealed Sections 12 to 37 of the Land Act 1862 under which selectors could directly purchase half of an allotment and lease the other half making deferred payments of two shillings and sixpence per acre per annum for eight years. The selector had, within twelve months of the date of selection, to have fenced the selection, erected a dwelling upon it and cultivated one-tenth of the area. It had been found, within a few months, that little legitimate settlement followed.The Amending Land Act 1865, under Section 7, extended the time for purchase for those who had entitlements under the Land Act 1862. Section 12 set the principle that agricultural land was to be first acquired under lease with conditions that a payment of two shillings per acre was to be made for three years, that improvements to the value of twenty shillings per acre were to be made within two years of the commencement of the lease and that if these conditions had been met, the lessee could purchase the land for one pound per acre at the expiry of three years.Under Section 33 of the Land Act 1869, these leaseholders were given a choice, after they had obtained a certificate from the Board of Land and Works (VA 744) stating that the leaseholder had complied with the conditions with respect to improvements. The Board was prepared to issue certificates for all those who had substantially complied with the requirements. The leaseholder, three years after the commencement of the lease, could then immediately obtain a Crown grant on the payment of one pound per acre. The other option for the leaseholder was to surrender the existing lease for a new seven year lease for a payment of two shillings per acre per annum for seven years. At any time or at the completion of the seven years, a Crown grant could be obtained by paying the difference between the rent already paid and the sum of one pound per acre.Leaseholders forwarded an application to the Board stating whether they chose an immediate Crown grant or a new lease. This application also showed the amounts of rent already paid by the lessee under the Amending Land Act 1865. These applications were registered in roughly chronological order and given a sequential number which became the file number. This register was then indexed by name and allocated number. At the same time, the original lease was surrendered and filed with the application and the Board of Land and Works certification regarding improvements. For those who had chosen an immediate Crown grant arrangements were then made for the issue of the grant (see VPRS 11864 Register of Crown Grants).A separate Register was then created for those who had chosen to bring their leases under the provisions of Section 33 Land Act 1869 with details of the original selection of the land and the finalisation of the Crown grant. These details may be seen in VPRS 13117/P1 Register of Leases Brought Under the Provisions of Section 31 and Section 33, Land Act 1869. Leases also had to be approved by the Governor-in-Council. Once this approval had been obtained, the lease was registered in VPRS 11871/P1 Register of Leases granted Under Land Acts 1869, 1878, 1880.For the recording of the progressive payment of rents, Registers of Lessees were created. Initially, these were based on the location of the offices of the Receivers of Revenue (a departmental officer or another designated Crown officer such as a Clerk of Courts). Lessees would pay rent to the local Receiver of Revenue convenient to their location, returns of payments would be forwarded to the office of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey in Melbourne where they would be recorded in the appropriate register. With the formation of the Occupation Branch and the conduct of business according to the District Survey Offices established, these registers were then allocated to a specific District Survey Office within the Occupation Branch. Records within these registers may be for properties which, after 1874, were located in parishes which had been allocated to different District Survey Offices.This series is the Index to the Register of Leases. Details recorded are the name of the lessee and the lease and / or file number. Files are located in VPRS 629. Details provided in the Registers of Lessees (VPRS 13237) include those of leases commencing prior to the Land Act 1869. The date of the lease is given as are the name of the lessee, the parish in which the land was located and the location by allotment of the land and its extent as well as the amount of rental already paid. Progressively entered were the details of rent paid in the years subsequent to the issue of the lease and summary details of any arrears of rent, transfers of the lease and the eventual purchase of the land during the course of the lease or at its expiration.

1869年《土地法》（Land Act 1869）第33条为1865年《土地修订法》（Amending Land Act 1865）第二编第一分编项下的原承租人提供了保障。1865年该分编废除了1862年《土地法》（Land Act 1862）第12至37条——根据该条款，土地选占人（selector）可直接购买一块地块的一半，并租赁另一半，且可在8年内按每英亩每年2先令6便士的金额递延支付租金。土地选占人需在选占之日起12个月内完成地块围栏搭建、在地块上建造住宅，并开垦十分之一的地块面积。但在实施数月后发现，合法定居的情况寥寥无几。
1865年《土地修订法》第7条为持有1862年《土地法》项下权利的承租人延长了购地时限。第12条确立了如下原则：农业用地应首先通过租赁方式取得，租赁需满足三项条件：其一，每英亩每年支付2先令租金，连续支付3年；其二，在租赁启动后2年内完成价值达每英亩20先令的土地改良；其三，若满足上述条件，承租人可在3年租赁期满后以每英亩1英镑的价格购得土地。
根据1869年《土地法》第33条，此类承租人可享有二选一的选择权：首先，承租人需取得土地与工程委员会（Board of Land and Works，档案编号VA 744）出具的证明，证实其已符合土地改良相关条件——该委员会愿意为所有实质满足要求的申请人出具此类证明。租赁启动满3年后，承租人可即刻缴纳每英亩1英镑的款项，取得王室土地授予书（Crown grant）。另一项选择则是：承租人可终止现有租赁，转而签订新的7年期租赁协议，按每英亩每年2先令的标准支付7年租金。在租赁期内任意时点或7年期满后，承租人可通过补缴已付租金与每英亩1英镑购地款之间的差额，取得王室土地授予书。
承租人需向委员会提交申请，表明其选择即刻取得王室授地还是续签新租赁协议。该申请还需列明承租人依据1865年《土地修订法》已支付的租金总额。此类申请大致按时间顺序登记，并被赋予顺序编号，即档案编号。该登记册随后按姓名编制索引，并分配对应编号。与此同时，原租赁协议将被终止，并与申请文件及土地与工程委员会出具的土地改良证明一同归档。对于选择即刻取得王室授地的申请人，相关部门将启动授书发放流程（详见VPRS 11864《王室授地登记册》）。
随后为选择适用1869年《土地法》第33条规定续签租赁的申请人设立了单独的登记册，其中记载了原土地选占情况及王室授地的最终办理细节。此类详情可查阅VPRS 13117/P1《根据1869年土地法第31及第33条续签租赁登记册》。租赁协议同样需经总督会同行政会议（Governor-in-Council）批准。取得该批准后，租赁协议将被登记于VPRS 11871/P1《根据1869、1878、1880年土地法授予的租赁登记册》。
为记录租金的分期缴纳情况，相关部门设立了《承租人登记册》。最初，此类登记册以税收收件官（Receivers of Revenue，系部门官员或其他指定王室官员，如法院书记员）的办事处所在地为分类依据。承租人需向其地块所在地就近的税收收件官缴纳租金，缴款回执将被送至墨尔本的王室土地与测量部（Department of Crown Lands and Survey）办公室，并在对应登记册中备案。随着土地占用科（Occupation Branch）的成立以及按地区测量办事处（District Survey Offices）开展业务，此类登记册被分配至土地占用科下的特定地区测量办事处。该类登记册中的记录可能涉及1874年后位于划归不同地区测量办事处的教区内的地块。
本系列档案为《租赁登记册索引》，记载的信息包括承租人姓名、租赁协议及/或档案编号。相关档案存放于VPRS 629。《承租人登记册》（VPRS 13237）中记载的信息涵盖1869年《土地法》实施前启动的租赁协议，其中载明了租赁日期、承租人姓名、土地所在教区、地块的分区编号及面积，以及已支付的租金总额。登记册中还会陆续记载租赁启动后各年度的租金缴纳情况、租金欠款的汇总详情、租赁转让情况，以及租赁期内或期满时最终购地的相关信息。