ciously grant the same immunities, impunities, liberties, and privileges just now mentioned, to the said bailiff, jurats, merchants, and others, whether they are in war or amity with us; and to all other inhabitants, or aliens, and sojourners aforesaid in the said island, in as ample form and manner as heretofore they have used and enjoyed the same. In order, therefore, to prevent any violation,, or infraction of this our grant, concession, and confirmation, or any thing therein contained in any matter whatsoever, we declare and give this warning by these presents to all our officers and subjects, which warning we order to be published in all parts of our kingdom of England, and throughout all our realms and dominions under our obedience, wheresoever they lie or are situated. That if any one of our said officers or subjects shall be so rash as to presume to transgress these our strict orders and commands, we order and decree (as far as in us lies) that he shall be severely punished for his audacious contempt of our royal power, and disobedience to our laws; and shall be compelled to make a full restitution and satisfaction of all costs, interests, and damages, and prosecuted by all due process and forms of law for the same.' This famous charter was also confirmed by Parliament in the following words, which conclude it: "Per ipsam reginam, et de datâ prædictâ, auctoritate parlia menti: By the Queen herself with the sanction of Parliament at the above mentioned date." In further proof of the scrupulous and deferential respect paid by the Crown of England to the privileges of Guernsey, we may cite the remarks of the Lords of the Privy Council in queen Elizabeth's time, on the occasion of presenting to her Majesty the books of Guernsey law, compiled by the Governor and Royal Court for her approbation. The Lords express themselves in the following terms: "The Lords of the Queen's most honourable Privy Council, after having seen, heard, and considered the contents of this book, signed by Sir Thomas Leighton, captain and governor of the island of Guernsey, and by the bailiff and jurats of the said isle, have ratified and approved, and do ratify and approve the laws and customs therein contained, to be practised and observed in the said isle of Guernsey, saving always to her Majesty, and her heirs and successors, the power to add thereto, and correct the same, according to her pleasure: and also all prerogatives, profits, rights, and pre-eminence belonging to her said Majesty, her heirs and successors, without prejudice nevertheless to the ancient and just privileges granted heretofore to the inhabitants of the said isle. Done in her Majesty's Privy Council, the 27th day of October, 1583." All the privileges above, contained in the charters of Henry the Sixth and Queen Elizabeth, were confirmed in the subsequent charters of James the First, and Charles the 'Second. It was not till the reign of William and Mary, that the Channel Islands took any share in the wars which England waged against its neighbours; and the records, both of Guernsey and Jersey, furnish many examples of French vessels, taken in time of war in their roads and ports by the English, being ordered to be released by the English government. Indeed, the peculiar institutions of the Channel Islands were so long respected and held inviolate, that, in their ecclesiastical jurisdiction, they were subject to the diocese of Coutances in Normandy, up to the reign of Elizabeth. They were then united to the see of Winchester, and still remain so: and, no doubt, the change introduced by Elizabeth, was in every respect purely political, as the Bishop of Coutances, being a Catholic, was subservient to the Pope, and as the head of the Reformed Religion, she could not, with consistency, allow her Norman subjects to be under the controul of a foreign and hostile hierarchy. But, with this exception, no attempt was made to deprive the islanders of their privileges: on the contrary, as we have shown, the whole of their laws, immunities, and customs, were held sacred both by the sovereign and the parliament. The Channel Islands enjoyed this commercial freedom up to the year 1768, when they were most unjustly despoiled of their birthright by an order of Council, dated 16th of December in that year, which was backed by a peremptory mandate commanding its registration on the 13th of March, 1769. The British Government having, in 1767, agreed with the Duke of Athol to pay him a pecuniary compensation for the surrender of seignorical rights in the island of Man, proceeded immediately to establish therein custom houses and appoint revenue officers. But they treated Guernsey and Jersey very differently, for they did not redeem their rights and immunities, but suppressed them by main force, and in complete violation of the charter of Elizabeth. Then it was that the first fiscal regulations were introduced, and one Major was appointed to the command of a schooner of fourteen guns, a cutter with four guns, four or five boats, and forty men, to discharge the duties of a custom house. The object of the British Government in enforcing this arbitrary act, was to protect her own revenue, by putting a check to smuggling: but the scheme was not so successful as had been anticipated. High duties will always operate as a bounty and encouragement to illicit trade, and if one opening is stopped, another will be soon discovered. The smuggler, indeed, may adopt the saying of Bacon, when he commenced his immortal system of philosophy: Aut Inveniam viam, aut faciam; I will either find a road, or I will make one. Thus it happened with the attempt of the British Government to secure its revenue by plundering the Channel Islands of their chartered rights, conceded by very many sovereigns, and guaranteed by several Acts of Parliament. The smuggling trade was transferred to Roscoff, a small village on the coast of Britanny, within a few hours sail of the islands. This insignificant hamlet, for it deserved no higher appellation, immediately became an interesting object to the French Government, and it is worthy of observation, that no sooner were the officers of the customs fixed and established in Guernsey and Jersey, than the question about making Roscoff a free port, or port d'entrepot, was discussed in the French councils, and as readily agreed to. The edict of the king of France was promulgated on the third day of September 1769, and as it has a local historical interest to the people of Guernsey and Jersey who desire to make themselves acquainted with the past events which have happened in the islands, we shall place before them an extract from that edict. "The king (of France) having ordered the decree given in his Council the 14th of March, 1768, to be laid before him, by which his Majesty has permitted the depositing, duty free, or by entrepot, in the ports of this kingdom, that have the privilege of trading to the French islands and colonies of America, such rums as are the produce and return of dry cod-fish, fished by the subjects, and carried to the said islands and colonies, on condition of exporting from the said privileged ports the said rums to foreign parts, within a year from the day of their landing, on pain of confiscation, and five hundred livres fine: And his Majesty being informed, that notwithstanding the port of Roscoff is not one of the ports privileged to trade to the said colonies, that it may nevertheless have conveniences for vending for foreign markets some of the said rums, in consideration of which it may be expedient to permit the depositing therein, duty free, or by entrepot, such rums as may be brought thither from the ports that trade to the said islands: His Majesty, willing to provide thereto, and seeing the memorial of the Farmers General, and the opinion of the intendant and commissary of the province of Britanny, as well as that of the deputy of commerce; having also the report of the Sieur Maynon D'Invau, chancellor in ordinary, and comptroller general of the council royal of finances; the king, being in his council, has ordered, and does hereby order: That all rums brought from the French islands and colonies of America, in return for cod-fish, fished by the subjects in the ports licensed to trade to the said islands, be permitted to be carried from the said ports to that of Roscoff, where they shall continue to enjoy the privilege of the entrepot, for one year, reckoning from the day of their first landing by entrepot; within which said year they must be exported to foreign parts on pain of confiscation, and five hundred livres fine, and on condition of observing all the formalities prescribed by letters patent of the month of April, 1717, and other regulations concerning the entrepot. Done in the king's council of state, held at Versailles the third day of September, 1769, his Majesty being there present. (Signed,) Choiseul Duc de Praslin." The effect of this edict was soon felt. Roscoff, till then an unknown and unfrequented port, the resort only of a few fishermen, rapidly grew into importance; so that from small hovels, it soon possessed commodious houses, and large stores, occupied by English, Scotch, Irish, and Guernsey merchants. These, on the one hand, gave every incitement to the British smuggler to resort there; and, on the other hand, the French government gave every encouragement to the merchants. It is to this hour the rendezvous of illicit trade, so that Great Britain, by violating the charter of Elizabeth, has impoverished Guernsey and Jersey, enriched Roscoff at their expense, and failed in protecting her revenue from smuggling. Having struck this decisive blow at the ancient commercial privileges of the Channel Islands, the British government followed it up by numerous other restrictions, too long to be enumerated in this article, but which will be detailed n a future number, when we propose to draw up a summary of all the laws relating to the customs which affect Guernsey and Jersey. There is one prohibition, however, which we cannot omit to notice: we allude to the interdict against the exportation of snuff and tobacco in small quantities from these islands to France. This is a very great hardship, and actually converts the Guernsey and Jersey custom-house officers into French douaniers. It is said that without this prohibition, snuff and tobacco would be smuggled into England; but we are certain that this is an unfounded apprehension. The people of the Channel Islands would be content with such a modification of the existing law, as would enable them to sell snuff and tobacco exclusively to French boats and coasters, and it certainly would never be the interest of such purchasers to run to the English coast, when their own country offers them a far more inviting market. We feel confident that, if a proper representation were made to Mr. Poulett Thompson on this subject, this prohibition would be removed, and if success attended the application, it would give a remarkable stimulus to our local trade. As we have every prospect now of having a new pier, the strongest efforts should be made to extend our commerce, and we hope that the public will unite with us in urging the authorities to memorialize the Board of Trade, so as to get rid of a prohibition which is of no use to England, most injurious to the Channel Islands, and solely beneficial to the French Government. SKETCHES OF GUERNSEY.-No. 2. SEA WEED. THE fucus marinus, or sea weed, which grows abundantly on the rocks round the island, is of the highest value to the farmer. This marine herb is called in Normandy, as well as in the Channel Islands, varech or vraic, and, in Britanny, gouesmon and sarr. It is here used both as fuel and manure, and so highly are its agricultural qualities appreciated by the islanders, that "point de vraic, point de hautgard,"- -"no sea weed, no cornyard," has passed into a proverb. The sea weed is here distinguished into vraic scié and vraic venant. The former is attached to the rocks, and is separated by sickles or bill-hooks; the latter is drift weed, torn from the rocks by stormy seas, and thrown up on the beaches, frequently in piles several feet in height. There is a great difference in the value of these two descriptions of weed. One cart load of the vraic scié is supposed to be worth two, and sometimes three, of the vraic venant. The fertilizing properties of both sorts vary considerably as to the period of the year in which they are cut or collected; the summer crop being in much higher estimation than the winter ; but the average value of the whole is about one pound sterling, the newly cut cart load. The following is an estimate of the amount and value of the vraic obtained from Lihou, resulting from the depositions of most of the respectable farmers of the upper parishes, as delivered before the royal commissioners in 1815, at the suit of Eleazar Le Marchant, Esq., against several inhabitants of the parishes of St. Peter-in-the-Wood and the Forest. Vraic scié... in summer..about 80 cart loads, value £2 each.... £160 They gathered : in winter. 70 £1 £1 140 58. £70 £80 £35 Total number of loads......370 Total value......£345 From two to three loads of vraic scié, and from four to five of vraic venant, are required to manure effectually one vergée of land, 2 33/48 of which equal an English statute acre. These proportions are applied to preparing the ground destined for barley or wheat. The vraic venant answers this purpose only: great part of the vraic scié is burnt as fuel, and the ashes are afterwards used as manure, of which twenty bushels are considered requisite for one vergée. That every class of society may fairly share in the benefit derived from the vraic, poor persons, possessing heither horse nor cart, are allowed during eight days of the first spring tide immediately preceding the general summer harvest, exclusively to cut it, provided they bring it on their backs to the beach. The winter harvest commences on the spring tide after Candlemas day, and continues to the 15th of March. The summer harvest begins on the second spring tide after the 24th of June, and lasts two tides. The produce of the first is usually used as manure; that of the latter is converted into ashes, and previously serves as fuel. In the petitions of most of the parishes to the royal commissioners, of one thousand six hundred and seven, this article is particularly alluded to. The inhabitants of the Vale "pray that it be ordered by his Majesty's commissioners, that it be lawful for them, for the time to come, to go and gather vraic upon the flat. rock and other places hard by, without they be in any ways hindered; and where there has been any proceeding used against them for that regard, it be disannulled, forasmuch as they can have no corn without they have that liberty." The answer was: "Because we find that the vraic is so beneficial and necessary for the whole island, as that the inhabitants cannot have any manner of grain or corn, without they first bestow and spread the same upon their grounds; and for that we are informed that the bailiff and jurats have usually set down such orders as were, from time to time, most convenient for the inhabitants touching the same; who, in our opinion, do best understand what is fit to be done in those things which concern the common good of the island: we do thereby require, that all such orders as they shall set down touching the gathering of vraic, either upon the said flat rock or elsewhere, shall be clearly kept and observed." The Royal Court, in chief pleas, has always taken this point into consideration. All the ancient ordinances were revised and embodied in a general regulation of the chief pleas of Easter, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen. When the island of Herm, which is situate mid-way between Guernsey and Serk, was let out on a fee farm rent by the crown, there was a special clause inserted; guaranteeing to the inhabitants of Serk and Guernsey the continuance of their ancient right to cut and gather sea weed on the coasts of Herm. The quantity obtained from this small island is prodigious. Serk, indeed, would be rendered almost barren, were it not supplied from Herm, and it is no unusual sight to behold forty to fifty boats from Serk and Guernsey, averaging from five to ten tons each, collecting vraic from that small island. Though this marine herb is almost exclusively used for fuel or manure, yet there are some varieties of it which may be applied to different purposes. By enclosing a particular sort of it in a bottle filled with old Jamaica rum and camphire, and not using it for six months, the lotion is very serviceable in cases of rheumatism, in cuts, and sprains. The writer of this article can vouch for this fact, from his own personal knowledge. In Alderney, a weed is collected, which has many of the virtues of the celebrated Iceland moss; and the algae of Serk are said to afford a substitute for horse hair of the finest quality. There is also another variety, called "carrigeen," which may be converted into excellent blancmange, by boiling it in the same manner as isinglass. GUERNSEY CATTLE. In London, and most parts of England, the horned cattle of the Channel Islands are called Alderney cows. This is a gross mistake; for Alderney is too small a spot to rear many cattle for exportation. During the bubble year, 1825, a joint stock company was established under the style of the "Alderney Dairy Company," who pretended to supply the London market with the milk of animals, which it would have been impossible to procure. The pure breed of these cows can only be obtained in Guernsey, for even those of Jersey are much inferior. As a guide to the English purchaser, it may be observed, that a thorough-bred Guernsey cow is required to exhibit on its person twenty marks, before the agricultural society of the island pronounce it to be perfect. These marks are the following. The pedigree of the father and mother being proved to be good, and yielding General appearance; colour, cream, light red, or both mixed with Deep barrelled shape body: the flanks well rounded.. The criterion of perfection... ...20 points. The pure Guernsey cows are infinitely larger, taller, and of a somewhat darker colour than those which usually sell in England under that name: these come from Jersey, and may be had much cheaper. Instances have been known of a Guernsey ox being fatted to fifteen hundred weight; but the heaviest in Jersey did not exceed eleven hundred. An average good farmer's cow in Guernsey costs from eight to ten pounds. A handsome one for a gentleman's dairy will fetch £12, and occasionally more. Three vergées and a half of good ground are sufficient to afford food for one cow during the year. It is an invariable practice throughout Guernsey to tether the cattle, staking them by the horns to the earth, by means of an iron or wooden peg, attached to a halter about twelve feet in length. This is shifted four or five times per diem, allowing a fresh range of from two to five feet each time. By this system the most is made of the grass, for none can be trodden down or wasted. Gue.nsey butter is as yellow as a guinea, and of most excellent flavour. It is indeed finer than any that can be procured in England. The milk is churned with the cream: the butter-milk is not an unpalatable beverage, and is in great use among the country people, as an article of food: but cheese is never made. The supposed general average that a cow will yield throughout the year is one pound of butter, or eight quarts of milk during the twenty-four hours. It is observed, that the fattest cows are not the best milchers, and the best milchers will not always produce the largest quantity of butter. In summer, many instances have occurred in which cows have yielded fifteen pounds of butter in a week. So convinced are the islanders of the excellence of their cows, that every foreign breed is rigorously excluded, none being imported except for the slaughter-house. A Guernsey farmer would not even allow a Jersey cow to come on his land, though this distinction is unknown in England: they, therefore, who desire a thoroughbred animal, must seek for them in the Guernsey market, and not elsewhere. If Guernsey can boast of her cows, she has little reason to pride herself on her horses. A laudable attempt was made some few years back to improve the breed of saddle and carriage horses by establishing annual races, and to a certain extent this has proved successful. But nothing has yet been done to improve the breed of cart horses and those employed in general agricultural purposes, which are generally weak and ill made. It is worthy of the consideration of our country jockey club, whether much good would not be effected by purchasing a thorough Suffolk stallion: and it would also be desirable, if the country people were occasionally to trim and currycomb their horses, for we challenge all Europe to produce more unsightly quadrupeds than are mounted by the market women on Saturdays. Indeed, these miserable looking beasts are a perfect eyesore, and their rough and shaggy condition is a disgrace to their owners. However, within a few years, both the horses and their harness have displayed some improvement in the principal teams belonging to the town; but the country market nags have not benefitted by the march of intellect. We hope that some of our country gentlemen will accept this hint, and use their influence among the small farmers to persuade them to keep a pair of scissors and a currycomb in their stables, and occasionally make use of them. If a beginning were only made, and a few examples exhibited of decent grooming, all would soon follow the precedent. LANDED PROPERTY. The value of land in this island will be scarcely credible to an English reader. It must be very inferior indeed if the rent is not two pounds per vergée, being at the rate of five pounds per statute acre. In addition to the rent there is a tithe on corn. The best land, of which the Couture is perhaps the fairest specimen, is much higher, being valued at three pounds to three pounds five shillings per vergée. Some estates are let at a money rent, which is fixed; others, at a corn rent, which is fluctuating. These last are counted in the livre tournois, fourteen of which equal a pound sterling. How great the variations have been in the value of the corn rents, the following examples will show. In 1631, the earliest period to which we can refer, the rents were estimated by the court at five livres tournois the quarter. In the next twenty years, to wit, in 1651, they amounted to seven livres tournois ten sols. In 1671, they fell to six livres tournois ten sols. In 1691, they were still further reduced to five livres tournois ten sols. In 1711, they reached to nine livres tournois. In 1731, they were down to six livres tournois. In 1751, they were fixed at nine livres tournois. In 1771, they rose to ten livres tournois. In 1791, they amounted to twelve livres tournois. In 1800, they were at twenty-eight livres tournois; in 1807, at seventeen; and in 1812, again at 25 Vol. I.-No. 6. |