by Blanche B. Elliott
(published 1923)
The origin of such a Lilliput lying in the open Channel is as singular as anything in their present situation. Poetically described by Victor Hugo as "pieces broken off France," they have remained picturesque survivals in language, laws, and nationality of peoples that have elsewhere become extinct or been merged into other races.
The islands themselves bear remarkable traces of an occupation by man in his earliest stages of being, and his evolution may roughly be gathered by the numerous relics he has left behind him.
Inaccessible as these islands must always have been, it is easy to imagine that in the fastnesses of caves and forests, prehistoric man held one of his last footholds and was a wild creature here for long periods after he had given place to later types in more open countries.
At the beginning of the historical period the nearest point of Gaul was Celtic. Earlier than that it must have been Iberian, and it is likely that the islands were inhabited by tribes similar to those of the mainland.
It may be supposed that from about the fifth to the tenth century the Aryan system of the Western Franks existed in force, and when feudalism spread to the islands, it was grafted upon older forms of government by which it was largely absorbed ; it therefore brought in reality but little organic change.
The old communal institutions of the Aryan races may be traced to-day in the form of the parishes which are the foundations of the existing political structure, and which are not coincident with the area of the feudal manors, as was so often the case in England. The communal plough is frequently referred to as having existed in the islands within the memory of man, and is supposed to date from this communal period. Though this plough no longer exists in Jersey, the idea remains in the threshing machine which visits the parishes and threshes the farmers' corn and may possibly be a remnant of the communal system.
Public records of Jersey do not date prior to 1520, but the Rolls of the Assizes held in 1309 throw much light on the rise and development of local institutions and the social conditions of the islanders, providing valuable historical data for the period of the Middle Ages. It was to the itinerant justices that the islanders pleaded " that they were not governed by Norman law, but had certain customs and usages from a time of which no memory exists." For reasons of convenience one Court went to Guernsey and the neighbouring islands and one was held in Jersey, and it is from these beginnings that Havet ' (Les Cours Roy alts del lies Normawies, by Julien Havet (1876) traces the evolution of the separate Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey.
The institution of Assizes is anterior to the separation of the islands from Normandy. They were held at intervals of three years and appear to have so taken place until the end of the reign oi Edward I, after which period they were held at irregular intervals. After the Conquest of Normandy the English custom of sending Justices Itinerant was reverted to, and it fell to them to conduct these judicial proceedings.
The Roll contains a report of the inquiry held concerning the customs obtaining in the islands and the rights and privileges of the islanders to govern according to such customs. The commonalty of each island (Communitas Insulee) was called upon to make a statement of the customs claimed and the laws by which they were governed, and the Justices having obtained this, the pleas of quo warranto against them were proceeded with. When the position became acute the islanders petitioned the King, and as there was always the proximity to France to be considered, the monarchs of England realised the value of retaining their sympathies and loyalty. After making a stand for their ancient liberties and rights, these have ever been ultimately reaffirmed and specifically stated in each Royal Charter, which invariably begins by acknowledging the loyalty of the inhabitants of these islands.
Through their chequered history the islanders have resisted encroachments from the monarchs of England upon their privileges and rights as emphatically as they have beaten off the attacks of the French from their shores, and have withstood the one as successfully as they have the other. They have always been a peculiar appendage of the Crown of England from the time of John, and have given to it an unswerving allegiance. In recognition of this Edward II presented them with his own Royal seal of three leopards -passant gardant, which is the Jersey blazon and appears on public documents, and is also used on their copper coinage.
By a process of slow evolution, the islands' independent governments have come into being and are a " peculiar combination of royal and municipal institutions (local administration under a federal tie)." The Crown is the apex of the feudal system, and is at the same time the keystone of local liberties. Today the King is represented by the Lieutenant-Governor.
In Jersey the Court and States have separated; thus the legislative assembly of the Cavalier island contains a broader-minded and greater democratic element than the Whigs of Guernsey, who retain their more oligarchical system.
The civil and military (the Militia of the island) duties are performed gratuitously, a state of affairs which tends to produce an amount of public spirit and economy for which these tiny republics are so honourably distinguished. "These modern Hesperides are a credit no less to their own small but vigorous communities, than to the great country of which they have so strangely shared the fortunes."
The system of land tenure by which the land is parcelled out among a vast number of small proprietors (brought about by the successive division of property between the children) has been quoted frequently as being the true cause of the island's prosperity.
The farmer inherits his plot of land and transmits it to his children in direct inheritance. He therefore builds his house in the island's solid granite with a view to permanency; he puts his best labour into the soil; he uses every available corner of his ground; and he plants good trees in his orchard and encloses his property securely. The richness of the soil enables a small farm of from 3 to 5 acres to yield a livelihood, and the farmer himself works in the fields beside his hired man. With his valuable potato and tomato crops, his pedigree cattle, his wonderful fruit (in Guernsey a large amount of land is under glass, where grapes principally- are grown and exported), he contrives to earn a good income.
The result of his labours is that in the civilised world it is probable that there is no community where there is greater wealth in proportion to the number of the people or more widely distributed than in the Channel Islands.
The stimulating result of ownership is emphasised in the Commissioners' report of 1860, when these fairminded men, in a comprehensive survey- of the island, made the following statement :
" We have not failed to appreciate at their just value the spirit of self-reliance which characterises the natives of this island, their natural attachment to their ancient institutions, and the unwavering loyalty to their Sovereign, by which now, as ever, they are distinguished. That many of these institutions indeed are well adapted to the peculiar circumstances, we confidently believe. The law of property, for example . . . has, no doubt, a material influence in fostering a spirit of industry and self-dependence, and in diffusing over the entire surface of this land a thriving population, whose strong local attachment is among the best guarantees for their devotion to their country."
There is no doubt, also, of the natural intelligence of the Jersey people and their industry and thrift, which have put to the best use the goods that the gods provided. They seem to excel in whatever trade or pursuit they put their hands to, and in each century have taten advantage of the divers opportunities which may have come their way. The conger fishery export was remarkably lucrative at one time, and later the fishing fleet of Newfoundland developed enormously. When they took to knitting, they so excelled in the occupation that they have.given the name of " Jersey " to posterity to apply to knitted goods. Cider was made and exported in quantities wonderful for so tiny an island. Pilots and sailors from Jersey have made themselves world-famous, while to-day the Jersey farmers rank among the foremost in petty cultivation.
The exceptional intelligence for which many of the Jersiais have been remarkable expresses itself in various directions, and the islands have produced many scholars, statesmen, lawyers, and artists who have risen to great eminence.
In character the Jerseyman is thrifty to a fault, tenacious to a degree, and very litigious, though perhaps less so now than of old. But it is wise not to go to law with a Jerseyman, for his laws are apt to be at times inconveniently surprising. His French blood gives him a lack of self-consciousness which enables him to carry out his quaint ceremonies with a becoming sense of dignity. His independent attitude is apt to be a little disconcerting at times. He is matter-of- fact, drives a hard bargain, and is often narrow-minded, but, equally frequently, one meets with a broadminded generosity and a genial hospitality.
The native in the town is generally in trade, but his mind is by no means limited to his calling. Thus one often finds that the bookseller is a deeply read scholar ; the chemist, a clever botanist ; the jeweller, a student and theologian; the bootmaker, an artist whose pictures grace the walls of picture galleries in London and Paris ; the florist, a musician of no mean order; the baker, an archaeologist. There is not room in the little island for the ambition of her sons, and they have wandered far afield, so that there is scarcely a corner of the globe to which one can go that a Jerseyman will not be there first. He was, it must be remembered, one of the first colonists of North America.
In appearance the Jerseymen are of medium height or under, and very dark in colouring. Their eyes are sometimes grey, but most often black. One frequently may observe a copper tinge in the hair which lifts it from the usual colouring, while a golden light in the dark eyes often makes them appear hazel. Generally speaking, their features are small, their eyes large, and their complexions colourless. As to how their appearance may strike a stranger is shown by the story of a Jerseyman who might be described as " typical " who was gazetted during the war into a Scottish clan regiment, where both his name and his appearance aroused interest. One Scot remarked that he had not met his type before and yet it seemed vaguely familiar. After studying the unruffled Jerseyman for some time, he exclaimed, " I know; I have seen profiles exactly like yours on the Bayeux tapestry! "—whereby he was giving the Jerseyman his exact ancestry.
But Jersey, even as one writes, is slowly changing. One feels the disintegrating forces which have almost imperceptibly begun. Already the old -patois is falling into disuse, for the town people do not know it, and the picturesque old Jersiais and Jersiaises are giving place to a newer generation who may not be so true to the old shibboleths. The English language is gradually superseding the old tongue. . . . And when the change comes, it will be a pity, for the characteristics as we know them will be less clearly defined and the strong individuality largely lost.
Those who have stayed for any time In Jersey find that she gets a curious and permanent grip on their hearts. Adventurous youth, perhaps, may scorn her small, cramped ways, her limited scope, and range farther afield. And each time the wanderer returns—for he always does return—the island seems to have shrunk a little. Were the roads always so narrow ? or the fields so tiny or the very cows in miniature ? . . .
But when age has made the voyager fearful of accidents, a little cowardly, perhaps, of the hurts of life, or when the homing instinct is strong upon him, then as surely he will return here to shelter until such time as he is claimed by the inexorable timeteeper, Death, when he will be folded into the very bosom of the island soil. . ..
And so I have tried to tell truly of this little island, this anachronism, this "little jewel set in a silver sea," part of the large diadem of Great Britain, and of the lasting allurement and strong appeal she makes to those who can appeciate her charms.