having first passed † the view of the Magistrates, must next, on pain of nullity, be brought to this officer to have an entry made of them, whereto all men may have recourse, no secret and unregistered sale of Lands or Rents being of any validity in this Island. All which employments now named (saving the three furnished by Patent), are at the disposal of the Bailly."

MEMBERS OF THE COURT.

BAILIFF.-Sir John De Veulle, Knt.
LIEUT.-BAILIFF.-Ph. Marett, Esq.

JURATS.-Charles Le Maistre, Esq., Philip Marett, Esq. Lt. B., G. Ph. Benest, Esq., G. Bertram, Esq., Nicholas Le Quesne, jun., Esq., Ph. Le Maistre, Esq., Edward Leonard Bisson, Esq., Ph. De Ste. Croix, Esq., Edward Nicolle, Esq., Ph. W. Nicolle, Esq., and Th. Duhamel, Esq.

QUEEN'S LAW OFFICERS.-T. Le Breton, Esq. AttorneyGeneral, J.W. Dupré, Esq., Solicitor-General, P. Le Gallais, Esq., Deputy of Matt. Gosset, Esq., Viscount.

OFFICERS OF THE COURT.-Frs. Godfray, Esq., Greffier, John Aubin, Esq., and H. Godfray, Esq. Denunciators. ADVOCATES.-John Hammond, Esq., Frs. J. Le Couteur, Esq., Frs. Godfray, Esq., John Aubin, Jun., Esq., P. Le Sueur, Esq., and James Godfray, Esq.

USHER.-Mr. Ph. Le Cras.

RECEIVERS OF HER MAJESTY S REVENUE.-MajorGeneral Touzel, and Matt. Amiraux, Esq.

ATTORNIES.--Messrs. Ph. Journeaux, John Aubin (son of Ab.) H. Godfray, Jun., P. Le Gallais, W. G. Le Gallais, Moses Gibaut, J. Aubin, Jun., Chs. De Ste. Croix, Moreau Amy, J. Blampied, Ph. Messervy, J. Mourant, T. Tessier, P.J. Simon, F. Le Maistre, C. Ahier, P.C. Godfray, T. Gallichan, J. Le Brun, J. Dallain, Frs. J. Le Montais, P. Bichard, Geo. Deslandes, J. Le Couteur, J. Godfray, (son of Hugh) Geo. Ph. Horman, Ph. Gruchy and Ph. Le Brocq. Most of these are also surveyors.

NOTARIES PUBLIC.-J. Pipon, P. Journeaux, M. Noel, P. Le Gallais, T. Mallet, J. Blampied, G. Burr, P. Godfray, J. M. Mauger, C. De Ste. Croix, J. P. Deal, J. Payn, W. R. Matthews, and T. Bertram.

Thence called Passemens.

JURISDICTION OF THE JERSEY COURT.

The Court thus composed is a Royal Court, having generally, cognizance of all pleas, whether real, personal, mixed or criminal, arising within the Island, treason only excepted, and is immediately subordinate to the Queen in Council by appeal or doleance. Some other matters are also reserved for the Royal cognizance, such as disputes and differences, that may arise between the Governor and Bailiff, and laying violent hands on them. With the assistance of a jury whose business is to give a verdict on questions of fact, they try all persons accused of misdemeanour and crimes, and award the punishment to be inflicted on delinquents; and in these cases no appeal lies from their sentence, but it may be carried into immediate execution, even to the extent of capital punishment. It has been maintained that the Court is competent to try causes arising out of the Island, if the parties be within it; as for instance, a mutiny on board a merchant vessel in any part of the world, whether the vessel and crew belong to Jersey or not; a breach of promise of marriage, committed any where in Her Majesty's dominions, and even a debt contracted in England, the recovery of which may be barred by the Statute of Limitations there, provided it is not of ten years' standing!-The Court must take cognizance of the records, judgments, &c., of her Majesty's Courts elsewhere, provided the documents be properly authenticated."

It is clear however, that the Constitutions of King John do not give the Courts of Jersey and Guernsey, any cognizance of matters arising out of their separate jurisdictions: so general was this opinion entertained in former times, that the Courts invariably acted up to it, for many succeeding ages; and it is only of late years, since the introduction of steam communication between the Islands and England, and the great commercial intercourse between the two countries arising out of it, that the Courts have departed from that which they recognized as their constitution, by taking cognizance of debts; firstly, those which were assignable, and passed by delivery, and latterly in this Island only, those of every other kind. The principle however that the Courts have no cognizance of matters arising out of their separate jurisdictions, is still recognized in both Islands, as regards crime, which is

proved by the fact, that criminals who have fled from one Island to the other, and vice versa, and even when they have broken prison, whether before or after conviction, have on being pursued and captured, been liberated, by order of the Courts for want of jurisdiction: and although by the practice of the Jersey Court, persons are now liable to arrest for any kind of debt contracted in England, or elsewhere, out of this jurisdiction, and in default of bail (if they have no landed property here) committed to prison, yet in Guernsey, no person is liable to arrest under the same circumstances, until he shall have been residing there constantly a year and a day, and have acquired a legal domicile, save and except for Bills of Exchange, for which he is liable to be arrested there, immediately he lands in the Island. Thus, an inroad was made in the constitution of both Islands, but a greater one in Jersey than in Guernsey, and that by the authorities themselves. The fact is when the intercourse and commerce between England and the Island had become considerable, and debtors took refuge here, professional men, who were intimately allied to those in power, seeing the probable increase of business that would result therefrom, mooted the question from time to time, as to whether the Court was not competent to entertain such cases, until those in authority yielded the point, and thus one precedent gave rise to another, until it became recognized as established law, that the Court was competent to take cognizance of civil cases, arising out of the Bailiwick, provided the parties at issue were within it. They however left the question concerning crime untouched, and for the best of all reasons, because the prosecution of criminals brought no grist to their mill !

THE DIFFERENT COURTS.

The Royal Court is of chartered jurisdiction, and is of four distinct characters, called La Cour d'Heritage, La Cour de Catel, la Cour du Billet, and La Cour Extraordinaire or du Samedi.

La Cour d'Heritage held at two terms in the year, admits of no causes but such as respect inheritances, partitions of estates betwixt co-heirs, differences among neighbours about bounds, new disseizens and intrusions on other men's lands, pre-emptions between kindred called Retrait Lignager (retractus consanguine and jus protimesos) the property

of rents due for tenants or lands let in fee farm (reditus fundiarius) and other things of the like nature. It opens usually on a Thursday, with a great deal of formality, when the Governor, Bailli, Jurats, &c., enter the Court with the Royal mace carried before them and surrounded by a guard armed with pertuisans. The Bench must be full that day, nothing but sickness or absence from the Island, excusing a Jurat's non-attendance. Seven constitute a Court. All Gentlemen holding Fiefs of the Crown by that service called in records Secta Čuriæ, &c., must attend on pain of fine. Some of those Fiefs being in the Queen's hands, the Governor answers for her Majesty. The Advocates renew their Oaths. The Prevots and Serjeants, who are inferior officers belonging to the revenue, attend to give an account of all forfeitures and other casual profits and emoluments accrued to the Crown, if such there be. Against the rising of the Court, there is a handsome entertainment provided by the Queen's receivers, where besides the Governor and mem bers of the Court, those gentlemen holding Fiefs of the Crown, have a right to sit, and are therefore said in the extent and other records edere cum Rege ter in anno, that is, to eat with the King thrice a year. The Court sits every Thursday following, till the end of the term, the Jurats assisting by turn, three at a time.

2.-La Cour de Catel is held for deciding disputes about chattles, arrears of rent, &c. These last are cognizable for any term, short of forty years. Criminals are tried either in vacation or term time; seven Jurats must attend if the crimes be capital, unless the prisoner consents to be tried before a lesser number, and in other cases two are sufficient.

3.-La Cour de Billet is a Subsidiary Court to assist the Cour de Catel in matters of less moment, as arrests, distresses, &c.: arrears not exceeding ten years, are transferred to this Court. All causes are heard in order as they are set down in a billet or scroll affixed to the Court door, whereby all persons concerned, by inspecting that scroll, may know nearly when they shall be called, without losing their time in attendance. During term, the scroll often exhibits up wards of 300 causes, put down for hearing, though perhaps only 10 or 15 will be got through in a day.

4.-La Cour du Samedi or Saturday Court is another Subsidiary Court, but a branch of the former. In term time it is principally appointed for the Queen's causes, namely, rents due to the Queen, and those of the Jurats, who are not tied to the common rules of billet; out of term, for causes of brevity that will suffer no delay, as causes of navigation, contracts, breaches of peace, and others of daily occurrence.

TERMS.

Extraordinary or Saturday Court.-The Spring Term begins the first Saturday after the 11th April, and ends the 5th July. The Autumn Term begins on the first Saturday after the 11th September, and ends the 5th December.

Cour d' Heritage, or Court for Real Property-Opens on the first Saturday after the 4th of May, and on the Thursday preceding the 11th October.

CONSTITUTIONS OF KING JOHN.

The following document is considered the foundation stone of the civil and criminal Jurisdictions of the Island of Jersey and Guernsey. It has been questioned whether they can be deemed anything more than a declaratory statute of a preexisting system according to the custom or unwritten law of Normandy, or whether, in fact, such a statute, or a statute of any kind of that effect, ever issued from royal authority. The document is a mere list or schedule of sundry and promiscuous articles of polity and regulation. It bears on the face of it, no form, formality or style, usually characterising charters, statutes or institutes. It is headed, or rather superscribed "Constitutions and provisions, constituted by the Lord John, the King after Normandy was alienated;" but the people for whom they were intended, are not named, and the heading may be altogether fortuitous: otherwise than in that heading the King's name does not appear; the place of emanation is not stated, nor is the date given: the King's signature is not to it, neither is that of any councillor, secretary, or other functionary, to authenticate it: no seal is appended or affixed to it; neither the great seal, nor the privy seal; nor any other mark whatsoever, to give it the

Jersey and Guernsey Magazine, p. 311.