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 bailiff (bailli) or chief magistrate, the procureur du roi, representing the attorney-general, and the avocat du roi, or in Guernsey the contrôle, representing the solicitor-general. In Jersey the vicomte is also appointed by the crown, in the position of a high sheriff (and coroner); but his counterpart in Guernsey, the prévôt, is not so appointed. The bailiff in each island is president of the royal court, which is composed of twelve jurats, elected for life, in Jersey by the ratepayers of each parish, in Guernsey by the Elective States, a body which also elects the prévôt, who, with the jurats, serves upon it. The rest of the body is made up of the rectors of the parishes, the douzaines, or elected parish councils (“dozens,” from the original number of their members) of the town parish of St Peter Port, the four cantons, and the county parishes, and certain other officials. The royal court administers justice (but in Jersey there is a trial by jury for criminal cases), and in Guernsey can pass temporary ordinances subject to no higher body. It also puts forward projets de loi for the approval of the Deliberative States. Alderney and Sark have a separate legal existence with courts dependent on the royal court of Guernsey. In both Jersey and Guernsey the chief administrative body is the Deliberative States. The Jersey States is composed of the lieutenant-governor (who has a veto on the deliberation of any question, but no vote), the bailiff, jurats, parish rectors, parish constables and deputies, the procureur and avocat, with right to speak but no vote, and the vicomte, with right of attendance only. Besides the veto of the lieutenant-governor, the bailiff has the power to dissent from any measure, in which case it is referred to the privy council. In Guernsey the States consists of the bailiff, jurats, eight out of ten rectors, the procureur and deputies; while the lieutenant-governor is always invited and may speak if he attends. By both States local administration is carried on (largely through committees); and relations with the British parliament are maintained through the privy council. Acts of parliament are transmitted to the islands by an order in council to be registered in the rolls of the royal court, and are not considered to be binding until this is done; moreover, registration may be held over pending discussion by the States if any act is considered to menace the privileges of the islands. The right of the crown to legislate by order in council is held to be similarly limited. In cases of encroachment on property, a remarkable form of appeal of very ancient origin called Clameur de Haro survives (see ). The islands are in the diocese of Winchester, and there is a dean in both Jersey and Guernsey, who is also rector of a parish.

These peculiar constitutions are of local development, the history of which is obscure. The bailiff was originally assisted in his judicial work by itinerant justices; their place was later taken by the elected jurats; later still the practice of summoning the States to assist in the passing of Ordinances was established by the bailiff and jurats, and at last the States claimed the absolute right of being consulted. This was confirmed to them in 1771.

It is characteristic of these islands that there should be compulsory service in the militia. In Jersey and Alderney every man between the ages of sixteen and forty-five is liable, but in Jersey after ten years’ service militiamen are transferred to the reserve. In Guernsey the age limit is from sixteen to thirty-three, and the obligation is extended to all who are British subjects, and draw income from a profession practised in the island. Garrisons of regular troops are maintained in all three islands. Taxation is light in the islands, and pauperism is practically unknown.

Industry.—The old Norman system of land-tenure has survived, and the land is parcelled out among a great number of small proprietors; holdings ranging from 5 to 25 acres as a rule. The results of this arrangement seem to be favourable in the extreme. Every corner of the ground is carefully and intelligently cultivated, and a considerable proportion is allotted to market-gardening. The cottages are neat and comfortable, the hedges well-trimmed, and the roads kept in excellent repair. There is a considerable export trade in agricultural produce and stock, including vegetables and fruit, in fish (the fisheries forming an important industry) and in stone. There is no manufacture of importance. The inhabitants share in common the right of collecting and burning seaweed (called vraic) for manure. The cutting of the weed (vraicking) became a ceremonial occasion, taking place at times fixed by the government, and connected with popular festivities.

Language.—The language spoken in ordinary life by the inhabitants of the islands is in great measure the same as the old Norman French. The use of the patois has decreased naturally in modern times. Modern French is the official language, used in the courts and states, and English is taught in the parochial schools, and is familiar practically to all. The several islands have each its own dialect, differing from that of the others in vocabulary and idiom; differences are also observable in different localities within the same island, as between the north and the south of Guernsey. None of the dialects has received much literary cultivation, though Jersey is proud of being the birthplace of one of the principal Norman poets, Wace, who flourished in the 12th century.

History.—The original ethnology and pre-Christian history of the Channel Islands are largely matters of conjecture and debate. Of early inhabitants abundant proof is afforded by the numerous megalithic monuments—cromlechs, kistvaens and maenhirs—still extant. But little trace has been left of Roman occupation, and such remains as have been discovered are mainly of the portable description that affords little proof of actual settlement, though there may have been an unimportant garrison here. The constant recurrence of the names of saints in the place-names of the islands, and the fact that pre-Christian names do not occur, leads to the inference that before Christianity was introduced the population was very scanty. It may be considered to have consisted originally of Bretons (Celts), and to have received successively a slight admixture of Romans and Legionaries, Saxons and perhaps Jutes and Vandals. Christianity may have been introduced in the 5th century. Guernsey is said to have been visited in the 6th century by St Sampson of Dol (whose name is given to a small town and harbour in the island), St Marcou or Marculfus and St Magloire, a friend and fellow-evangelist of St Sampson, who founded monasteries at Sark and at Jersey, and died in Jersey in 575. Another evangelist of this period was St Helerius, whose name is borne by the chief town of Jersey, St Helier. In his life it is stated that the population of the island when he reached it was only 30. In 933 the islands were made over to William, duke of Normandy (d. 943), and after the Norman conquest of England their allegiance shifted between the English crown and the Norman coronet according to the vicissitudes of war and policy. During the purely Norman period they had been enriched with numerous ecclesiastical buildings, some of which are still extant, as the chapel of Rozel in Jersey.

In the reign of John of England the future of the islands was decided by their attachment to the English crown, in spite of the separation of the duchy of Normandy. To John it has been usual to ascribe a document, at one time regarded by the islanders as their Magna Carta; but modern criticism leaves little doubt that it is not genuine. An unauthenticated “copy” of uncertain origin alone has been discovered, and there is little proof of there ever having been an original. The reign of Edward I. was