Journals. The articles having excited great interest, and it being known that it was my intention to leave the Island, many of my friends in Jersey and Guernsey, and also in England, who were aware that I had published only a part of my collection, were desirous of seeing the whole; they therefore solicited me to publish them in a popular form, so that the public might not loose the benefit of my labours. Hence then a great part of the present volume is taken from "Note Book," my "which will account for some of the articles being already familiar to the Jersey reader, but which will not be the less interesting to the British public, for whose especial use the work is published. Some of the facts set forth, will no doubt be startling, but they are nevertheless true, and I have endeavoured to avoid giving them any colouring, but have rather left them to speak for themselves, knowing that they cannot be called in question or denied.

It might be well for me to anticipate, that some persons will probably cast reflexions on the purity of my motives in publishing this work, and insinuate that I have been actuated either by pecuniary views on the one hand, or a wish to gratify an ill feeling towards certain persons, on the other. I therefore think it right to declare, that no individual whomsoever has been privy thereto, either directly or indirectly, and that it has not been produced by a sudden ebullition, arising from any recent circumstances, but purely for the purpose of exhibiting to the world the scandalous nature of the laws, particularly of Jersey, and the wretched manner in which they are administered; in the fervent hope, that it will provoke enquiry, and be the means of causing such abuses as shall be proved to exist, to be forthwith reformed.

The laws have hitherto been unknown to the public, because they have been confined to the breasts of the Jurats, who exercise an almost absolute despotism, pretending to govern their decisions by their consciences, and which being elastic, they are enabled to cover every species of fraud, swindling, and crime, that the ingenuity of man can devise, or his wickedness commit. The Island being an exempt jurisdiction, they possess the power of restraining the execution of certain Writs issuing from the Courts of Westminster, suspending Orders in Council, and also usurp that of nullifying Acts of the Imperial Legislature; by which, they place

themselves beyond the controul of all ordinary means; so that nothing but the interposition of Parliament with the Crown, can possibly remedy it. This then is the reason why the subjoined Petition has been prepared to be presented to both houses of the Legislature.

To conclude, I beg to observe, that there is one subject, paramount to all others, which shows the ill working of this exempt jurisdiction in a strong light, and which will be an instructive lesson to refugee debtors and criminals. Now in order that this might be well understood, I shall be very explicit. I have shown under the head "Jurisdiction of the Jersey Court," (pp. 29 and 30) how the constitutions of King John were invaded, by which the Court usurped a cognizance over civil contracts, that originate out of the Bailiwick, leaving untouched only crimes and misdemeanours; and I now purpose to show the evil consequences that have resulted from it. In the first place let me speak of refugee-debtors. These for want of understanding the peculiar difference betwixt the practice of the Law in Jersey and Guernsey, by taking shelter in the former instead of the latter, actually jump out of the pot into the fire, when they leave their own country for this Island, because here, they are liable to be arrested immediately they land, for any debt, large or small, of any kind, wherever contracted, and under whatever circumstances; without oath or affirmation being made that the debt is justly due, and without the necessity of the creditor following his debtor; whereas, in Guernsey, they are privileged until they have acquired a legal domicile there, by a continued residence of a year and a day, excepting it be for Bills of Exchange, &c., and even then, they cannot be arrested for debts under £5, nor without oath being previously made of the justness of the demand. The only privilege which Jersey offers in common with Guernsey, is that of protection to criminals. The debtor being supposed to bring something with him, those who administer the laws share it, by making him conform to their jurisdiction, but a criminal is exempted from every restraint! The greatest cruelty exercised towards refugee-debtors is, that whilst perhaps the bulk of their property might be under the jurisdiction of the laws of their own country, their persons become subject to another; and that they are precluded from bringing any evidence to bear, from the other side of the channel, even should the debt have been sa

INTRODUCTION.

My connexion with the public Press for a period of nearly ten years, during which I edited two weekly Journals, whose columns were chiefly devoted to the localities of the Island, and in which the proceedings of the Legislature and Court of Justice, formed a leading feature, enables me, perhaps, without much ostentation, to lay claim to some knowledge of the laws, customs and privileges of the country, and to form a tolerably correct judgment of the manner in which they are administered. These matters have, with me, been the subject of very considerable research. I have had some of the most valuable manuscripts in the Island at my disposal, to collect materials from, as well as the Code of Laws, sundry Orders in Council, Acts of the States, judgments of the Court, &c., which I have translated into the English language, and to these I may add, numerous Acts of Parliament, that apply to the Island, and decisions of English Courts, on points of foreign and international law; all of which are now brought together in a popular form, with occasional remarks. I have made the matter thus varied, in order that this Book should be the more serviceable, for I found it necessary to explain the English laws which bear on the Island, to the Jersey reader, as well as the Jersey laws to the English reader; and having made the former my study as well as the latter, I have endeavoured to point out their difference, so as to simplify a comprehension of both in their relative bearings.

In prosecuting my editorial labours, I was accustomed to collect laws and decisions, as facts and data, on which I made notes, and kept them in reserve, to use as opportunities should offer or circumstances require. In course of time, these notes became so numerous, that on referring to them, to satisfy enquiries on given points, it was repeatedly suggested to me, that I should confer a great service on the public, if I would occasionally publish a column or so, and which I did many weeks following, in the News and Patriot

2A

Journals. The articles having excited great interest, and it being known that it was my intention to leave the Island, many of my friends in Jersey and Guernsey, and also in England, who were aware that I had published only a part of my collection, were desirous of seeing the whole; they therefore solicited me to publish them in a popular form, so that the public might not loose the benefit of my labours. Hence then a great part of the present volume is taken from my "Note Book," which will account for some of the articles being already familiar to the Jersey reader, but which will not be the less interesting to the British public, for whose especial use the work is published. Some of the facts set forth, will no doubt be startling, but they are nevertheless true, and I have endeavoured to avoid giving them any colouring, but have rather left them to speak for themselves, knowing that they cannot be called in question or denied.

It might be well for me to anticipate, that some persons will probably cast reflexions on the purity of my motives in publishing this work, and insinuate that I have been actuated either by pecuniary views on the one hand, or a wish to gratify an ill feeling towards certain persons, on the other. I therefore think it right to declare, that no individual whomsoever has been privy thereto, either directly or indirectly, and that it has not been produced by a sudden ebullition, arising from any recent circumstances, but purely for the purpose of exhibiting to the world the scandalous nature of the laws, particularly of Jersey, and the wretched manner in which they are administered; in the fervent hope, that it will provoke enquiry, and be the means of causing such abuses as shall be proved to exist, to be forthwith reformed.

The laws have hitherto been unknown to the public, because they have been confined to the breasts of the Jurats, who exercise an almost absolute despotism, pretending to govern their decisions by their consciences, and which being elastic, they are enabled to cover every species of fraud, swindling, and crime, that the ingenuity of man can devise, or his wickedness commit. The Island being an exempt jurisdiction, they possess the power of restraining the execution of certain Writs issuing from the Courts of Westminster, suspending Orders in Council, and also usurp that of nullifying Acts of the Imperial Legislature; by which, they place