Part 2

Taking into consideration the smallness of the Island, these Banks pretty well inundate the public with paper, nevertheless their security perhaps, is rendered greater than any thing of the kind in England, and may be deemed one of the causes of our prosperity. The paper money issued by the States of the Island is something after the following manner: if the roads for instance are out of repair, or that it is absolutely necessary to build a new pier, then immediately the States, after a close conference, issue on their security, one pound notes, which as the work proceeds are sent out. On the public work yielding an income after its completion, the notes are gradually brought in again, and new undertakings commenced if necessary. By means of this "truly healthy" currency, undertakings of considerable magnitude are occasionally executed. Moreover, the purposes for which the notes are issued are of advantage to every man in the Island; so that every one looks upon them as coming from the Bank to which he is a partner. Formerly the notes were not payable on demand; and the States had not so much as an office for their presentation: nevertheless the notes were never refused, as the people found by experience that their representatives, the States, did not issue the notes in greater abundance than the demand for them justified.

The Savings Bank is under the direction of a committee of the principal people of the Island, most of them members of the States, and is on a safe foundation, the whole capital being vested in the public funds. When the name and occupation of a depositor is entered, he receives 3 per cent for his money.

_Barracks._--Vacant Barracks capable of admitting upwards of 5,000 troops, are erected in various parts of the Island. Their repairs are kept up by occasional grants from the Home Government, and a proper officer is appointed for their annual over-hauling.

_Bats_--Are by no means numerous, or of such size, colour and quantity as those of Jersey. They inhabit the vale districts rather than the upland ones.

_Beggars_--Are not known here, and should there be an importation, the Constables take it upon themselves to manage their departure by encumbering the Captain who brought them with the expense of their return. An affair of this kind cost our late venerable Baillif much trouble in rebutting _versus_ the corporation of Southampton, who at several times either sent or permitted their landing.

_Birds_--That are constantly with us are: the red legged crow, the common crow, sparrow,[A] tit-mouse, long tailed do., common wren, golden crested do., lark, sky do., magpie, sparrow-hawk, blackbird, and thrush. Those which occasionally visit us or remain only throughout the winter season are: the ring dotterel, skitty, quail,[B] plover, starling, red-wing, fieldfare, curlew, tern, snipe, woodcock,[C] &c. The swallow and swift generally leaves us about the middle of October and return in the spring. Perhaps no place of equal extent can boast of having such a variety of birds, for besides the above we have the occasional visit of the hoopoe, ring-ouzel, mountain-finch, hooded crow, golden oriole, sanderling, godwit, lapwing, grey plover, Northern diver, wild goose, brent do., wild duck, together with a few others of the hawk tribe. The heron may be said to be rather peculiar to the small adjacent Island of Herm; and those beautiful birds, the bittern and egret, were both shot by a person in the fens, technically called by sportsmen the "Pontine Marshes."

[A] Sparrows are exceedingly numerous and work great ravages in corn and other grain fields, wherefore the States for years past, have granted an annual sum of £70 or so much per head for their destruction. At a meeting of the States for 1830, an Act was passed by way of awarding a premium for the further destruction of sparrows, wherein it was agreed, for that year only, to give four doubles for every sparrows head, and one for each egg.

[B] According to a memorandum dated Nov. 19, 1841, the author has:--"Shot a quail in a sand field behind Mr De Lisle's house, Grande Rocque, which on opening had its crop full of cress seed, with a few berries of the common nightshade. From this it would seem they are fond of hot seeds and poisonous berries. Also killed three terns at one shot on my passage to Herm in a boat, which are rare kind of birds."

[C] In a memorandum dated the 10th Nov., 1842, I find my old cat "Pinkey" caught a fine woodcock down near a little straw built duckery on the margin of a brook over-run with trees, osiers, and willows. This to the sportsman may appear remarkably strange, and tend to convince him that woodcocks are not over and above scarce here.

_Boarding Houses and Lodgings._--Lodgings may be obtained in various parts of the town from 8s. to 15s. per week, and in the most enviable situations they hardly ever exceed 1l. Country lodgings adequate to the former may be obtained at about 8s. to 12s. per week, in which there is the excellent advantage of being able to obtain fresh cream and butter. Lewis's Boarding House, Glatney, and Shore's Commercial one, High-street, with one or two others, are the principal. Terms from 15s. to 2l. per week, which of course will be comprehended according to the style of accommodation, as the cheapest spot in the world may be abused by an unnecessary suit of apartments and superfluous living.

Lewis's Boarding House is pleasantly situated, fronting the sea, and commands an extensive prospect of the adjacent Isles and France, as also all vessels in and out of the harbour. It is a commodious building, having a numerous suit of rooms, which are airy and spacious, and might accommodate some fifteen or twenty families with ease and comfort. On the top is a kind of rotunda, which is a cool retreat in the heat of summer, as there is always a breeze from the channel; here the visitor, with a telescope, if the weather is clear, can plainly distinguish the houses of France and Jersey. At the back of the house are excellent gardens abounding with fruit and flowers.

_Boatmen._--By late regulations respecting these, every boatman is bound to have the number of his boat painted outside on each bow, and inside on the stern; he is also bound to give the Harbour-Master a correct list of his boat's crew, under a penalty of 14 livres tournois. Passengers are limited to

6 for a Boat from 14 to 18 feet long. 8 for a Boat from 18 to 22 feet long. 10 for a Boat from 22 to 26 feet long. 12 for a Boat from 26 feet and upwards.

No boat under fourteen feet in length is allowed to take passengers from the pier to the roads, or from the roads to the pier; under a penalty of 14 livres tournois for each passenger.

Each division is to perform the duty turn by turn weekly; and none but the boats of the division on duty are authorized to land passengers from the steamers, under a penalty of 3 livres tournois.

The boatmen are bound to put on shore, in a place of safety, the luggage and effects of the passengers they land, that their owners, or porters whom they have engaged, may take them away, under a penalty of 10 livres tournois.

During the landing of passengers and their effects, porters or any one else, are forbidden to place themselves at the top of the steps where the said landing takes place, or to go down the same, until the passengers with their effects have left them; under a penalty of 10 livres tournois.

Boats belonging to the division not on duty, may take passengers from the pier, or elsewhere, to put them on ship board; but they are not in any way to incommode the landing of those passengers arriving, who are to have the preference either of descending from the vessel into the boats, or of being taken ashore. Boatmen, porters, and all others, are bound to make room for those who land, under a penalty of 14 livres tournois.

Fares:--Conveyance of passengers from the pier or from the rocks, St Julien, to the roads, or from the roads to the said pier or rocks, tenpence each passenger, ordinary luggage included. Conveyance within the pier or at the pier heads, or from the vessel ashore, five pence each passenger; the whole under a penalty of 14 livres tournois.

_Bread._--Is nearly the same price as in England, and by some is considered of a better quality.

_Butter._--Together with meat are the only dear articles of consumption in the Island, yet when we take into consideration, the Guernsey lb. being 2 oz. more than that of England, the difference is not so great. Butter throughout the summer is usually 1s. to 1s. 1d. per lb., in winter 1s. 6d. to 2s.

_Carts._--Apparently are extremely awkward and inconvenient, nevertheless from their structure are well calculated for their intended purposes, which is for hay, vraic and other such like litter. Waggons are never used by the farmers, and but very seldom by the town's people.

_Castles._--At present there are the Valle, Castle Cornet, and Ivy Castle in the marshes, which latter appears to have been a Norman structure, and is now laid out into a kind of garden belonging to the Governor, which is densely surrounded with trees. The Valle Castle or St Sampson's, is situated on a craggy eminence overlooking the sea. It has still its ramparts mounted with cannon, and has capacious barracks for troops, which are in a tolerable state of repair. The Castle du Grand Geoffrey stood in the parish of St Mary de Castro, but there are no remains of it now existing.

_Câtel Church._--Consists of a chancel, nave, South aisle and North transept, is dedicated to Notre Dame de la Delivrance, and was consecrated in the year 1203. It has a square tower pinnacled at each angle, surmounted by a fine octagonal spire, which together with the whole building has undergone many alterations during the last century. On one of the chancel walls antique specimens of fresco paintings may be seen, and in a window of the North transept, tracery coarsely wrought out of the stone forming the lintel. The North wall of the chancel and transept of this Church, are supposed to be the remaining portions of old walls, that formed a fort called "Castel du Grand Sarazin," whence it is believed the Church took its name. The place where the Castle standard was stuck is still to be seen, being a projecting hollow stone about the middle of the chancel and transept, where also other evidences may be traced. In the Church-yard is interred the late Right Honourable Lord De Saumarez.

_Cemeteries._--The public burial ground is laid out with much good taste and judgement, and was purchased by the parish some few years since. The whole is enclosed by a solid handsome wall of blue granite, adorned with drooping shrubs. Some of the tombs are highly finished, and the mausoleum of Isaac Carey, Esquire, of Hauteville, constructed by his late heirs, is a splendid piece of work, and is carried to a considerable depth. To the left, or between this and the College, is the "Stranger's Burial Ground," through which runs a new road walled on either side. At the other end of the town and in a solitary place is a small walled enclosure or burial ground, belonging to the Society of the Foxonian Quakers.

_Chapels._--May be said to be numerous both in town and country, and almost every religion may be accommodated. In the country the chief Dissenting chapels are: the Calvinists, Baptists, Methodists and New Connexion.--_Vide Religions_.

_Cheese._--English cheese is not over abundant, as the expences in obtaining it are too great to satisfy that character of economy which the English residents display; consequently cheese, such as Cheddar, Bridgewater, and the like, fetch from 1s. 3d. to 1s. 6d. per lb. The Dutch ball are the ones commonly in demand, and being of a variety of qualities meet with a ready sale at from 4d. to 8d. per lb., which latter price will ensure those of the best quality.

_Climate._--Is considered by Doctor Hoskins, who is a native surgeon of considerable experience, to be a close representation of the West of England or the Isle of Wight, but entirely exempt from the "auguish disposition" of Hastings. The thermometer seldom rises above 80 degrees of Fahrenheit, rarely as low as 37 deg. and never remains long stationary at the freezing point.

_Clothes._--All cloth coming from England, and there being no draw back, the taylor's bill may be considered somewhat a shade higher. In mending and repairing, taylor's work is done at a much more reasonable price than in England. Articles of French manufacture can be obtained at their usual moderate prices, &c.

_Coals._--Are obtained at twenty-one shillings per ton, but the usual way of purchasing them is by the quarter, which is a much less quantity, thereby rendering it more convenient for families removing. By the quarter they are 7s. 6d. in the winter, but less in the summer, as the freight is not so expensive. A quarter is ten English bushels.

_College, the._--In its internal structure is well adapted for scholastic duty and exercise, but the space much more ample than the present insular education can warrant. Its architecture, though mixed is regular, and were it not for an air of lightness in the material, would carry with it the beauty of a monastic finish--a finish so truly regarded by all genuine taste. Perhaps with equal fallacy a few minor points of the exterior may be decided on in the same way; however the observer will discern for himself.

The education of the establishment includes Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Divinity, History, Geography, French and English Literature, Mathematics and Arithmetic. Instruction in these branches of education is secured by the College fee of 12l. per annum. Should any other studies be needed there are extra masters without and within the College that superintend the following acquirements:--Drawing, Surveying, the Spanish, Italian and German languages, Music, Fencing and Drilling. There are two public examinations at Midsummer, conducted by two Masters of Arts of the University of Oxford, selected for that purpose by the heads of Exeter, Jesus, and Pembroke Colleges.

Board and tuition with the Principal of the College is 60l. per annum, including the 12l. of College dues; with the Vice-Principal 50l.; and with the mathematical master 60l.

A drawing of the ancient gate-way is still preserved, of which a view is here engraved.

_Consuls._--For the protection of trade, these have been established by the following powers: France, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Russia, Denmark and Sweden.

_Court, Royal._--The present building where the Royal Court holds its sittings was erected in the year 1799, on an elevated spot at the upper end of Smith-street, at a cost of about 7000l. The Greffe Office is to the right, in which are kept all registries both of public and private ordinances and private agreements. On the left is the common Court, where justice business is transacted; behind this is the room for the advocates, the witnesses and officers of the Court. Above stairs is the Grand Hall for the meetings of the States, and where law and criminal causes, not decided upon in the Court below, are heard and determined. Here are the full-length portraits of our late Governor, Sir John Doyle, Daniel De Lisle Brock, Esq., Baillif, Lord Seaton, a former Governor of the island, and the late Lord De Saumarez.

_Cows._--Those commonly known by the name of "Alderney Cows" in England need but little description, save that the Channel Isles being their natural soil, they thrive well and produce almost double the quantity of butter to what they do in England[A], France, or elsewhere. Hence it often comes within the range of an observer to witness upwards of fifteen pounds of butter from a cow per week throughout the summer. Foreign cows, according to law, are not permitted in the Island, and even a farmer would not allow a Jersey one to be seen on his land. Cheese is not made in the Island, though it is said the Duke of Bedford tried the experiment by sending dairymen, who reported the milk was too rich. By the tethering system no grass is wasted, for the cow is only allowed range of from twelve to fifteen feet, and is shifted three or four times per diem.

[A] According to a memorandum dated April 4, 1829, Guernsey cows degenerate and become extremely feeble in England; that whereupon their bones protrude through the skin, and such was the case at Cheddington in Dorset, where I then resided. In another memorandum, when living at St Martin's, Jersey, I find an old woman of that parish had a remarkable fine cow that produced 18 and 19 lb. of butter per week throughout the months of May and June.

_Cyder._--Is plentiful and in most cases particularly good, though an evil report gives it out as water dashed. The price varies according to the season; at times being as low as 14s. whilst at others 30s. per hodgs. Several hundred hogsheads are annually shipped for England.

_Diseases._--From the climate being open and healthy are few, and chiefly consist of rheumatic complaints. Should the reader be over critical on this head, he had better consult the "History of Guernsey," by Jonathan Duncan.--_Vide Climate._

_Doctors and Physicians._--Considering the healthiness of the clime we are somewhat overstocked, there being no less than twenty-four practising the profession. There is no regular physician in the Island.

_Donkeys._--Are few, as they are merely employed in carrying corn to the country wind-mills, or with families rusticating in the country. A number may be generally seen browsing on Lancresse Common. They may be hired at 2s. or 2s. 6d. per day; if by the hour, 3d. is the general charge.

_Doubles_--Are the current copper coin of the Island, eight of which form an eight double piece, which represent an English penny.

_Eggs._--Native eggs in summer are 6d. to 8d. per dozen, and during the winter from 1s. to 1s. 6d. French ones being imported in large quantities are from 5d. to 6d. per dozen.

_Exciseable Articles._--Groceries being exempt from all kind of duty and imposition are a luxury as well as novelty to those just arrived from a heavily taxed country; thus it is very common to hear recent visitors walking home under a burden of untaxed articles, exclaiming: "Well! we can't do this in England;--we can't get 3 lbs. of sugar for 10d.!" Tobacco is 1s. per lb., snuff 1s. to 2s. per lb. Sugars 3d. to 5d. per lb. Teas 2s. to 5s. per lb. Coffee (raw) 4d. per lb. Fried 8d. per lb. Ground do. 1s. Soap 4d. per lb. Candles (dips) 6-1/2 d. per lb. Moulds 7d. per lb. Cocoa 1s. per lb. Best Chocolate 13d. per lb.

N.B. There being no duty on mahogany, deal, or any other kind of wood, furniture is much cheaper than in England.

_Fish._--Abundant, and considered by strangers remarkably cheap. That generally seen in the market in the greatest abundance are: turbot, brill, whiff, megrim, sole, lemonsole, plaice, dab, marysole, dorey, mullet, surmulet, mackerel, red gurnard, basse, wrasse, bream, gilt-head, herring, pilchard, horse-mackerel, gar-fish, common cod, pollock, ling, atherine, conger, ray, sand-eel, with numerous others. Lobsters, crabs, shrimps and cray-fish are equally abundant, and may be obtained at the following reasonable prices: Lobsters[A] 9d. crabs, (exceedingly large) 2d. to 8d., shrimps 3d. per pint, turbot 6d. per lb., soles 1s. per pair, dorey 1s. bream 2d., whiting (exceedingly large) 6d. The ormer, a very delicate fish, scarcely known in England, represents a veal cutlet, and is rather common with us.

[A] Lobsters would be much cheaper were they not taken in considerable quantities to Jersey, France, Portsmouth, Weymouth and Southampton; hence it has been remarked that early in the morning the market is glutted with lobsters, whereas immediately on the arrival of the steamers they are all gone.

_Fish Market, the_--Is a beautiful structure and has been erected of late years. The interior is light and airy, and the slabs, which are handsomely cut and groved are of black and variegated marble, being well supplied with abundance of fresh water from pipes, which by means of cocks is brought over the slabs at a moment's notice, thereby washing them immediately. The Arcade is a spacious area, upwards of a hundred and ninety feet in length, and proportionably broad, having two lines of sittings extending the length of the building. The exterior towards the vegetable market, or facing the Assembly Rooms, is handsomely occupied in shops, the Mechanics' Library, and other offices. By an ordinance of the Royal Court every person selling fish is obliged to do it in this arcade, for the use of which they pay one penny a day. The whole arrangements, as well as variety, abundance, and excellency of fish, at once impress the stranger with high notions of the public spiritedness of the people, who have taken so much pains to provide a fit receptacle for one single article of human sustenance.

_Farms_--Are hardly ever beyond fifty or sixty vergées, and in their arrangements are contrary to every thing English. The yard is simply a few out-houses, consisting of a stable, hay-loft, cart-house, and cyder-factory, which latter apparatus is a set of large groved stones set in a circle, around which passes a stone wheel guided by a wooden machine, and drawn by a horse or ox. The apples being thus mashed in the trough or grove are turned out, pressed, and racked off secundum artem. The corn is thrashed in an out-house on the ground floor, and afterwards winnowed in the air with a sheet and sieve.

_Flies._--In entomology little can be said, unless by the most acute observer. As far as annoyance is produced, perhaps England or France would exceed us; for, in no single instance, can be traced a multitude of insects that work mischief either to cattle, trees, or any thing else, unless it is the scarcely perceptible nuisance wrought by a species of the millipedes,[A] which abound in dry lands, and occasionally disfigure the healthy appearance of potatoes, if not timely destroyed.

[A] According to a memorandum dated October 4, 1841, these insects do not injure or impair the quality of the potatoe, but only disfigure it. However voracious their attack, they cannot represent the evil of the moles in Jersey, which plough up as it were whole fields, and overthrow the year's produce.