THE STORY OF THE REVESTMENT

A Sketch of Manx history in the 18th Century,

By THOMAS GRINDLEY,

AUTHOR of "HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MAN".

Reprinted from THE ISLE of MAN TIMES.

DOUGLAS

BROWN AND SONS, LIMITED, PRINTERS, 'TIMES' BUILDINGS, ATHOL STREET

(Read by Mr Thos. Grindley, at a meeting of the Douglas Progressive Debating Society.)

We have pleasure in reproducing in the columns of "The Isle of Man Times" the following study in Manx history. It treats exhaustively of the series of events which led ultimately to the resumption of the Lordship of the Isle of Man by the Crown; and purports to show, by a reference to public documents, that that resumption was the result of a persistent English policy, and not as is usually supposed, an act of self-protection from the destructive effects of Manx smuggling. We have no doubt that this account of the Revestment will be read with great interest, and that it will permanently modify future views of the necessity of that high-handed act of aggression upon the rights of an ancient but weak people :-

The opening years years of the 18th century offered to the Manx people a nuch-needed prospect of internal quiet and progress. The land war, which had troubled the country during the preceding century, had been happily ended by the Act of Settlement; which, while it confirmed the Lord in his constitutional rights, gave to the people that ownership of the lands they cultivated, for what had so long been contending. But unhappily, though the land war itself had ended thus satisfactorily, it had left effects behind it which did not end with it. Lands, long neglected had to be brought under cultivation; habits, alien to a quiet life upon the land, had to be eradicated; and the nation, as a whole, had to learn to settle down to a life of steady and persistent industry, which had long been unknown to it.

But, more ominous still for the future of the Manx nation, the same period, which, in another direction, presented so fair a prospect of peace and progress for the long-tried people, saw also the adoption by their suzerain and most powerful neighbour of an Imperialist policy, which, as it gradually took definite form and consistence, showed itself to be the irreconcilable enemy of their national independence.

During the late land troubles, the more energetic part of the manhood of the nation had taken to the sea as an occupation, and a large and growing foreign commerce had sprung up, which, in some of its aspects, affected injuriously the interests of the suzerain authority. The effects of this commerce upon British revenues had already become so serious that the English Government had begun to make warning representations to the Insular authorities, to which, as the weaker power, they would have done well to give heed. But the circumstances of the Island were not favourable to this course, and, as we shall see, the insular Government found itself unable to place any effective restraints upon this trade, unless it received compensating advantages, which the English Government was unable or unwilling to grant. Thus, the two countries gradually drifted into a condition of mutual antagonism : their material interests became more and more opposed, and ultimately they reached a point at which the stronger power felt itself obliged to use its superior force, and put an end to a condition of things which had become intolerable. We shall see, in the course of the narrative that this result had been long foreseen by the English Government; that it had, indeed, been brought about by its own deliberate act. But, while it is unquestionable that the English Government had adopted an Imperialist policy, which regarded the existence of local jurisdictions in outlying parts of the Empire as sources of weakness to the central authority, and, therefore objectionable, the Manx smuggling practices furnished it with that plausible excuse for suppressing Manx independence which otherwise it might not have found.

In the early period of their history, the intercourse of the Manx people with the outside world had been comparatively infrequent, and restricted within very narrow geographical limits and, down to the close of the 17th century the amount of the revenue derived from customs duties was so trifling that it was hardly an appreciable item in the national budget. This insignificance of the foreign trade of the Island was, in great part, due to the fact it had been the hereditary policy of the Lords of the Stanley line to discourage in every possible way their subjects' intercourse with other nations: and obstacles of the most stringent character had been deliberately placed by them in its way. The Insular Statute, almost from their first connection with the Island is full of these restrictions upon Insular commerce; and the unauthorised entry of aliens into the country, and their residence in it for the purposes of trade were forbidden under the severest penalties. It was not in fact, until the closing years of the 17th century that the Insular Government marking the progress of British industry, and recognising, as the Great Earl had done, the advantageous position of the Island as a centre of distribution, began to relax the severity of the old laws against foreigners, and to encourage them to "reside within the said Isle". From this departure from its traditional policy, it was only a short and easy step to the entire removal of the ancient restrictions upon trade; and accordingly, from the year 1697 onward, a long series of Acts of Tynwald, having for their objects the opening of the country to enterprising foreigners, and the development of Insular trade and industry, prove the sincerity of the Government's conversion to more enlightened views of its duty to its subjects.

The first of these measures was adopted in 1687, when an Act of Tynwald was "publickly proclaimed upon the Tynwald Hill, according to antient forme and custome," repealing the existing laws against "aliens," and offering to the subjects of all nations "in amity with the Crown of England" permission to reside in the Island, with "the same immunitys, privilledges, and advantages that any of the subjects or inhabitants of England have. or hereafter shall or may have and enjoy, by the laws and customes of this Isle, or any other law, usage, or custome heretofore practiced to the contrary notwithstanding." That this measure, combined with the impulse given to agriculture and to industrial pursuits generally by the Act of Settlement was not without effect is evident from the fact that complaints were speedily made regarding the scarcity of brass money and want of change within this Island"; a "want" which had not been specially felt before. To meet this deficiency, Earl James, the reigning Lord, "had "a considerable quantity of copper pence and halfpence" coined; and an Act of Tynwald was passed in 1710, ordering "that the said copper pence and halfpence shall at all times after this day be currant and passable within this Island, and enacting severe Penalties against any person or persons whatsoever ... lawfully convicted of counterfeiting any of the said pence and halfpence." This supply of "brass money" relieved the difficulty for a time, but the growth of the trade Island, and with it, the demand for a satisfactory currency was so great, that the amount coined was soon found to be too small; and in 1733, a second coinage of "three hundred pounds in copper pence and two hundred pounds in copper halfpence was issued under the the same conditions as to usage and counterfeiting as before (Act of 1733.)

The commercial relations of the Isle of Man with the neighbouring countries had for some time been receiving increased attention from the Insular Government and as early as 1709 a serious attempt had been made to obtain a remission of the heavy duties placed by the British Government upon Manx produce exported to England. After a long and careful consideration of the subject, it was resolved by "the Twenty-four Keys to send a deputation to attend the English Parliament for obtaining a free trade for the Island with Great Britaine." As a preliminary to this step, an "address" was voted by the Keys to Earl James, placing the facts of the case before him, and asking for his approval of the proposed deputation to London, together with his consent to the necessary steps for raising the requisite funds to defray its expenses. This sanction was readily given, and in the following year (1710) an Act of Tynwald was passed "levying the sum of one hundred pounds" upon the country, by means of an assessment upon the "estates and holdings" of the inhabitants, "for carrying on the cause in the Parliament of Great Britaine." The importance attached to this mission by the Manx Government and people may be judged from the weight of the burden with which they thus deliberately loaded themselves to meet its cost. From a number of causes already referred to. the country was sunk to a depth of universal poverty and distress which it is extremely difficult in these days adequately to realise, and whose intensity was so great that indications of it appear again and again even in the legal phraseology of the Statute Book. It is impossible here to give an adequate picture of "the poverty and mean circumstances of the people" at this time; but we may gather some faint idea of the universal "poverty" of the country when we remember that only four years before the passage of this Act (in 1706), a similar assessment of £160 had been made to meet the charges incurred in procuring the Act of Settlement. The condition of the country was so bad, however, that the landowners re-instated under that Act had been unable so far to pay the "fines" due to the Lord in respect of their newly-recovered lands, and, in consequence, the levying of even this small sum of £160 had been delayed for three years (until 1709), in order that the feudal payments due to the Lord might first be made. (Act of 1706.) From this it will be evident that in 1710 the debt due on account of the Act of Settlement, which secured the people in the quiet possession of their lands had only just been paid; and the further fact that the Government proceeded to raise another £100 from the impoverished landowners, without waiting even a single year for the country to recover some what from the exhaustion caused by its previous sacrifices, will show how deeply it felt the importance of the effort about to be made to obtain relief from the almost prohibitive burdens placed upon its trade with England.

The deputation, consisting of two members of the Council — Bishop Wilson, and William Seddon, Insular Attorney-General; and one member of the House of Keys, Ewan Christian now set out for London; but not with empty hands. As we shall see more fully later, the English Government had reasonable grounds for complaint in the serious injury which was being done to it revenues by Manx traders taking advantage of the convenient situation of the Island, and of its independent jurisdiction, landing privately large quantities of dutiable goods in Great Britain and Ireland; and strong representations had already been made to the Insular Government on the subject. Steps, indeed, had been taken by the suzerain power to investigate more closely the causes of the evil, with a view to dealing with it more effectually; and English customs officers, acting in the name of Queen Anne, had been sent to the Island to watch these proceedings and report to their Government. They could do nothing more, having no authority to exercise their official duties in the Island, or to interfere in any way. The peculiar form of free trading thus carried on was so profitable to the Insular Government, whose customs receipts were very largely increased by it, that its effects upon the British revenues were officially ignored. The standpoint of the Insular authorities, however, was materially modified by their desire for improved trade relations with the paramount Government. The legitimate trade between the two countries was heavily handicapped by English duties, which the Manx Government wished to see abolished; and to secure this concession, it was ready in return to oblige the English Government, by placing effective restraints upon the illegitimate trade to which that Government so strongly objected. Accordingly, an Act of Tynwald was passed in 1711 to prevent these "frauds upon her Majesty's Customes," by placing severe restrictions upon the export of foreign goods from the Island. This required all persons "exporting goods from hence to enter into bond with two or more sufficant sureties, inhabitants of the Island, that the said goods so exported by them should be landed in the port or place the same were entered for, and to return certificate within six months that her Majesty's duties were fully paid otherwise the bond was to be forfeited and sued, and many other restrictions in and by the said Act may more fully appear."(Preamble to Act of 1714. see also Act of 1711).

This Act came into operation on the 5th day of November 1711, and being enforced with great strictness by the Insular authorities, it speedily produced a change for the better in the situation, which ought to have been especially satisfactory to the English Government. To the Manx People, however, its effects were simply disastrous. In the graphic language of a later Statute — the Act of 1714 — the resulting condition of things is very plainly exhibited. "Our small trade here is greatly sunk: the inhabitants (are) discouraged in the importation of their goods into great Britain; and the merchants stranger having forsaken us as deterred and rendered in capable of trading amongst us by reason of the restrictions and hardships they are lyable to by the said Act, being such as is not practiced or required in any part of her Majesty's dominions, and considerable quantitys of their goods perished and decayed here for want of freedom to export them the effects whereof being already too apparent by the decay of trade amongst us and the general stop there is at present to the sail (sale) and vent (export) of those few commodities this Island affords, by the continuance of which will soon ensue the misery and decay of this land, and the inhabitants thereof, under which we can no longer support ourselves."

This passage from the Act of 1714 proves conclusively that the restrictions placed upon the foreign trade of the Island by the Act of 1711 had been honestly and effectually enforced by the Insular Government, and that the result produced was exactly that which the English Government had been demanding for years. Its extensive trade in "foreign goods" which was having such a disastrous effect upon the British and Irish revenues, had been effectually curbed and brought under control, though at a heavy cost to the Manx Government and people; and if these salutary regulations had been maintained for a few years longer, and if also the energies of the Manx people had been encouraged by more generous treatment on the part of the English Government to turn into more legitimate channels, there is good reason to believe that Manx "smuggling" — that convenient stalking-horse for revestment — would have died out faster than it had grown up.

With the Act of 1711 in their hands, and with satisfactory proofs in their possession of its successful enforcement, as evidence of the sincere desire of their Government to satisfy every reasonable international demand, the deputation went to London, and "laid their proposals before the Honourable the Commissioners of her Majesty's Customes." (Preamble of Act of 1714.) These "proposalls," in substance, were a recognition by the Insular authorities of the reasonableness of the complaints made of the effects upon the British revenues of the foreign trade of the Island, a statement of the comprehensive measures which had been taken to prevent the complained of injuries in the future, and a request, based partly upon the equity of the concession asked for, and in part upon the evident necessities of the case, for a grant of free trade with England in "Bestials, or any other goods of the growth, product, and manufacture of this Island." These proposals were carefully considered by the Commissioners, "and agreed upon by them." They were then transmitted by them to the Lords of the Treasury, "to be forwarded into Parliament, as the likelyest means" of securing the concession sought by the Insular Government. But at this point, the success which had so far attended the negotiations came to an abrupt end. The English Government had already committed itself to the centralising policy, which, sixty years later, led to the declaration of American independence; and as a part of that policy it had begun to regard the separate jurisdiction of the Insular Government as a weakening of the central authority and to look forward to the revestment in the Crown of the insular sovereignty as the only satisfactory solution of the difficulty, which would he permanently acceptable in the general interests of the nation. Consequently the English Government had no real wish to conclude an arrangement upon any other lines, no matter how desirable such an arrangement might seem under existing conditions. Thus it was that negotiations so favourable to both parties, and entered upon so prosperously, made no further progress, in spite of the efforts of the Manx deputation. They "lingered in town up wards of eight months",without being able to obtain any satisfactory reply; and at last they had to return home, worse than empty handed. The failure of this mission, from whose success so much had been hoped for, was a heavy blow to both Government and people. They had begun to recognise the political immorality of their trade in foreign goods, and they were beginning to realise the fact that no powerful Government would submit indefinitely to having its interests thus injured in a vital question; and they had, at a great cost to themselves, made an honest and entirely successful effort to restrain that objectionable commerce within the recognised limits of international law. All that they had asked in return was the removal of the heavy war duties imposed by England upon their own native productions; and even that small concession had been denied them. They had even gone a step further in their anxiety to secure that freedom of trade with their neighbour, which was of such capital importance to them, and had included in the Act of 1711 a clause which prohibited the export of Manx-grown wool "to any foreign parts, except to Great Britaine, under the penalty of forfeiting the said wool." ("And whereas the hindering the exportation of wool of the growth of this Island into forreign parts will be of great advantage to the woolen manufacture of Great Brittaine, be it enacted by the authority afforesaid that no wool of the growth of this Island shall be put on board any ship or vessell with an intention to be shipped or exported to any forreien parts, except to Great Britaine upon the penalty of forfeiting the said wool." (sec 7 Statute 1711). This last hope had failed them; and only one course was now open to them if complete and general ruin was to be avoided. They must return to their old ways and to this course both indignation at the unfriendly treatment they had received, and the necessities of their situation urged them. Without manufactures of any importance. with agriculture and fishing in a rude and backward condition — in part the result of the neglect consequent on the recent land troubles, and in part a consequence of the extreme poverty of of the people — the Country was miserably poor and unprogressive apart from its newly developed foreign commerce For many years, with the hope of free trade with Great Britain before its eyes. the Government had rigidly enforced controlling restrictions upon that commerce, with the result we have seen. To continue these restricions would have utterly destroyed the only prosperous industry the country now possessed; and without the prospect of that relief which free trade with England would have given, it would have landed the country into a state of national bankruptcy Neither international obligation nor its duty to its subjects required such a sacrifice from the Insular Government, To escape "the Misery and Decay of this land and its Inhabitants." which "the continuance" of the restrictions imposed by the Act of 1711 would have caused, it was decided to "suspend" the operation of that Act; and accordingly an Act of Tynwald was promulgated on the 27th day of May, 1714, suspending the Act of 1711 "for one twelvemonths next immediately following the said day of publication hereof; and so from year to year afterwards, or untill the freedom of trade for the inhabitants of this Island with Great Britain be granted, as the same was agreed upon with the Honourable the Commissioners with her Majesty's Customes in London."

This decision, which gave another fifty years' existence to an evil and demoralising traffic, and which ended at last in the compulsory cession of the external independence of the Manx people to their English suzerain, however much it may be regretted on account of these disastrous consequences, was inevitable under the circumstances: and as these results must have been foreseen by the English Government, when it decided to refuse the concession asked by the Insular Government — a concession both reasonable in itself and essential to the Manx people in their impoverished condition — that Government must be held responsible to posterity for the consequence of their action. Nor is the gravity of this censure lightened by the fact that, when thus driven back upon their old objectionable courses by the cynical attitude of the English, the Manx Government did not give way to its natural indignation, and proceed to repeal the Act of 1711. It merely "suspended" that Act "from year to year ... untill the freedom of trade for the inhabitants of this Island with Great Britain be granted." Disappointed as it : was, it left open a means of accommodation; and the Queen's Government, or that of her successors, could at any time have protected itself from the injuries inflicted upon its revenues by the Manx contraband trade, by accepting the reciprocal arrangement already agreed to as satisfactory by its own Commissioners of Customs by those very officials who, by their practical knowledge of the questions involved, were best qualified to judge of the reasonableness of the Manx offer.

Freed from the harrassing restrictions under which it had been suffering for the past three years, the Insular "smuggling" trade now started into renewed life and vigour. This traffic, it is now necessary to state, was carried on systematically in two different directions on an increasingly extensive scale. Vast quantities of foreign goods — wines, spirits, silks,laces, and other articles upon which heavy duties were levied by the English Government, were imported direct into the Island from the countries of their origin; and, in addition, "great quantities of tobacco and other foreign goods and merchandise (were) imported into this Island from Great Brittaine, and there intituled to drawback by debenture, all or the greater part of the duties payable there for the same." These goods were not intended for Insular consumption, The persons importing them stored them in immense underground warehouses, which they had had constructed for the purpose, in the principal Insular ports. Some of these great storehouses existed in Douglas, the chief port and modern capital, until they were swept away by town improvements a few years ago: and others are to be seen in the other towns at the present day, almost in the condition in which they were left on the abandonment of smuggling nearly a century ago. The foreign "comodities" thus accumulated were afterwards "exported from this Island, and privately landed in Great Brittaine and Ireland without paying her Majesty's Customs and other duties." In this way, the Isle of Man had already become the centre of a considerable contraband trade, in which not only were native Manxmen actively engaged, but also large numbers of Englishmen and other foreigners, who were either settled in the different Manx ports, or had confidential agents in them.

In the earlier stages of this demoralising business, the Insular authorities did not appear to realize its true character, or its disturbing effects upon their relations with the neighbouring Governments; and, even after they had begun to receive formal complaints from the suzerain power, they still continued to ignore its existance. It was, in fact beginning to be too profitable to both Government and people to be interfered with, except under the strongest compulsion, without equivalent trading concessions in return. In 1711 an honest, attempt had been made to come to some such arrangement with the English Government: but it failed of success because that Government refused to grant the trading facilities asked by the Manx and a fresh stage in the commercial relations between the two Governments was entered upon. Year by year, the Insular smuggling trade grew in importance and in profitableness to all concerned in it. The Insular Government did nothing to ease the Situation, but quietly waited until the growing tension should compel, the English Ministry to move; overlooking the all-important fact that the two parties to the contest were not of equal strength, and that the stronger Government could at any time compel the weaker to accept its terms. It did nothing openly to encourage "the trade": but on the other hand it did nothing to discourage it. Nor can it, under the circumstances be blamed for so acting, if we regard the situation from the standpoint of abstract equity though prudence might perhaps have dictated a more yielding policy. It interfered in no way, directly or indirectly; but contented itself with collecting its duties, and asked no disturbing questions respecting the destination of the valuable goods exported. Each year the operations of those engaged in this business became more systematic, were spread over wider areas and ate deeper into the British revenues ; their underground connections were multiplied indefinitely and extended to every convenient port and creek on the opposite coasts; while in the Island itself the entire population became gradually absorbed by the pernicious traffic, to the growing neglect of their more more legitimate occupations.

This steady growth of a commerce so irregular in its character, and so injurious to its own material interests, was naturally regarded hy the English Government with increasing concern: but even its growing losses through it failed to turn it from its fixed policy of seeking its remedy in the suppression of the separate jurisdiction of the Manx Government. They merely confirmed it in its determination to resort to that extreme measure at a fitting time. It believed that, as long as the Island retained its independent position, no permanently satisfactory solution of the difficulty could be found: and possibly it was right in that belief. Meantime its troubles multiplied on every side, and it could do but little to help itself. Coming from foreign ports, laden with dutiable commodities intended for British consumption, Manx ships were engaged in a legitimate occupation, and no King's ship could meddle with them. Importing Colonial and foreign produce from England, Manx vessels were equally correctly occupied, from an international point of view, and could not be touched. Again, when exporting these goods they were almost equally secure from molestation; though from very different causes. Every port they traded with was within sight cf the Manx coasts, and a few hours' sail on a dark moonless night would carry them and their valuable cargoes to any desired English, or Scotch, or Irish port, and once there, the local arrangements were so perfect, that a very short time sufficed to empty their holds and store their contents in safe hiding places. All in the place were more or less directly concerned in these enterprises: magistrates and officials, and gentry, equally with the tradesmen and peasants; and so carefully kept was the secret of such "landings" that the preventive officers had a very small chance of interfering with them. If they did — and occasionally they did contrive to come unbidden and unwelcomed upon the busy scene — it generally ended in a savage fight, ia which neither side spared the other. In the Island itself the attempts of the English Government to deal with the evil were even more heavily handicapped. In British ports the King's Officers had the law behind them, and were supported by that consciousness in the execution of their duty. In Manx ports, they were in foreign territory, and the law not only gave them no assistance, but it recognised in them no right of interference. Customs officers had been sent over before the Act of 1711, but they could only watch the proceedings, and report to their superiors in London. If a King's ship put into a Manx port, in pursuit of a well-known smuggler, it did the same international rules as regulated its proceeding when it entered a French or a Dutch port; for Manx ports were then "foreign ports" in the strictest meaning of the term. It might berth alongside its quarry watch it unload one cargo and take in another and yet be unable to interfere in any way. No working arrangement had been come to between the two Governments, by which the officers of the one could call upon those of the other for assistance, It might watch the smuggler close its hatches, and sail with the tide out of the harbour; but it was in a foreign port, and international usage required the King's ship to wait the customary 24 hours before it followed. Long before that period had expired, its would-be prize had reached its destination, and was safely moored in some quiet little creek in any one of the three kingdoms; and when the revenue cutter made its appearance — if it followed at all when it left the Manx port — it found nothing suspicious. The cargo, which, if found, would have convicted the vessel, had long since disappeared, and the crew were enjoying a well earned "cruize on shore." If, again, the King's ship moved outside the harbour, to intercept the smuggler when it left the port, it had to go beyond the territorial limit before it could do anything; and then, in the darkness, the smuggler slipped past unseen. Sometimes, however, one of the many "dare-devils" engaged in this adventurous traffic would openly steer his lugger past the blockading vessel, perhaps with a spirit cask ostentatiously hoisted to his mast-head, and, if interfered with, would show fight. But these encounters were comparatively rare — so rare, indeed, that they have left their story behind them, deeply graven in the popular memory. The same thing, it should be remembered, was going on all round the British coasts, the principal difference between Manx and British smuggiing being that the difficulty of dealing with it was complicated by the separate jurisdiction enjoyed by the Isle of Man, and it was probably this practical difficulty which determined the Ministers of Queen Anne and their successors in office to end that inconvenient privilege.

In the Isle of Man itself, the smuggling trade was fast becoming a grave national evil, whose effects upon the national character and life far out-weighed even its profitableness. It is, how creditable to the Insular Government that it devoted a considerable proportion of its gains from this source to the much-needed improvement of the internal condition of the country, and to the encouragement of more legitimate industries. "The sea-ports and harbours of this Isle" were improved and extended to meet the requirements of the growing trade of the country. and to defray the cost of these improvements, the duties collected at the Insular ports were largely increased, and extended to a large number of articles hitherto exempt, and harbour dues imposed upon all shipping frequenting Manx ports. (Act of 1734) The ancient roads of the country, which in their best days, had been little better than rough horse-tracks, too narrow for wheeled vehicles, and which, like all old roads, went straight up and down the steepest hills they met on their way, had fallen into utter decay during the late troubled time. These were now repaired and put into better order; and new roads were formed where they were most required. And in order that the improvement in the condition of the highroads might be maintained, local officials, called overseers, were to be appointed annually to have the roads of the country in their charge. and to superintend all repairs upon them. (Act of 1713.) By a later Act 1753, cap. v.), a highway authority was created, with power to appoint a "general supervisor" for the whole of the roads of the country, under whose direction the local overseers were to act; and to provide an adequate fund for the cost of these works, the charge for public-house licences was increased nearly four fold. one-third of that increase being ordered to be paid into the highway fund, and the remaining two-thirds going to the encouragement of other "Publick Industries." Religion and public order, too, had greatly suffered in the general decay of society; but under the impulse of the excellent Bishop Wilson, both now began to re ceive the attention of the Government. The existing parish churches — simple and unpretentious structures, without any claim to regard except their antiquity and their use, had be come ruinous, and in some cases absolutely unusable. Under the personal supervision of the Bishop, energetic efforts were now made to put them into better order for public worship. New churches were erected in two of the more populous districts — Patrick (1710), and Lonan (1733) ; and as the residences of the parochial clergy were in no better condition than the churches — they served, steps were taken to repair or re build them, and to erect vicarages upon convenient sites in parishes where there were none. (Act of 1734.) The condition of the working clergy, again, was most unsatisfactory. Amid the general decay of morals and religion, consequent upon the universal addiction to smuggling, it was to be expected that the clergy, and especially the country clergy — as a class miserably poor, and hardly raised in attainments as manners above the mass of their parishioner would become more or less directly mixed up in it; and the records of the period show that such was the fact. The condition of the the Manx Church at this time was, indeed, most deplorable; and it had for long been steadily growing worse, in spite of all that the Diocesan, "the saintly Bishop Wilson," could do to prevent it. Ignorance and neglect of duty, went hand in hand with narrow-minded bigotry and intolerance; and poverty and hardship in their daily life were fittingly combined with selfish greed of gain, and grasping persistence in every claim which old custom, or ecclesiastical rule allowed them to make. Abuses of longstanding die hard, but nowhere do they die harder than in the Church; and thus it was the same Act of 'Tynwald which provided for the improvement of the residences of the Insular clergy also renewed the ancient law restraining their intolerable exactions in ecclesiastical cases, and ordered that certain payments receivable in these cases should be applied "to the repair of their respective church houses," and be accounted for to the Ecclesiatical Registrar. (Act of 1734)

In secular affairs, and in public morals and social order, though the lowes point had not yet been reached, it was being steadily approximated to, as a consequence of the demoralising effects of the Manx contraband trade, and the great influx of foreigners of a licentious and lawless character in connection with it. Of the two chief industries of the country — agriculture and fishing — the fisheries were increasingly neglected for the more stirring and more directly profitable career of the professional smuggler. In agriculture, the outlook was very little brighter. The land had, to a very great extent, fallen out of cultivation during the late land troubles, and the measures adopted for the resumption of its culture had been greatly hindered by the poverty and backwardness of the people, and by the difficulty of obtaining the requisite labour: for here, as in other directions. the superior attractiveness of the smuggler's life drew to it the greater part of the peasantry. who should have been available for agricultural purposes. To prevent this, and also to check the growing tendency to emigration to England and elsewhere, an Act of Tynwald was passed in 1713, forbidding, under heavy penaitics, the emigration of young persons of the labour ing classes, and discouraging in the strongest manner all unnecessary changes of residences and occupation. A few years earlier, in 1705, an attempt had been made to improve the practice of agriculture, by imposing exemplary fines upon those who wilfully allowed their cattle or other animals to trespass upon their neighbour's lands; and generally to introduce much-needed regulations for the promotion of better farming.,To enable the local authorities to deal more effectually with the disorders growing out of the universal prevalence of smuggling, a strong measure was adopted in 1734, dealing in a drastic manner with the worst evils arising out of the drinking habits of the people. On the ground that "the great number of petty alehouses and tippling-houses kept in the several towns and Parishes of this Isle are not only obnoxious to all sober, discreet persons, but likewise destructive of the publick good." it was enacted, "That no person or persons whatsoever shall hereafter retaile beere, ale, wine, or other liquors, without a lycence from the Governor of this Isle first had and obtained for the same." And it was further ordered that the total number of such licences should not exceed 200 for the whole Island; and also that the sum of 2s6d should, in future, be paid for every such licence; and substantial penalties were imposed for any infringement of the Act.

These were the last public measures of the Stanleys in Man — Earl James, the 10th Earl and the 13th Lord of the House of Stanley, dying in 1736. But it is a satisfactory remembrance, when summing up the results of their long tenure of the Island to know that, though their rule as a whole had been of a negative and self-seeking character their acts were dictated by a broader and more comprehensive sense of duty to their subjects, and were such as would under more favourable condition have been productive of more lasting effect

On the death of Earl James, the line of the Stanleys, which had ruled the Island for 330 years, came to an end, and the Lordship of Man passed to the Scotch branch of the family, the Athol Murrays, descended in the female line from the seventh Earl. Soon after his accession, the Duke of Athol visited the Island, and was loyally welcomed by his Manx subjects. He remained in the Island for some time, acquainting himself with the details of the Insular administration, and with the condition of the country, and was present at the annual Court on Tynwald Hill, "in royal array," according to the ancient custom. A few weeks later, a special Tynwald was held in Castle Rushen (Castletown), under the presidency of the Governor, James Murray, a member of the Duke's family, at which an in:portant Act was passed, containing no fewer than 14 clauses of so comprehensive and useful a character that it has been, not inappropriately, styled the Magna Charta of the Isle of Man, to which the new Lord of the Isle at once frankly asented. For some unknown reason, no special day was appointed for the promulgation of this Act, and it did not, consequently, become law until Tynwald Day in the following year (1737).

This change of dynasty made no break in the general policy of the Insular Government, either in its relations with the suzerain power, or in its labours for the improvement of the condition of the country. The smuggling trade went on unchecked; and the English Government, noting its increasing losses of revenue, and openly indignant at its inability to prevent them, was waiting its opportunity, and slowly, but persistently maturing its plans for the final act of the great tragedy. At home, the work of reform and improvement went steadily forward; on the whole with fairly satisfactory results. "All fairs and marketts within the said Isle' were made "free and open to all buyers and sellers, whether strangers or natives, to barter, buy, sell, amd export all manner of goods and comodity's, as of the growth, product, and manufacture of this Isle, as of any other kingdome, island, or country, without an stop, or mollestation." (Statute of 1737, cap. iii) The statutes of 1422 and 1664, which forbade under severe penalties any person resident in the Island leaving it without a special licence from the Governor, were materially modified in with an direction of greater freedom of intercourse with other countries (ibid, cap ix.); commerce with other countries was still further encouraged by articles of home "growth, product, manufacture" being permitted to be exported duty free, and foreign commodities, if necessaries of life, were allowed to be imported under highly favourable conditions (ibid, cap. xiv); regulations were framed for the conduct of the Herring fisheries, and for the better supply of the home population with fresh fish (ibid, Cap) and other clauses were devoted to the improvement of the administration of justice, the reform of the ancient procedure in cases of dispute concerning lands and land-tenures, and ordering that all persons charged with criminal offences shall be brought to trial "with all possible speed," The later measures of the Stanleys, for the improvement of the Insular harbours and highways, were extended and made more effective; and steps were taken for draining the bogs and marshes, which still covered a large part of the lowlands, especially in the north and centre of the Island. But perhaps the measure which most directly affected the social and moral condition of the Manx community, as well as their commercial relations with the outside world, was the section of the Act of 1737, generally known as "The Protection Act' (cap. iv., sec. 3): 'That any person prosecuted in this Isle for a forreign debt, by any accon (action) of arreast in the said Court of Chancery, shall for the future be held to bail only for his personal appearance to such accon, and for the forth coming of what effects he hath within this Island to answer the judgement upon the same." This measure, though passed professedly in the interests of Insular trade, rendered the Island for nearly a century (the Act was repealed in 1814) the sanctuary of the unfortunate and profligate of the surrounding nations, and still further exaggerated the evil effects of the contraband trade of the country.

Without entering into further details of this remarkable outburst of reforming zeal on the part of the Insular Government, it will be enough to say that the closing period of Manx independence, though it was marked, on the one hand, by a great development of ill-directed commercial activity, which, on account of its injurious effects upon the neighbouring countries, led ultimately to its suppression, was, on the other hand, characterised by a series of internal reforms which served largely to undo the evil results of centuries of mis-government and neglect; and which in fact, did so far succeed in their object as to enable the country to support the shock of the revestment, with its crushing effects principal industry, without irrevocable disaster.

But the end of the long-drawn-out drama was now fast approacing. From a very early period of the smuggling troubles, the English Government, as we have seen, had come to the conclusion that the only effective cure for the disease which was eating so deeply into its re sources was the revesting of the Island in the Crown; and it had the more readily adopted this decision from the fact, that it harmonized so exactly with its general policy of consolidating more closely the different members of the Empire. Accordingly, it had in 1725 obtained Parliamentaty authority to treat with the Earl of Derby for the sale of his royalties. Acting under this authority, several attempts were made to induce the Earl to consent to an arrangement for the surrender of his interests, but without result, the Earl being, naturally, strongly oppened to the voluntary surrender of a dignity so honourable in itself, and one which had been in the possession of his family for more than 500 years. On the accession of the new dynasty, in 1736, the negotiations for the transference of the feudal royalties of Man were re-opened by the Treasury; but the Duke of Athol was no more willing to surrender his newly acquired possession than Earl James had been ; and only partially realising the gravity of the situation, he interposed a number of objections in order to delay the necessity for coming to a decision. But he soon came to see more clearly the finality of the determination of the English Government to resume the sovereignty of the Island, and, recognising his own inability to resist permanently, he began, with true Scotch prudence, to prepare for the inevitable. His anxiety, however, was not on account of the public interests involved in the issue — only for his own personal and family fortunes; and, with this object in view, he entered upon a series of measures whose sole end was to so order matters that, when the sale could no longer be delayed, its proceeds should be used to benefit the Murray family, "to the exclusion of the heirs general of James, the seventh Earl of Derby, thus defeating the intention of the Act of James the First" (8 James I.). (Sir J. Gell, Notes to Parr's Abstract, p. 98.) With this object in view, the Duke executed a series of deeds transferring his interests in the Island to certain parties, under the trusts therein mentioned. The first of these conveyances was dated the 14th Novem ber, 1737 — that is, less than two years after his accession; and the last of them was completed on the 8th day of July, 1762, that, is. about 18 months before his death. (Revesting Act, 5 Geo. III., cap. 26.) I cannot enter into any detailed account of these curious proceedings; nor is it necessary to my present purpose. To make it plain that the Duke, recognising that the demands of the English Government could not be permanently resisted, was anxious to secure his family interests in the transaction, to the utter neglect of the Manx national interests affected; and secondly, though these trusts were invalid in law, being contrary to the terms of the Act of 1610, which definitively settled the succession, the English Government, in its eagerness to gain its end, saw fit to accept them as valid, and assumed, in the Revesting Act, that the Lady Charlotte, Baroness Strange, succeeded her father, Duke James, " under and by virtue of the said recited indentures of feoffment, and according to the estate and interest thereby limited to them respectively therein." This was a manifest error, as the true title of the Duchess was in respect of her being heir-general of the seventh Earl of Derby. This was recognised by two subsequent Acts of Parliament, viz, 45 Geo. TII., cap. 123, and 6 Geo. IV., cap. 34, which both treat with the fourth Duke as "heir-general for the time being of James, seventh Earl of Derby." and not as possessing any rights under the deeds of enfeoffment.

The negotiations dragged on intermittently without definite result, through the long reign of Duke James, until his death, in January, 1764. The Duke knew that the transfer of the rights of his family in the Insular kingdom would have to be made ultimately; but he was equally convinced that the longer he could put off the inevitable end, the better bargain he could make for himself and his family. And he acted accordingly. But the long waited for opportunity of the English Government had at last come; and immediately after the accession of the new Duke and Duchess, it made a final attempt to come to a friendly agreement. On the 25th July, 1764, a communication was addressed to the Duke, by the Lords of the Treasury, offering to treat with him for the cession of his rights in terms of the Act of 1725, and asking him to specify what part of his property and rights he was disposed to sell, and the price he required for them, "that," it continued, "we may know whether the terms are in all respects such as we, who are trustees for the public, can admit. But if your Grace is not inclined to enter into a treaty with us upon the subject, we beg to be informed of it, that we may then pursue such other methods as we shall think our duty to the public requires of us." To emphasise still further the threat contained in the latter part of this communication, and, indeed, before the Duke had had time to return any reply to it, an Order in Council was issued on the 17th August—that is barely three week: from the date of the communication in question — stationing revenue cruisers in the harbours and on the coasts of the Island; and, as a matter of course, if the Order was to be any thing more than a blank shot, preparing the way for the treatment of the Manx ports and territorial waters for revenue purposes as if they were British ports and British waters, subject to the direct authority of the Crown.

The proceeding was significant of the determination of the English Government to bring the long controversity to an end; and it was further an unmistakeable indication that it was at last fully resolved to shrink from no measure, how ever violent or irregular, which it might think necessary to the attainment of that end. If legal means would secure the desired settlement, none other would be adopted; but if they failed, then extra-legal methods would be as readily followed. The enforcement of this ministerial Order "would have been an illegal aggression upon the sovereign rights of the Duchess of Atholl." (Sir James Gell), which had so far been carefully respected and to have exercised soverneign authority in Manx ports and waters would have been a high-handed act of violence by a strong power against a weaker, utterly without justification in international law or in the necessities of the situation. This measure must how ever, be looked upon as a warning to the Duke of possible consequences in default of a prompt settlement satisfactory to the Suzerain Power and as such it was, to a certain extent, a complete success. On receipt of the intelligence of the issue of this Order in Council, the Insular Government was startled out of its hereditary easy-going ways Things had gone on, without special difficulty for half a century or more, and it had seemed as if they might have gone on for another half-century in the same comfortable fashion; but this sudden move of the Treasury roused it from its pleasant dreaming, and showed the necessity for immediate action. Accordingly on the 20th August — that is, only three days after the issue of the Order in Council, and immedi ately upon receipt of the news of its issue — the Duke of Athol replied to the Treasury letter of the 25th July, pointing out that, as he had only been in possession of the Island for a few months, it was impossible for him to fix an adequate price for a possession so considerable, both for honour and profit; but stating his readiness to receive a proposal from their Lordships.

Three weeks later, on the 12th September, so quickly did events now move, the Treasury addressed a second communication to the Duke, asking for full information respecting every branch of revenue in the Island, apparently with a view to making him the offer for his rights he had asked for. But, again, as if fearing the negotiations might be allowed to drift, or, more probably, having marked the satisfactory effect of the recent order in Council, putting fresh pressure upon the Duke, a third communication was sent to him, informing him that the Government did not incline to go further in a treaty ; but meant to obtain its object by an adequate Act of Parliament. Following up this threat, the next move was made on the 21st of January, 1765 — that is barely one year from the accession of the Duke to the Lordship, of which it was thus sought to deprive him, when the Right Hon. George Grenville, First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced into the House of Commons a Bill intituled, "An Act for more effectually preventing the mischief arising to the revenue and commerce of Great Britain and Ireland from the illicit and clandestine trade to and from the Isle of Man' (Geo. III., c. 39).

This Act, which was: commonly designated The Mischief Act, was intended to supplement and give effect to the Order in Council of the 17th August, 1764. By it the King's officers of customs and excise were authorised to search ships in Insular harbours, and! to make seizures on land or water. It further authorised the prosecution of seizures and offenders in Great Britain or Ire land, or in any Court in the Island, in the name or by the authority of the King; and as necessary to any such prosecution, the service of offenders in the Island of process from the British or Irish Courts. "Had the revestment of the Island in the Crown not taken place, this Act. carried out by the force which the Goverment of England was able to apply against an almost powerless State, would virtually have destroyed the independence of the Insular kingdom, and deprived the Lords thereof, without rendering any equivalent or compensation for the revenues to which they were entitled by the laws of the Island" (Sir James Gell Notes to Parr's abstract p. 105)

It should be noted that Sir James Gell's estimate of the situation thus created, though sound as far as it goes, by no means takes into account the whole of the case; and, to that extent, it is misleading. It entirely ignores the public interests involved in the action of the English Government ; and especially the fact that the Dukes of Athol, as Lords of the Isle, were only the fiduciary receivers of the revenues, to which Sir James says "they were entitled by the laws of the Island." The fact is, they received the revenues officially, and not personally. Each Lord had only a life interest in them: and only that as the head of the Insular Government. And further, the expenses of that Government were a first charge upon them. In short, the revenues claimed here for the Lords of the Island were the national fund created for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Insular Government; and the Lord for the time being can only properly be said to have had a claim upon the balance remaining, after the cost of the administration had been paid; and even that only in return for his services as head of the administration.

It may also be further pointed out that the terms applied in this Act to the commerce it was intended to suppress were both inaccurate and misleading. "The Act designates the trade to and from the Island as 'illicit and clandestine'; but this designation is not strictly correct. The trade to the Island was by law almost free. and restricted only by such duties as were imposed by the Insular Legislature; and such trade was previously recognised by the English Government. So far as the trade from the Island was concerned it way not 'illicit and clandestine' by the Insular laws, which authorised exportation of goods, on payment of the Insular duties. The trade was 'illicit and clandestine' in Great Britain and Ireland so far as it was attempted to land the goods there without payment of the British or Irish duties or in defiance of British or Irish laws. The trade with Russia, or any other foreign country might as well have been designated 'illicit and clandestine' where goods lawfully exported from such foreign country were smuggled or attempted to be smuggled, into England" (Sir J. Gell Notes to Parr's Abstract, p. 105).

The introduction of this Bill (the Mischief Bill), which, it should be remarked, was the first Act of the English Parliament which really affected the rights and liberties of the Manx people, or infringed the independence of the Manx Legislature, was received by the Insular Government and people with indignation and alarm; and steps were promptly taken in defence of their menaced interests. On the 13th February, a petition against the Bill, from the Duke of Athol was presented to the House of Commons: and the Duke was heard by counsel thereon. Either the effect produced upon the House by the statements thus made was unfavourable to the course taken by the Government, or more probably the principal object aimed at by the introduction of the Bill had been gained, for, on the 19th February, the Duke received an intimation from the Treasury that possibly a treaty for the purchase of his rights might yet be entered into. This intimation was welcomed by the Duke, who was now thoroughly alarmed for his personal interests; and on the 27th February, he and the Duchess formally proposed to surrender the Island, and all rights, jurisdictions, and interests therein (but reserving their landed property, manorial rights, and the patronage of the bishopric and of ecclesiastical benefices) for the sum of £70,000. This proposal was accepted by the Treasury, and a contract to that effect was executed on the 7th March, 1765.

A Bill for giving effect to this agreement (the Revesting Bill) was ordered by the House of Commons to be brought in on the 20th April. This Bill was read a first time on the 23rd April; a second time, on the 24th; passed through Committee on the 25th; reported on the 26th; and finally passed the House on the 30th. It was brought up and read a first time in the House of Lords on the 1st May; a second time on the 2nd; went through Committee and reported to the House on the 6th; and read a third time on the 7th. On the 10th May it received the royal assent, by commission. The haste with which this measure was pushed through its successive legislative stages was almost indecent, and marks significantly the anxiety of the English Ministry to make sure of its prize. From the date of its first reading in the Commons (23rd April) to its final reading in the Lords (7th May), was barely a fortnight — a fact almost without precedent in modern times; and, taken in connection with the unique character of the measure, and the magnitude of the changes which it was intended to bring about, its legislative career was as unprecedented as the policy which produced it was violent and revolutionary.

The successful issue of its policy did not, how ever, prevent the English Government pushing on with the Mischief Bill, though the motive for its introduction no longer existed. It was evidently thought prudent to have this measure in reserv in case any unexpected difficulty occurred to block, or even delay, the Revesting Bill; and the two Bills were passed simultaneously through their several Parliamentary stages, the Revesting Bill receiving the Royal assent on the 10th May, and the Mischief Bill on the 15th May, 1765.

One other fact should be stated to complete the story. The Duke and Duchess had had time in the weeks that had elapsed since the end of February, to recover somewhat from the panic alarm which the introduction of the Mischief Bill and the evident determination of the Treasury to obtain its object had excited; and thinking that they had not made the best bargain possible for their surendered rights, they began to make fresh and urgent representations on the subject to the Government. In consequence, on the 22nd August, 1765. by a grant made under the Great Seal of Ireland and on the ground "that the revenues of Ireland as well as those of Great Britain, would receive great benefit and improvement by the said surrender, his Majesty was graciously pleased to grant to the said Duke and Duchess, for their lives, and the life of the survivor, an annuity or yearly allowance of £2,000."charged on the Irish revenues, as "a mark of his royal munificence and bounty.

The methods adopted to carry out this deliberately planned scheme were as repulsive as the end itself was tyrannical and unnecessary. The Revestment, since the ministry were deter mined upon it, might have been attained and every reasonable facility for protecting Imperial interests acquired, and with it all due considera tion for Insular interests might have been shown. But nothing of the kind was done, either then or at any subsequent period. Neither in the negotiations leading up to the Revesting Act, nor in the drafting of the Act itself, were the legitimate interests of the Manx people taken into account. The two parties to the agreement, of which the Act was the formal expression, carefully restricted themselves to safeguarding their own immediate interests, and as carefully shut out all consideration of everything else. The political rights of the Manx people were the subject under discussion between them ; but no representative of that unhappy people was present to protect them from injury and wrong. And. in fact, it was no part of the programme of either party to the agreement that those rights should be brought into the discussion at all, or in any way represented in the bargaining. The English Government had no intention of restricting its future action on account of political conditions, which it had found to be troublesome in the past; and it was equally no part of the Duke's policy to draw special attention to facts which, if allowed for, would have materially lessened the value to the English Government of his royalties and their money equivalent. Thus, both agreed in ignoring Manx popular rights altogether — the one from policy, and the other from greed — with the result that the independence of the Manx people was utterly crushed by their new master. For a full century they lost control of their own affairs, and when, yielding to necessity, the English Government partially relaxed its grip on Manx interests and restored to Tynwald the right to raise its own revenue, and liberty to expend a portion of that revenue upon Manx public works that concession, was purchased at an extravagant rate, by consenting to continue subject to the strict supervision of the Home Office, and by agreeing to contribute out of its slender funds the sum of £10,000 to the English exchequer.

And lastly throughout the whole period of the direct rule of England, the Act so obtained was administered in a cynically selfish spirit which added greatly to the inevitable hardships resulting from its administration. For the first time in the history their mutual relations, the English Parliament, assumed to exercise a para mount athority over the Insular Legislature : and, though the Manx people were in no way repesented in it. Parliament proceeded to make laws for them and to impose fresh taxation upon them, whenever it thought such a course desirable in English interests. Revenues relatively enormous were wrung from an impoverished people; and, to add infamy to wrong, a large part of the moneys thus obtained were spent upon English objects, in defiance alike of common honesty and of the very Acts of Parliament which authorised their collection. In short, it would be difficult, even in the annals of that degenerate age, to find a parallel to the treatment which the Manx people received from their English suzerain during these hundred dark years.