[From Manx Soc vols 25+28 - Blundell's History]

CHAPTER XX.

CONCERNING y^e LEGALL GOVERMT OF y^e ISLE OF MAN IN GENERALL.

THE Lord Cooke hath but one only chapter concerning y^e Isle of Man, and y^t conteyning but one leafe and a halfe of paper; yet therein he hath one sentence seemeth to preposses men’s expectations concerning y^e lawes, customes, and jurisdictions of y^t Island, as would almost deterr any man to write of them, for, saith he, they are such the like whereof wee finde not in any place. I cordially wish y^t he had employed more time and paper (if he could) to have set downe wt those lawes and customes were, and thereby he should have much obliged posterity, and merited of the Manksmen. For my part I leave it to y^e judicious reader to judge of this encomium. I hold myselfe much obliged to shew, and not to censure, their lawes and customes (and y^t but soe far as I have been enabled by y^e curtsey of one of their keys), yet not only y^e like, but even y^e same, are found to be practised in divers other places, as I shall demonstrate before I make an end of this second booke. It is soe facile a business to satisfye all, in all pticulars w^ch concerne this Island’s governm^t as many may imagine, for to demonstrate how difficult an undertaking it is for any to intrude himselfe to pry into their arcana imperii, y^t is to make any discovery of y^e secrets of this (though little) State, I will here informe you of a strange truth, y^e like whereof (to make use of y^e L.

1 Instit. part 4, cli. 69.

Cook’s words to my purpose) I doe not finde in any other place, that for more than 1200 years (as I have before demonstrated) ye Island of Man was a kingdome, and therefore therein was a settled governrnt, yet there never was (nor at this day is as yet) any one treatise extant, written or printed, or any way published, either in ye Manks, British, English, Latin, or any other language whatsoever, to informe y^e Mariksmen (or us y^t are strangers) of any pticulars concerning this Island w^ch conteyneth any entire catalogue of their laws and customes or jurisdictions, whereby y^e inhabitants might know and bear in memory w^ch their duty is to God and their lord; what they are commanded to doe and not to doe, etc.

If any demand how were they governed in those times, I answr after y^e jus innatum (yt is y^e common law of all y^e world) they had a jus non scriptum, w^ch was cofflitted to y^e fidelity of y^e deemsters, as a thing holy and sacred, and by y^m delivered to posterity by orall tradition only, w^ch custome no question they received from y^e Druides, who, as Cesar saith, would not by writing prostitute anything to y^e vulgar; to y^e end they might still rely, and repaire to (and have use of) them in all litigious and difficult businesses ; wtsoever these Druides of old time, or deemsters, their successors, either said or sentenced, was and must stand, and be held for law ( as I shewed you before), but all others were kept in ignorance ; and, therefore, from all antiquity, and even to this day, y^e Manksmen doe call their lawes breast lawes, as being deposited and locked up in y^e breasts of their deemsters only.

Wee find y^e Lacedemonians had in like manner a jus non scriptum, but yet they per præconem promulgabant quotidea. (or rather, as I thinke it should bee, quotannis), for Desiarchus afterwards writt them downe, and all the youth of the city were commanded to be present at y^e promulgation thereof every year. This thus continued, even ab origine, untill this Island of Man was given to s^r John Stanley and his heires by King Henry y^e Fourth.’ At his comeing thither to be invested and made king of y^e Island, he brought over with him, out of Lancashire, a very understanding active gentleman, whose name was Michael Blondell ; him he made governor of y^e Island. This wise and politick English lawyer observing y^e inconveniency of these breast laws, and y^e mañer of ye manageing of y^e same in past, he prescribed a remedy ; for he first brought in y^e custome, and commanded it for y^e future, y^t all law cases decided either in their courts or by y^e deemsters should be written downe by y^e clerke of y^e rolles as a record against another time y^t y^e same or y^e like case) falleth out againe, and those they registred and kept for precedents. This man’s memory (for this fact) is worthily recorded in y^e bookes of y^e 24 keyes ; but these bookes of presidents are lockt up, and none are admitted to puse or make use of them but y^e lord’s officers only, nor any of them alone can have any access to them. For these books are kept there wth as great caution, care, and curiosity, as were y^e bookes of y^e sibills by y^e Romans, for y^e note of my key informed me that these bookes of presidents are kept and put into y^e treasury, are there locked up wth three locks and keyes, y^e first is kept by y^e governor, y^e second by y^e receiver-generall, y^e third by y^e comptrowler of y^e Island ; but wt may follow hereof may easily be con-jectured, for in future times (not y^e Manksmen only), but any Englishman, or any other, may hereby be adopted to become capable to be made a deemster, and to decide cases and controversies, and y^t not any longer by their ancient breast laws,—by these chest lawes ; neither will there be any necessity to call y^e keyes of y^e Island to consult, as now, in cases of difficulty.

1 Anno 1406.

It is very remarkable y^t in soe divers alterations of their lords and governors (British, Danes, Norwegians, Scotts, and English) (diverse governing tiranically), y^t their lawes and customs were never changed, but, like y^e Spartans, they have continued in and y^e same forme of governm^t for many revolutions wthout any mutation. Some shew of a reason for this is rendered by S^r Robert Collon,’ discoursing of our common law, for he truly observeth y^t ancient customes, wherein y^e people have been long trained up, are more readily and willingly obeyed then late statutes of wt worth soever ; this wee may aptly apply to y^e natives of y^e Isle of Man, who, haveing been long accustomed to their ancient customes, they neither easily nor willingly could be drawne to any innovation or alteration of y^e same.

It is strange y^t no King or Lord of Man hath hitherto been advised by any of their governors to imitate our King Henry y^e Second, who caused all y^e anitæ (the ancient customes belonging unto our Island of England) to be sought out and collected togeather. And enacted at y^e Councell of Clarendon, in Wiltshire (and not in Normandy, as John Speed well observeth Mathew Paris is to be mistaken), w^ch afterwards were thence called anitall customes, and were soe called (as I suppose) because they descended unto us abavis et altavis.

Wee have another more ancient p^rsident put in practise by our King William y^e First, commonly called y^e Conqueror, although Mr. Samuel Daniell is of opinion ¹ y^t he is in y^t title not a little disparaged, for y^e lawes (saith John Speed) by w^ch he (King William y^e First) meant to governe he held one excellent rule and purpose, a people ought to be ruled by laws written and certaine, for otherwise new judges still will bring new judgm^ts, and therefore he caused 12 to be chosen out of every county, which should, on their oaths, wthout inclining one way or other, neither adding nor detracting, open unto him all their ancient customes and lawes, etc.

1 In his Treatise of y^e reigne of K. Henry 3.

Now though these lawes of y^e Island of Man neither were nor are written wth inke, yet there never was in any age any one Democles y^t could justly say of these lawes as he did of those of y^e Athenians made by Draco, y^t they were writt in blood, for they are acknowledged, both in themselves and in their practice, to be executed with the greatest mildness, ease, and plausibility y^t can bee desired, neither did y^e Manksmen ever soe much as murmure against them, as I have before intimated.

But these lawes in y^e Isle of Man, though for y^e major part of them they are very ancient, even above 1000 years, yet y^t w^ch hath soe famed them is their equity, and not antiquity, for it is y^t which maketh lawes laudible and customes venerable.