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

CHAPTER XXV.

CERTAINE OTHER LAWES AND CUSTOMES OF YE ISLE OF MAN NOT MENTIONED IN YE HISTORY PRECEDENT.

I HERE prsent my reader w^th more of y^e lawes and customes of the Isle of Man, omitting to repeat againe such as are already sett downe here and there, in befitting title and places, in y^e first and second bookes of this history ; for example, I repeat not againe those y^t concerne y^e Lord of y^e Island, either of y^e dutyes and prerogatives doe belong unto him; 2, or concerning any of his officers’ pow’~ and duty ; 3, or concerning their fishing of herrings ; 4, or y^t concerne y^e castles, forts, etc. ; 5, or their watching and warding on y^e Snaefel, or in y^e townes, etc.

There are, besides some others w^ch concerne ye ecclesiasticall governm^t w^ch I shall set downe in y^e third booke of this history.

My memory doth not accuse me for any one law or custome in y^e Isle of Man (w^ch my curious key had collected for his better enabling himselfe to discharge y^e duty of his place), unless it be a very slight one concerning tenants, juliers, wherein I was y^e more negligent, because oppertunity served not to instruct my ignorance, ye rest are here put downe in their owne phrase and language, as I found y^m in my Manksman’s private booke.

1. Whosoever causeth any gathering togeather of people in prejudise of y^e people, or cometh in force of armes against the governor (especially at a Tinwald), or rnaketh any murmure, or causeth any rising of y^e people here in p’sence of ye governor, or seeketh to constraine him to put downe ye lord’s customes, or his prerogative at the Tinwald,’ is a traytor.

2. Relieving of rebells (knowing of y^e rebellion) is treason.

3. None may transport any Manks servant or tenant out of y^e Island ~ithout y^e licence of y^e lieutenant (yt is y^e governo’), sub pena to forfeit his vessell, and to pay y^e farme (yt is y^e rent) of them he carrieth away. Moreover, his body tobe cothitted to prison, and to finde surety to come again.

4. Noe alien coming into y^e Island with merchandise shall goe any farther into y^e Island then to y^e parish church, upon paine of forfeture of his goods, and his body to prison.

5. Noe Tinwald, market, or fair, shall be kept on ye Sabbath-day.

6. Yeares for discretion of children is at fourteen yeares— but y^e full age is twenty-one yeares.

7. Noe overseer of infants can set or sell y^e infant’s estate but only during y^e minority of y^e infant, except in case of extremity, y^t is w" there are no other goods left to pay debts, or to bring up y^e children, w^ch mother fr~ doe refuse to bring them up.

8. If any man have a child one yeare or two yeares before marriage, and after he marrieth y^e woman y^e child is legitimated by the customary lawes.

9. Sunday blanketts shall not be taken for corbes, but shall goe to the next child.

10. If a felon have a wife, and was before y^e offence committed married unto her a year and a day, y^e wife shall not loose her widdow’s right, neither of y^e goods nor lands, but she shall have her part thereof clear, paying her proportionable share of ye debts.I 1 [See more of this before, Chapter 11.—Editor.]

11. If a woman doe cornit felony her husband may forsake her and her deeds, if not, and y^t bee concealeth her deeds, he standeth ye law as y^e woman ; but if y^e husband doe comit felony y^e wife looseth not her part, although shee conceal ye deeds of her husband, because shee is subject unto him.

This it seemeth they had from y^e Scotts, for king Keneth y^e sonne of Alpin, anno 834, made a law—Let not y^e wife suffer for the husband’s misdeeds, but y^e husband shall answer for y^e wife’s misdeeds if he be privy thereto. Hector Boetius, 1. x. p. 201 ; Holinshead, Cron. of Scotland, pp. 172 and 181.

12. Noe mercht can transport any monyes out of y^e Island wthout lycence.

13. I found a law y^t y^e Scotts should avoyd out of y^e Island w^th ye next vessell upon pain of forfeiture of his goods and his body to prison ; but this have been long absoleted as y^e next above, as I suppose.

14. If either y^e man or y^e woman doe dye w~~~in a year and a day after their marriage, neither of them can claime any marriage goods, except it be given by will (of either of y^e partyes y^t dyeth) unto ye other. If noe will be made the goods doe goe to the next of kinne.

15. If any have goods in a felon’s keeping he must come and claime these before y^e felon be condemned, or else they are in ye lord’s grace.

16. The soldiers are to worke y^e lord’s hay if called.

17. There was here an old custome concerning debts. W11 y^e debtor died and was buried, and no bonds nor writings made to express ye debt, y^e creditor did come to y^e grave and layd himselfe all along, wth his back upon y^e grave, wtI~ his face towards heaven, and a bible on his breast, and there he protested before God y^t is before above him, and by y^e contents of y^e bible on his breast, y^t y^e deceased there buried under him did owe him soe much money, and y11 ye executors were bound to pay it. But anno 1609 (Wiffiam, Earle of Darby being then lord of Man) 8ber 12, at Castle towne, it was agreed upon by John Ireland, lieutenant, y^e two deemsters, and y^e 24 keyes, y^t such a custome was not fitting nor christain like, and therefore it was decreed that thenceforth it should bee abolished, and y^t such controversyes should receive hearing and be tried according to y^e forme of law, by witnesses or otherwise, first in y^e spirituall court w^thin y^e 12 month and a day, and then in y^e temporall court.

18. If any one do force or ravish a woman, if shee be a wife he shall suffer y^e law for her, but if shee be a mayd or a single woman, ye deemster shall give her a rope, a sword, and a ring, and shee shall have her choyce either to hang him w^th y^e rope, or to cut off his head wth y^e sword, or to marry him with y^e ring.

The aforesaid Keneth, King of Scotland, made a law y^t he y^t did ravish a mayd should dye, unless shee required him for her husband. Hector and Holinshead, ubi suprc&.

19. At a Tinwald 1629, June 24, it was concluded and agreed for law y^t stealing or cutting of beehives in gardens shall bee felony or death, wthout valuing of y^e same.

20. Alsoe y^t whosoever stealeth a sheep, mutton or lamb, of wch age or worth soever, y^e offender shall be put to death, ?;~SO facto, upon inquisition taken, without valluing or distinguishing of the price.

21. Alsoe all those y^t steale turfe, ling, or gorse, robbed any garden, clipped other men’s sheep, stolu come or hay out of ye fields or haggards, or hath stolen geese, hens, ducks, or such like pilferyes, to y^e vallue of sixpence halfepenny, it shall bee felony to death ; if it bee under y^e value they are to bee whipped, and to sitt on y^e wooden horse at y^e discretion of y^e captaine.

22. Alsoe to pull horse tayles, shall be set on a wooden horse two houres, and to be whipped naked from y^e wast upwards.

23. This customary law following I found not in my Manks notes (yet seeing it was soe set downe in o^r law bookes of 12 H. 8, fol. 5, and cited for one of y^e lawes of ye Isle of Man), I thought good to sett it downe amongst these:

If any man steale a horse or oxe it is no felony, but if he steal a capon or pigg he shall bee hanged.

24. Noe native, though he have paid his debts and farme, ‘ shall goe out of y^e Island w^thout licence ; if he doe goe away in his owne boat, or steal a boat from another, he shall be a felon, and he shall forfeit his goods whose tenant soever he bee.

25. Those y^t are choseii to be inquest men are to pay their penaltyes if soe bee y^t they have any goods, and if he have none yt quest shall pay it for him, because they had such a man in y^e roll that had noe goods.

26. All treasures hidden and discovered (w^ch is called in England treasure trove) belonges unto y^e lord of y^e Island; but if any man, for safety of y^e goods or mony, either for fear of enemyes or any other mischance, doe hide monys or goods in any place, and doe make some other privy to it, such child or friend shall receive y^e money or goods soe hidden soc as he be able to produce one wittness at ye least (who is not detected of any crime), yea, though y^e wittness be his bror, sister, friend, etc.

27. If any one breake open a fire house, either y^e wall or the door thereof, or if there be no door, but a bundle of gorse or ling reared up to keep out the wind in y^e door, or but two sticks put across in y^e door, it is burglary, and death to the delinquent, though it bee but felony under the vallue of sixpence halfepenny.

28. Felons and murtherers are to be hanged ; y^e women in ancient time were to be put in a sack and sowed up, and soe flung into the sea from a rock, but now y^e women are hanged as the men, only ye witches are burnt.

The Scottish civill law is very uncivill and severe against women. Malcom Comore, King of Scotland, in y^e first year of his reigne ordained y^t barons ~ had libertyes within them-selves, should make gibbets for men, and draw-wells wherein y^e women y^t ~vere condemned should be drowned.—Hohingsh. Hist. of ScotL, p. 253.

K. Keneth alsoe, y^e sonne of Alpin, made a law y^t a woman condemned to dye, either let her be drowned in some river or be buried quick.—Holingsh. list. of Scotl., p. 180.

Hect. Boet., 1. x. p. 200.

29. Of felon’s goods y^e hoggs belong to the Lord, and ye goats to the Queen of y^e Island.

CERTAINE OTHER PTICULERS I THOUGHT GOOD HERE TO INSERT, WCH CONCERNE y^E ISLE OF MAN, TAKEN OUT OF O^r COMON LAW BOOKES.

It was adjudged, Tr. 40 Eleiz., y^t y^e Isle of Man is descendable to y^e heires-generall, and not to the heires-male only.—Cooke Instit., part 4, ch. 69.

No Act of Parliam^t made in England doth bind y^e king’s subjects in y^e Island of Man unless y^e Island of Man be therein expressly named.—Cooke (ubi supra), Kelloway Reports, 14 H. 8.

The Isle of Man being w^thin y^e fee of y^e King of England, ye Manksmen are adjudged to bee y^e king’s naturall subjects born, and are capable and inheritable of lands in England, Ployden’s Coment., p. 126 (5~ Richard Buckley’s case). Whereas y^e Lord Cooke (ubi supra) saith, y^t in y^e Isle of Man, upon y^e sale of a horse, or any contract for any other thing, they make ye stipulation perfect per traditionem stipula. I hold this to be rather ye islanders’ comon custome rather yⁿ a customary law of y^e Island.

THE END OF THE SECOND BOOKE.