Royal Court of Jersey," against the acceptance and confirmation by Her Majesty of these resignations. P. C. 1866 IN THE These petitions and representations were severally referred by Her Majesty to the Lords of the Committee of Council for the MATTER OF affairs of Jersey and Guernsey, for their opinion and advice thereon. The circumstances which gave rise to these proceedings were as follows: In the year 1864, Messrs. Ste. Croix and Nicolle had exercised the functions of Jurats in the Island of Jersey for many years. Ste. Croix for thirty years and Nicolle for twenty-six years. On the 14th of January in that year, at a meeting of the States of the Island of Jersey, that Assembly took into consideration a letter addressed to it by Ste. Croix, praying the States, on account of his long service and ill health, to solicit from Her Majesty in Council permission to resign his office of Jurat; and the States, after deliberating thereupon, acceded to the request, and passed an Acte for that purpose, which they directed the Greffier to transmit to the Privy Council. On the 29th of January, 1864, the States, at their sitting of that day, took into consideration a similar application of Nicolle, and passed a similar Acte. These Actes were transmitted by the Greffier of the States to the Privy Council in the usual manner for the sanction of Her Majesty. In the month of February, 1864, a petition was presented by William Lempriere and John Le Couteur on behalf of themselves and 279 landowners and others of the Island of Jersey, praying that all future elections of Jurats might be suspended, until such measures should have been taken as Her Majesty should deem. necessary for separating the judicial from the legislative functions of the Jurats, and for insuring the due administration of justice. The Lords of the Committee of Council for the affairs of Jersey and Guernsey took this petition into their consideration, and, on the 9th of March, 1864, the Lieutenant-Governor was officially informed that the Lords of that Committee would be prepared to recommend to Her Majesty that the prayer of the petition should be granted, and to advise Her Majesty to accept the resignation of THE JERSEY P. C. 1866 the two Jurats, and to direct that their places should not be filled up, on receiving a distinct assurance from the States of Jersey that they were prepared to take the necessary measures for carrying MATTER OF into effect, in whole or in part, the recommendation of the Royal Commissioners with regard to the constitution of the Royal Court. IN THE THE JERSEY JURATS. The States of Jersey on the 7th of April, 1864, forwarded to the Lord-President of the Council a representation, urging, amongst other things, that the suspension of the elections for new Jurats would be in direct violation of the constitution of the Royal Court as by law established, and that it would likewise, in effect, operate as a repeal of the law which directs that upon a vacancy occurring, a new election to the vacant office should be ordered by the Court. In the mean time, a Bill had been introduced into the House of Commons by Mr. Locke, "to amend the constitution, practice, and procedure of the Court of the Island of Jersey," which Bill, among other provisions, provided for the substitution of a Court consisting of the Bailiff and two other salaried Judges. On the 13th of April, 1864, Mr. Waddington, one of Her Majesty's Under-Secretaries of State, informed the LieutenantGovernor of the island that Her Majesty's Secretary, Sir George Grey, had felt himself obliged to assent to the second reading of Mr. Locke's Bill, and that he should not have done so had he been able to hold out to the House of Commons the hope that measures would be taken by the States for the improvement of the judicial system, and the better administration of justice in Jersey. Mr. Waddington added, that Mr. Locke consented to postpone the next step of the Bill to a time sufficiently distant to enable the States to give an assurance of their being in earnest in dealing with this subject; and if the States availed themselves of that interval to frame and submit such a Projet de Loi as was described in the Lieutenant-Governor's letter, that Sir George Grey would willingly use his influence to induce Mr. Locke not to press his Bill. Mr. Waddington's letter was, on the 16th of May, 1864, laid before the States of Jersey, who, on the 21st of May, 1864, forwarded to Sir George Grey a letter, wherein, among other things, they stated that they felt that they could not discuss and pronounce upon any question or measure having reference to the P. C. 1866 IN THE THE JERSEY JURATS. reform of the judicial system and administration of justice with the untrammelled liberty of opinion, without which their deliberations and decisions as a representative and legislative assembly would be fallacious and worthless, so long as the constitutional MATTER OF question now before the House of Commons, in connection with Mr. Locke's Bill, and which, as the States alleged, struck at the very root of the rights of the Assembly, and of the most cherished privileges of the people of Jersey, that of being legislated for by their own representatives in all matters of local and internal administration, remained in suspense, and that they, therefore, respectfully postponed for the present the consideration of the correspondence submitted to the States. They stated that they were not unduly attached to the established order of things, nor unmindful of, or indisposed to entertain and carry out the wishes of Her Majesty's Government, the manifestations of public opinion, or the recommendations of the Royal Commissioners. After the receipt of this representation Mr. Locke's Bill was withdrawn. On the 4th of August, 1864, the States of Jersey passed an Acte making provision for the office of a Juge d'Instruction, necessitated by the new criminal procedure law, which was to come into operation on the 1st of November following, which received the Royal sanction. On the 15th of December, 1864, the States of Jersey met for the purpose of taking into consideration two motions, the first being for "the substitution of paid judges for the present Jurat system," and the second, "for separating the judicial from the legislative functions of the Jurats." The States ultimately resolved, by a majority of one, that the constituencies of the Island (the ratepayers in the several twelve parishes) should be consulted upon the abstract question, whether they were of opinion that it was desirable to substitute salaried Judges for the twelve Jurats of the Royal Court, and fixed the 2nd of January following for collecting the votes of the ratepayers in all the parishes of the Island. The votes of the ratepayers of the Island, in accordance with this resolution of the States, were taken on the 2nd of January, VOL. I. 3 H P. C. 1865, and the result was, that out of 2,470 ratepayers who voted, 2,290 voted against, and 180 for paid Judges. At a meeting of the States on the 12th of the same month, in consequence of MATTER OF the result of this vote, that body at once rejected the two former 1866 IN THE THE JERSEY JURATS. motions. On the 14th of January, 1865, Edward Mourant, and other persons, associated under the designation of "The Committee for the Reform of the Royal Court," presented a representation to the Lords of the Privy Council, explanatory of the result of the voting, and alleging the illegality and unfairness of the States' resolution. By another petition or representation from the same body, dated the 24th of June, 1865, addressed to the Lords of the Committee of Council for the affairs of Jersey and Guernsey, it was prayed that Her Majesty might not be advised to accept the resignations of the two Jurats, and that a Commission might be appointed to examine the state of the finances of the Island with respect to certain alleged misappropriation of the revenue. The States, in their case in support of the Actes of the 14th and 29th of January, 1864, set forth the nature and constitution of the Royal Court, stating that it was composed of the Bailiff and twelve Jurats; that the Bailiff was president of the Court, and presided over the meetings of the States, that he was appointed by Patent from the Crown, being selected on account of his learning and knowledge of the laws and customs of the Island; that the qualification for the office of Jurat was the possession of landed property in the island to the amount of 40 quarters of wheat rent (£30. 15s. 3d. per annum); that such property qualification was one fixed in ancient times, and was then deemed of sufficient amount; that the Jurats were chosen from among gentlemen of independent fortune and reputed ability, and who not unfrequently had shewn their fitness for the office from having held other appointments in the Island. That the twelve Jurats were believed to have existed long prior to the Charter of King John, which was only a confirmation of the privileges of the Island. That the third article of that Charter prescribed that the twelve Jurats should be elected from among the natives of the Island, "per Ministros, Domini Regis et Optimates Patria." That the Court thus constituted had jurisdiction over all matters whatsoever arising within the Island, with the exceptions therein mentioned; that the Charter of King John so granted to the Island had, from time to time, been confirmed by successive Sovereigns, as also by various laws passed by the States, which had been sanctioned by Her Majesty in Council, and were still in force; that the mode of electing the Jurats had at various times been changed, sometimes according to the construction as it would seem put upon the words of the Charter "per Ministros Domini Regis et Optimates Patriæ," and at others by force of legislative enactments. That by an Order in Council bearing date the 19th of May, 1671, it was declared, that in the elections of Jurats and Connétables none be admitted to vote except those who contribute to public taxes and to the provisions made for the poor, and are masters of families; and in the Code of 1771 (pp. 168-9) the terms of the last-mentioned Order in Council were repeated; that at present the right to vote at elections was regulated by an Act of the States, dated the 14th of January, 1833, confirmed by Her Majesty in Council on the 15th of July, 1835, and was vested in all persons not under disability, who may be rated in respect of property either real or personal, as to real property of the value of £50, and as to personalty to the amount of £114 capital; that the Jurats received no salary for the performance of their duties, and the Court fees to which they were entitled were so small, that their services were, in fact, virtually gratuitous. That the Jurats, besides being members of the Royal Court, were also members of the States or Legislative Assembly of the Island, which was composed of fifty members, namely: the twelve Jurats, twelve Rectors of the twelve parishes into which the Island is divided, and the twelve Connétables or Mayors, and fourteen Deputies. That the Jurats were elected for life by the whole of the ratepayers throughout the Island. The Rectors were appointed for life by the Crown; that the Connétables and Deputies were elected by the ratepayers of the parishes which they respectively represent, the Connétables irregularly every three years, as the tenure of office expired, or as a vacancy occurred, the Deputies triennially in the month of January, or whenever a vacancy occurred; and it was submitted by the States, that the prayer of the petition of the P. C. 1866 IN THE THE JERSEY |