Man (Isle Of) in County England History and Geography

MAN (ISLE OF), an island annexed to the British dominions, in the Irish sea, and nearly at an equal distance from the English and Irish coasts, in latitude between 54? and 55? (N.), and longitude, about 5? (W.), in the centre of the island: the distance from Douglas to Liverpool (N.W. buoy) is 60 miles, and to St. Bees' Light 42; from the Point of Ayre to the Mull of Galloway 21, and to the Copeland islands at the entrance of Belfast Lough 38, and from the Calf of Man to Dublin 60, to Holyhead 45, and to Liverpool (N.W. buoy) 68: the population, according to the census of 1821, amounted to 40,081. This island, called by Ptolemy Monoeda, or the farther Mona (in contradistinction to the Isle of Anglesea, which also was called Mona), by Pliny Monapia, and by Bede Menavia Secunda, to distinguish it from Anglesea, which he terms Menavia Prima, was, from the rocky, or stony, nature of the soil, called Menang and Manen, from the latter of which its present name is derived. The Britons, by whom it was originally inhabited, practised the superstitious rites of their ancestors under the government of the Druids, till they were converted to Christianity by St. Patrick, who, about the year 440, founded here a church and established a see, of which he appointed St. Germanus bishop. Under St. Germanus and his successors the inhabitants continued for many years to maintain undisturbed possession of the island, till, on the irruption of the northern barbarians, it fell under the dominion of the Scots, and was subsequently annexed to that kingdom by Aydan, who sent his three grandsons hither to be educated by Conanus, at that time bishop. In 610, it was wrested from the Scots by Edwin, King of Northumberland, who annexed it to his own dominions; and from this period, for nearly three hundred years, the British historians are silent with respect to any circumstances connected with its history. The Manks' traditions, however, record, during this interval, a succession of twelve petty kings, called Orries, of whom the first was son of the King of Denmark and Norway, an enterprising prince, who, having subdued the Orcades and the Hebrides, took possession of this island also, where he fixed his residence, and enjoyed for many years a reign of uninterrupted tranquillity. Guttred, his son and successor, built the castle of Rushen, in repairing which, in 1815, a beam was discovered by the workmen, inscribed with the date 947. Nothing further is recorded of his reign than that he was interred in the castle which he had built, and was succeeded by his son Reginald, on whose assassination, his younger brother Olave assumed the government; but not having obtained a ratification of his title from the King of Norway, to whom the island was tributary, he was invited to that kingdom, and on his arrival was arraigned and put to death. Olain, his brother, next took possession of this and some other islands, and, after a reign of twenty-three years, died in Ireland, and was succeeded by Allen, who, being poisoned by his governor, made room for Macon, but he refusing to do homage for his crown to Edgar, King of England, was deprived of it, but was soon afterwards restored, and made admiral of the great fleet raised by that monarch to protect the English coasts from the repeated assaults of the northern pirates: Macon was one of the eight tributary kings whom Edgar, in token of their vassalage, compelled to row his barge on the river Dee.

Godred Crowan, son of Harold Halfager, King of Norway, who accompanied his father in his invasion of England on the death of Edward the Confessor, was, after the defeat of his countrymen, hospitably entertained in this island, in which he had taken refuge. Returning the following year with a numerous army, after being twice repulsed by the inhabitants, he succeeded in taking possession of it after a sanguinary contest, and established himself in that part on the isle which lies to the south of the mountainous ridge by which it is divided, granting the remainder to the inhabitants, on the absolute condition of their holding it under him, as lord of the whole: from this time the island became vested in the kings, or lords, of the isles, and continued to be held of them till the commencement of the last century. Godred, who also held the sovereignty of the Hebrides, or Western islands of Scotland, maintained a navy of sufficient force to enable him to keep possession of his conquests, and turned his arms against Ireland, at that time divided into petty principalities, and reduced Dublin and a considerable part of the province of Leinster. He left three sons, Lagman, Harold, and Olave: Lagman, who succeeded to the government, being jealous of his brother Harold, whom he suspected of exciting insubordination among his soldiers, put him to death; but repenting, he resigned the crown to his youngest brother Olave, and died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Olave being then a minor, and residing in the court of Henry I., where he received his education, the island, from its unsettled state, was exposed to the attacks of the neighbouring powers, and the principal inhabitants applied to the King of Ireland to appoint some person of royal descent, who might act as regent during the minority of that prince. The king appointed Donald Tade, but his haughtiness and tyranny disgusting the inhabitants, they expelled him from the island, and entrusted the regency to one Mac Marus, a person of great prudence, moderation, and justice, who, in 1098. laid the foundation of the abbey of Rushen, and continued for a time to preserve the peace, and promote the prosperity of the island; but a conspiracy being formed against him, internal dissensions were created, and the island became an easy prey to Magnus, King of Norway, who, having conquered the Orkneys and the Hebrides, landed in the parish of St. Patrick, and possessed himself, almost without resistance, of the Isle of Man, over which he reigned more than six years; but having gone with sixteen ships to reconnoitre the Irish coast, in 1102, and incautiously landing, with a party of his followers, he was taken by surprise, and slain.

Olave, who had been an exile for sixteen years, was now invited to the government, which he enjoyed in undisturbed tranquillity for many years: he went over to Norway, to get his title acknowledged, and was bonourably received and crowned king. Leaving his son Godred to be educated at the Norwegian court, he returned to his dominions, which he found distracted by the pretensions of the three sons of his brother Harold, who, having been educated in Ireland, raised considerable forces in that country, and landing in the Isle of Man, demanded one moiety of the isles to be surrendered to them; and while attending a meeting at Ramsey, which had been appointed by the king, for taking their demand into consideration, both parties being drawn up in lines opposite to each other, Reginald, one of the brothers, feigning to address the king, by whom he had been called, raised his battle-axe, and at one blow struck off his head. This, which was a preconcerted signal for a general attack, was followed by a sanguinary conflict, in which many fell on both sides. But such insidious treachery did not long remain unpunished: on the return of Prince Godred from Norway, the whole island submitted to his authority, and the three sons of Harold were delivered up to condign punishment, Reginald having been executed, and his two brothers deprived of their eyes. In 1158, Summerled, Thane of Argyle, and brother-in-law to Godred, attempted to usurp the government; but the fleets of Godred and the usurper meeting, a desperate battle ensued, and after an obstinate and sanguinary conflict, without the victory inclining to either side, a truce was agreed upon, and afterwards a treaty, by which the kingdom of the isles was divided between them. Another attempt was made to deprive Godred of his throne by his bastard brother, Reginald, but without success; and that prince, having reigned for some years in peace, died in 1187. Godred left three sons, Reginald, Olave, and Ivar, of whom he appointed Olave his successor, because born in wedlock. Olave, being at that time a minor, the people made Reginald king, but afterwards, on his attaining maturer age, raised Olave to the throne. Reginald, in order to recover his lost dignity, did homage to John, King of England, for his crown, and made submission to the pope; and having obtained assistance from Allen. Lord of Galloway, and Thomas. Earl of Athol, landed on the island, while Olave, with his chief officers and soldiers, was in the Western isles, massacred the unprotected inhabitants, plundered their houses of every thing valuable, burnt the churches, and laid waste the southern parts of the island: and, even after the return of Olave, succeeded in setting fire to the shipping, then at anchor under Peel castle. An intestine warfare raged for some time with great fury, and Regnald was ultimately killed in a battle fought at Tynwald Mount. From minutes of council it appears, that Olave received from Henry Ill. an annual payment in solver coin and wine, for defending this part of the coast; from which it may be inferred that the island possessed a naval force at that time by no means inconsiderable. Olave died in 1237, and was succeeded by his son Harold, who having gone over to Norway, was, with his wife, drowned on his return; and his brother Reginald, who assumed the government in 1249, was slain, with all his party, in an insurrection headed by a knight named Ivar. On the death of Reginald, who left only an infant daughter, his brother Magnus was chosen king, and, according to the usual custom. went over to Normandy, where, after two years' attendance, he was declared King of the Isles, and had his title confirmed to him and his successors. Notwithstanding this, Mary, the daughter of Reginald, set up a claim for the kingdom, and did homage for it to Edw. I., which circumstance was, four hundred years afterwards, adduced as a plea on which judgment was obtained in favour of the heirs general of Ferdinand, Earl of Derby, against their uncle. Earl William; but it was afterwards settled by parliament in favour of a male succession.

From this time the power of the Norwegian kings began to decline, and that of the Scottish kings, from whom these islands had been wrested, recovered strength. Deprived of that support which the inhabitants had received from Norway, and threatened by the Scots, who were preparing to regain possession of the islands by force, which the death of the Scottish monarch alone suspended. Magnus, in 1256, visited England, in order to secure the protection and assistance of Henry III., by whom he was hospitably entertained, and from whom he received the honour of knighthood. In 1263, Aquinas, King of Norway, made an attempt to revenge the affront offered to his authority, by the recent attempt of the Scots upon this island, and made a descent upon that kingdom; but he was so powerfully resisted by Alexander, who had succeeded to the throne, that he was forced to take shelter in the Orcades, where he died at Kirkwall. Magnns dying without issue, in 1265, was buried in the abbey church in Rushen; and the King of Scotland having subdued the Orkneys and the Hebrides, attacked the Isle of Man, now unprotected, and, after many battles fought with varied success, at length achieved the conquest of it with a powerful army under the command of Alexander of Paisley and John Comyn, in 1270, when, after a decisive battle at Ronaldaway, in which five hundred of the Manks, with their leader, were slain, the kingdom was entirely subjugated, and annexed to the dominions of Alexander, who, in token of his conquest, substituted for the ancient armorial ensign of the isle, which was a ship in full sail, the device of the three legs, which it still retains. The tyrannical oppression of the lieutenants (by whom it was governed) under the Scottish kings inspired the inhabitants with the resolution of throwing off the Scottish yoke, or of perishing in the attempt; but the bishop, informed of their determination, interfered to prevent the effusion of blood, and obtained their mutual consent to decide the contest by thirty champions selected from each party, and a place was accordingly chosen for the combat. The Manks' champions were all killed in the contest, and twenty-five of the Scottish warriors shared the same fate; this victory confirmed the conquest of the Scots, and the Manks, finding no resource, submitted to their fate: the ancient regal government was abolished, and a military despotism established in its place. In 1289, the island was surrendered by the Scottish commissioners to Edward I., who restored it the following year to John Balliol; and, on the death of Edward, in 1307, his successor, Edward II., seized it, and, in the course of one year, bestowed it successively upon his favourites, Piers de Gavestone, Gilbert de Mac Gascall, and Henricus de Bello Monte. In the reign of Edward III., a female descendant of Mary, daughter of Reginald, revived the claims of her family to the sovereignty of the island, and solicited the protection of that monarch, who, having ascertained the validity of her title, gave her in marriage to Sir William de Montacute, and granted them such succours in ships and men, that Sir William expelled the Scots, and, to the great joy of the natives, restored the ancient government in the right line. In the prosecution of his lady's claim, Sir William had contracted so large a debt, that he was compelled to mortgage the island for seven years, to Anthony Bec, Bishop of Durham, who, in 1377, obtained from Richard II. a grant of it for life; but at his decease it reverted to the natural heir, William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, who sold it, in 1395, to Sir William Scroop, afterwards Earl of Wiltshire, who was beheaded at the commencement of the war between the houses of York and Lancaster.

In the reign of Henry IV. it was in the possession of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, upon whose rebellion aga?nst that monarch it was seized for the king's use by Sir William and Sir John Stanley, to the latter of whom it was granted, in 1406, for one year only. This grant was revoked, and a new patent passed the great seal, in 1407, bestowing the island, castle, peel, and lordship of Man, and the isles appertaining thereto, with all the royalties, regalities, and franchises, with the patronage of the see, on him and his heirs, in as full and ample a manner as had been granted to any former lord, or king, to be held of the crown of Great Britain, by liege homage, paying to the king a cast of falcons at his coronation. In this family its royalties and revenues descended regularly to William Stanley, sixth Earl of Derby, who obtained from James I. a new grant of the isle, which was confirmed by act of parliament. The title of 'King of Man' was first exchanged for that of 'Lord of Man' by Thomas, second Earl of Derby. During the parliamentary war, the island remained steadily attached to the interests of the king, and was among the last places that yielded to the usurped authority of Cromwell. General Ireton, on the part of the parliament, offered to James, Earl of Derby, the repossession of all his estates in England, upon condition of his surrendering the Isle of Man; but the earl, in a most spirited and memorable reply, rejected the offer with the greatest indignation, and declared his determination to hang any future messenger that should be sent with similar proposals. On the execution of the earl at Bolton le Moors, in 1651, its defence was undertaken by his lady, who determined to hold Castle Rushen, to which she had retired, to the last extremity; but Receiver-General William Christian, who had the command of the garrison, deeming her cause hopeless, surrendered the castle to Colonels Birch and Duckenfield, who, with ten armed vessels, had invaded the island, which was subsequently granted by the parliament to Lord Fairfax. Charles II. restored the island to the son of Earl James, and Christian, being tried by the Manks' authorities, and found guilty of treason, was shot, in January 1662; but the sentence was afterwards reversed, and the family restored to their estates, by an order from the king.

One, of the most important occurrences in the civil history of the island was the granting, in 1703, by James, the tenth Earl of Derby, and Lord of Man, of the Act of Settlement, by which the lessees of estates were finally established in possession of them, and their descent assigned in perpetuity, on the payment of certain fines, rents, and duties to the lord. James dying without issue, in 1735, the lordship of Man descended to James Murray, second Duke of Athol; and, in order to put an end to the contraband trade of the island, which, in the beginning of the last century, had become so excessive, as materially to affect the revenue of the country, an act of parliament was passed, in 1726, authorising the earl to sell the royalty and revenue of the island: but though many overtures were made for the purchase of them by government, no treaty was concluded till after the death of the duke, whose only daughter Charlotte, Baroness Strange, being married to her cousin James, heir to the dukedom of Athol, conveyed to him the lordship of Man. Proposals for the purchase were renewed to this nobleman, in 1765, and measures having been at the same time introduced into the house of parliament for more effectually preventing the illicit trade of the island, the duke and duchess agreed to alienate the sovereignty of it for £70,000, which sum was accordingly paid; they reserved only the manorial rights, the patronage of the see, and some emoluments and perquisites, respecting which a misunderstanding arose, in consequence of the British government claiming more than the duke and duchess intended by the treaty to relinquish, and a further sum of £2000 per annum was granted to them, upon their lives, and the sovereignty of the island was thus transferred to the crown. Soon after this an act of parliament was passed, which effectually checked the contraband trade. On the ground of inadequate compensation, their son John presented petitions to parliament, but unsuccessfully, until the year 1805, when an act was passed, assigning to him and his heirs one-fourth of the gross revenue of the island. In 1825, an act passed both houses of parliament, authorising the Lords of the Treasury to treat with the duke for the purchase of his remaining interest in the royalty and revenues of the island, the patronage of the see, the manorial rights, and other profits and emoluments. The duke agreed to sell, and the valuation was left to arbitrators appointed on both sides, who awarded the sum of £416,000, as an indemnity, and the Isle of Man, with all its privileges and immunities, was entirely ceded to the British government.

It is about thirty miles in length, extending in a direction from north-north-east to south-south-west, varying from eight to twelve miles in breadth, and about eighty miles in circumference. It is divided into two unequal parts by a mountainous ridge reaching from North Barrule at the northern, to South Barrule at the southern, extremity of the island, and comprehending in the chain Snawfel, Mount Greeba, Pen-y-Pot, and several others. Of these the most considerable for their elevation and extent are, Snawfel, and the North and South Barrules, which are nearly of an equal height; Snawfel, the highest of them, being five hundred and eighty yards above the level of the sea. The sides, as is the case in most of the other mountains, are covered to the height of several yards from the base with turbary, or turf, and with various kinds of moss, heath, and rushes, to the summit. North Barrule is a rock of clay-slate, which is also the prevailing formation in South Barrule, the latter differing chiefly by its being varied, on the north side, with large masses of granite, containing silvery mica, red and white felspar, and grey quartz. Mount Greeba is of very rugged and precipitous ascent, especially in that part near the road leading from Douglas to Peel: the stratum near the surface is a glossy clay, intersected by many large veins of quartz, alternating in some parts with layers of mica slate. Pen-y-Pot, consisting chiefly of clay-slate from the base to the summit, is extremely marshy, and in dry weather, and even in summer, the ascent is difficult and tedious. From Ramsey to Derby haven, and round the south and western shores of the island, the land terminates in cliffs, consisting of clay-slate, and varying in elevation from one hundred to more than two hundred and fifty feet; at the southern extremity is the promontory of Spanish head, consisting of bold precipices, rising perpendicularly from the level of the beach to the height of more than three hundred feet, and divided by extensive chasms into pyramidal and conical masses, which overhang the shore. In one of these recesses, which penetrate many yards into the solid rock, is a circle of erect stones, appearing to have been a Druidical temple, for which, from the solitude and sublimity of the situation, no place could be more appropriate. Detached from this extremity of the island, by a rocky channel, several hundred yards in breadth, in the middle of which is an island, called Kitterland, whereon sheep are fed in the summer, is the Calf of Man, the largest of numerous rocky islets surrounding the coast: it is nearly five miles in circumference, and comprises an area of more than six hundred acres; on the western side, the cliffs rise in perpendicular masses, to the height of four hundred feet, and its summit, which commands an extensive view of the Welch, Scotch, and Irish mountains, is five hundred feet above the level of the sea. On the south side of the Calf of Man is a very large mass of rock, called the Burrow, or Barrow, in its form resembling a lofty tower, and separated from the other masses by an opening of romantic appearance: near it is another, called the Eye, perforated by a natural arch, resembling the eye of a needle, from which circumstance it has its name. Two handsome lighthouses have been erected here, for the protection of vessels navigating the Irish sea; they are distant from each other one hundred and eighty-seven yards, bearing north half east, and south-west half west. The lower is three hundred and five feet, and the upper three hundred and ninety-six feet, above the level of the sea: they are furnished with double revolving lights, which make their revolution in two minutes, and at their greatest splendour may be seen at the distance of seven leagues: the bearing of the upper light is north-east half east from the dangerous sunken rocks, called the Chickens, from which it is nearly one mile and a half distant.

The harbours are, Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Port le Mary, and Castletown. The natural harbours are, Derby haven, Laxey, and Port-Erin. Douglas, Ramsey, Derby haven, and Laxey, are on the eastern coast, Castletown and Port le Mary on the southern coast, and Peel and Port-Erin on the western coast. Douglas harbour, which is dry at low water, being considered the best dry harbour in the Irish sea, admits vessels of considerable burden to approach the quay at high water, the depth being then from fifteen to twenty feet. The pier, constructed by government, at an expense of £22,000, is five hundred and twenty feet in length, and forty feet broad for an extent of four hundred and fifty feet from its commencement, when it expands to a breadth of ninety feet, terminating in a circular area of greater elevation than the narrower part, and having in the centre a handsome lighthouse: the whole is built of yellow stone brought from Runcorn in Cheshire, and affords great security to the harbour. The quay is spacious, and well adapted to the loading and unloading of vessels, of which all having goods or merchandise for bonding are, by act of parliament, compelled to deliver their cargoes exclusively at this port. The whole bay is two miles across, and has good anchorage, except on the north side, being sheltered from all winds except the east and south-east: both its points are rocky, precipitous, and dangerous, and in the centre is a large bed of rocks, called St. Mary's rock, or the Connister, which are just covered at high water, being extremely dangerous to mariners. In tempestuous weather the harbour itself affords but insecure shelter to vessels, being exposed to a heavy swell: and those in the bay, at such times, are subject to many accidents, numerous shipwrecks happening on this part of the coast. To remedy these inconveniences, Sir William Hillary, Bart., in 1826, submitted a plan to the consideration of government, for forming a spacious central harbour, which, by the construction of a breakwater from Douglas Head, and a pier from St. Mary's rock, might be accessible at all times to the largest vessels navigating the Irish sea, and within which a squadron of the largest ships of the line, and a numerous fleet of merchantmen, might ride in safety. Ramsey harbour, accessible to vessels of one hundred tons burden, has been greatly improved by the construction of an additional pier in 1830, the depth of water being thereby increased more than three feet. The quay, on which a lighthouse has been built, is very commodious. This is the principal port from which wheat is exported. The bay is spacious, and the anchorage good; and a considerable number of the herring boats are laid up here during the winter. Peel harbour, affording shelter to vessels of small burden, is formed by a pier four hundred yards long, and varying from seven to ten yards in breadth, at the extremity of which is a harbour-light. A jetty, forty yards in length, was erected in 1830, at an expense of £550: the depth of water at ordinary spring tides is about fifteen feet, and at neap tides eleven feet. There are seventy herring boats, from sixteen to thirty tons' burden each, belonging to this harbour. Derby haven, the principal resort of the herring boats during the latter part of the fishing season, is about a mile and a half from Castletown, on the further side of the isthmus which joins the peninsula of Langness to the main land. At its southern extremity is the small island of St. Michael, connected with the main land by a stone wall, about one hundred yards in length, and twelve feet thick: on this small isle a circular fort was erected by the Earl of Derby, in the early part of the seventeenth century: the walls, on which is placed a harbour-light, are eight feet in thickness, and eighteen in height; they are still entire, and enclose an area eighteen yards in diameter, in which are the ruins of two houses, and near them the remains of a church, now used as a place of interment for Roman Catholics, and for persons who may be shipwrecked on that part of the coast: the haven, which is a mile and a half from the direct course, is, from its greater security, generally selected as a place of landing by passengers to Castletown from Ireland. Port le Mary has a good harbour, protected by a pier of considerable extent, erected a few years since, at the extremity of which is a harbour-light. Port-Erin has an excellent bay, affording protection from all winds except the west, and much frequented by the fishing fleet at the commencement of the season. Laxey bay affords convenient anchorage, and partial shelter from the winds.

In the high lands between North Barrule and Mount Greeba rise several streams, which run into the sea at Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Lexey, and Castletown, and bear the same names as those places. Of these the Ramsey river is the largest: it rises in the mountainous group around Snawfel, and from the flat tract of land through which it passes, within two miles of the sea, its shallow channel is frequently diverted by the sea, at spring tides. The Douglas river is formed of two branches, of which the southern rises in the west side of Mount Garraghan, and the northern in the group of which Mount Pen-y-Pot is the centre. The river Peel rises in the northern side of South Barrule, and receives also another branch issuing from the western side of the mountains of St. German and St. Michael. The Laxey river descends from the eastern declivity of Snawfel, and pursues a westerly course to Laxey bay; and the Castletown river has two branches, the principal of which rises in the south side of South Barrule, uniting a little below Athol bridge. Besides these rivers, which are shallow and inconsiderable, there are numerous streams in various parts of the island, but few of them are of sufficient force to turn a mill. This island, like those of the Hebrides, is destitute of wood, and almost of all trees not artificially planted; a little brushwood and furze is found on the uncultivated hills and low lands, but seldom on the mountains. In various parts, plantations and shrubberies are brought into a luxuriant state; but there is neither park nor forest scenery in the island. The climate is rather milder in winter than that of the neighbouring coasts: the frosts, which rarely commence before Christmas, are but of short duration, and generally so slight as very little to impede vegetation, and the snow seldom remains on the ground for any length of time: gales of wind and rains are frequent and of long duration in the spring, rendering the seed-time unfavourable, and being greatly prejudicial to the tender shoots of corn: the heat in summer is also more moderate, the harvests being consequently later; in general, the grain does not attain its full size, and the straw is less valuable for fodder. The soil of the northern portion of the island is a light sand, resting on a bed of common clay, and in some places of clay-marl; but the greatest part consists of a soil resting on grey wacké, and on clay-slate, in general thin and unproductive without good management. A small portion of the land around Castletown is composed of transition limestone, of a blueish grey colour, containing veins of calcareous spar, with impressions of shells and other marine exuvi?, the strata of which are generally from one to four feet in thickness, having a dip to the south and south-west of from five to ten degrees, and frequently alternating with the grey wacké slate, on which it lies. The boundaries of this limestone district extend along the coast, from the first creek northward from Derby haven to the most western point of Port le Mary, and from the same creek over land to Ballasalla, and thence across the Castletown river again to Port le Mary. The clay, and the grey wacké slate, the latter of which increases in proportion to the distance from the higher mountains, occupy the southern and central portions of the island. The soil of the valley, from St. John's to Peel, is alluvial, and abounds with marine exuvi? in some parts it consists of loose sand, with a substratum of grey wacké slate, extending northward to Kirk-Michael, and forming a narrow slip of land, one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea, bounded on one side by the sea-shore, and on the other by mountainous elevations, consisting chiefly of grey wacké slate, in some parts covered with a bed of common clay. The sandy soil along the sea-shore to the north expands over the whole of that part of the island which is separated from the south side, by a line extending from Ramsey to Kirk-Michael, in a direction from east to west. Underneath the sand is a bed of very pure common clay, at the depth of from one to three feet below the surface, called by the inhabitants marl, of which they make an advantageous use in giving consistency to the light sandy surface; and near Ramsey is a bed of real clay marl, containing a considerable portion of lime, and dug midway between high and low water marks: there are several pits of shell marl in the vicinity of Ballaugh, and in many parts of this flat northern district peat is found in considerable quantities, usually in layers from six to eight feet in thickness, forming an extensive turbary in the centre of the flat, which has been partly drained, and contains great quantities of diluvial timber, among which are trunks of the pine and the oak. Much of the land has been greatly improved by draining, and in the northern part of the island a considerable tract has, by that means, been converted from a marsh into good arable and pasture land, the soil of which is peat moss and clay.

The prevailing mode of agriculture comprises a succession of crops in the following order. First, potatoes or turnips; second, barley; third, clover; fourth, oats, or, if good land, wheat; and fifth, peas, or oats if wheat has preceded. After two or three rotations, a poor soil is generally laid down to grass, and is afterwards brought again into tillage. Wheat is not generally sown except on the best cultivated farms, and in the best districts; the produce is commonly from twenty-four to thirty-six bushels per acre, the bushel weighing sixty-four pounds. About one-half of the arable land is appropriated to the growth of barley, of which two kinds are sown; one having two rows of grain in the ear, and the other four; the latter is used only for malt, and the former is made into bread for the islanders: the seed time for this grain is from the middle of April to the middle of May; the four-rowed ear requires to be sown earlier, and in general ripens a fortnight sooner, than the other; the average produce of each sort is thirty-six bushels per acre. The other half of the arable land is appropriated to the culture of oats, of which also there are two kinds, the white and the Poland; the former is generally preferred: the time for sowing is from the beginning of March to the middle of April; the average produce of both is thirty bushels per acre: a very little rye is also grown. Potatoes are in general a very favourite crop, and there are many sorts, requiring different modes of cultivation: the time of planting is generally from the end of March to the middle of May; the produce is from one hundred and sixty to two hundred bushels per acre. Turnips, for which the climate and the soil appear to be extremely favourable, are produced in great quantities, and flax is grown in most parts of the island, but not sufficient for the supply of the manufacturers; the time for sowing it is April. Most of the artificial grasses thrive well; the white and red clover, ray-grass, and the common grasses, are generally good crops, and great quantities of hay are stacked in most of the agricultural districts. The light ploughs are generally preferred, many being procured from England and Scotland. In addition to the general manures, sea-weed is extensively used, and with success, by farmers near the coast.

The commons, or uncultivated lands, are estimated to form one-third of the island, including the whole of the mountainous chain nearly to the base. Into these pastures horses, cattle, and sheep, are turned to graze, particularly by the upland farmers, who take pride in their mountain breed of sheep. Their principal food during the winter season is the evergreen furze, of which the sheep eat only the younger sprouts; the horses eat the larger sprays, first clearing them of the prickles by pawing them with their feet. The native breed of horses is of a small kind, but hardy and useful, and patient of labour, being somewhat similar to those of North Wales. The horned cattle are numerous, but the native breed having been much neglected, have degenerated; the cows are in general good milchers, but are rather more adapted for fattening than for the dairy: the farmers have lately been very attentive to the improvement of the breed, by the introduction of the Dunlop and short-horned cattle; but in general they rely more for keeping up their live stock upon importation, than upon rearing. The native breed of sheep is very small and hardy, much resembling the South Down breed of England: their wool is not very long, nor of the finest staple, but the flesh is excellent, and when fat they weigh from five to eight pounds per quarter. In the low lands a larger breed has been introduced, besides which is another, called Laughton, having wool of a light brown colour, highly esteemed in the manufacture of cloth, which is much preferred to that made of other wool: for this purpose the breed is solely preserved; they are much less hardy in their nature, and more difficult to fatten, than any of the other kinds. The sheep are subject to a peculiar and fatal distemper, called by the natives Onw, supposed to arise from their eating a certain plant that grows in the pastures. Pigs are bred in great numbers; every cottager generally keeping one or two, which, when ten or twelve months old, weigh usually about fifty pounds per quarter. The herring fishery, employing so many persons during the summer and autumn, is injurious to the agriculture of the island, and interferes greatly with the proper securing of the crops: within the last twenty years the Isle of Man was included in the districts occupying the attention of the Cumberland Agricultural Society. The land is chiefly divided into farms containing from fifty to two hundred acres, and that in the immediate neighbourhood of the towns is cultivated by the inhabitants, who, after retaining a sufficient portion of the produce for the supply of their own families, send the remainder to market. The enclosures are generally from four to ten acres, fenced with sods of earth raised to the height of four or five feet, and planted on the top with furze; uncemented stone fences are also common, and the gate-posts are invariably of stone, and extremely massive. The farm-houses are roofed with slate, and the cottages with thatch; many of the meaner sort are constructed of sods of earth raised up, and thatched, without eaves, consisting only of two rooms on the ground-floor, with an aperture in the roof to let out the smoke, and frequently without a single window. Every inhabitant has the right of quarrying stone for his own use, and also, on the annual payment of one halfpenny to the lord, a sum not now demanded, of digging peat upon the mountains. The birds that frequent the coasts are the white and grey larus fuscus, gulls, gannets, cormorants, shags, herons, and Royston crows: there are not less than eight different species of birds of passage that spend the breeding season in the Calf of Man, among which are the puffin and the razor-bill; the curlew also frequents the Calf, Langness, and other parts of the island. Among those which are accounted game are partridges, woodcocks, snipes, landrails, plovers, teal, widgeons, and wild ducks and geese: hares would be very plentiful if not destroyed by snares, the furze and brushwood affording them excellent shelter. The streams abound with trout and salmon, generally small; some beautiful species of the molussa, the actinea rufe of Linn?us, are found adhering to the rocks, where pools are formed: there are no noxious reptiles in the island.

The principal minerals are lead and copper ore, of which veins are found in several of the mountains; the chief mines are at Laxey, Foxdale, and Bradahead, near Port Erin. The mines at Laxey are situated near the banks of the Laxey river, and about a mile above the village; they are worked in two levels driven from the steep banks of the river: in the higher level, which was opened towards the close of the last century, and extends to the depth of one hundred yards, lead and copper ore are found together, with much blende, some zinc, and a kind of mineral earth, called black jack, which generally sells for thirty-six shillings per ton, and of which a great quantity is sent to Bristol, where, after being ground and prepared, it is manufactured into black paint; the lead-ore contains a large quantity of silver, in some instances in the proportion of two hundred ounces, and generally in that of from sixty to eighty ounces to the ton. The new level is situated about a quarter of a mile further down the river, and is twenty-eight yards below the level of the former mine: its chief use is to drain off the water from the upper mine: the only metallic substances it had produced in 1808 were carbonate of copper and blende; at that period it had been extended two hundred yards in depth, but the produce was not sufficient to pay the expense of working it. The Foxdale mines, between Castletown and St. John's, of which the chief produce is lead, with a small portion of copper, after having been for some time relinquished, were resumed, and, in 1830, a new vein of lead-ore was discovered within a few feet from the surface, which promises an abundant supply, with little labour and expense: these mines are now being worked with great benefit to the proprietors, to whom they are likely to prove an ample source of wealth: sulphuret of copper is also found in those of Brada head, which are worked only at intervals, and between Port-Erin and Kirk-Arbory are shafts of lead mines now deserted. The mines belong, by prerogative, to the lord proprietor of the soil, who lets them to companies, consisting generally of nine or ten persons, including the lord, who claims, as lessor, one-eighth part of the produce. Limestone is found in various parts of the island; that which is quarried on the coast, to the south of Pool-vash bay, becomes highly indurated, and is of a fine grain and black colour; it is susceptible of a high polish, and is much used for tombstones: the steps at the entrances of St. Paul's cathedral, in London, are from these quarries, and were presented by Bishop Wilson. Below high water mark, at Spanish head, there is a quarry of very tough clay-slate, which is raised in blocks ten or twelve feet long, from eight to twelve inches in breadth, and from four to eight inches in thickness; these blocks are substituted for timber, and used for gate-posts, small bridges across streams, and for other purposes. The slate generally is easily split into thin lamin?, well adapted for the roofs of houses, and into thicker slabs, used for walls. The public roads, which, till within the last half-century, were dangerous for horsemen in winter, and for carriages even in the summer, have been greatly improved since the passing of an act of parliament, in 1776, by which they were ordered to be eight yards in width, with a ditch on each side, and to be well gravelled on the surface; they are now little inferior to those of England, and are kept in repair by a fund arising from a tax upon retailers of ale and spirituous liquors, on lands, houses, dogs, and by some fines.

The chief source of employment is agriculture: during the intervals of the seasons great numbers are engaged in the herring fishery, for which the season eommences about July, and continues till the end of October: there are not less than from two to three hundred boats employed in the trade, which is a source of considerable profit to the fishermen, and furnishes a large supply of food for the inhabitants. The immense shoal of herrings that makes its appearance on the British coast, generally in June, is divided in its progress southward into two parts, by the Shetland isles; the western branch passes the Hebrides, and is subdivided, by the northern parts of Ireland, into two parts, of which one disappears in the Atlantic Ocean, and the other passes into the Irish sea. The boats employed in the fishery are generally of from fifteen to thirty tons' burden, and mostly without decks: this little fleet leaves the harbour in the evening, and returns with its cargoes on the following morning. It is a prevailing and long-established custom for the fishermen to offer up public prayer before leaving the harbour, and on no account to go out on the Saturday or Sunday evenings. The nets, for the throwing of which certain regulations are in force, are buoyed up with bags of dog-skin inflated with air: the produce of each boat is divided into eleven shares and a half, of which two and a half are assigned to the owner of the boat, and one to each fisherman, and a net. The nets are always cast after sunset, and taken up before sunrise; and on the return of the fleet to the harbour, great numbers of women and children are employed in carrying the fish to the several receiving houses, which are extensive buildings, generally ninety feet long, sixty feet wide, and thirty feet high, where they are immediately salted; those that are to be preserved white are regularly packed in barrels, with a layer of salt between each row; such as are intended for red herrings are first 'royled,' or rubbed with salt, in which they remain for two or three days, and are then washed and hung up on rods suspended from the ceiling, within eight feet of the floor, on which fires of wood are kept burning till the fish are sufficiently dried and smoked, when they are packed in barrels for exportation. The number of herrings generally cured, though subject to great fluctuation, may be averaged at from eight to ten millions. A flight of gulls generally hovers over a shoal of herrings, serving as an index to the fishermen, for which reason the shooting of one of these birds during the fishing season subjects the offender to a penalty of £3.

The commerce of the island, previously to the act of revestment in 1765, and the subsequent regulations, consisted principally in the importing and exporting of contraband goods, the average returns of which exceeded £350,000, and by some are stated to have amounted to half a million sterling, per annum: during that period the Isle of Man was the grand shelter and storehouse for smugglers, who, as occasion offered, shipped their goods hence to England, Scotland, and Ireland, to the great detriment of the British revenue. On the act of revestment, the customs of the ports became vested in the British crown, and were placed under the control of a receiver-general, and subsequently, after various modifications, by an act passed in the 50th of George III., the regulation and management were transferred to the board in England, and have since remained under the superintendence of English commissioners. In the interpretation of British acts of parliament, it was formerly contended that they did not extend to the Isle of Man, unless specifically mentioned; and it was questioned whether the word 'dominions' comprised this island, but the subject has been decided in the affirmative. By an act passed in the 6th of George IV., a new code of revenue laws was framed, the principal feature of which is the system of licensing the importation of certain goods charged with high duties; thus confining it to an extent proportionate to the consumption of the inhabitants, and preventing the island from becoming a dep?t for smugglers. With very trifling exceptions, the exportation is confined to goods that are the produce or manufacture of the island, on which no export duty is paid. Among the imports are corn, meal, flax, seeds, linen yarn, wood-ashes, and flesh of all kinds, which may be imported from any place duty free; agricultural implements, black cattle, horses, sheep, boards, bricks, cordage, and twine for nets, pack-thread, hemp, tackle for the fisheries, hoops, linen, utensils for cloth manufacturers, salt, soap-lees, leather, tiles, trees, and timber, which may be imported duty free from all parts of the United Kingdom; balks, barrels, staves, headings for pipes, ebony, hoops, rod and bar iron, oak planks, oars, spars, pipe-clay, and naval stores, from the colonies of Great Britain. The revenue, in 1829, was £21,143. 8. 7½.; and in the same year, ending the 5th of January, 1830, eight vessels were built, of the aggregate burden of five hundred and forty tons. The number of ships belonging to the island, in 1829, was two hundred and seventeen, of the aggregate burden of five thousand seven hundred and fourteen tons; and four hundred and fourteen vessels entered inwards, and one hundred and fifty-four cleared outwards. The manufacture of sheeting, linen, towelling, sail-cloth, and sack-cloth, was introduced about the beginning of the present century, when flax-mills were erected: about the same period the woollen manufacture was established: there are also extensive breweries, paper-mills, tanneries (chiefly for the Manks' hides and skins), candle and soap manufactories, and various others, which the freedom from the excise duties tends greatly encourage: the quantity of leather being insufficient for the supply of the inhabitants, much is imported from England, which is of a very superior quality. Distilleries of all kinds are prohibited by the British government, under a penalty of £200, with forfeiture of all implements employed in the process. Brandy, rum, geneva, wine, tea, coffee, chocolate, tobacco, wrought and raw silk, glass, and salt, are among the articles imported by license, the exportation of them being absolutely prohibited. The collector is obliged to give one month's notice of the expiration of licenses, and to receive within fourteen days, all petitions for their renewal; the petitions for imports from England are transmitted to the commissioners at London, and from Scotland to those at Edinburgh. On granting the licenses, the parties are bound, under a penalty not exceeding twice the amount of the duties, to import the goods therein mentioned, and if the quantity limited by act of parliament be found insufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants, it may be increased by the Lords of the Treasury.

The native inhabitants are naturally of an indolent, credulous, and frequently of a superstitious, character; they are strongly attached to their native vales and mountains, and to their ancient laws and customs. Previously to the act of revestment, they considered themselves independent of every other nation, and they were deeply affected by the sale of the island to the British government, which they imagined would blend the countries, and tend to obliterate their original distinction. The higher and the middle ranks associating freely with the English residents, retain few traits of their original character, and many of them are highly accomplished and well informed; those of the lower rank are civil, of an hospitable character, and of a charitable disposition. Their language is the Erse, a dialect of the Celtic, many of the country people being unable to understand a word of the English language.

The government was originally exercised by a council of elders, called, from a Celtic term of that import, Taxiaxi, or, according to the opinion of a very learned and reverend native of the island, derived from Taxi, a corruption of Taisgi, a guardian, and Acci, hereditary property. The first institution of this assembly is attributed to the Danish prince Orry, who having added the Hebrides and the Orcades to his conquest of this island, directed the inhabitants to choose sixteen representatives, and those of the out-isles eight, to assist him in the government. This assembly, the representatives of the people from time immemorial, consisted of the principal landowners; what powers they exercised, or for what time the institution continued, cannot be distinctly ascertained. In the Chronicon Manni?, which is continued from the year 1066 to the year 1270, no allusion is made to it, nor is there any record of the people's having had any participation in the government of the island. During the time that it was under the Norwegian and Scottish dominion, the ancient form of government appears to have been laid aside, and after the grant of it to the Stanleys, that family retained the feudal government, and, as feudatory princes, lords proprietors of the soil, exercised sovereign authority, dependent only on the British crown. Since the act of revestment, the functions of the several officers of administration have been more explicitly defined; but the internal policy, laws, and ancient usages remain unchanged, and it preserves its freedom from the imposition of taxes. Lord Chief Justice Coke observes, that although the island is no parcel of the realm of England, yet it forms part of the dominions of the king, and therefore an acknowledgment of allegiance is preserved in all the public oaths.

The civil government is vested in a governor, lieutenant-governor, a council of ten principal officers, and the House of Keys, consisting of twenty-four constitutional representatives of the people; these estates together constituting a court of Tynwald, by which all public laws are enacted and promulgated. The Governor, who, with all the civil and military officers, is appointed by the crown, is chancellor ex-officio, and he, or his deputy, used formerly to hear and determine all appeals from the inferior courts, on matters not relating to landed property; which appellate jurisdiction was transferred to him in 1777, but in 1793 was restored to the House of Keys: his consent, or, in his absence, that of his lieutenant, is necessary to the passing of a law. The Lieutenant-Governor performs all the functions of the governor in his absence, and, during his presence, such only as he may choose to entrust to him. The Council consists of the lord bishop of the diocese, the attorney-general, the receiver-general, the two deemsters, the clerk of the rolls, the water-bailiff, or admiralty judge, the archdeacon, and the two vicars-general, who are ex-officio members of that body. The duty of the council is to advise the governor, and to assist him in the administration of justice in his several courts; and when not acting in a judicial, or legislative capacity, to act for the public good in a summary way, in cases of emergency, such as laying an embargo on vessels, prohibiting the exportation of grain, or other provisions, in times of scarcity, and similar acts requiring promptitude; a majority of the council is necessary to give validity to their measures. The House of Keys, consisting of twenty-four of the principal landed proprietors, appears to be only a continuation of the ancient assembly called Taxiaxi: they are supposed to have obtained the name Keys from their being, in all cases, the interpreters of the common law, to whom lies an appeal from the inferior law courts, and in all cases of disputed titles to landed property; and from their decision an appeal lies only to the king in council. To constitute a meeting of the House of Keys, when acting as a separate body, thirteen members must be present: they fill up vacancies in their own body by a majority of votes, nominating two persons, who must be possessed of landed property, and above the age of twenty-one, of whom the governor returns one, who takes his seat for life: they elect a speaker, who must be approved by the governor, and holds his office for life, but without any emolument. The House may be assembled at the pleasure of the governor, who may either accept, or refuse, a tender of resignation from any of the members; if any member, however, accept an office entitling him to become a member of the council, he vacates his seat. The three estates may enact, abolish, or revive all insular laws, but before they can be put in force, they must be confirmed by the king, and proclaimed in the Manks' and English languages, before the people assembled at the Tynwald Hill, and signed by the governor, or his lieutenant, and such members of the council, and of the House of Keys, as are present at the proclamation. The two Deemsters are officers of very extensive jurisdiction and of high authority: they are chief justices of the island; one, presiding over the northern part, keeps his court at Ramsey, and the other, over the southern division, holds his court at Douglas: they have cognizance of all causes exceeding the sum of 40s., not being actions in which damages are to be assessed, or such as properly belong to the court of Chancery. A High Bailiff is appointed for each of the four towns, by commission from the governor, and holds his office during the governor's pleasure: he is conservator of the peace, and superintendent of police, having jurisdiction in all matters of debt under the amount of 40s.; he is also empowered to take the acknowledgment of parties, or the testimony of witnesses, for the probate of all deeds, or instruments, brought before him. A Coroner, with powers analogous in many respects to those of English sheriffs, is appointed by the governor to each of the six sheadings, or great divisions of the island; he is both a ministerial officer and a conservator of the peace, and, according to an ancient statute, holds his office only for one year: in addition to the holding of inquests in case of sudden, or violent death, he is bound to summon juries, to execute processes issued by the governor and by the judges of the courts of justice, and to carry into effect the sentence of the court: in criminal matters, and in breaches of the peace, he can arrest without a warrant, and, after the legal forms have been observed, can sell any property he may have previously distrained: it is his duty also to assist in the salvage and sale of wrecks, and he has a deputy in each of the parishes within his sheading, who is called a Lockman. In each parish there is also an ancient officer, called a Moar, whose duty it is to collect the rents, fines, escheats, deodands, waifs, and estrays due to the lord, and to execute the orders of the court baron.

The laws of the Isle of Man still retain much of their ancient peculiarity of character, though modified by occasional acts of Tynwald and in some respects rendered more in unison with those of England. The common law was hitherto administered by the deemsters and keys, who, under the lord proprietor, governed the island by a jus non scriptum, committed to their loyalty and fidelity, as a sacred trust, and by them orally communicated to posterity. This custom appears to have been derived from the Druids, who, as is observed by C?sar, were deeply versed in the laws, which they would by no means publish for the information of the vulgar. Hence the Manks, from the remotest period of antiquity, designated their common law by the name of Breast laws, being deposited in the breasts of the deemsters and keys, and only on important occasions divulged to the people. By an act of Tynwald, in 1777, and subsequently, in the 57th of George III., the code now in general use was revised, the institution of the grand jury differing from that of England only in the additional benefit of receiving evidence on the part of the accused, which enables them with more certainty to decide upon the finding of a bill.

The principal courts are the court of Chancery, the court of Exchequer, the court of Common Law, the court of General Gaol Delivery, the court of Admiralty, the courts of the Deemsters, the courts of the High Bailiffs, and the Ecclesiastical courts. The court of Chancery, in matters of civil property, has the most extensive jurisdiction of all the courts in the island, and is both a court of law and of equity. The governor, or, in his absence, the lieutenant-governor, who is the representative of the king, presides in this court, and is assisted by the deemsters, the attorney-general, the clerk of the rolls, and the water-bailiff, or admiralty judge who, since the act of revestment, are all appointed by the king, and hold their places during his royal pleasure. Like the English court of Chancery, the proceedings are conducted without the intervention of a jury, and, with the exception only of power to imprison for contempt, this court has equal authority: the proceedings in equity differ from those at common law more in practice than in principle. In order to prosecute a suit on the law side of the court, a common action is entered at the Rolls' office, and process granted thereon by the governor; three days previously to the meeting of the court, which is generally on the first Thursday in every month, at Castletown, the defendant must be summoned by the coroner, or his deputy, to appear at the next court day, when the action is called in rotation by the coroner. Should he neglect to appear, an attachment against him may be sued for, and renewed at the second, third, and fourth meetings of the court, at the last of which, if it be a matter of debt, and not defended, it may either be heard and determined on the plaintiff's own oath, or it may be, at his option, deferred to the next court. Should the cause of action be disputed, or denied, by the defendant, the court may transfer it for trial in the deemster's court by a jury at common law, or to any other court, ecclesiastical or civil, as the nature of the case may require. When a common action for debt is taken out, either against a native about to leave the island, or against a stranger, the defendant may not only be arrested and imprisoned, but his effects may be taken possession of by the constable, till he give security for his personal appearance; and after the decree has been issued, the effects must be sold by auction, or so much as will satisfy the creditor, after paying one year's rent, if due, and such servants' wages as may be due by the defendant at the time. On the equity side of the court, the proceedings are carried on by bill and answer, as in the English court. The Manks' law compels a native debtor to give up all his present and future effects to his creditors, but exempts him from imprisonment: a native cannot be arrested, or held to bail, for debt, unless he is about to leave the island, and has obtained the governor's pass for that purpose. The laws relating to bankruptcy, as practised in England, are wholly unknown in the Manks' jurisprudence: if an insolvent shall have faithfully accounted for, and delivered up, his property on oath for the satisfaction of his creditors, the governor may order him an allowance of sixpence per day for his subsistence, and in default of payment weekly, liberate the prisoner. In respect of arbitrations, no proceedings are cognizable without a rule of court entered into by consent of the parties. No person paying a lord's rent of an ancient quarterland, or £3 of yearly intack, which is regarded as equivalent, is liable to arrest for debt.

The court of Exchequer takes sognizance of all matters connected with the revenue; proceedings are here carried on for the recovery of penalties and forfeitures due to the crown, incurred by frauds upon the customs: the governor, or lieutenant-governor, presides in this court, which is generally held immediately after the court of Chancery, and has power to make, from time to time, such orders and rules for regulating its proceedings as may be found necessary: this court also imposes fines, and determines the right of tithes, which, previously to the act of Tynwald, in 1777, had been cognizable only in the ecclesiastical courts. The court of Common Law is held at Castle Rushen, or at such other place as the governor shall appoint, in Hilary tern, on the Tuesday next after the first Thursday in February; in Easter term, on the Tuesday next after the first Thursday in May; in Trinity term, on the Tuesday next after the last Thursday in June; and in Michaelmas term, on the Tuesday next after the 5th of October. This court, in which the governor, or lieutenant governor presides, assisted by the deemster, takes cognizance of all actions real, personal, and mixed, and of all suits at common law that require to be determined by a jury; which practice of trial by jury appears to have obtained in all places wherein the feudal system was adopted, and in this island has continued from time immemorial. The juries consist of six men, summoned by the coroner, from whose verdict an appeal lies to the House of Keys, who may proceed in the matter according to their judgment; the appellant must, within twenty-one days after the recording of the verdict, give a bond of £3 that he will prosecute the appeal. In cases of trespass, a jury of four men, who are a jury of enquiry, are summoned by one of the deemsters from the parish in which the trespass was committed, or any loss sustained; whose province it is to view and estimate the injury, and to endeavour to discover by whom it was committed. The court is opened by the coroner of Glanfaba, with an address in the Manks' language. The court of General Gaol Delivery is held at Rushen Castle twice in the year, or at such times as the governor, or, in his absence, the lieut enant-governor, may direct: in this court the governor, or lieutenant-governor, presides, assisted by the bishop of the diocese, the archdeacon, the two vicars-general, the deemsters, the attorney-general. the clerk of the rolls, the water-bailiff, or admiralty judge, and other officers, for determining upon all offences which by the laws of the island are deemed capital. The proceedings, by statute of 1777 and an act of Tynwald in the 57th of George III., require the bill of indictment to be previously found by the grand jury, who not only hear the evidence in behalf of the prosecution, but also receive depos

From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale