the noblest of all earthly creatures, stands related, on the one hand, through his body, to the world of matter, and on the other, through his mind, to the world of spirit. For until it can be established inductively that the modes of extension and the modes of thought are alike ultimately referable, as some have alleged, to one common substance, the laws of a sound philosophy demand the ascription of the one class of phenomena to one substance termed matter, and of the other class of phenomena to another substance termed mind. With his sensuous nature binding him fast to the present world; and his moral and religious nature raising him towards God,—at the verge of the animal kingdom most remote from its point of contact with the kingdom of organic life, yet the occupant of that other kingdom of pure intelligence where the conscience asserts its authority and dispenses its awards,—man, the only representative of the order Bimana, the πνεῦμα, the voice-dividing, the creature of speech, and possessor of the higher reason, stands really where he was first placed—at the head of all earthly creatures, the sole lord of the creation. From this duality of man's nature there results the two-fold division of the human sciences into mental and physical. In the former we consider man as being capable of knowing and doing; in the latter, as a portion of organized animal matter. The mental sciences are distributed into Logic, Metaphysics, Language, Moral Philosophy, and Theology. In Logic we study the laws of thought as thought; in Metaphysics we either study the faculties, operations, and laws of the mind, viz., Psychology, or inquire into the nature of being as distinguished from phenomenon, viz., Ontology; in Language we view man as capable of speech, of forming articulate sounds expressive of his thoughts and feelings; in Moral Philosophy, or Ethics, we regard him as irresponsible agent, and inquire into the nature of human duty in all its relationships; in Theology and Mythology, again, we deal with man as a creature endowed with a religious sense—as a being capable of worship. The physical sciences which refer directly to man are Ethnology, Anatomy, and Physiology. In the first we consider man as an object of natural history; in the second we investigate the structure of his body; and in the third we study the doctrine of its vital phenomena.
These branches of knowledge regard man chiefly in his normal condition. For the abnormal or diseased state of man's mind, see Mental Diseases; and for the abnormal or diseased state of his body, see Medicine, &c.
Isle of, lies between N. Lat. 54° and 55° W. Long. 4° and 5°; the centre of the island being in N. Lat. 54° 16', and W. Long. 4° 30'. It extends lengthwise in a N.N.E. and S.S.W. direction about 31 miles, and varies in breadth from 8 to 12 miles. Its circumference, without following the indentations of a very irregular shore, is about 75 miles; its area contains 209 square miles, or 140,447 statute acres, 30,000 of which are mountains and commons. The island is situate nearly mid-channel in the Irish Sea, about equidistant from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
The outline and aspect of the island is thus described by the Rev. J. G. Cumming of Lichfield:—"The northern view is a narrow track of almost level land (which is an almost plane area of 50 square miles), surrounded by an abrupt pile of mountains, rent in chasms, forming the lovely glens of Ravensdale, Sulby Glen, Glen Aldyn, and Ballure. The western view is that of an extended pile of mountains, descending rapidly to the sea on the nearer side, distinctly precipitous at the south-western extremity, intersected at right angles by the two valleys of Port Erin and Peel. The southern view is that of a gradual slope from the sea-level to the highest points, without any distinct valleys, but occupied by towns, villages, villas, cottages, corn fields, and pastures. The eastern view (as presented on approaching from Liverpool) is that of a succession of bold cliffs and headlands, backed at a distance of 7 or 8 miles by mountains, ranging from 1500 to 2000 feet high, between which and the cliffs the slope is generally easy, and clothed with verdure. From the intersection of the Douglas valley at the centre, and the Straits of Kitterland at its southern extremity, separating the Calf Isle from the mainland, it appears as if divided into three distinct portions. Another peculiarity is, that as the vessel approaches the island, it appears suddenly lengthened to the extent of 6 miles at its northern extremity. This is caused by the low, level tract of land extending from the foot of the mountain chain to the Point of Ayre; and being only a few feet above the sea-level, it is the last portion to appear and the first to disappear, according as the spectator may approach or recede."
The mountain chain, which forms the most prominent feature on its surface, intersects the island in an oblique direction, and extends from Maraghold Head to the Calf Islet, comprising within its range Snaefield, North and South Barrule, Bein-y-Phot, Greebah, and many others. The highest summits are Snaefield and North Barrule, the former being 2036, and the latter 1854 feet above the level of the sea. The sides of the mountains are clothed with turfy, moss, and heath. The whole chain, beginning with North Barrule, consists of clay schist (lower siliurian), which is also the prevailing formation in South Barrule (1592 feet), the latter being varied on the eastern side with large masses of granite containing silvery mica, red and white felspar, and grey quartz. Greebah is 1600 feet above the sea-level, and is rugged and precipitous, especially on its southern side, towards the Douglas and Peel road. Bein-y-Phot (1784 feet) is marshy, and even in summer the ascent is tedious. The other mountains of lesser note are.—Slican-ny-Fraughane (1598 feet), Irei-ny-Lhaa (1445 feet), Slican-ny-Carnaane (1449 feet), Slicen-Dhoo (1139 feet), Slican-Whallin (1068 feet), and Sartel, Slicau-Hearn, Slican-Chiarn, &c. From Snaefield, which rises in the southern extremity of Ayre, in clear weather, one can descry the mountains of Cumberland and Lancashire in England, of Carnarvon and Anglesea in Wales, of Arklow and Morne in Ireland, and of Galloway and Dumfriesshire in Scotland.
The rivers of the island, though numerous, are all small in size. The Sulby, the largest, rises in the mountain group around Snaefield, and, after running 9 miles, discharges itself into the sea at Ramsey. The Neb, or Great River, has one portion of its tributary streams on South Baroole, and after being joined at Slicau-Aalin by a branch issuing from the western side of the mountains of Kirk German and Kirk Michael, joins the Irish Sea at Peel. The Silverburn, or Castletown River, has also two branches, the principal of which rises in the S. side of South Barrule, and, uniting with the other a little below Athollbridge, terminates its course in Castletown Bay. The Dhu, or Black River, takes its rise in the W. side of Mount Garrahain, and at about a mile from Douglas it receives the waters of the Glass, or Grey River, which rises in the mountain group of which Bein-y-Phot is the centre. The Laxey River descends from the eastern declivity of Snaefield, and terminates its course in Laxey Bay.
The following remarks on the natural history of the island were contributed by the late Professor Edward Forbes to Kerruish's Guide to the Isle of Man:
"In common with Ireland, this island is exempt from venomous reptiles and toads, as neither serpents nor toads are found in it; but frogs are abundant, though they are popularly believed to have been imported, an idea for which there is no foundation. Lacerta stiegium (sand lizard), is common in the N.; and Lacerta agilis (common lizard), abounds in old hedges and dry banks in every part of the island. Tritona patultris (warty eft), and Triton punctatus, (common eft), are by no means rare in their different habitats." everywhere. Several of the more common of the four-footed English annoyances are absent, such as foxes, badgers, and otters. It is said that deer formerly inhabited the mountains, but they, like their great prototype, the fossil elk, have long since passed away. The only remarkable quadruped peculiar to the island, and of which it can boast, is the tallless cat, an accidental variety of the common species Felis catus, frequently showing no traces of caudal vertebra, and others a merely rudimental substitute for it. Of game birds, a few of the partridge and quail remain, but grouse is no longer to be found. Snipes are abundant. That rare bird the Manx puffin (Procellaria anglicana), formerly an inhabitant of the Calf, is now rarely found there. Of the rarer British land birds, the red-legged crow is common; the king-fisher scarce; and the hoopoe, the goatsucker, the shrike, the cross-bill, and the roller, have been killed on the island. Of sea-birds there is great variety. Many rare fishes, as might be expected, are found in the neighbouring sea. The entomology of the island is not attractive, though a few of the rarer coleoptera may be found on the sandy district of the N. Many scarce shellfish abound on the coast, and on the banks which surround the island. It is not remarkably rich in plants, and probably does not contain more than five hundred species of the flowering kinds. Nevertheless, among them are several scarce species."
The following brief summary of the geology of the island was also furnished to the same work by the Rev. J. G. Cumming:
"It is only of late years that the geology of the Isle of Man has attracted attention, and yet it is full of interest. The very large development of mineral resources, especially in the mining districts of Foxdale and Laxey; the value also of the quarries of granite, limestone, flagstone, ironstone, and marble;—gives a particular importance to the determination of the geological age of the strata of which the island is composed. Fire, water, ice, have each in turn played their part and exerted their distinctive power in fashioning and moulding this little gem of the ocean into its present shape. The rounded form of the mountain summits which must strike every visitor when he first catches sight of Mona, is due to the fact, that, having been in vast bygone ages elevated by volcanic agency from the depths of ocean, they were at a subsequent period submerged into a sea of an arctic character; and standing in the midst of a current charged with icefloes and icebergs, were ground down, rounded off, and polished. And yet that a much milder climate here also once prevailed, we have evidence in the carboniferous deposits charged with remains of nautili, corals, and tree ferns, the present denizens of seas and lands mostly within the tropics. The rocks of the Isle of Man belong to the palaeozoic and to the pleistocene periods. All rocks of the mesozoic and kainozoic periods up to the pleiocene strata inclusive, are wanting; and even the uppermost palaeozoic beds, viz., the coal measures and the permian sandstones and limestones, are not to be found. The lower palaeozoic series is by far the most largely developed, forming the main body of the island. From the Calf of Man to Maughold Head we have a series of schists, forming a mountain range in a rather irregular curved line, whose general direction is from S.W. to N.E., which may be regarded also as the general line of strike. In the almost total absence, as far as yet examined, of any characteristic fossils in these beds, it may be convenient to regard them as lower silian. They have been disturbed and elevated by the intrusion of granites and porphyritic greenstones. The greenstones may be observed sometimes intrusive, at others apparently imbedded at various points along the mountain ridge from the Sound of the Calf to Maughold Head, more especially at Brada Head, at Rock Mount, near the Tynwald Hill, and at the head of Craig Willis, near the church of St John the Evangelist. They may also be traced along the coast from Langness to Douglas. The granite rises in an enormous dome on the south-eastern side of South Barrule, near the mining district of Foxdale. It also appears at the Dhan River to the N.E. of the Laxey Mines. No doubt the value of these mining districts is greatly enhanced thereby. It has always been found that the metalliferous veins increase in richness as they approach the granitic nuclei. At Foxdale the lead ore in contact with the granite, and in the granite, has yielded more than one hundred ounces of silver to the ton. Where the schists repose upon the granite bosses they are highly metamorphic, and pass by various stages from clay-schist through gneissaceous-schist, and mica-schist with garnets, into gneissaceous-schist and gneiss. No true slate has yet been discovered on the island. The flagstone used for slate seems to have been split in lines of bedding and not of cleavage. At Spanish Head masses of a deep blue clay-schist, slightly elastic, are procured and used largely for lintels. The old red sandstone and conglomerate occurs on the north-western side of the island, at Peel, and also on the south-eastern in the neighbourhood of Castletown, where it crops out around the eastern and northern edge of a basin-shaped depression, occupied by the limestones and shales of the carboniferous era. It rests unconformably upon the upturned edges of the schists, and passes upwards by almost insensible degrees into the beds of limestone. We notice a gradual abstraction of the red matrix around the quartz pebbles of the conglomerate, and a substitution of a grey calcareous matrix instead, with a few of the lower limestone fossils imbedded; ultimately the quartz pebbles die out, and we reach the regular dark limestone beds. The carboniferous series of the Isle of Man may be subdivided into lower dark limestones and shales, comparable to the carboniferous beds of Hook Point in Ireland, and those near Dent and Ulverstone in England; then the upper light-coloured and highly fossiliferous limestones of Poolvash, the equivalents of the scar limestone of Yorkshire and Bolland; and thirdly, the Posidonia schist of Poolvash, the nearest approach in the Isle of Man to the coal measures. This last division contains the so-called Manx black marble, and has been largely brought into chimney-pieces. It forms the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, London, which were presented by the Venerable Bishop Thomas Wilson. It contains abundantly the peculiar fossil Posidonia (whence the name), and some traces of Calamites, Lepidodendra, and tree ferns. All these beds are greatly intersected and broken up by trap dykes between Langness and Poolvash, the phenomenon connected with which may be best observed between the Stack of Scarlett (itself a basaltic pile) and the black marble quarries at Poolvash, and thence along the shore to Kentraugh. The Posidonia schist is actually intercalated with beds of trappean ash; this ash also containing the fossil remains of the animals living in the neighbouring sea at the time when the volcanic eruption took place. A great fault, running from Perwick Bay, Near Port St Mary, in the direction for 5 miles of the granitic boss on South Barrule, cuts off all the beds of the old red sandstone and the carboniferous limestone, the up-cast being on the N.W. side. The whole country on both sides of this fault has subsequently been planed down to one level, and then overspread by the boulder-clay and sands of the pleistocene series. The pleistocene series of the island consists of boulder-clay, drift-gravel, and sands, which are largely spread out over all the other rocks, and reach far up the mountainsides, the boulders being found even on the summits of some of the loftiest southern mountains. A large tract of nearly 50 square miles, in the north of the island, is wholly occupied by these beds, for the most part forming a large plain, in which are basin-shaped depressions, covered with beds of peat, but rising also between Point Cranstal, Blue Head, and Jurby Point, to hills upwards of 300 feet in height.
In former times (as appears by old maps and records) lakes existed in the depressions in the north of the island, which have since been drained. In still more ancient lakes shell-marl was deposited, and in them we find the remains of the Megaceros Hibernicus, or great fossil elk, a fine specimen of which, discovered many years since near Ballaugh, was presented to the Edinburgh Museum by the Duke of Athol. As this was the first almost entire skeleton of the animal discovered and described, it ought rather to have been called Manx than Irish elk. There is no doubt but that the pleistocene series occupied at one time the whole bed of the Irish Sea, and united the Isle of Man with the surrounding countries. The rocks immediately under the boulder-clay, where they can be discovered, are distinctly grooved, furrowed, and scratched in a direction generally parallel to the mountain chain; and the boulders consist chiefly of masses of the immediately subjacent rock, themselves scratched and grooved: they have every appearance of having been pushed along in an icy stream. The true boulder clay is very deficient in fossils, and such as occur are, as might be expected, in a very broken and comminuted condition. In hollows in the boulder-clay we find masses of sand and gravel, where the fossils are in a more perfect condition, and present very much of an arctic or sub-arctic character. The drift gravel which overlies the boulder-clay seems to consist of its re-formed material, rounded and worn. If we consider the boulder-clay to have been deposited (as is most probable) during a period of general subsidence of this area, then the drift-gravel marks the period of re-elevation. At certain periods, both of the depression and re-elevation, the present Isle of Man would have exhibited the appearance of a cluster of five or six islands, with strong ice-charged currents flowing between them.
The drift-gravel contains pebbles of foreign rock, chiefly Scotch, with some chalk flints, probably derived from the north of Ireland. The most remarkable phenomenon of the boulder-clay which can be noticed, is the occurrence of boulders of undoubted South Barrule granite which have been raised several hundred feet, within the space of 2 miles from the parent source, and perched on the tops of South Barrule, Cronk-na-Irey-Lhas, and other southern mountains, as well as carried over the ridge in great abundance to the western side of the island. It is not unlikely that being frozen into shore ice, as the mountains were gradually submerged they were stranded higher and higher each succeeding year, and the highest of them will mark the extent to which at least that submergence took place."
The principal minerals are lead and copper ore. The Laxey Mines, near the banks of the Laxey River, produce ores of lead and copper, with much blende (sulphuret of zinc). At Foxdale, between Castletown and St John's, the Isle of Man Mining Company carry on operations to a considerable extent. Lead ore and sulphuret of copper are also found and wrought by the South Manx Mining Company at Brada Head. The mines are rented from the Queen, as lady of the manor, the lessees paying one-tenth part of the produce. The quantities of lead ore, lead, and silver produced in 1852 are as follow:
| Company | Tons lead ore | Tons lead | |-------------------------------|--------------|----------| | Isle of Man Mining Company | 1600 | 1224 | | Laxey Mining Company | 800 | 600 | | South Manx Mining Company | 15 | 11½ |
The average yield of silver from each ton of lead ore is 20 oz., and the produce for the year above named was 36,700 oz.; the value of which, at 4s. 2d. per ounce, was £7,646.
Besides the mines proper, the lime and marble quarries of the S. are worked to a considerable extent; the lime being very valuable, not only for building purposes, but also for agriculture. There is a valuable granite quarry in the region of Foxdale. Rotten-stone and ochre are obtained in the S., near Ballasalla, and a considerable foreign trade is carried on in them. The white spar raised in the Laxey lead mines is valuable.
The climate of the island is noted not only for its mildness but also for its general equability. The mean temperature of the year is 49° 84'; of summer, 58° 98'; of winter, 41° 57'; of July it is 60° 33', and of January 40° 52';—giving the difference between the hottest and the coldest months as 19° 81'; between summer and winter as 17° 41'.
Before the time of the revestment of the sovereignty of Man in the British Crown, in 1765, agriculture was almost entirely neglected. The herring fishery formed the chief occupation of the peasantry, whilst the women and children cultivated just as much land as would supply the wants of the family and pay the lord's rent.
For the present highly improved state of agriculture, the island has been mostly indebted to the enterprise of English and Scotch farmers, who set a good example in the cultivation of apparently barren land. The dormant energies of the people being thus called forth, they, in many instances, have not been slow to imitate their instructors, and have been amply rewarded with success. Generally speaking, land in a good situation, well cultivated, will give a return in oats of 36 to 45 bushels per acre, barley in the same proportion, and wheat from 25 to 30. In the neighbourhood of the towns, land is let from £4 to £5 per acre. The mode of agriculture comprises a succession of crops in the following order:—First, grain crop; second, green crop or summer fallow; third, clover and hay; fourth and fifth, pasture. The proportions of grain sown are,—oats, one-half; wheat, one-fourth; barley one-fourth. Previous to 1842 potatoes were cultivated to a very great extent, and constituted a considerable item of export. Turnips, for which the soil appears to be very favourable, are produced in great quantities; and, from an improved method of cultivation, are allowed, even by the Yorkshire farmers, to be superior to those grown in their own favoured county. Most of the artificial grasses thrive well; the white and red clover, and the common grasses, yield generally good crops, and large quantities of hay are stacked in most of the agricultural districts. The commons, or uncultivated lands, are estimated to form about one-third of the island, including the whole of the mountain-chain. Upon these wastes horses, cattle, and sheep are turned to graze, particularly by the upland farmers. The principal food of these animals during the winter season is the evergreen furze. The native breed of horses is of a small kind, but hardy, useful, and patient of labour, being somewhat similar to those of North Wales. Horned cattle are numerous, but the native breed, being much neglected, have degenerated. Lately, however, the farmers have been improving the breed by the importation of Ayrshire and short-horned cattle. The native breed of sheep is very small, but hardy; their wool is not very long, nor of the finest quality. In the low lands a larger breed has been introduced. There is also a peculiar breed, which is now rapidly disappearing, called, from its mouse-brown colour, the Loughlynn, or Lough-dean. Pigs are bred in considerable numbers.
With respect to the size of farms, the largest portion of cultivated land is held by yeomen, farming from 10 to 150 acres, their own property. In the vicinity of the towns the occupations are generally small. Rent varies from 10s. to £5 per acre, depending upon the quality of the soil, the means of communication with the town, &c. Though the north possesses an excellent soil, yet the convenience of lime and sea-weed is wholly in favour of the south. Since the abolition of the corn laws in England, little more grain is grown than will suffice for home consumption. Large numbers of cattle, however, are bred for exportation, and are conveyed by steamers to England.
The manufactures and trade of the island are limited, the want of coals being assigned as the principal reason. The staple article of commerce is the products of the fishery; and perhaps the next to that is the mineral treasure.
The peculiar fiscal privileges of the island, as also its influx of visitors, and the large circulation of money they induce, contribute materially to its prosperity and progress; to which may be added the frequent retirement to its shores of opulent residents from the sister isles. Spirited attempts to promote manufactures have, however, been made, and there are now several mills for the manufacture of canvas, woollen cloths, nets, ropes, twine, &c. There are also breweries, tanneries, and soap factories; iron foundries, gas and water companies, &c. Apart from the herring fleet, consisting of about 400 smacks or luggers, the island has a number of small coasting vessels, which are chiefly used for the exportation of grain, ore, &c., and the importation of coals. The latter class of vessels are being gradually superseded by steamers, which ply regularly between Liverpool and Douglas, Ramsey, and Castletown.
The roads of the island are excellent, and are maintained—1st, by a system of licenses on innkeepers, grocers, hawkers, &c.; 2d, by an impost on carts, carriages, and dogs; 3d, by a prescriptive labour duty on housekeepers; and, 4th, by a like duty on the quarterlands. The annual fund from all these sources is between L4,000 and L5,000, and it is most ample for the support of all the roads, which are under the management of a highway committee, a surveyor-general, and parochial overseers. Although surveys were made by two companies during the railway mania of 1845, the proposed railway lines for the connection of the four towns of the island were never commenced. Surveys have again been made, with a view to the opening of a railway communication between Douglas and Peel.
The civil government of the Isle of Man is vested in three estates—the Queen in Council, the Governor and Council, and the House of Keys. These last two estates together constitute a court of Tynwald; but the concurrence of the three is essential to every legislative enactment. Acts of the British legislature do not affect the island except it be therein specially included.
The Governor is captain-general of all the troops on the island, and also of the constabulary force. He presides in the council, in all courts of Tynwald or legislature, in all staff of government courts, courts of general gaol delivery, and is ex officio sole judge in Chancery and Exchequer courts.
The Council, or staff of government, 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, the archdeacon, and the vicar-general, who are also ex officio justices of the peace for the island. One or both of the deemsters, the clerk of the rolls, and the water-bailiff, generally sit as assessors in the courts in which the governor presides. The act of the governor and three of his temporal officers is considered a valid act of the governor and council.
The House of Keys consists of twenty-four representatives, who are not elected by suffrage, but are selected by their own body, vacancies being filled up by the House presenting to the governor “two of the eldest and worthiest men of all the Land of Mann,” one of whom he nominates, who then takes his seat for life. To them an appeal may be made against verdicts of juries at common law in all cases; and against their decision there is no appeal but to the Queen in Council.
In matters of property the Court of Chancery has the most extensive jurisdiction of any in the island, and is both a court of law and equity. The governor presides, and is assisted by the clerk of the rolls, the deemsters, and the water-bailiff. Like the English Court of Chancery, the proceedings are conducted without the intervention of a jury.
The Exchequer Court takes cognisance of all matters connected with the revenue; proceedings are here carried on for the recovery of all penalties and forfeitures due to the crown, incurred by frauds upon the customs. It passes sentence upon all convicted criminals, and also decides the validity of all titles. This court also determines the right of title, which, previously to the act of 1777, was cognisable only by the ecclesiastical courts.
The Common Law Courts for the southern division are held at Castle Rushen, and for the northern division at Ramsey, once in three months. These take cognisance of all actions, real, personal, and mixed, and of all civil matters that require to be determined by a jury. The juries consist of six men, against whose verdict an appeal can be made, in the first instance, to the House of Keys, who possess the high power of affirming, reserving, or altering a verdict at common law.
The Courts of General Gaol Delivery are held twice a-year at Castletown, for the trial of prisoners indicted for criminal offences; the governor presides, attended by the deemsters and the clerk of the rolls. The execution of the sentence of this court in cases of treason, murder, or other capital offences, is never carried into effect until the royal pleasure can be ascertained.
The Deemsters' Courts are of great antiquity. They are held weekly, alternately at Douglas and Castletown, by the deemster for the southern division; and at Ramsey and Peel, or Kirk Michael, by the deemster for the northern division. The judge in this court, by his sole authority, determines in cases of trespass, slander, assault, battery, debts, and contracts; but an appeal can be made against his judgment to the staff of government. The deemsters possess very extensive jurisdiction and high authority; they are the chief justices and the ancient popular magistrates. Their authority is not limited by law to their own divisions, but they have concurrent jurisdiction over the island. They are appointed by the crown, each having a salary of L800 per annum. On the deemsters every department of the legislature and government depends for advice and direction in all difficult points of law. They take cognisance in a summary manner of all breaches of the peace, and can hold courts instantly on all criminal informations.
The herring fishery, and the boats employed in it, are placed under the charge of the water-bailiff, and he usually holds a court once a-week, to redress grievances, and enforce the regulations of the fishery. He appoints, with a small salary, two intelligent fishermen, who are called admirals, to assist in preserving order. The water-bailiff has also civil jurisdiction in questions of salvage, and takes cognisance of suits in maritime matters, similar to the admiralty courts in England. Against his judgment an appeal can be made to the staff of government.
The High Bailiff's Courts are held weekly in Douglas, Castletown, Ramsey, and Peel, for the recovery of debts under forty shillings.
The Ecclesiastical Courts are,—the consistorial court, in which the bishop, or his vicar-general, or registrar presides, taking cognisance of all matters relating to the probate of wills, granting letters of administration, alimony, church assessments, &c.; and the vicar-general's court, which takes cognisance of all offences against religion, good morals, and the interest of the church, and of all cases not cognisable by the common law courts. The chapter or circuit courts are held for regulating all matters connected with the see, and the general affairs of the diocese. The magistrates hold regular courts in Douglas fortnightly, and monthly in each of the other towns, for the summary trial of offences for breach of the peace and misdemeanours. These gentlemen are appointed by commission under the Great Seal of England, but their powers are regulated by an insular act of Tynwald. The members of the council and the four high bailiffs are also ex officio magistrates, and their clerk is a member of the bar, appointed also by the crown.
A coroner, anciently termed a moor, is appointed by the governor to each of the six shadings or districts of the island, at the Tynwald Court, on the 5th July, annually. He unites in his office the powers possessed by an English coroner, constable, and sheriff's officer. He is both a ministerial officer and a conservator of the peace, and, according to ancient statute, holds his office for one year only.
The laws of the island still retain much of their ancient peculiarity of character, though modified by occasional acts of Tynwald, and rendered in some respects more in unison with those of England. By acts of Tynwald, passed in 1777 and 1813, the criminal code was greatly altered and amended.
The general tenure is a customary freehold devolving from each possessor to his next heir-at-law. The right of primogeniture extends to females as well as males. The interest of a widow or widower, being the first wife or husband of a person deceased, is a life estate in one-half of the lands which have descended hereditarily, and is forfeited by a second marriage; a second husband or second wife is only entitled to a life interest in one quarter. Of the land purchased by the husband, the wife surviving him is entitled to an absolute moiety. By a statute of the year 1777, proprietors of lands are empowered "to grant leases for any term not exceeding twenty-one years in possession."
The annexed Table exhibits the Population of each Parish, and its Relative Increase from 1726 to 1851.
| Shading | Parishes and Towns | Population | |---------|-------------------|------------| | Malew | | | | Castle-town | | | | Ardroay | | | | Haigh | | | | Sollay | | | | Braddan | | | | Douglas | | | | Onchan | | | | Marown | | | | Germain | | | | Peel | | | | Patrick | | | | Loman | | | | Maughold | | | | Ramsey | | | | Portree | | | | Bridge | | | | Andreas | | | | Jurby | | | | Ballaugh| | | | Michael | | |
Total: 14,070
The number of houses in 1841 was 8393, and in 1851, 9108; of the latter number 8611 were inhabited.
Language.—The Manx language is a sub-dialect of the Gaelic or ancient Celtic, and it has great affinity to the Erse or ancient Irish language. The natives of the south and west of Ireland, of the Highlands of Scotland, and of the Isle of Man, have but little difficulty in understanding and conversing with each other. This, however, applies only to the pronunciation, for their differences in orthography are such as to perplex even the most learned linguists. The Manx is now only spoken in the north-western parishes, and at a few localities along the western coast, though, with few exceptions, the natives are able to converse in the English language. The services in the parish churches are given alternately in the Manx and English languages, though the Manx is not taught in any of the parochial schools; and it is very probable that in the course of the next generation it will become utterly extinct.
All religious sects are tolerated in Man; but its establishment is connected with the Church of England. It is a diocese in the province of York; but its bishop has not a seat in the House of Peers. His double title of Sodor and Man has its origin in one of those ages so fertile in materials for antiquarian guesswork. Some will have it that Sodor is derived from Sotor, the ancient name of a village in Iona; others allege that it is a contraction of the Danish word Sudoroe, significant of the Hebrides, which the Scandinavian rovers approached generally from the N., and which are said to have been at one time under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Manx bishops; whilst some, with equal propriety, maintain that it was applicable only to a little island off Peel, and formerly called Sodor, on which a lordly castle once stood, containing the cathedral in which many of its bishops were consecrated, and the cemetery where the dust of most of the wise, and the brave, and the noble of the land was deposited. The bishop is assisted in ecclesiastical matters by an archdeacon, a vicar-general, a registrar, and a summar-general. The livings of the clergy arise chiefly from tithes; the patronage, from the bishopric downwards, with the exception of three in the gift of the diocesan, is vested in the Crown. The revenue of the church of Man is a good one, and amply sufficient to maintain all its clergy comfortably, were it only a little more equitably divided.
In no part of the world is religious toleration better established than in this island,—not even Britain, with all her boasted religious liberty, excepted,—no license being required, either for the preacher or the place in which he ministers, and liberty of conscience is enjoyed by all. Man is well supplied with the appliances of education. Besides King William's College, there are academies of the very highest class. Its parochial schools have likewise considerably improved during the last few years.
Previous to the Act of Revestment in 1765, the commerce of the island consisted principally of the importing and exporting of contraband goods, the average returns of which exceeded half a million sterling per annum. During that period the island was the grand refuge and storehouse for smugglers, who, as occasion offered, shipped their goods to England, Scotland, and Ireland, to the great injury of the British revenue; the loss to which was then estimated at £300,000 per annum. After this period the customs of the isle became vested in the British crown, and were placed under the control of a receiver-general, and subsequently, by an act (50th Geo. III.) the regulation and management were transferred to the commissioners of customs in England, which have since remained under their superintendence; and this little island, instead of being a burden to the mother country, now remits about £30,000 annually to the consolidated fund, after all expenses are deducted.
By the act 7th and 8th Vict., chap. xiii., passed 19th July 1844, commonly called "The Fiscal Bill," the entire revenue of the island is regulated, and has been relieved from many vexatious restrictions.
In 1853–54 several fiscal changes were made by the Lords of the Treasury. Previous to this period British gin and whisky of any description were absolutely prohibited, but they are now admitted, entitled to an inland revenue drawback of 7½d per gallon. Brandy, Geneva or Hollands, and rum, were imported under special license. in the undermentioned restricted quantities per annum; and the following table will show the difference between the old and new tariffs:
| Annual Limitation | Former Duty | Present Duty | |------------------|-------------|--------------| | Gallons | | | | Brandy | 20,000 | 4 6 6 0 | | Geneva | 20,000 | 2 6 6 0 | | Rum | 70,000 | 1 6 3 8 | | Liqueurs | 50 | 10 0 10 | | Eau-de-Cologne | 50 | 10 0 10 | | Tobacco | 55,000 lb. | 1 6 1 6 | | Do. manufactured | | 1 6 4 9 | | Cigars | 5,000 | 3 0 4 9 |
To counterbalance the above increase of duties on the luxuries, the following reductions were made on the necessaries of life:
| Former Duty | Present reduced Duty | |-------------|----------------------| | Tea | 1s. per lb. | | Sugar (Muscovado) | 1s. 6d. per cwt. | | Sugar (Refined) | 9s. per cwt. |
The title that is known of the early history of the Isle of Man is derived from tradition, from the annals of the surrounding countries, from the Norse and Erin Sagas, and from a record by the monks of Rushen Abbey called the Caronos Monachorum.
The earliest personage mentioned by tradition and history is Mannanan-Reg-Mac-y-Lheir, from whom the Manx believe the island to have derived its name. He is thus described in the Statute Book of the island:—“Mannanan-Reg-Mac-y-Lheir, the first person who held Man, was the ruler thereof, and after whom the land was named, reigned many years, and was a Paynimg—he kept the land safe by his necromancy. If he dreaded an enemy, he would cause one ox to seem as a hundred, and that by art-magic.”
He was reputed to be the son of a king of Ulster, and by others a son of Alladine; but both titles are irreconcilable with history. He appears to be identical with Maimonides, the son of Fergus I. of Scotland, who ascended the throne of Scotland 299 years before ancient English historian Nennius, and also Camden, states that Brede or Brude, a Scot, governed the Isle of Man in the reigns of Emperors Aurelius and Honorius, A.D. 395. In 517 Macgwyn, King of North Wales, who proved a formidable foe to the Saxons in England and the Scots in Man, expelled the Scots, and annexed the island to his Welsh dominions. For this exploit Macgwyn, who was nephew to the renowned King Arthur, was created a Knight of the Round Table. He was succeeded by his son Rhun-ap-Macgwyn, in whose reign in 581 the island was reconquered by Aidan McGabhain, King of Scotland, who appointed his sister’s son Brennus his viceroy with the title of “Thane of Man.” The Isle of Man appears to have been under the Saxon monarchy until about the year 611, when Cadwaladr, the Welsh king, appears to have recovered it from the Scots, and to have retained possession of it until 630. Having invaded Northumberland, he was defeated, with immense loss, at the battle of Weddington, by Edwin, the king of the Saxon province of Deira, who, following up his victory, subjugated the Isles of Anglesey and Man. Some years afterwards, Cadwaladr, obtaining aid from France and Scotland, reconquered the territory which had been overrun by Edwin. Towards the end of the reign of Cadwaladr, Harald Haarfagr, the son of Halfdan Ivart the Black, the most powerful of the Norse Vikings, overran and devastated with indiscriminate slaughter the whole of the Western Isles and Man. He appointed as lieutenant of Man and the Isles the jarl Keill Platmote, or Platmote, who afterwards threw off his allegiance and assumed the sovereignty. He soon afterwards died, and was succeeded by his sons Helgi and Thorstein the Red, the last of whom was expelled in 894. The next king, Mal, was succeeded by his nephew Amlaf or Olave, whose reign was of short duration. In the meantime Harold Haarfagr had resolved on uniting the petty kingdoms of Norway into one sovereignty, and after many years of warfare, he effectually succeeded in his object. There is no reason to suppose that this fact, and his subsequent tyranny, induced the simultaneous emigration of Rolla and his companions to Normandy, of Ingolf to Iceland, and of Orry to the Isle of Man, where they all established independent kingdoms.
After subjugating most of the Western Isles, King Orry arrived in Man, and succeeded in establishing his sway over the island. He was a wise and politic prince, and during his reign the Manx enjoyed undisturbed tranquillity. To him the Manx are indebted for a legislative government. He first divided the island into six shadings, each of which sent its representatives to the court at Tynwald Hill which was formed in his reign. His descendants continued to rule over Man till 1077, when Godred IV. (Crovan), at the head of a horde of Norwegians, routed the islanders and slew their king, Flugal II. He established himself in the southern district of the island; the remainder he granted to the inhabitants, on the absolute condition of their holding it under him as lord of the whole.
On the death of Godred in 1093, Magnus Barefoot succeeded in obtaining possession of Man, over which he placed the Norwegian jarl Ocrar as governor. The inhabitants of the southern district becoming disaffected with Ocrar, elected Macmarus in his place; a battle in consequence ensued near Sarvart (or Saltnhill), in the parish of Jurby, and victory was indubitably on the party of Macmarus, when the women of the north, rushing to the scene of action, totally changed the issue of the fight, although not till both leaders were slain.
On the death of Magnus, the right of Godred Crovan’s line to the kingdom of the Isles was recognised, and Lagman, the son of that conqueror, succeeded to the government; but, from his excessive tyranny, he became detestable to his subjects. He at length abdicated the throne, and undertook a pilgrimage to Palestine, where he died unmarried. Olave II. (named Kleining, or the Dwarf), the only surviving son of Godred IV., being then a minor, a regent was appointed who, by his acts of tyranny and oppression, rendered himself so obnoxious to the people, that he was expelled from the kingdom in the third year of his government. Olave II., who had attained his majority, assumed the throne of his father, and prudently secured peace to his dominions by entering into alliance with the kings of England and Ireland, and by contracting a marriage with Alfreda, daughter of Fergus, lord of Galloway, and grand-daughter of Henry I. of England. His previously quiet reign was disturbed by the pretensions of three natural sons of his brother Harold, by one of whom he was treacherously slain at a conference in 1184. The triumph of the three rebellious nephews was not of long continuance. Godred V. (the Black), Olave’s only legitimate son, came down from Norway, where he was receiving his education; the whole of the Isles submitted to his authority; and the sons of Harold were delivered to certain punishment. Several attempts were made during his reign to obtain possession of the island, one of which by Somerled, surnamed the Surly, Thane of Argyll, was successful, and Godred had to take refuge in Norway, where he remained till the death of the usurper, on which he regained possession of his throne. His death took place in 1187, in the thirty-third year of his reign. Olave III., his legally legitimate son, being then a minor, Reginald, another son, was proclaimed to the government during his minority. The latter endeavoured to secure to himself the throne by doing homage to John of England, and afterwards by acknowledging the superiority of the pope; but all these efforts were unavailing, and a series of struggles was the consequence, till at length Reginald was slain in a sanguinary engagement in 1229. In A.D. 1237 Olave died in Peel Castle, leaving three sons,—Harold, Reginald, and Magnus—and was succeeded by his son Harold II., who, with his queen and a numerous retinue of nobility, in 1248, were drowned on their return from Norway, where they had been celebrating his marriage with Cecilia, daughter of Hakon, the Norwegian king. His brother Reginald III. assumed the government, and was afterwards slain, with all his party, by the Knight Ivar, a natural son of Godred V. (and brother of the ill-fated Reginald II., the usurper), in 1249. On the death of Reginald III., he left behind an infant daughter, his brother Magnus was chosen king. According to the custom, he went over to Norway, and after two years’ attendance at the court, was declared King of the Isles, and had the title confirmed to himself and his heirs. In 1250 John, King of England, landed with an army at Ronaldsway, and proclaimed himself King of Man and the Isles; but his army was defeated and compelled to retreat. From this time the power of the Norwegian kings began to decline, and that of the Scottish sovereigns to revive. Magnus threatened by an invasion, did homage to Alexander III. of Scotland, and received from him a charter, by which he held the island from the crown of Scotland, and died in 1263, without issue. In the meantime, Magnus VI. of Norway, as the legitimate sovereign of Man, ceded in 1255 to Alexander III. all his claims and interests in the sovereignty and episcopacy of Man for the sum of 200 marks, and an annual pension of 100 marks. The widow of Magnus, however (the late King of Man), a woman of hasty and intriguing spirit, succeeded in getting Ivar, the assassinator of her brother-in-law Reginald, placed on the vacant throne; and Alexander in 1270 sent an army, under the command of Alexander Stouff, Earl of Ross and John Comyn, to reduce the island to a state of obedience. After a decisive battle at Ronaldsway, near Derbyhaven, in which 500 of the Manx, with their leader Ivar, were slain, the kingdom was entirely subjugated and annexed to the dominions of Alexander. This monarch, in token of his conquest, substituted the quaint device of "the three legs," which still constitutes the national emblem, for the ancient armorial ensign of the island—a ship in full sail, with the motto, "Rez Mommie et Familiarum." He placed the island under the government of his nobles or thanes, whose repeated acts of tyrannical oppression at length inspired the inhabitants to throw off the Scottish yoke. Bishop Robert Maclean Galvandus of Scotland, however, being informed of their determination, obtained their mark of arms to decide the contest by thirty champions selected from each party. The Manx champions were all killed in the contest that took place, and twenty-five of the Scottish warriors shared the same fate. This victory confirmed the conquest of the Scots; the ancient regal government was abolished, and a military despotism established.
During the contentions of Bruce and Balliol, Edward I. of England took possession of the island for a period, while two rival claimants for the throne appeared. One of these was Mary, the daughter of Reginald III., the other Alfrida, a daughter of Olave III., the Black King of Man, and sister of Magnus (and aunt to Mary, the other claimant). In 1299, by the will of Olave, she in 1305 conveyed by a deed of gift her right and interest in the island to her husband, Sir Simon de Montacute, whose son Sir William afterwards mortgaged its revenues to Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, to whom the king made a grant of it for life. In 1313 Bruce made a descent on the island, and succeeded in driving out the English. He granted it to his nephew Randolph, Earl of Murray, during whose sway it was overrun and plundered by a numerous body of Irish under Richard de Marisco.
In the reign of Edward III., Mary Waldebeof, daughter of the previous claimant, and grand-daughter of Reginald III., presented her claims to the sovereignty of the island, and solicited the protection and assistance of that monarch. The king allowed her title, and by giving her in marriage to William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury (the grandson of Sir Simon Montacute and Alfrida), thus united in their persons the rights of the two lines of descendants of Olave the Black to the kingdom of Man. With the aid of the English king, the earl was enabled to expel the Randolphs from the island; and in the year 1344 he was with much pomp crowned King of Man. Thus, to the great joy of the people, was the government restored to its rightful possessors. In the year 1393 the Earl of Salisbury sold to Sir William le Scoop "the Isle of Man, with the title of king, and the right of being crowned with a golden crown."
Sir William le Scoop, afterwards Earl of Wiltshire, being attainted and beheaded for high treason, the island in 1399 was bestowed on Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, but he having been attainted and banished, Henry IV. made a grant of it to Sir John Stanley for life. This deed was cancelled, and a new patent passed the Great Seal in 1406, bestowing the island, Peel Castle, and lordship of Man, and the isles appertaining thereto, with all the royalties, privileges, and franchises, with the patronage of the see, on him and his heirs, to be held by the crown of Great Britain, per annimum legum, subject to the king's assent. Great Britain, per annimum legum, subject to the king's assent.
The lords of the House of Stanley made frequent visits to the island, but governed it chiefly by lieutenants, who occupied the castles of Peel and Rushen, having them fortified with strong garrisons. Various tumults arose, occasioned by the infraction of ancient customs and popular liberty; and in 1422 fourteen persons were drawn by wild horses, quartered and behended. Eventually authority was delegated to Henry Byron, whose penetration and policy soon restored order. He remodelled the House of Keys, relieved the people of many oppressive enactments, and by his wisdom and moderation restored his regency one of the most popular in the insular history. John Stanley died in 1432, and was succeeded by his son Thomas, who was created Baron Stanley by Henry VII., and died in 1459. Thomas his son succeeded him, and was created Earl of Derby by Henry VII. for the aid he rendered to him with his forces at Bosworth; and he is remarkable in English history as having crowned Henry on that memorable battle-field. This nobleman's son Thomas, the second Earl of Derby, relinquished the title of King of Man, as he preferred "being a great lord, to a petty king." He died in 1522. Edward, the third earl, and the last-named Thomas, was a great favourite with Henry VIII., and was reputed to have been very rich and munificent; during his time the revenues were confiscated, and the edifice dismantled of the venerable abbey of Rushen, which was the last of all the monasteries dissolved by the rapacious and imaginary Henry VIII. He died in 1572, and was succeeded by his son Henry, the fourth Earl of Derby. He died in 1594, leaving two sons, Ferdinand and William, who in time became lords of Man. The title of William was disputed by the three daughters of Ferdinand; with these, however, he effected a compromise; and in 1610 obtained an "act for assuring and establishing the Isle of Man in the name and blood of William, Earl of Derby." He, in 1637, being tired of public life, resigned his dignities to his son James, so celebrated in history as "the great Earl of Derby."
During the civil war the island remained steadily attached to the interests of the king, and was one of the last places that yielded to the authority of Cromwell. After the relief of Lathom House and the battle of Bolton, the noble earl retired to the Isle of Man, where he continued to reside, actively engaged in protecting his interests, until 1651. In that year he again proceeded to England, where he raised forces for the restoration of Charles II., and was taken prisoner at Worcester, and behended at Bolton, October 16, 1651. The defence of the island was undertaken by the heroic Lady Derby, who was then in Castle Rushen; but William Christian, the receiver-general, on the appearance of a hostile fleet, surrendered the castle without resistance, to which act of treachery there is little doubt that he had been bribed.
On the decapitation of Earl James, the Parliament granted the island to General Fairfax in consideration of his services, who held it until the Restoration, when it was restored to Charles, the second earl (the present Earl James), in 1660. On the death of Earl Charles, in 1672, he was succeeded by his son William, the ninth earl, who took but little interest in his Isle Man property, and dying without issue in 1702, was succeeded by his nephew James (a younger son of Charles, the eighth earl). At this time the lordship of Man was approaching to dissolution. The leases, which had been granted for three lives, having nearly expired, and no provision having been made relative to their renewal, the neglect of agriculture became so general that repeated seasons of scarcity and famine occurred, and the people were wholly given up to the fishery and the pursuit of the contraband trade. Bishop Wilson, energetic and direct attention to this injurious system, and his powerful efforts, being supported by the firm but respectful remonstrance from the insular legislature, prevailed upon his lordship to confer in 1703 upon his Manx subjects the Act of Settlement (very justly called the Manx Magna Charta), and which may be considered one of the most important occurrences in the civil history of the island, as by it the leases of estates were finally established in their possession, and their descent assigned in perpetuity, on the payment of certain fines, rents, and dues to the lords. James died in 1736 without issue, and was the tenth and last earl of the noble and illustrious House of Stanley, who had been sovereigns of the Isle for more than 500 years.
This lordship then devolved on James, second Duke of Atholl, a descendant of the Lady Amelia Sophia Stanley (the youngest daughter of the noble James, the seventh Earl of Derby). In 1726, in order to put an end to the contraband trade of the island, which had become so extensive as materially to affect the revenue of Great Britain, an act of Parliament was passed authorizing the purchase of all the royalties and revenues of the island; but though many overtures were made by the government, no result followed till after the death of the duke, whose only daughter Charlotte, the Baroness Strange, being married to her cousin John, the next male heir to the dukedom, conveyed to him the lordship of Man, which, vigorous exertions being made by the government in 1765, and measures having been introduced into Parliament for the more effectual prevention of the illicit trade of the island, the duke and duchess agreed to surrender the sovereignty and its revenues for £70,000. They reserved 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 therefore a further sum of £2,000 per annum was granted as an annuity to the duchess out of the Irish revenue the sovereignty of the island thus became vested in the crown of England. By an Act of Revenue, 1810, the island was more closely united to the parent country, and its prosperity has ever since been progressively advancing, though its original and independent form of government has not experienced any material change. On the ground of inadequate compensation, their son John (the fourth duke) presented petitions to Parliament and the Privy Council in 1781 and 1790, but unsuccessfully, until the year 1805, when an act was passed assigning to him and his heirs, as an additional grant, one-fourth of the revenues of the island, which was afterwards commuted for £3,000 per annum for ever.
In 1825 an act passed both houses of Parliament, at the instance of the lords of the Treasury, authorising the lords of the Treasury to treat with the duke for the purchase of his remaining interest in the island. The duke being very unpopular at the time, and much dissatisfied with his position in the island, willingly embraced the proposal, and the valuation was left to arbitrators appointed on both sides. These in the year 1829 awarded him the further sum of £146,114 for his rights in and over the soil, as lord of the manor, as follows:—