The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-08
b MINK THING.

Few EngHshmen know that, within slX
hours sail from the port Of Liverpool, the
ancient custom of the Ruler, his Council,
and the Commons meeting together in the
open air to proclaim the law to the people
standing around is still maintained. The
present constitution, indeed, Of the Isle of
Man represents tina of its Teutonic conquer
ors with q most remarkable fidelity. The
Lieutenant-G Governor is the representative of
the king, and takes an oath ito deal truly
and ~uprightly between our Sovereign lady the
Queen and her people" land as indiferently
betwixt party and party as this staff now
standeth." He is assisted by two Demesters,
or supreme judges, who must deem the law
truly as they will answer to the Lord of the
ISLE" On their admission TO office they
swear that they ''will administer the avs
of this Isle impsrtially, and betwixt
party and party as indifterently as the
herring backbone doth lie in the midst
of the fish" This, OF course, points to
the trade which from time out of mind has
been the most important in the island. The
Demesters, together with the Vicar-G General,
who represents the Bishop, and other officers
appointed by the Crown, compose the coun-
Gil. The House OF Keys consists of twenty
four 'men of the isle" elected by the people,
and corresponds exactly with our House of
Commons, their title being derived from
"'Kiare as feed" the M8nx for four-and-
LWoubys Oul1 I6CbuGly Ju0 NhCdICAGe were
filed up by the House, but now the ancient
and more popular usage has been restored in
consequence of q lawsuit. Thus the mo-
narchic, aristocratic, and democratic elements
of Government, which Mr.. Freeman terms q
common Aryan possession, are represented
in this island: and the three estates Of the
realm meet together on the eve OF Old Mid
summer day, the 18th OF July, in each year,
to proclaim the laws from the Tyne
wald-mount to the assembled islanders,
according to the ancient practice of
the Teutonic Thing. It is almost needless to
remark that the mound owes its name TO the
Thing which is held in the valid, weald, or
the field. 1t was my good fortune to have
been present at the Thing or Tynewald-court,
as it is termed, last week, and l now give q
short account of what was to be seen. The
present ceremonies have changed wonder
fully little since the days OF Sir John Stanley,
in 1917, and no law becomes valid until pro-
claimed in the Tynewald-court. The mound
itself, also, and its surroundings are very in
teresting from an antiquarian point Of view,
for they have Oh important bearing on the
vexed question of the antiquity Of similar
remains elsewhere.
We drove along the road from Douglass
that winds upwards past the little church Of
Braddan, between the hills, until after run
ming close under a scarped hillside, it passes
1nbO tue valley OI Ol. JOun, III WHICH tue
church and hamlet Of that name and the
Tynewald-mount stand round a small level
common. This was crowded with country
folk, who had brought horses and cattle for
sale or who were bent upon pleasure in the
many booths around-witb visitors impelled
thither by curiosity, and with the notabilities
who had to take part in the ceremony. The
whole aspect of the scene was that OF a fair, as
indeed it really was. For the gathering to-
- H. TNLs~. lol
led to the institution of the fair of st. John.
On the east side of the common is the small
modern cruciform church, with a fragment of
a Runic inscription on one of its walls; and
from it's west door q broad path, with sunk
walls on either side, leads directly to the foot
Of the Tynewald-mount, about two hundred
yards away. The latter is covered with
greensward and surrounded with q low
sunken wall, and cut into four platforms,
each rising three feet above the other. The
width of the lowest is eight feet; of the Sc
sond six; of the third four, while the top is
sixteen feet across. Steps lead up from the
path to the summit on its eastern side. The
circumference of its base is PA feet. The
wall surrounding it is modern, but apparently
it is merely a restoration of a much older
structure, of which the vestiges remained
when = Jbertson wrote his tour in 1894. On
the whole, the mount bears so striking re-
S6NnDlHuc6 - II DuuuuISt JOpo us NOulu RlhQ-
den the heart of Mr.. Ferguson.
The ceremony began by the Governor, his
council, and the House of Keys attending
divine service in st. Johns Church. After
this was ended, they went in procession down
the path leading to the mound, the company
of soldiers which formed the garrison of the
island keeping back the crowd, and present
ing arms to the Governor. The clergy took
the lead, then came the Vicar-G~ General, the
two Demesters, the bearer of the Sword of
State, the Governor, the Clerk of the Rolls,
the Keys, and the Captains of the parishes.
The House of Keys and the captains ranged
themselves on either side the steps leading up
TO the top of the mound, while the Governor
and his Council proceeded to the top, which
was covered over with a tent, and there the
Governor sat in full uniform with his face
TO the east, and the Sword of State held up
before him, while the titles of the laws
passed within the year since last meeting
were proclaimed to the people standing
around, who received them with hurrahs.
Then the Governor, Council, and Keys pro-
ceeded to the church, where they signed and
ratified the laws. Such is the mode of pro-
cedure now, and considering the change in
the habits of the people and the modes
of thought during the last five hundred years
and more, and the many times that the
island has changed masters, it has not mate
rally Deen alJereu Since the Gays OF Dir John
Stanley. In his time, according to the LEX
Scripta" of the Isle of Man, it was as follows
Our doughtfull lord and gratious.-This is the
constituents OF the ould tyne, the which we have
seen In our dayes, how you shalle be governed upon
your Tynewald dayes. First, you shall come thither
royalty and In your royal arraye, as a kinge ought TO
doe by the prerogativesa and royalties of the land OF
Man; upon the Tynewald slit in a chaire covered
with q royal cloth and cuisines, and your Wis age
unto the east, your sword before You holden with
the pointe upward, your barOns sittinge in their
degree beside you, and your bene1ced men and