The Coolidge examiner., 1933-04-21

whom, in 1865. Queen Elizabeth
granted the island conditiOnally by
letters patent under the great seal
of England. This royal grant gave
to Sir Heller and his successors al
most unlimited powers on condition
that he colonize the island with
forty families, to each of whom he
allotted a portion of the land to
farm. Each man was equipped with
a musket for defense of the island
so that to this day it is often spoken
of as ''the island of the forty" and
even now, when farm changes
hands, it is still cited as one of the
conditions of the deed of convey
ance that man with a muSket shall
be kept on the farm.
Though the De Carteret family
still owns the Manor of Saint--Ouen.
in Jersey. Sark passed out of its
hands when, in 1872, it was sold,
with all its rights and privileges,
and eventually came to the great
grandmother OF the present Dame
Of Sark, in 1852. For many years
an artillery militia was maintained,
consisting of about one hundred
men; now all that remains are a few
old cannon, lying disused and half
hidden in bracken and gorse on the
cliffs, while in the grounds of the
Danes house is fine old bronze
cannon which was presented to the
first Seigneur of Sark in 1872 by
Queen Elizabeth, and bears an in
scripticn to that effect.
The Danes house, or "Seig-
neurie," lies in a sheltered part of
the island and, like all the old
houses, is built of gray granite. The
original or main part of the house,
dating from 1865, stands on the site
Of the old monastery. and no doubt
many of the stones used to build
1t were taken from the ruins. The
fireplace in the hall bears the date
1873 and the sundial on the outside
1885. The gardens are opened to
the general public, free Of any
charge, every Monday.
Appeal to the Dame.
Great privileges are always ac-
companied by grave responsibilities
so that the Danes home may be
described as the clearing house of
all island controversy. 1t is open
! at any time to any inhabitant of
the island who wishes to see her
for any reason, and she sometimes
longs for the leisure of the tired
business man" when often both
sides of a difficulty are brought to
her for final Judgment. Discus
sions take place on subjects which
range from whether bathers shall
wear beach pajamas or whether the
Chief Pleas shall pass a measure
to deal with the prevention of infec-
tious diseases among cattle.
The Sark parliament is called the
Chief Pleas, and it sits three times
year unless called by the Dame
in an emergency. The forty hold
ers of the farms allotted originally
in 1865, plus twelve deputies elected
among the rest of the inhabitants.
who now number 675, are members
of the parliament.
To the 'Sarkites" the king Of
England is their feudal lord, the
duke of Normandy. and he has no
more loyal and devoted subjects
than they, who have from time i'm
memorial been part of the Duchy of
Normandy, whose duke, William
the Conqueror, invaded and took
England and was thereafter recog-
nized as king of England, but to
them has always remained duke of
Normandy.
In point of fact, the Channel is
lands were never part of England,
but part and parcel of the Duchy
of Normandy, and as such, no doubt,
took part in the conquest of Eng
land. Sark is the smallest self-gov-
erning part of the British empire
and the only part which has no
public debt; in fact, it has a sub
stantial credit balance.
The language of the island Off
cially is French. though everyone
speaks English. which is taught
equally with French In the schools.
Motor Cars Barred.
A law against the importation of
motor cars has been passed and this
is strictly enforced. The Dame be-
lieves there should be one spot left
on earth where modern transporta-
tiOn cen be forgotten and where
peace and quiet are undisturbed.
She also refuses to allow the i'm
pOrtation of any female dog, the
ownership Of such, except by the Seig-
neur being forbidden under an old
custom upheld by law for centuries.
1t is also the old right Of the Seig-
neur alone to keep pigeons-an ex-
cellent law. as in this way their
number is controlled and damage
to crops is minimized. The large
stone pigeon cote is an essential part
of any feudal seigneurie.
1t is also a seigneurial privilege
that none but he may grind corn or