The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-04-21

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 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 inscrip-
ton to that effect.
The Danes house, or "Seigneurie,"
lies in 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 1868,
stands on the site of the old monas-
terry, and no doubt many Of the stones
used to build it were taken from the
ruins. The fireplace in the hall bears
the date 1875 and the sundial on the
outside 1855. The gardens are opened
to the general public, free of any
charge, every Monday.
Appeal to the Dame.
Great privileges are always accom-
panied by grave responsibilities; so
that the Danes home may be de-
scribed 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 leis-
ure Of the tired business man" when
often both sides of a difficulty are
brought to her for final judgment. Dis
cussions take place on subjects which
beach pajamas or whether the Chief
Pleas shall pass a measure to deal
with the prevention of infectious dis
eases among cattle.
The Sark parliament is called the
Chief Pleas, and it sits three times a
year unless called by the Dame in an
emergency. The forty holders 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.
Here they make all their own laws and
regulations, and are subject to no i'm
perial taxation at all, and only to such
special legislation as may be enacted
by order of his majesty the king in
council.
To "Sarkites" the king Of England
is their feudal lord, the duke of Nor
mandy, and he has no more loyal and
devoted subjects than they, who have
from time immemorial been part of
the Duchy Of Normandy, whose duke,
William the Conqueror, invaded and
took England and was thereafter rec
ognized as king of England, but to
them has always remained duke of
Normandy.
In point of fact, the Channel islands
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 England. Sark is the
smallest self-governing part of the
British empire and the only part which
has no public debt; in fact, it has a
substantial credit balance; for, though
it has no income tax and only very
small tax on property, this. in conjunc-
ton with it's income from the landing
of one shilling per passenger and the
revenue from small tax on alcoholic
beverages and tobacco, Is sufficient adj
equately to balance the islands bud
get. But then, you see, the inhabi-
tants are almost self-supporting, have
no unemployment, and best of all no
politicians!
The language Of the island officially
is French, though everyone speaks
English, which is taught equally with
French in the schools, so that every
one is bilingual. Among themselves
the islanders always speak their own
''patOis," which is survival Of the
old Norman French as spoken at the
time of the Conquest. 1t is never
written and cannot be understood by
anyone not brought up in its midst.
Sark has a boys and girls school,
in regard to which it is interesting to
note that Sark was the first part Of
the British empire to adopt compul-
sorry education. The Dame inspects
both schools at examination time and
asks the children questions in French
and English and satisfies herself as to
their general mental progress.
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 transportation
can be forgotten and where peace and
quiet are undisturbed. She also re-
fuses to allow the importation of any
female dog, the ownership of such,
except by the Seigneur, being forbid
den under an old custom upheld by
law for centuries. It is also the old
right of the Seigneur alone to keep
pigeons-an excellent law, as in this
way their number is controlled and
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
build a mill. and although the old
windmill is now no longer used. he
still grinds all corn brought to the
seigneurie, by the more modern meth
DDS of motor and machine. charging
each farmer small fee for grinding.
There Is a court Of justice presided
over by the seneschal. an officer APP
pointed by the Dame for period of
three years, who has power to inflict
fines and Imprisonment Sark has it's
own Jail. though 1t is hardly ever nsed,
the inhabitants preferring to settle
their differences out of court.