1914.] SOME OLD DOCUMENTS. 159 



jurats of the Court of the Lord of the Isles, the Duke of 

 Bedford, with the counsel and " bonne deliberacion " of " les 

 gentilhommes " — the tenants in chief owing suit of court — and 

 the "bonne communaultey de l'isle," and in accordance with 

 Letters Patent of the king to the same effect. Then follows 

 the gist of the law, Avhich is styled "le constitucion et 

 establissement," to the effect that no " creature ou homme 

 privilegie d'eglise " under pain of his body or his goods, should 

 sue any lay inhabitant of the island, in the Ecclesiastical 

 Court, before the Dean, for tithes or any feudal dues, of 

 which the cognizance belonged to the King's Court. Further 

 we are told that the said law and authority granted by the 

 said Letters Patent of the king, has been promulgated " par 

 cry et ban " in the Royal Court, and also in the Market 

 Place, according to custom. It is interesting to note on this 

 last point, that it is still the custom in Jersey to read 

 publically in the centre of the square in front of the Court 

 House, all Orders in Council sanctioning new laws. This is 

 evidently a survival of a custom common to both islands. 



Sir Edgar MacCulloch was of the opinion that "les 

 gentilshommes " and " la bomme communaultey " taking 

 part in the making of the " constitucion et etablissement " 

 "represented without doubt the States." We are how- 

 ever told in an Order in Council of Queen Elizabeth, 

 27th October, 1583, that no Tiers Etats existed in Guernsey 

 at that date, the island being governed by the " Governor, 

 bailiff and jurats, after they have ascertained the sense of the 

 generality of the people through the constables " ; hence it 

 might be more correctly described as an act of legislation by 

 the general assembly of the people of the island. The reference 

 to the Letters Patent of the king shows that it was not 

 merely an Ordonnance of the Court of Chief Pleas, but a 

 law sanctioned by the king. 



If we look carefully at the document we notice first that 

 the law was " ordonney et establis " by the bailiff and jurats, 

 with the counsel and mature deliberation of the chief tenants 

 and the "bonne communaultey de l'isle. " This, I think, 

 shows that our legislative assembly in 1429 closely resembled 

 that of Alderney at the present day, for it is evident that as 

 the law was "ordonney et establis" by the bailiff and jurats, 

 they alone possessed the executive power of voting, and that 

 the seigneurs and the commonalty of the island possessed but 

 a consultative and deliberative voice. It must also be noted 

 that none of the rectors are mentioned as forming part of the 

 assembly, but the church would have had a voice in legislation 



