I.  Europa.  603  35.  Großbritannien  und  Irland.

c.  Ireland  was  the  last  of  the  three  Kingdoms  to  be  officially  joined  to  the  United  Kingdom.
This  was  by  the  Act  of  Union  1801  (39  and  40  Geo.  III.  c.  67)!,  though  Ireland  had  been  held
subjugated  by  the  English  Crown  since  Henry  II.  conquered  the  country,  and  became  Lord  of
Ireland  in  1172°.  But  the  Irish  had  their  own  Parliament  on  and  off  since  the  beginning  of  the
14th  century  till  the  Act  of  Union.

“The  relation  of  Ireland  to  Great  Britain  at  the  time  of  the  Act  of  Union  presented  some
such  difficulties  as  did  the  relation  of  England  to  Scotland  at  the  commnencement  of  the  18th  century.
  Ireland  and  Great  Britain  were  two  independent  countries  under  the  sume  King.  But
the  difficulties  in  the  case  of  Ireland  were  greater  than  in  that  of  Scotland,  because  tho  supreme
executive  in  Ireland  was  dependent  on  the  action  of  party  government  in  England,  and  because
differences  of  race  and  religion  caused  a  risk  of  disturbances  in  the  smaller  kingdom  which  might
necessitate  the  use  of  force  by  the  large  kingdom”?.  The  King  is  represented  in  Ireland  by  a
Viceroy  or  Lord-Lieutenant.  And  there  is  a  Chief  Secretary  of  State  for  Ireland  who  is  principally
responsible  to  Parliament  for  the  conduct  of  Irish  affairs.  Thus  Ireland  practically  holds  very
much  the  position  of  a  Colony,  except  that  she  sends  representatives  to  the  British  Parliament.
Justice  is  administered  as  in  England.

d.  The  Isle  of  Man.  e.  The  Channel  Irlands.  Besides  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  the
Isle  of  Man  and  the  Channel  Islands  must  be  refered  to.

The  Isle  of  Man  was  formerly  e  distinct  territory*,  but  by  Geo.  III  c.  26,  39,  the  whole
island  and  all  its  dependencies,  except  the  landed  property  of  the  Athol  family,  and  some  other
rights  belonging  to  them,  are  inslienably  vested  in  the  Crown,  and  subject  to  the  regulations  of
the  British  excise  and  customs®.  Parliament  purchased  the  sovereignty  from  the  Athol  family
in  1765,  for  £  70,000,  and  in  1827  the  Crown  purchased  it  for  £  417,144.  The  Crown  is
represented  by  a  Lieutenant-Governor.  Strange  to  relate,  the  Island  has  its  own  Legislature
invested  in  a  Governor  in  Council  and  a  sort  of  parliament  known  as  the  House  of  Keys.  The
two  sitting  in  Session  constitute  the  Court  of  Tynwald®.

The  Channel  Irlands  consist  of  (a)  Jersey  (including,  the  Minguiers  and  Ecr&amp;hou  Rocks),
b.  Guernsey,  c.  Alderney,  d.  Sark,  and  e.  Hearn;  c.,  d.  and  e.  are  dependencies  of  Guernsey.  These
islands  are  all  that  remains  to  England  of  the  Dukedom  of  Normandy,  and  passed  to  the  English
Crown  in  1066.

The  government  of  Jersey,  and  Guernsey  (with  its  dependencies)  differ  slightly.  In  each
island  there  is  a  Lieutenant-Governor  who  represents  the  Crown.  French  is  the  language  of  the
local  legislatures,  called  the  States’.  The  States  embrace  life  members  or  Jurats,  clergy,  mayors
of  towns,  and  members  elected  by  the  people.  In  Guernsey  the  States  which  are  representative
of  the  entire  community  consist  of  two  bodies:  the  larger  which  elects  the  Jurats,  and  a  smaller
one  for  legislation.  The  former  is  known  as  the  Etats  d’slection,  the  latter  as  the  Etats  de  d6-liberation®,


I!  See  Stephen,  I.  96;  IV  519.

2  The  English  monarchs  were  styled  “Lords  of  Ireland’  until  the  reign  of  Hen.  VIII,  who
styled  himself  King;  this  title  continued  till  the  Union.

°  Anson,  vol.  II,  Part.  II,  p.  12.

It  was  however  in  allegiance  to  the  English  Crown  since  the  reign  of  Hen.  IV,  but  subject
to  its  own  laws  and  jurisdiction  of  its  own  Courts  (Anson).

s  Vide  Hale,  “History  of  the  Common  Law,’  p.  255,  Stephen,  1,99;  II,  501,n.;  III,  160.

®  For  further  information  see  the  Statutes  of  the  Isle  of  Man.

?  The  English  language  is  however  permissible  in  the  legislative  assembly.

®  Vide  Anted  Latham,  “The  Channel  Islands”  (3rd  ed.  1893);  DeClöry,  ‘Les  Iles

Normandes”  (1898);  “Statesman’s  Year  Book”;  Blackstone,  I,  107;  Stephen,  I,  100;
III,  160,  476  n.  and  Anson,  vol.  II,  Part.  II,  pp.  51—58.  760