Part 12

_Climate._--The island is liable to heavy gales from the south-west. Of this the trend of the branches of the trees to the north-east is a striking testimony. But it is equally subject to the influence of the warm drift from the Atlantic, so that its winters are mild, and, influenced by the less changeable temperature of the sea, its summers cool. The mean annual temperature is 49°.0 F., the temperature of the coldest month (January) being 41°.5, and the warmest (August) 58°.5, giving an extreme annual range of temperature of 17°.1 only, while the average temperature in spring is 46°.0, in summer 57°.2, in autumn 50°.9 and in winter 42°.0. Further evidence of the mildness of the climate is afforded by the fact that fuchsias, hydrangeas, myrtles and escallonias grow luxuriantly in the open air. Its rainfall, placed as it is between mountain districts in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is naturally rather wet than dry. Statistics, however, reveal remarkable divergencies in the amounts of rain in the different parts of the island, varying from 61 in. at Snaefell to 25 in. at the Calf of Man. In the more populous districts it varies from 46 in. at Ramsey, and 45 in. at Douglas, to 38 in. at Peel and 34 in. at Castletown. Of sunshine the Isle of Man has a larger share than any portion of the United Kingdom except the south and south-east coasts and the Channel Islands. Briefly, then, the climate of the island may be pronounced to be equable and sunny, and, though humid, decidedly invigorating; its rainfall, though it varies greatly, is excessive in the populous districts; and its winds are strong and frequent, and usually mild and damp.

_Fauna._--Like Ireland, the Isle of Man is exempt from snakes and toads, a circumstance traditionally attributed to the agency of St Patrick, the patron saint of both islands. Frogs, however, have been introduced from Ireland, and both the sand lizard and the common lizard are found. Badgers, moles, squirrels and voles are absent and foxes are extinct. Fossil bones of the Irish elk are frequently found, and a complete skeleton of this animal is to be seen at Castle Rushen. The red deer, which is referred to in the ancient laws and pictured on the runic crosses, became extinct by the beginning of the 18th century. Hares are less plentiful than formerly, and rabbits are not very numerous. Snipe are fairly common, and there are a few partridges and grouse. The latter, which had become extinct, were reintroduced in 1880. Woodcock, wild geese, wild ducks, plover, widgeon, teal, heron, bittern, kingfishers and the Manx shearwater (_Puffinus anglorum_) visit the island, but do not breed there. The puffin (_Fratercula artica_) is still numerous on the Calf islet in the summer time. The peregrine falcon, which breeds on the rocky coast, and the chough have become very scarce. The legal protection of sea-birds (local act of 1867) has led to an enormous increase in the number of gulls. A variety of the domestic cat, remarkable for the absence or stunted condition of the tail, is peculiar to the island.

_Flora._--Like the fauna, the flora is chiefly remarkable for its meagreness. It contains at most 450 species as compared with 690 in Jersey. Alpine forms are absent. But what it lacks in variety it makes up in beauty and quantity. For the profusion of the gorse-bloom and the abundance of spring flowers, especially of primroses, and of ferns, the Isle of Man is probably unrivalled.

_People._--The Manx people of the present day are mainly of Scandio-Celtic origin, with some slight traces of earlier races. They have large and broad heads, usually broader than those of their brother Celts (_Goidels_) in Ireland and Scotland, with very broad, but not specially prominent cheek-bones. Their faces are usually either scutiform, like those of the Northmen, or oval, which is the usual Celtic type, and their noses are almost always of good length, and straighter than is general among Celtic races. Light eyes and fair complexion, with rather dark hair, are the more usual combinations. They are usually rather tall and heavily built, their average height (males) being 5 ft. 7½ in., and average weight (naked) 155 lb. The tendency of the population to increase is balanced by emigration. It reached its maximum in 1891. Since then it has slightly declined. A noticeable feature is its greater proportionate growth in the towns, especially in Douglas, than in the country. The country population reached its maximum in 1851. Since then it has been shrinking rapidly, especially in the northern district.

+---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | Sheadings, Parishes | | | | | | and Towns. | 1726. | 1821. | 1871. | 1901. | +---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | Rushen. | | | | | | Malew (P.) | 890 | 2,649 | 2,466 | 2,113 | | Castletown (T.) | 785 | 2,036 | 2,318 | 1,963 | | Arbory (P.) | 661 | 1,455 | 1,350 | 802 | | Rushen (P.) | 813 | 2,568 | 3,665 | 3,277 | | Middle. | | | | | | Santon (P.) | 376 | 800 | 628 | 468 | | Braddan (P.) | 780 | 1,754 | 2,215 | 2,177 | | Douglas (T.) | 810 | 6,054 | 13,846 | 19,149 | | Onchan (P.) | 370 | 1,457 | 1,620 | 3,942 | | Glenfalca. | | | | | | Marown (P.) | 499 | 1,201 | 1,121 | 973 | | German (P.) | 510 | 1,849 | 1,762 | 1,230 | | Peel (T.) | 475 | 1,909 | 3,496 | 3,306 | | Patrick (P.) | 745 | 2,031 | 2,888 | 1,925 | | Garff. | | | | | | Lonan (P.) | 547 | 1,846 | 3,741 | 2,513 | | Maughold (P.) | 529 | 1,514 | 1,433 | 887 | | Ramsey (T.) | 460 | 1,523 | 3,861 | 4,672 | | Ayre. | | | | | | Lezayre (P.) | 1,309 | 2,209 | 1,620 | 1,389 | | Bride (P.) | 612 | 1,001 | 880 | 539 | | Andreas (P.) | 967 | 2,229 | 1,757 | 1,144 | | Michael. | | | | | | Jurby (P.) | 483 | 1,108 | 788 | 504 | | Ballaugh (P.) | 806 | 1,467 | 1,077 | 712 | | Michael (P.) | 643 | 1,427 | 1,231 | 928 | +---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | Total | 14,070 | 40,087 | 53,763 | 54,613 | +---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

_Chief Political Divisions and Towns._--The island is divided into six sheadings (so named from the Scandinavian _skeða-Þing_, or ship-district), called Glenfaba, Middle, Rushen, Garff, Ayre and Michael, each of which has its officer, the coroner, whose functions are similar to those of a sheriff; and there are seventeen parishes. For the towns see CASTLETOWN, DOUGLAS, PEEL and RAMSEY. The principal villages are Ballasalla, Ballaugh, Foxdale, Laxey, Michael, Onchan, Port Erin and Port St Mary.

_Communications._--There is communication by steamer with Liverpool, Glasgow, Greenock, Belfast, Silloth, Whitehaven, Belfast and Dublin throughout the year and, during the summer season, there are also steamers plying to Androssan, Heysham, Fleetwood and Blackpool. A daily mail was established in 1879. The internal communications are excellent. The roads are under the management of a board appointed by the Tynwald Court, a surveyor-general, and parochial surveyors. They are maintained by a system of licences on public-houses, carriages, carts and dogs, and a rate on real property. There are railways between Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown, Port Erin and Port St Mary, the line between Douglas and Ramsey being via St John's and Michael. Electric tramways run from Douglas to Ramsey via Laxey, from Douglas to Port Soderick, and from Laxey to the summit of Snaefell.

_Industries. (a) Agriculture._--The position of the Manx farmers, though they generally pay higher rents than their compeers in those countries do, is, except in the remote parts of the island, more favourable than that of the English or Scottish farmers. The best land is in the north and south. The farms are principally held on lease and small holdings have almost entirely disappeared. The cultivated area is about 93,000 acres, or 65% of the whole. The commons and uncultivated lands on the mountains are also utilized for pasturage. Oats occupy about three-fourths of the area under corn crops, barley about one-sixth. The amount of wheat and other corn crops is very trifling. Neither Manx wheat nor barley is as good on an average as English; but oats is, on the whole, fully equal to what is grown on the mainland. Turnips, which are an excellent crop, are largely exported, and the dry and sandy soil of the north of the island is very favourable for the growth of potatoes. The white and red clover and the common grasses grow luxuriantly, and the pasturage is, generally speaking, good. Some of the low-lying land, especially in the north, is much in need of systematic drainage. The livestock, largely in consequence of the premiums given by the insular government and the local agricultural society to bulls, heavy and light stallions and cart mares, now approximates very closely in quality to the stock in the north of England. Dairying, owing to the large number of summer visitors, is the most profitable department of agricultural industry. Apples, pears and wall fruit do not succeed very well, but the soil is favourable for the cultivation of strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currants and vegetables. Both agricultural and market-garden produce are quite insufficient to supply the demand in the summer.

_(b) Fishing._--The important place which the fishing industry anciently held in the social organization of the Isle of Man is quaintly reflected in the wording of the oath formerly taken by the deemsters, who promised to execute the laws between the sovereign and his subjects, and "betwixt party and party, as indifferently as the herring backbone doth lie in the midst of the fish." The statutes and records abound in evidence of the great extent to which both the people and their rulers were dependent on the produce of the sea. The most numerous fish are herrings, cod, mackerel, ling, haddock, plaice, sole, fluke, turbot and brett. The industry is, however, in a decaying condition, especially the herring fishery, which, for reasons which have not been satisfactorily ascertained, fails periodically. The amount of fish caught, except herrings, is not sufficient to supply the local demand in the summer, though some of the fish named are exported during the rest of the year. About 250 vessels, aggregating 4260 tons, with crews numbering 4250, are employed in this industry. A fish hatchery has been established at Port Erin by the insular government.

(c) _Mining._--There is no doubt that, in proportion to its area, the metalliferous wealth of the Isle of Man has been very considerable. Two of its mines, Laxey and Foxdale, have stood for a long series of years in the first rank in the British Islands for productiveness of zinc and silver lead respectively. These metals have constituted its principal riches, but copper pyrites and hematite iron have also been raised in marketable quantities, while only very small amounts of the ores of nickel and antimony have been found. The mines are rented from the Crown as lord of the manor. The value of the ore produced is about £40,000 annually. Other economic products are clay, granite, limestone, sandstone, slate (of an inferior quality) and salt, which has been discovered near the Point of Ayre.

(d) _Textiles, &c._--Since labour has become scarcer and dearer textile industries have been declining, being unable to compete with larger and more completely organized manufactories elsewhere. The principal manufactured articles are woollen cloths and blankets, hemp ropes and cotton, and herring nets. A few fishing vessels are built, and brewing is a prosperous industry. But, apart from agriculture, the most important industry (for so it may be called) is that of the provision for summer visitors, nearly half a million of whom come to the island annually.

_Commerce._--The chief exports are lead, zinc, turnips, ropes, cotton nets and salt. The imports consist chiefly of timber, provisions, livestock, poultry, flour, fruit, vegetables and eggs. In 1906 the tonnage of vessels (other than fishing or wind-bound vessels) cleared for traffic was 720,790. The number of vessels (other than fishing vessels) registered as belonging to the island in 1906 was 79.

_Government._--The government of the island is vested in a lieutenant-governor, appointed by the Crown; in a Council, which is the upper branch of the legislature; in the House of Keys, which is the lower branch; and in the Tynwald Court. The Council and Keys sit separately as legislative bodies, but they sit in the Tynwald Court as distinct bodies with co-ordinate powers to transact executive business and to sign Bills. The Tynwald Court controls the surplus revenue, after the payment of the cost of government and of a fixed contribution of £10,000 to the imperial exchequer, subject to the supervision of the Treasury and the veto of the lieutenant-governor, and it appoints boards to manage the harbours, highways, education, local government, and lunatic and poor asylums. The Imperial government, after intimating its intention to Tynwald, fixes the rates of the customs duties, but Tynwald can by resolution "impose, abolish or vary" the customs duties subject to the approval of parliament or the Treasury, such change to take effect immediately and to continue for six months, and, if parliament be then sitting, to the end of the session, provided that the same be not in the meantime annulled by the passing of an act of parliament, or a Treasury minute. The approval of the sovereign of the United Kingdom in Council is essential to every legislative enactment. Acts of the imperial parliament do not affect the island except it be specially named in them. The lieutenant-governor, who is the representative of the sovereign, presides in the Council, in the Tynwald Court, in the High Court of Justice (Staff of Government division) and in the Court of General Gaol Delivery. He is the supreme executive authority, and he shares the control of the legislative and administrative functions, including the management of the revenue and the control of its surplus, with the Tynwald Court; he has also the power of veto as regards the disposal of surplus revenue and the nature of proposed harbour works, and his signature is necessary to the validity of all acts. It has been the practice for him to act as chancellor of the exchequer and to initiate all questions concerning the raising or expenditure of public funds. The Council consists of the lieutenant-governor, the lord-bishop of the diocese, the clerk of the rolls, the two deemsters, the attorney-general, the archdeacon (all of whom are appointed by the Crown) and the vicar-general, who is appointed by the bishop. No act of the governor and Council is valid unless it is the act of the governor and at least two members of the Council. The House of Keys (for origin of the name see KEY) is one of the most ancient legislative assemblies in the world. It consists of twenty-four members, elected by male and female owners or occupiers of property. Each of the six sheadings elects three members; the towns of Castletown, Peel and Ramsey one each, and Douglas five. There is no property qualification required of the members, and the house sits for five years unless previously dissolved by the lieutenant-governor.

_Law._--The High Court of Justice, of which the lieutenant-governor is president, contains three divisions: viz. the Chancery Division, in which the clerk of the rolls sits as judge, the Common Law Division, of which the deemsters are the judges, the Staff of Government Division, in which the governor and three judges sit together. The jurisdiction of the Chancery and Common Law Division is in the main similar to that of the corresponding divisions in the English Courts. The Staff of Government exercises appellate jurisdiction, similar to that of the Appeal Courts in England. The Common Law Courts for the southern division of the island are held at Douglas and Castletown alternately and those for the northern division at Ramsey, once in three months. Actions in these courts are heard by a deemster and a special or common jury. The Chancery Court sits once a fortnight at Douglas. The deemsters also have summary jurisdiction in matters of debt, actions for liquidated damages under £50, suits for possession of real or personal property, petitions for probate, &c. These courts, called Deemsters' Courts, are held weekly, alternately at Douglas and Castletown, by the deemster for the southern division of the island, and at Ramsey and Peel by the deemster for the northern division. Criminal cases are heard by the magistrates or a high-bailiff and are (with the exception of minor cases which may be dealt with summarily) sent on by them for trial by a deemster and a jury of six, who hear the evidence and determine whether there is sufficient ground for sending the case for trial before the Court of General Gaol Delivery, thus discharging the functions of the Grand Jury in England. The Court of General Gaol Delivery is the Supreme Criminal Court and is presided over by the lieutenant-governor, who is assisted by the clerk of the rolls and the two deemsters. The high-bailiffs hold weekly courts in the four towns for the recovery of debts under forty shillings and for the trial of cases usually brought before a stipendiary magistrate in England. The magistrates (J.P.'s) also hold regular courts in the towns for the trial of breaches of the peace and minor offences. There is a coroner in each of the six sheadings. These officers are appointed annually by the lieutenant-governor and perform duties similar to those of a sheriff's officer in England. Inquests of death are held by a high-bailiff and jury. The Manx Bar is distinct from that of England. Its members, called "Advocates," combine the functions of barrister and solicitor. The laws relating to real property still retain much of their ancient peculiarity, but other branches of law have of late years by various acts of Tynwald been made practically identical with English law.

As regards real property the general tenure is a customary freehold devolving from each possessor to his next heir-at-law. The descent of land follows the same rules as the descent of the crown of England. The right of primogeniture extends to females in default of males in the direct line. The interest of a widow or widower, being the first wife or husband of a person deceased, is a life estate in one-half of the lands which have descended hereditarily, and is forfeited by a second marriage; a second husband or second wife is only entitled to a life interest in one-fourth, if there be issue of the first marriage. Of the land purchased by the husband the wife surviving him is entitled to a life interest in one moiety. By a statute of the year 1777 proprietors of land are empowered to grant leases for any term not exceeding twenty-one years in possession without the consent of the wife.

_Church._--It is not known by whom Christianity was introduced into Man, but from the large proportion of names of Irish ecclesiastics surviving in the appellations of the old Manx _keeills_, or cells, which are of similar type to the Irish oratories of the 6th and 7th centuries, and in the dedications of the parish churches, which are usually on ancient sites, it may be reasonably conjectured that Manxmen were, for the most part, Christianized by Irish missionaries. During the incursions of the pagan Vikings Christianity was almost certainly extirpated and it was probably not reintroduced before the beginning of the 11th century. The two most important events in the history of the medieval Manx Church were the formation of the diocese of _Sodor_ (q.v.) and the foundation of the abbey of Rushen, a branch of the Cistercian abbey of Furness, in 1134. This latter event was important because the Cistercians were exempted from all episcopal visitation and control, by charter granted by the pope, and were, therefore, only subject to his rule and that of the abbots of their own order. From this time till the Reformation we find that there was an almost continuous struggle between the laity and the spiritual barons and monks, who had obtained great power and much property in the island. In 1458 the diocese was placed under York. The dissolution of the religious houses in Man was not brought about by the English Act of 1539, which did not apply to the island, but by the arbitrary action of Henry VIII. From such evidence as is available it would seem that the Reformation was a very slow process. When Isaac Barrow (uncle of his well-known namesake) became bishop in 1663 the condition of the Church was deplorable, but under him and his able and saintly successors, Thomas Wilson (1698-1755) and Mark Hildesley (1755-1773). it attained to a very much higher level than the English Church during the same period. After Hildesley's time it was again neglected, and successful missions by John Wesley and others resulted in the establishment and rapid increase of Nonconformity. It was not till the second decade of the 19th century that the condition of the Church began to improve again, and this improvement has steadily continued. In 1878 a Sodor and Man theological school was established for the training of candidates for holy orders. This school has been affiliated to Durham University. In 1880 four rural deaneries were established, and commissioners were constituted as trustees of endowments for Church purposes. In 1895 a cathedral chapter, with four canons, was constituted under the name of the "Dean and Chapter of Man," the bishop being the dean of the cathedral church. A Church Sustentation Fund was established by Bishop Straton in 1894, with a view to supplementing the incomes of the clergy, which had been greatly reduced on account of the low price of corn. There have been several acts giving Nonconformists equal rights with Churchmen. Among these are the Burials Acts of 1881 and 1895, which permit burials to take place in churchyards without the rites of the Church of England, and allow any burial service, provided it be Christian, in mortuary chapels. At the present day Nonconformists, chiefly Wesleyan Methodists, probably outnumber Churchmen, and there is a small number of Roman Catholics and Presbyterians. The bishop, who has a seat, but not a vote, in the House of Lords, is assisted by an archdeacon, a vicar-general, a registrar and a sumner-general. The jurisdiction of the only remaining ecclesiastical court, which is presided over by the vicar-general, as representing the bishop, is mainly in connexion with affiliation questions, the swearing-in of churchwardens and the granting of faculties. The power of the Manx Convocation to make canons, though not exercised since 1704, has never been abrogated, and so far affords a token that the Manx Church is a separate national Church governed by its own laws, which, however, must be approved by the insular Legislature.