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afterwards, Sir John delivered up the grant to be cancelled, and the king, in consideration of the surrender, regranted the island to him, his heirs and successors, together with the castle and peel of Man, and all royalties, regalities, franchises, &c. with the patronage of the bishoprick, in as full and ample a manner, as it had been granted to any former king or lord, to be held of the crown of England, " per homagium legium," paying to the king, his heirs and successors, a cast of falcons at their re spective coronations, after such homage made, in lieu of all demands and customs whatsoever.

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By the revesting act of the island under the British crown, the honorary service by the Duke of Atholl, of rendering to his Majesty and his successors two falcons at every coronation, is perpetuated, in consideration of the unique honours and privileges reserved by that august and noble family.)

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Sir John de Stanley, King and Lord of Man, was succeeded by his son Sir John, who, on being crowned King of Man, in the year 1417, took possession of the island, and commenced his government conformably to the ancient laws and ordinances, as appears by the following constitution recorded in the Rolls-Office, in Castle Rushen, in the year 1421. This record is dated in the ancient style of the court rolls," Anno quarto regalitatis nostræ;" and is in the following words: "Our doughtful and gracious Lord, this is the constitution of old time, the which we have given in our days,

*Castle Rushen was built by King Guttred, in the year 960.

how ye should be governed on their Tynwald day. First, you shall come thither in your royal array, as a king ought to do by the prerogatives and royalties of the land of Man, and upon the Hill of Tynwald sit in a chair, cover ed with a royal cloth and cushions, and your visage unto the east, and your sword before you, holden with the point upward; your barons, in the third degree, sitting beside you; and your beneficed men, and your deemsters before you sitting; and your clerk, your knights, esquires, and yeomen about you in the third degree; and the worthiest men in your land to be called in before your deemsters, if you will ask any thing of them, and to hear the government of your land, and your will; and the commons to stand without the circle of the hill, with three clerks in their surplices; and your deemsters shall make call in your coroner of Glanfaba, and he shall call in all the coro ners of Man, and their wands in their hands, with their weapons upon them, either sword or axe; and the moars, that is, to wit, of every sheading: Then the chief coroner, that is, the coroner of Glanfaba, shall make a fence upon pain of life or limb, that no man make any disturbance or stir in the time of Tynwald, or any murmer or rising in the king's presence, upon pain of hanging and drawing: And then shall let your barons and all other know you to be king and lord; and what time you were here you received the land as heir-apparent in your father's days, and all your barons of Man, with your worthies-men and commons, did you faith and fealty; and inasmuch as you are, by

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the grace of God, now king and lord of Man, ye will now that your commons come unto you, and shew their charters how they hold of you, and your barons that made no faith or fealty unto you, that they make now; and if now;—and any of your barons be out of the land, they shall have space of forty days after that they are called in, to come and shew whereby they hold and claim lands and tenements within '' your land of Man, and to make faith and fealty, if wind and weather serve them, or else to seize then temporalities in your hands: And then proceed in your matters, whatsoever you have there to do, in felony or treason, or other matters that touch your government of your land of Man."

The ceremonies of this grand Tynwald Assembly being so solemnly and minutely arranged and settled, the record proceeds to explain the ancient laws and the duty of the people: The power and authority of the king's lieutenant. Restrictions from leaving the island without the king's or governor's license, which it is still requisite to obtain. The victualling and regulations of the garrisons. The powers of, and the laws relative to, the annos or coroners.

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rules and orders for letting the king's lands. And, finally, the laws and punishment for treason against the king or his lieutenant ;—all of which being proclaimed, the multitude expressed their assent, by an universal acclamation, and retired.

With respect to the particular prerogatives of the ancient kings, or feudatory princes of Man, they undoubtedly possessed for many

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generations the title, and, till the revesting act, the powers of royalty: they had the sovereign control of government on every occasion, under such restrictions as were from time to time introduced: they made and repealed laws: they were the fountains of honour, and appointed at pleasure all the principal officers employed in public affairs: they had for ages the patronage of the bishoprick (which the Duke of Atholl still enjoys), and had the patronage of all the ecclesiastical benefices; they drew a revenue from the country by rents, services, and casual dues, and afterwards by customs and other imposts: they exercised an appellate jurisdiction over all civil causes, and, in capital cases, could pardon offenders at pleasure. The executive power, therefore, in the largest extent, was in their hands. The author shall now proceed to the consideration of the legislative government, which is the more import ant object of the work.

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OF THE LEGISLATIVE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLE OF MAN.

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HISTORIANS inform us, that it was the universal custom of the northern nations, after the dissolution of the Roman empire, to settle all matters of importance by a great council of the country;" de minoribus rebus principes &consultant, de majoribus omnes*"-and that this was the practice in England before the conquest. In the Isle of Man, this great council, or meeting of wise men (like the Saxon Wittena-gemote, or the Commune Concilium of the ancient Germans, but, perhaps, of greater antiquity), was anciently termed Taxi-axi, a * Celtic designation for the most worthy of the land; derived, in the opinion of Dr Campbell, from the Celtic or Erse word, "Teagasag," which implies druidism, or elders and senators; but a very learned and reverend native of the island obligingly communicated to the writer, that its derivation is from " Taxi," a corruption of "Taisgi," a guardian or protector, and "Açci," hereditary property. In more modern times, this assembly has been denominated the Twenty-four Keys, and, in the Manks language, is called " Kair as Feeid," viz." the twenty-four;" but the correct ancient designation was " Chor na Faid," the assembly of wise men. With respect to the name Keys, by which the members are at present designated, it is said to have originated from their retaining in

* Tac. de Mor.

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