CO885(3-4) — Page 110

22

The taxed cost of the hearing of a plainti 68. Id., which is doubled when litigants insist on being heard at an extraordinary or special sitting.

These costs, after payment of the beadle, are equally divided among the Councillors, and produce about 41. 4s. a-year to each.

The Councillor acting as Town Clerk has a salary of 601. assigned to him from the Parliamentary

vote.

But neither the so-called Stipendiary Magistrates nor the Town Clerk receive the whole of their salaries; the Councillors having, in order to remove all cause for jealousy or envy of each other, deter mined that the Parliamentary salaries should be appropriated in the manner following :-

£

Town Clerk

30

Two Magistrates (each 187.)

36

Total.

£56

Thus leaving 541. to be divided equally among the

other Councillors.

In addition to the ordinary beadle of the Court, six policemen appointed for the bathing

Beason.

are

The laws of the island by which the Court of Justice professes to be guided are, the Landesbelie- bungen of 1584, and the Code of Jutland.

But it is most seriously to be questioned whether these Codes are understood, or minded, or known otherwise than by name.

I was promised a copy of the Beliebungen, but did not obtain it. The law of Jutland is in Platt Deutsch, which no one understands; but it has a glossary, in German, which serves as a key to any person intent upon understanding it, and there is a translation of it from Danish.

The Court, in truth, decides ́all cases equitably, or according to its own notions of propriety, or right or wrong.

When the Court is very much puzzled, it looks into the existing laws of Schloswig-Holstein, and when these fail to afford a solution of the difficulty

て

23

in band, recourse is had to the opinion and advice of some professor or lawyer at Kiel.

But this expedient, on account of the expense which it occasions, is only resorted to on very rare occasions.

At Heligoland every person, without exception, is or has been in active occupation as a pilot, or fisherman, or skipper, or mechanic, or, as latterly, a lodging-house keeper.

I subjoin the names of the present Councillors :-

Friedrichs

Michels

E. Franz

Payens

Botter

Stoldt

Skipper. Retired pilot.

Retired ship-carpenter. Ship-carpenter.

Smith.

Small merchant.

>

I saw all of them excepting two, and had much interesting conversation with them. I found them

all heartily sick of the present position. They have no means or power to enforce their lawful mandates. Their orders and their judicial sentences

are disobeyed; they are personally jeered and insulted in the streets. It is all anarchy.

"How, indeed, can it be otherwise?" said one of them to me,

All the inhabitants are either inti- mately related, or connected or acquainted with each other.⭑ If I want a bit of fish for my dinner, I should never, for one moment, think of buying it, but should send for it to my next door neighbour, who

is either my brother or cousin, or one whom I have known from childhood: neither he nor I would dream of payment. Well, if that man is brought before me the next day, how can I fine him or punish him? It is impossible; and, if it were possible, there are no means of enforcing payment or punishment.

The person who talked to me in that way is a

'i

* The Heligolander addresses his equals or inferiors by their Christian names, using the pronoun "du," thou. The inferior addresses his superior by his baptismal name and surname, but with the pronoun "jim" (pronounced yim), which is equipalent to the German "sie," or our "you." The appellations of" sir,” or "mister," or "herr," are unknown.

ས

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

TIT

Reference :-

885

4 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

i..

Page 110Page 111