Sark

Related Topics:
Sark :: Sarkar

Sark (French: Sercq; Sercquiais: Sèr) is a small island, located at about 49° 25' N x 2° 22' W. It is one of the Channel Islands, and is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It has a population of 610 as of 2002. The small island is a car-free zone, where the only vehicles are horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, tractors, and battery-powered buggies or motorized bicycles for elderly or disabled people. Passengers and goods arriving by ferry from Guernsey are transported from the wharf by tractor-pulled vehicles. Sark's main industries are tourism and finance. Although many people think so, Sark does not have many tax immigrants.

Geography

Sark consists of two main parts, Little Sark and Greater Sark. They are connected by a narrow isthmus called La Coupée which is just nine feet wide with a drop of 300 feet either side. Protective railings were erected in 1900; before then, children would crawl across on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge.

There is currently a narrow concrete road covering the entirety of the isthmus, built in 1945 by German prisoners of war under the direction of the Royal Engineers.

The island of Brecqhou is also under the jurisdiction of Sark. It is a private island, and not open to visitors.

Politics

Sark is often considered to be the last feudal state in Europe, as fief does still exist and the people holding land in fief have political privileges. It has been voted to change this in March 2006, but the changes are not in force yet and the new system will also retain some aspects of Norman government. The Seigneur of Sark is the head of the feudal government of the Isle of Sark. Since 1974 John Michael Beaumont has been the twenty-second Seigneur of Sark. Many of the laws, particularly those related to inheritance and the rule of the Seigneur, are little changed since they were enacted in 1565 under Queen Elizabeth I. The Seigneur retains the sole right on the island to keep pigeons as well as an unspayed female dog. He also owns all debris washed up between the high and low tide lines, although that is a right rarely enforced.

Sark's constitution has been democratised since the death of Sybil Hathaway, Dame of Sark, in 1974, and more power is now in the hands of the elected members of the legislature, the Chief Pleas.

In Sark, the word tenant is used, and often pronounced, as in French in the sense of feudal landholder rather than the common English meaning of lessee. The landholdings of Sark are held by 40 tenants representing the parcels of the 40 families who colonised Sark. As explained on the Sark government website ^*: "There is no true freehold, all land being held on perpetual lease (fief) from the Seigneur, and the 40 properties (Tenements) into which the Island is divided (as well as a few other holdings in perpetual fief) can only pass by strict rules of inheritance or by sale."

What will be changed is the composition of the Chief Pleas. Today Chief Pleas consists of the 40 tenants plus 12 Deputies of the People (elected by universal adult suffrage for a mandate of three years). On the 8 March 2006 by a vote of 25-15 the Chief Pleas voted for a new legislature of 14 elected landowners and 14 elected residents. Not everyone favours the changes: Some people want to keep feudalism completely, others want a wholly-elected legislature. The result of a non-statutory opinion poll in which 165 people participated was 53% for a wholly-elected legislature and 47% for the compromise solution accepted by Chief Pleas.

Reasons for this change included the limited number of eligible tenants, concern that future office holders could be wealthy non-residents who held fiefs, and coordination with modern European standards of human rights and representation. Those changes are not in force yet; elections to the reformed body are expected to occur in December 2006.

The Seigneur and the Seneschal (who presides) are also members of Chief Pleas. The Prévôt, the Greffier, and the Treasurer also attend but are not members; the Treasurer may address Chief Pleas on matters of taxation and finance.

The executive officers on the island are

The Seneschall (responsible for judge and magistrate)
The Prevôt (Sheriff of the Court and of Chief Pleas)
The Greffier (Clerk)
Treasurer (Finances)
Constable (police and administration)
Vingtenier (subordinated Constable)

Seneschall, Prevôt, Greffier and Treasurer are chosen by the Seigneur, Constable and Vingtenier are elected by Chief Pleas.

In 2003 Chief Pleas voted to vary the longstanding ban on divorce in the island by extending to the Royal Court of Guernsey power to grant divorces.

History

In the thirteenth century, Sark was used as a base of operations by the French pirate Eustace the Monk after he served King John of England.

Although populated by monastic communities in the mediaeval period, Sark was uninhabited in the 16th century and used as a refuge and raiding base by Channel pirates. Helier de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen in Jersey, received a charter from the Queen to colonise Sark with 40 families from St. Ouen on condition that he maintain the island free of pirates.

An attempt by the newly-settled families to endow themselves with a constitution under a bailiff, as in Jersey, was put down by the authorities of Guernsey who resented any attempt to wrest Sark from their bailiwick.

During WWII, the island was occupied by the Germans from 1940–1945, as with the other Channel Islands and was site of Operation Basalt.

British author Mervyn Peake, best known for his Gormenghast trilogy, moved to Sark in 1946 with his family where he continued to write and illustrate, and his wife Maeve painted. Gormenghast (the second novel in the series) was published in 1950, and the family moved back to England, settling in Smarden, Kent. Peake taught part-time at the Central School of Art, and began work on his comic novel set in Sark, Mr Pye, which was published in 1953. Peake later adapted Mr Pye as a radio play. In 1986 Mr Pye was adapted as a four-part Channel 4 miniseries starring Derek Jacobi.

In the 1990s there was a great controversy when it was found that sewage appeared to be backing up into the town's water supply.

Sercquiais

Sercquiais (Sarkese, or sometimes called Sark-French) is a dialect of the Norman language still spoken by older inhabitants of the island. It has suffered greatly in recent years due to a large influx of British who have moved to the island.

Clameur de Haro

Among the old laws of the Channel Islands is the old Norman custom of the Clameur de Haro, a legal device which still exists in the other Channel Islands. A person can obtain immediate cessation of any action he considers to be an infringement of his rights. At the scene he must, in front of witnesses, recite the Lord's Prayer in French and cry out "Haro, Haro, Haro! À mon aide mon Prince, on me fait tort!" ("To my aid, my Prince! Someone does me wrong!") It should then be registered with the Greffe Office within 24 hours. All actions against the person must then cease until the matter is heard by the Court. It is not frequently used; the last recorded Clameur was raised in June 1970 to prevent the construction of a garden wall. The Clameur has been used on occasions since then in the other islands.

External links

Sark | Channel Islands