1834 guide to Jersey - upper classes
1834 guide to Jersey:
Upper classes
The Lempriere family may have owned Rosel Manor and had their own coat of arms, but the author wrote that they and other members of Jersey's upper classes would not have ranked above the middle station in England
This is the chapter on the upper classes from the Jersey volume of The Channel Islands (the result of a two year residence) by Henry David Inglis
The upper classes in Jersey are those who would in England occupy the middle station. There is a similitude in the manners of the upper classes of all countries, but the insulated situation of Jersey, and several other causes, have preserved some strong national traits among all classes in Jersey.
Characteristic traits
I should say of the upper ranks that they possess all the characteristic traits which I have enumerated as belonging to the inferior classes, only in milder form.
It would be absurd to expect generally, in an isolated community such as Jersey, those enlarged views, and that absolute freedom from prejudice, which may be looked for in larger communities.
There is usually, in every small district, and especially in one distinguished by exclusive privileges, an overweening attachment to place, and all that belongs to it, that is too apt to interfere with the free exercise of judgment, in distinguishing between good and evil.
This is the origin of whatever defects may be observable in Jersey character. That blind attachment to country, and all that belongs to it, which among the uneducated classes, is nearly allied to patriotism, and even political independence, becomes, among the higher ranks, a serious blemish, standing much in the way of improvement, and greatly impeding the progress of civilisation.
It is certain that the number of Jerseymen who take any interest in what passes elsewhere than the island is extremely limited. The proceedings of the British Legislature are far less interesting than the proceedings of their own States.
The procedure in a case before the Jersey Court of Justice is a far more engrossing topic than would be the impeachment of a king’s minister. The politics of Europe at large would have no chance, weighed in the scale against some local political contention. And if the same packet were expected to bring the decision of kings and nations upon peace or war, or the disposal of crowns, and also the decision upon an apopeal to the Privy Council upon some insular dispute, the latter would be the subject of the first and most eqger questions by the crowds assembled on the quay.
Political parties
There is one thing which has greatly contributed to circumscribe the views of the people, and to foster the too exclusive insular interest. It is the existence of a [[Political parties|bitter party spirit.
The whole inhabitants of Jersey are divided into two factions, calling themselves the Laurel and Rose; and which, in their mutual animosity, and extreme blindness, resemble the Guelfs and Guibelines of the middle ages. I observe that the subjects upon which the animosity of party is displayed are necessarily local matters. And thus a feverish interest is constantly kept up, respecting insular politics, often in themselves very unimportant, and which occupy the public attention to the exclusion of matters which concern the great family of mankind.
[Editor’s note: A lengthy section of text, in which the author continues his diatribe against the influence of party politics on island life, has been omitted in the interests of brevity.]
It was in speaking of the twoo exclusive and engrossing interest which matters purely insular possess, in the minds of Jerseymen, that I was led to speak of party spirit as one great cause of this. I would mention, as another, the universal attachment to clubs. Almost every Jerseyman in town has his club. There, every evening, questions of insular politics are discussed and commented upon; and there, consequently, party spirit is inflamed and the interest attaching to local politics rivited.
Cultural apathy
There is generally among the upper classes in Jersey a total apathy in all that regards literature, science and the belles lettres. This might be expected from what I have already said. It is not likely that literature and the fine arts will be prized where the affairs of the world at large are disregarded.
An attempt was made some time ago to establish a literary and scientific institution. It met, however, with the success which might have been expected, and an exhibition of paintings, which was opened in the summer of 1832 under the auspices of that society, created little interest, and met with indifferent encouragement.
That such a society was set on foot, however, and that an exhibition of the fine arts was attempted, prove that there are some individuals in the island to whom the refinements of society are not indifferent.
Distinctions in society in Jersey are more marked by party than by station. I do not of course mean to say that all ranks mingle, but there is no apparent line of demarcation in Jersey, as there is in Guernsey, between the old families, and those who have gained, and are still gaining money and consequence in trade.
Wealth
Wealth in Jersey levels other distinctions, and in this Jersey is rather in advance of the rest of the world. Aristocracy has no separate and exclusive claims, or if it has, they are not admitted.
What effect this has upon the tone of society is a question. It would be impossible, however, in Jersey for aristocracy to maintain an exclusive society. Few families have not been indebted to commerce; and in an island, and among people decidedly commercial, trade acquires that importance to which, from its great results, it is entitled. The station of those who follow it competes successfully in public estimation with that which is maintained by ancestral inheritance.
There are not, however, in Jersey a great many wealthy people, as that term would be understood in England. Fortunes, generally speaking, are moderate. Those who are really rich are in a fair way of being richer, for they do not maintain that external display, or those expensive establishments which they could well afford; and which would be maintained by persons similarly circumstanced in England.
I believe I may safely say that nobody in Jersey spends £1,200 per annum; and that with two or three exceptions, £800 per annum is the extent of island expenditure.
Few close carriages are kept, and of the few who keep them, still fewer keep horses for their exclusive use. Neither is there a constant drain on expenditure from entertainments. Expensive dinners are occasionally given; and at particular seasons family dinners are universal. But there is not as among the same class in England, a constant interchange of civilities.
It is therefore impossible that large sums should be spent in Jersey; more especially when we consider the absence of all those artificial claims on expenditure which are constantly arising in larger communities, together with the greater cheapness of many of the necessaries, and of all the luxuries of life.
Language
The unsettled state of language in Jersey must be admitted to be a great obstacle to the refinements of civilisation. The use of a pure language as one universal medium of communication offers to the moral and intellectual condition of a people, as great a facility for improvement as rail roads and steam offer to commerce.
But this medium Jersey has not yet the advantage of. The universal language is still a barbarous dialect. French, though the language of the Court proceedings, and of the Legislature, is not in common use even among the upper ranks; nay, the use of it is even looked upon as affectation. And although the English language be sufficiently comprehended for the purposes of intercourse, and is most usually spoken in the best mixed society, it is certainly not understood by many in its purity.
The constant use of a dialect necessarily induces a distaste for any other purer tongues. Their beauties are not, and cannot be appreciated, and thus, an effectual barrier is opposed to that refinement, which is the sure result of the knowledge and appreciation of the productions which belong to every perfected language.
This disadvantage, however, is gradually disappearing and with another generation will probably be no longer felt. Children are now universally taught English, and among the young there is an evident preference of English.
The constant intercourse of the tradespeople, too, with the English residents, and the considerable sprinkling of English residents in Jersey society, have also their effect. It is probably that in 20 years more, English will be the language of the Legislature, the Judicature, and the people.
Religion
I have as yet said nothing of religious feeling and profession in Jersey. Although there are but few catholics in the island, the Diocese of Winchester does not hold all the population in its embrace. Methodists, independents and baptists comprehend a large proportion of the inhabitants, especially of the lower classes, and of the country people. The divisions in the bosom of the church are scarcely less marked than those which exist between the different sects, and the church from which they have separated.
The observance of the sabbath is strictly maintained in Jersey. The inhabitants generally may be designated a church-going population. Evangelical doctrines are here, as elsewhere, the most popular; and calvinistic principles are on the advance. There is a large and influential class of churchmen in Jersey, whom many would sneeringly call saints, but who. in the exercise of practical piety, deserve rather the appellation of Christians.
The upper classes of Jersey consist of those who derive their incomes from land, or other property, many of whom are members of the legislative or judicial bodies; of the larger merchants and shipowners; of members of the liberal professiions; and of those who hold official situations.
These are not all of one grade, and one circle in societyh, but all may be properly included among the upper ranks.
Having mentioned the learned professions, I may observe that they are not in an enviable state, barely affording a return for the expenses of education. In the medical profession fees are on a miserably low scale, a full practice scarcely affording a competency. Old usages, however, are so greatly prized in Jersey that fees are likely for some time to remain stationary.
