The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1829

19th century Jersey
From the Jersey Loyalist: 1829

The front page of the first edition of the Jersey Loyalist on 5 September 1825

Our history of 19th century Jersey from newspaper cuttings has started with the Jersey Loyalist, an English-language newspaper published from 1825 to 1831.

This was a time of great growth and diversification in Jersey, fuelled by an influx of English immigrants which saw the population increase by 17 per cent between 1821 and 1826.

This page is part of a project launched by Jerripedia in 2024 to chronicle the history of Jersey through the 19th century using news cuttings from most of the newspapers published during those 100 years.
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Main index page
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1825
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1826
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1827
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1828
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1830
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1831

The Jersey Loyalist launched in 1825, seemingly as much as a political opponent of the British Press, which had launched three years earlier, as a truly commercial venture. This was denied in the introduction on page one of the first edition, but scarcely an edition was published in the next six years without the competitor's coverage of one event or another being roundly criticised.

The British Press, later to become the British Press and Jersey Times, had the last laugh, outliving the Loyalist by almost 80 years.

The Jersey Loyalist was typical of early island newspapers, in that it contained very little local news. The majority of its news columns was devoted to London news, copied apparently verbatim from national newspapers received in the island some days after publication, and focusing on parliamentary affairs, which would have had little or no meaning to island residents, save for the more affluent and better educated immigrant English families which had swelled the island's population in the first quarter of the century.

Local news was restricted largely to coverage of States sittings and the work of the Royal Court, although tragic accidents, both on land and at sea, were also included in the mix. The Loyalist was not highly political, but did allow its readers to voice their opinions in frequently very lengthy letters to the editor, more often than not involving the British Press and Jersey Times.

Our selection of news items which follows has been made in an attempt to paint a picture of as many aspects of island life as possible in 1829.

January

Corn exports

After a lengthy debate on the 3rd over a petition calling for the prohibition on the export of corn to be lifted, the States voted to refer the matter to the Corn Committee, along with a second petition from town residents calling for the ban to remain. On 7 February a further debate was held and the House voted by a substantial majority to repeal the prohibition order.

Lifeboat

On the Constable of St Brelade's motion the States ordered the establishment of a lifeboat.

Swearing in

Edouard Le Rossignol took the oath of office of Centenier of St Ouen in the Royal Court seven years after winning the election. The result was contested and only the previous week had the disputants abandoned their lawsuit. The Court called for the swearing in of Daniel Dumaresq as Centenier in the parish, at the next sitting, opposition to his election having ended. There remained the contest for Constable of the parish and hopes have been expressed that John Arthur and Philippe Duheaume would withdraw in favour of Francois Arthur.

Family accidents

Lewis Stonebridge, miner, while working at the quarry of Philippe Nicolle, had his skull fractured by a heap of stones falling on him. The following day one of his children was left by the fire while his mother went to fetch water and she found him burning on her return. She saved him by emptying the bucket of water on him.

Hospital admissions

A table of admissions to the hospital from 1797 to 1828 shows a steady growth in numbers. There were 46 admissions in 1797, falling to 31 by 1802. There was then a constant growth to 120 in 1814, before the number dropped back to 73 the following year. Since then there has again been more or less constant growth and the figure for 1828 was 238.

Twin boys abandoned

Newborn twin boys were found wrapped in flannel in a basket left on a heap of snow near Bagot. They were cared for in a neighbouring public house before being taken to hospital, where they are said to be doing remarkably well.

February

States finances

The island's finances are improving considerably. The part of the duties on wine and spirits which is committed to the harbour will not be less than 140,000 francs this year, which, after paying 33,000 to the interest of the public debt, will leave a balance of 107,000 for such improvements as the States decide.

Illegal tea

The Royal Court fined J Le Couteur of St Lawrence and Mrs Vibert, of St Ouen, £100 each for having introduced prohibited tea to the island.

Inquest payments

The issue of who should pay for inquests, which was raised last year, came before the States again in a report by the committee established to look into the subject. The report, which was lodged au Greffe recommended that no payment should be made by the States for inquests which had previously been paid for out of the revenues of the Crown, and that the Sheriff should be obliged to refund what he had received in 2028.

Public records

A three-man committee was named to inspect the Public Records, some of which were reported to be torn and otherwise in a very bad condition.

La Hague Manor fire

During a major fire at La Hague Manor, St Peter, Joseph Willow, coachman of the owner, Mr Pipon, burned to death. He succeeded in rescuing the cattle from their burning stable, made his way to an apartment and was not seen again until the floor collapsed and his body crashed to the ground. Mr Pipon, who had been confined to bed in ill health, died shortly after the fire, having promised to provide for the widow and child of Joseph Willow.

Infanticide

A female baby born about 24 hours earlier was found strangled and wrapped in an old piece of petticoat on the seashore near the Ordnance Barracks. Reports circulated at the same time of the discovery of another dead child in a field in the suburbs of the town.

March

Shipwreck

On 1 March at about 10 o'clock at night the Crescent, Capt Le Gresley, en route from London, struck a rock at Greve de Lecq which could not be seen in the dark. She remained on the rock until the following morning, when she fell off and was broken to pieces. The crew remained overnight in their boat and landed the following morning.

Currency

The March editions of the Loyalist were almost devoid of any local news, so much space being given to discussions about the island's currency and its value in relation to the French franc, which remained legal tender. A full-page comment article and several letters debated the issues, which we confess that we are at a loss to understand.

Oyster fishery

A dispute between some 800 oyster fishermen and their employers over the price of a tub has brought fishing to a standstill. The men were demanding 4 shillings a tub, rather than the 3 shillings on offer. The dispute continued into April, and the fleet did not sail until the 20th, when the employers agreed to the revised demand of 3s 6d a tub.

April

The only news items included in the four April editions of the Loyalist were the following, from the edition of 27 April

King's birthday

On the 27th, the anniversary of the birth of George IV, the different Militia regiments of the island assembled in their respective districts to fire a feu de joie. The Town Battalion and that of St Lawrence, accompanied by the Artillery, met on the beach in St Aubin's Bay. The regular troops stationed in Fort Regent and Elizabeth Castle also observed the anniversary with a feu de joie. In the evening Lieut-Governor Sir Colin Halkett gave a ball at Government House.

Exports

From 5 January 1828 to 5 January 1829 the following have been exported: Cows and heifers, 1,499; pigs, 735; butter, 22,332 lb; apples, 464,742 cabots; cider, 272,448 pots; pears, 1,352 cabots; potatoes, 8,360 tons. Over the year 1,059 vessels arrived in the island and 1,347 departed.

Soldier's death

The inquest jury into the death of a soldier named Donegan, of the 35th regiment, who was killed on the night of the 17th in John Moist's public house in George Street, decided that he died in consequences of wounds inflicted by George Thomas, who has been charged with murder. On indictment on May 12 Thomas was acquitted.

Vagrants

Two men and a woman were taken to Court by the Constable of St Helier and presented as vagrants, having arrived from Manchester, their home town, with no visible means of existence. The Court ordered that they be sent back to England at the first opportunity.

May

May was equally quiet on the local news front, at least as far as the Loyalist was concerned. These items are from a single edition - the only one with any Jersey news.

Elections

On 3 May an election was held in St Saviour and Abraham Aubin was elected Constable by a majority of 31 votes. Philippe Mourant was elected Centenier by 12 votes.

Explosion

On the 5th, when William Williams was blowing up a mine in a quarry on Gallow's Hill, he was seriously hurt by a premature explosion, so that it is much feared that he will lose his sight.

Suspicious circumstances

Mrs Plowman, the wife of Thomas Plowman, an English militia lieutenant on half pay, died at Union Cottage, Georgetown, under very suspicious circumstances. The coroner's jury returned the verdict: "The deceased died through want of proper care, after receiving a kick in the head from her husband, while she was in a state of intoxication."

The South Pier is shown on this map

The Loyalist reported the case at length in its edition of 1 June and it emerged that Plowman had found his wife drunk and comatose and had kicked her once to try to get her to move on her bed. Evidence was given that she would have died without the kick, which was not the cause of death. Plowman was acquitted.

June

Inquest costs

The States debated at length the report of the committee established to consider the question of who should pay for Coroner's inquests (see above). Although the debate centered around the absence of any previous payments by the States, and the costs having been met by the Crown, it was eventually decided to reimburse the Under-sheriff for the payments he had made during 1828, and to ask the committee to produce another report on what should happen in the future.

New quay

The States voted £1,400 on the 11th for the building of a quay behind the South Pier of St Helier Harbour.

French oysters

The States passed a law prohibiting the importation of French oysters, which are then re-exported to England, duty free. The law includes a fine of 1,500 francs, as well as the confiscation of the vessel in which the oysters were brought over.

Inquest costs

The further report of the committee appointed to examine the question of who should pay for inquests (see above) recommended that the States should not accept any charges for Coroner's inquests and that the receivers of the King's revenues should be sued for the repayment of two bills already provisionally paid to the Under-Sheriff.

Six drown

On the evening of the 14th, between 6 and 7 o'clock, a boat with twelve on board was upset in the bay near Havre des Pas. Those aboard were George Falle, his wife and two-year-old child; Abraham Letto, father of seven children; G Hessey; Mr Marett; Philippe Falle, of Longueville; Mr Le Sauteur, Mr Desveaux, Mr Horman, Mr Le Rossignol and a young lad Marett.

They had gone out on a pleasure excursion and had sailed in the bay for some hours when one of the men climbed the mast to attach a handkerchief. He was followed by another and their combined weight upset the boat, throwing everyone into the water.

Their screams were heard on the shore and John Duheaume set out with two other men in the quarantine boat. Le Rossignol, Le Sauteur, Desveaux and Horman had swum to a rock and were taken ashore, along with the boy Marett, who clung to an oar, and the Falle child, who had somehow stayed afloat. The bodies of the other six were recovered by a second boat manned by Messrs de Ste Croix.

Gas lighting

A letter has been received by the Constable of St Helier from Thomas Edge of the Gas Light Office, Westminster, offering to provide for the lighting of the town with gas. He indicated that he would not charge more than the London companies, but would expect to have an exclusive arrangement.

"The apparatus would be so constructed as to furnish light to all the streets of the town, whenever it is our pleasure to have them lighted, and I shall be happy to enter into an arrangement with you for that purpose at any time."

July

Constable sworn in

On Saturday 4th John Nicolle was sworn in as Constable of St John, Moses Gibaut having withdrawn the opposition which he had lodged against him taking the oath of office.

Parish shed

The States met on the 11th at the request of the Lieut-Governor. Colonel Le Couteur, Constable of St Brelade, had contracted with the States to erect a new Militia shed at St Mary for £150. Having made some changes to the original plan at the Lieut-Governor's request, and without consulting the States, he incurred an additional expense of nearly £45. His request in June for the States to reimburse him did not even attract a seconder. The Lieut-Governor asked the House to reconsider their decision.

The Rev Philippe Filleul observed that as the shed had been built according to His Excellency's directions, and as it had been approved of also by the committee for the defence of the island, it would hard to deal with Col Le Couteur as if he were a common contractor. Jurat Pipon argued the contrary, saying that from the moment that Col Le Couteur had engaged to build the shed for £150, he was exactly in the situation of any other contractor.

Jurat Philip Marett, seigneur of Avranches, then made a long speech, in which he was highly critical of the Lieut-Governor. He said that the States had treated Col Le Couteur 'with the greatest liberality in granting him £150 for the shed of such a small parish as St Mary', suggesting that £80 would have sufficed, the rebuilding of the St Lawrence shed having cost only £105.

"The worthy gentleman then digressed from his subject to take a review of His Excellency's conduct in his management of the insular Militia. The length and asperity of which were peculiarly striking, especially as it was uttered in His Excellency's presence, who made no reply or observation whatever!"

Jurat Marett said that the Lieut-Governor had long been acting 'as if he wished to set aside our civil institutions and to establish a military despotism'.

He particularly criticised the policy for promotion, with young men being promoted over existing officers. The South-West Regiment had been given to Philip Le Geyt, 'who was not only a total stranger to that regiment, but even to the militia service of the island'.

The Constable of St Peter, Advocate Le Couteur, supported Jurat Marett and said that he would never allow any of his sons to accept a commission in the militia as 'that would be exposing them to the chances of disgrace in after life by others being promoted over their heads'. Young men of the first families were now serving as privates in the ranks. The motion to compensate Colonel Le Couteur was lost by 27 votes to four.

The total local news in the 20 July edition of the Loyalist, two paragraphs more than the following week's edition

Night time burglaries

Several burglaries were committed in town during the week of the 6th. Silver and other articles were taken from Mrs Beaugie's house near the Seven Houses, and watches and several items of jewellery were taken from Mr Samuel, watchmaker and jeweller, in Halkett Place. The police have recovered some of the stolen items and a man and a woman suspected of being responsible are being held in prison.

August

Elections

On 2 August an election was held for the office of Constable of St Brelade. The contestants were John Le Couteur and James Remon, the former defeating his opponent by 85 votes to 30.

In Trinity Mr Gaillard polled 45 votes more than Mr Pirouet and was elected Centenier.

Copying

On 10 August the Loyalist, still at war with the British Press accused it of copying verbatim all its local news in its previous edition. So the British Press cannot have had much news either!

Military shed

A St Helier assembly has agreed that the Constable should pass contract with the tenants of the Fief de Meleches, paying £200 for the land needed for a new military shed.

Rough passage

The George McIntosh arrived in St Helier on the 4th with a cargo of bullocks from Bremen. She had a very rough passage and one of the crew, Philip Tessier, was washed overboard and drowned.

Mill fire

On Saturday 8th in the afternoon a fire destroyed John Benest's steam mill while the workmen were at dinner. The contents of the mill were also destroyed but a maid employed by Mr Benest, son of Francis, risked her life to open the mill door to free some pigs trapped inside, saving those which had not already suffocated.

Mr Benest's loss is estimated at £2-3,000 and he was not insured.

Wrong place

The Constable of St Helier brought two porters, Bottomley and Brine, before the Royal Court for refusing to obey his repeated orders not to stand in Broad Street, but on the quays. The Court repeated the order and told tham that if they failed to obey, they would be sent out of the island.

Begging

A man named Harding was ordered by the Court to be banished from the island or give bail that he and his family would not become chargeable on the parish, after one of his sons was found begging.

Mrs Parrot, wife of a gardener, was brought to Court for begging. She said that she was the mother of nine children and her husband had been out of work for some time. She had had the hard alternative of begging or starving. She said that she would not beg again and was discharged.

Harbour dues

Capt Hernaman, of the steam packet Bristol was ordered by the Royal Court on the 24th to pay harbour dues for all his voyages to Jersey, despite his argument that except on one occasion, he had anchored in the Roads, being liable only to pay the master of the quarantine boat.

Tea

On the 24th the Court heard several cases involving smuggled tea:

• John de Veulle failed to appear to answer a charge of having smuggled tea at his premises when searched by Customs officers and was fined £100 and costs.
• Philippe Mauger, of St Ouen, said that he new nothing about tea found in one of his fields. The Court ordered the tea to be confiscated, fined Mauger £100, and invited him to prove that the tea was not his.
• John Vautier, his wife, nee du Heaume, and their son John, were charged with having smuggled tea but because the wife and son did not appear, the case was adjourned. They entered a remonstrance against the three Customs officers involved, stating that the tea had been legally imported from England, but this had been ignored when the tea was seized. They claimed £300 damages against each of the officers.

There was no local news in the edition of 31 August, the small space it usually occupied being devoted to an account of the Russian invasion of Turkey.

It's not going anywhere!

September

There was again no local news in the next edition on 7 September, news from Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) and information from Boston on how to deal with dry rot in ships being deemed more important. The edition of 14 September is not in the Société Jersiaise collection.

Bishop's visit

The edition of 21 September briefly covered the visit of the Bishop of Winchester. There was further coverage the following week of the ten-day visit.

New quay

Builders who attended a meeting with the committee appointed for the construction of the new quay from the Harbour to Patriotic Ground expecting that one of them would be chosen for the project were surprised that the committee came to no conclusion and only discussed the importance of the work and the likely cost. Some builders doubt that the project will be carried out.

Jolin murder

Philippe Jolin appeared in Court on the 15th and 18th charged with the murder of his father on the 7th. His trial was scheduled for the 24th. After his conviction he was hanged on Gallows Hill and is often said to have been the last person to be executed in public in the island. That is untrue, because, although not on gallows hill, Philip Le Brun was executed in public in 1875.

Election

An election for Constable of St Clement was contested by Philippe Le Maistre and Helier Godfray, the sitting Constable, who won by 73 votes to 72.

Murder trial

Philippe Jolin's trial took place on Thursday 24th, and following his appeal, a Grand Jury hearing was held the following Monday, when a unanimous guilty verdict was again returned. The lengthy report of the trial is not included here because full details are already in Jerripedia. A full report on the execution was contained in the edition of 5 October.

October

There was no further local news in the edition of 5 October, and none on the 12th, 19th or 26th. The edition of the 26th contained a report of the Guernsey Royal Court hearing into proposals to lay gas pipes under the pavements in St Peter Port. It appears that Guernsey had made faster progress than St Helier in responding to the offer by Thomas Edge of the Gas Light Office, Westminster, in June. (see above)

Advert seeking emigrants to Western Australia. At 2024 values the cost for a couple with two children aged 16 and 10 would have been £10,400

November

Quay construction

The plan to construct a new quay from the Harbour to Patriotic Ground had clearly made considerable progress since September (see above), without word reaching the Loyalist, because the issue of 2 November reported that the first stone had been laid that afternoon in the presence of the States committee responsible, property owners and 'a vast concourse of people'.

The entirety of the first two pages of the edition of 9 November were devoted to a report of a murder trial in Ireland. The local news column started with the announcement that 'there is no article of news, since our last publication, either foreign or domestic, of that importance, which requires us to bring it specifically under the notice of our readers'. This was bizarrely followed by several local news items.

Gold watches stolen

In June or July 'a robbery of considerable value' was committed by persons employed to carry a box of plate from on board the Ariadne to the house of Aaron de Ste Croix. The box was opened and a small box containing three gold watches and chains, worth above £200 (£26,000 at 2024 values), was taken.

The main box was secured and Mr de Ste Croix assumed that the missing articles had not been put in. It was not until November that their theft became apparent when one of the watches was offered to a watchmaker by the wife of a carter. The police were alerted and eventually detained the carter, John Philippe, and his wife among the rocks off the St Brelade coast. They were taken to prison and charged.

Seven more persons were later arrested and charged with having stolen items in their possession knowing them to be such.

John Philippe was acquitted in December by the Grande Enquete of receiving stolen watches and jewels.

Damages claim

John Martin sued the Constable of St Helier for compensation of £76 10s (nearly £10,000 at 2024 values) for damage to his garden at the time of the August fire at Mr Benest's steam mill (see above). The case was dismissed by the Court.

Shipwreck

A large vessel found broken up on the rocks east of the Minquiers by the French sloop Telemachus was identified as Courageux de Nantes, which was returning from Newfoundland with a cargo of cod. The crew were believed to have attempted to escape the wreck in their lifeboat but to have perished in the process.

Oyster fishery

An attempt by the French to limit the period during which Jersey and Guernsey vessels could dredge for oysters was met with the greatest concern in both islands and the Bailiffs have been asked to use their influence to prevent its adoption.

Soldier shot

Two soldiers stealing apples from Mr Aubin's orchard in St Saviour were fired at by one of his sons, and one was dangerously wounded. The men's colleagues are said to have threatened revenge.

In the issue of 23 November the Loyalist reported that the two soldiers were recovering and urged their colleagues not to take the law into their own hands, while questioning why nobody had been charged in relation to the shooting. The newspaper's argument was repeated in the following week's edition, and again on 14 December.

It was later revealed in a letter to the editor that the soldiers had recovered and asked that the matter be dropped.

Appointment

The Lieut-Governor, Sir Colin Halkett, has been appointed Colonel of the 71st Regiment, the Highland Light Infantry.

The Brig PRC, master Capt Briard, encountered a dreadful gale on passage from Newfoundland and lost four men, three washed overboard and one dying of fright

Ownership

Ownership of the Loyalist seems to have changed during the month because, in the edition of the 30th, and unknown new owner set out his editorial policy:

"Henceforward our readers may expect to see the Jersey Loyalist a free, firm , fearless, impartial and independant (sic) public journal. The indiscriminate opposition of all measures proposed by certain persons we consider faction, the indiscriminate support we consider corruption. The Jersey Loyalist shall henceforward be neither factious nor corrupt.

"In making a profession as to the future, the present conductor of the Loyalist disclaims any allusion or insinuation as to the past. He also begs most explicitly to disclaim any connection with party. He is of the opinion that party is the madness of many for the gain of a few. Under his management the Jersey Loyalist shall be open to all parties, influenced by none.

"He has not been more than a year in the island, and he can assure his readers he never heard of the existence of any newspaper in Jersey before he came there."

Gorey road

The States voted by 15 to 14 to approve the construction of a new road from Hougue Bie to Gorey. The project was to be financed by five-year interest-free loans by owners of neighbouring properties

December

Dead baby

Rebecca West (18), a native of Plymouth and servant of Captain Nowell, RN, has been arrested on suspicion of having given birth to a male child which was found drowned in the brook near the hospital. Three doctors gave evidence to the inquest that the baby was born alive and drowned in the brook. The mother is confined to bed at the Hospital.

Mason's fall

On the 11th a mason working on the new building on the site of the old St Helier drill shed fell from the top of the scaffolding on the footpath and broke his thigh. He was carried home and assisted by doctors Fixott and King.

Lieut-Governor's threat

The new owner of the Loyalist, who has not been named, has fallen out with the Lieut-Governor, Major General Sir Colin Halkett, who has threatened him with expulsion from the island over his correspondence with Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel.

Imprisonment

Sir Gregor McGregor was brought before the Royal Court on the 21st, having been imprisoned for a debt of £2,700 to a Mr Hitchcock. The case was argued between the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General and the Court ruled in favour of Sir Gregor remaining in prison.

There was no local news in the final edition of the year on 29 December, all available space having been taken by letters to the editor, which after being absent from the publication for some time, have returned with a vengeance under the new owner.