The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1831

19th century Jersey
From the Jersey Loyalist: 1831

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 1829
The 19th century in newspaper cuttings - Loyalist 1830

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.

The amount of local news in the publication having continued to dwindle during 1830, together with a substantial reduction in the volume of paid advertising, it was clear at the beginning of 1831 that the publication had not long to live.

January

Royal Militia

It was announced by Colonel Helier Touzel, Inspector of Militia, on 6 January that Lord Melbourne, Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, had written to the Lieut-Governor, announcing the King's wish that the Militia of the Island of Jersey should be made Royal. The King had requested that his decision should be made known on the anniversary of the Battle of Jersey.

A grand ball and supper was held at Lowe's Royal Yacht Hotel to celebrate the anniversary, with the Lieut-Governor's guests headed by the Bailiff, Sir Thomas Le Breton.

Trial delay

Mr Calvert was brought before the Royal Court charged with having broken several panes of glass in different houses in the town about 17 months previously, accompanied by Mrs Young and others.

The Court objected to the case being tried before the opening of term. The King's Advocate said that after 17 months delay he could not conclude that Calvert should be sent to jail unless he could replace the bail which had been withdrawn. The Court released him without bail.

Soldiers charged

Sergeants Storry and Wilson and privates Heany, Fox and Dermot, of the 86th Depot, were brought before an extraordinary sitting of the Royal Court on 3 January, charged with disturbing the public peace on Christmas Day 1830.

The Constable told the Court that he was at a house in Broad Street and found the soldiers dragging one of their comrades, who was in shirt sleeves. He told them who he was and called on them to stop, but the sergeant told him that it was none of his business. One of the soldiers tried to stab him with his bayonet. Assisted by others he was able to take the men's sidearms and take them into custody.

They were liberated pending trial, their commanding officer having provided bail.

The affair returned to Court on the 8th, when full details of the soldiers' behaviour towards the Constable emerged. He said that he narrowly escaped being wounded when the soldiers drew their bayonets. He went to the Fort to speak to the major, who told him that the soldiers had 'shown a great deal of forbearance', but the Constable told him that had he been present and witnessed the behaviour of his mean, he would speak otherwise.

Evidence was given that one of the sergeants had said that it was fortunate that the Constable had not entered the guardhouse because the soldiers 'would have murdered him'. Asked if he would have helped the Constable, he had replied: 'No indeed. I would have skewered him first. I will do for him in less than a fortnight and murder him'.

Evidence for the soldiers indicated that they were attempting to return one of their men - Maccarani - to barracks after finding him drunk in town. The Constable told the Court that he had brought the men before them to show publicly that the civil power was above the military one.

The Court ordered that Private Heaney be discharged and the others should be imprisoned in the public jail for eight days. Storey was required to provide bail in the sum of 200 livres for his future peaceable conduct, having made use of threatening language against the Constable.

Shipwrecks

The French cutter La Virginie, Capt Michel Verdier, from Granville, was lost on the 10th off St Clement when she sprang a leak. The five crew and two passengers were saved by Capt Le Maistre's Victor but 14 bullocks on board were drowned.

News was received from Falmouth by T and P Duhamel that their ship Gaspee had been found dismasted by a heavy sea which washed eight of the crew overboard. The vessel, commanded by Capt Vibert had left Gibraltar for Cork. The news was conveyed by Capt Huelin of the Surprise, which brought news to Jersey of the fatalities and survivors. Survivors: Capt Philip Vibert, Daniel Deslandes, Jacques de Ste Croix, Francis Dolbel, Philippe Binet, John Stratford, Philippe Alexandre and Jean Jeandron. Drowned: Jean Pipon, mate; Philippe des Pres, second Mate; Philippe Vibert, the Captain's son; Jean de Ste Croix, Philippe Le Sueur, Edouard de La Cour, Edouard Alexandre, Clement Godfray.

The next edition contained the detailed account of the shipwreck sworn by Capt Vibert, Deslandes and de Ste Croix before a notary public in Gibraltar, as well as the logbook of the captain of the brig Rapid, which rescued some of the crew.

News of a second wreck involving a local vessel was received in the island on the 24th with the return of Clement Noel and Philippe Arthur, the two mates of the Quixote which was found on Christmas Even 1830 by the Susannah en route to Montevideo. The Quixote had lost her foremast and half her main mast. Noel and Arthur had been on the wreck for nine days and were forced to eat one of their shipmates (Philippe Lempriere) before being rescued by a French ketch. The remaining crew members died: Capt Bailhache, Philippe Lempriere, Philippe Ahier, Jean Arthur, Elias Vibert, Jean Bisson ana sailor shipped at Cadiz.

Fire

The house and bakehouse belonging to John Le Moine, near Millbrook, was totally consumed by fire on the 6th.

Gasworks fire

The extensive factory in London of Mr Edge, proprietor of the Jersey gas works, has been burned down.

Mother's death

On Sunday morning last, between 2 and 3 o'clock, departed this life, in childbed, at her residence in Halkett Place, Marguerite, nee Giffard, wife of merchant Thomas de La Taste to the inexpressible grief of her deeply afflicted husband and a numerous family of young and helpless children.

February

Secret meeting

The Constable of St Helier informed the States that the Lieut-Governor had held a secret meeting with nine Members of the House to discuss the appointment of an English barrister to preside over the States and law Courts of the island. He said that the Lieut-Governor had no right to hold such a meeting and that the appointment of a Bailiff had nothing to do with him. His conduct was 'unconstitutional and extraordinary'.

The Lieut-Governor, who was present to listen to this personal attack, said that he could inform the Constable and the whole body of the States that he had received an official communication from Government, and that it was not their intention to appoint any English barrister to preside over them. He states further that, if Bailiff Le Breton were to resign, the vacancy would be filled by a Jerseyman, and one belonging to the States, but he was not at present at liberty to make his name known.

The Loyalist's report went on to say that Sir Thomas Le Breton had tendered his resignation as Bailiff and that Jurat de Veulle would be appointed to replace him.

Boys' Militia

The States considered the Constable of St Helier's proposal in relation to Militia drill for boys and decided to request the Privy Council to order that in future boys should not be drilled before the age of 17 in times of peace, and 16 in times of war.

Publication of the Jersey Loyalist

The first item of local news was the announcement that publication of the Loyalist had been 'discontinued for the present, owning to circumstances at present unnecessary to explain'.

Jurat election

Following the appointment of Jurat de Veulle as the new Bailiff, two meetings have been held to discuss who should replace him. A meeting at Lowe's Hotel nominated Philippe de Quetteville for the position, and a second at the Union Hotel, put up N Le Quesne as candidate.

Circus

Batty's troop of equestrians continues to perform to full houses at the Royal Circus, near the new Post Office.

In its early years the section of the Loyalist devoted to local news was fairly clearly defined, but later on it proved to be another introduction to news from further afield

Review of the Jersey Loyalist

Jerripedia editor Mike Bisson, who has produced this review of the Loyalist's local news from 1825 to 1831, provides an appraisal of the newspaper over that period.

It is very difficult to know exactly what market a newspaper operated in 200 years ago. Certainly markedly different from what I experienced in the last quarter of the 20th century when successively reporter, news editor, editor and finally managing director of the Jersey Evening Post. It is tempting, but pointless, to apply modern-day standards to one of the first English-language newspapers published in Jersey. There were only four which preceded the Loyalist - The Jersey Chronicle (1801); The Jersey Magazine or Monthly Record (1809-1810); Jersey Mirror (1815-1816) and British Press (1822-1859).

All but one of these was very short-lived and when the Loyalist hit the streets on 5 September 1825, as a weekly journal published on Monday evenings, its only English-language competitor was the British Press. The Loyalist went to considerable pains in its first edition to maintain that its objective was not to oppose the Press, but it soon became apparent that this was exactly its intention, and a ding-dong battle of leading articles and readers' letters was fought between the two over most of the Loyalist's lifetime.

Unfortunately I don't have any editions of the British Press to view the battle from their side, but the columns of the Loyalist over much of its six-year existence suggest that it was much more interested in a political battle with the Press than with providing its audience with a consistent digest of local news, as well as a view of what was happening in the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider world at the time.

These two newspapers were the first in Jersey to provide the substantial number of English immigrants in the first quarter of the 19th century to settle in a very French community with news and advertising in their own language. There had been French-language newspapers for a little over 25 years when the Loyalist appeared, and it seems to have adopted a similar approach to news coverage - events in the rest of the world being more important than what was happening closer to home.

This was a time of great turbulence throughout Europe, and further afield, if not in the United Kingdom, and copying the content of external newspapers provided a simple and cost-free means of filling the editorial columns in Jersey. A detailed analysis of the Loyalist from 1825 until it ceased publishing in 1831 suggests that foreign news was not forcing local news out of its columns, but that aside from Royal Court and States sessions, there was very little happening in the island which it believed would be of any interest to its English-speaking readers.

Indeed, it frequently said just this, and made no attempt to introduce those newcomers to the island to what was happening in St Mary, Trinity and Grouville, which might have been further distant than Tunbridge Wells, Lisbon and the Spanish territories in South America.

Hopefully the local news items I have extracted as part of this project will give some clue to life in Jersey 200 years ago, but I suspect that a detailed study of the newspaper's editions on the website of La Société Jersiaise might be of greater interest to students of international history of this era.