Channel Island
MR. BALLEINE, whose name proclaims him a Jersey man, has covered Jersey history from prehistory to the German occupation and after, and relates the events to those in Europe. It is a puzzle to the stranger that the Channel Islands, in which a dialect of French is still spoken, which are so much nearer to France than to England, should have remained attached to this island. Mr. Balleine traces the stages that brought about this relationship. The allegiance was really to the Duke of Normandy. The islands were conquered in 931 by William Longsword 135 years before the Battle of Hastings, and Norman dukes, who happened also to be kings of England, continued to rule Jersey for 138 years after it, until John lost Normandy. When Joan of Arc drove the English out of France, the Channel Islands were content to remain part of the property of the English Crown. Jersey was granted neutrality by agreement between France and England in 1483, and this was observed till 1689, when William III drew it into conflict with Louis XIV. It escaped the ravages of war in 1914, but was occupied by Germany from 1940 to 1945.
" Jersey " has become an ordinary English word because of the knitting industry. Early in the sixteenth century knitting was invented in Scotland, but why it should have settled in an island without sheep is a mystery. The breeding of cattle only began in the nineteenth century. Beforn that the main source of the farmers' wealth was cider. Tax-dodging Englishmen were also profitable. A group of these attempted to destroy Jersey's system of self-government, but they were defeated in 1864. There is little to find fault with in this excellent history except its expensiveness. It is not as welt produced as the " County " series, nor has it as many illustrations, but it is just twice the price.
The Island of Jersey To-day claims to be " a new and revised edition of the best book ever written about the island'' The historical passages cannot be commended, but where the writer is describing something he has seen the book is of more value. Even here, however, there are blemishes of style. A chapter on administra- tion gives a complete and useful account of Jersey institutions as
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