An Elected Speaker: The Wisdom of Transitional Arrangements

Elections and a Speaker: the proposition as it stands

The current proposition by Sam Mezec is to replace the Bailiff with a Speaker. The proposition says that:

“The Speaker and Deputy Speaker would be elected to serve for the duration of an Assembly. If elected in the mid-term of an Assembly, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker would serve for the remainder of that term. This approach is consistent with practice elsewhere in the British Isles and Commonwealth.”

“The Speaker and Deputy Speaker would contest their seats at a general election in the usual manner. At the beginning of a new States Assembly term, the previous Speaker and/or Deputy Speaker would be entitled to seek re-election to the post. Whilst a candidate’s previous experience in either role would no doubt be taken into account by States Members, it is not intended that Jersey adopt a system similar to that in the UK House of Commons, where a preference is given, at least in the first instance, to the previous incumbent continuing to serve if that is their will. Fresh elections would take place on their own merits.”

Disenfranchisement in a Small Island Community

That’s all very good, but there is an unwritten rule in the UK that the speaker should not be contested in elections by the major parties. In a situation where there are 650 constituencies, the loss of one seat is not a major issue. In Jersey, where we have just 49 members, and no parties, this could well lead to problems.

The Express and Star noted in 2017 how disgruntled voters were becoming in the current speaker’s constituency of Buckingham where the number of spoilt papers has reached record levels. Buckingham constituent Phil Harriss started a petition called "Give Us A Voice, Not A Speaker"!

Harriss told the Press Association: “Voters in Buckingham haven’t had democratic representation in Parliament since 2009 and their outrage is growing. As well as being undemocratic, the convention is iniquitous and archaic. My children are reaching an age when they are just starting to vote. They are likely to feel completely disillusioned with the political system if their vote counts for nothing and they are not given the opportunity to support the major political parties.”

Now the good voters of Buckingham can do little to rectify the situation. Three candidates outside the mainstream – Independent, UKIP and Green Party – stood last time, but really didn’t stand a chance against the party machines supporting – on all main parties – John Bercow.

The same can almost be guaranteed not to happen here. We only have one political party, and that is not dominant in the States. Deputies in particular are linked to Parishes, and the loss of a Deputy, especially in a small Parish with only one member, would be felt keenly. Senators need to command an Island mandate. The inability to take part would be almost certainly detrimental to their prospects of re-election, especially when fighting a seat against someone who promised not to accept the role of speaker.

Perhaps, ironically Constables would be the least likely to feel the displeasure of voters if all they did in the States was to act as Speaker because they would still administer Parish affairs, and the Connetable's Committee would bring to the fore any Island issues with Parish impacts. The others - Senators, Deputies - would almost certainly face elections from disgruntled parishioners who felt disenfranchised, and it could well become a poisoned chalice with few prepared to accept the role.

Simon Bree notably lost votes in 2018 when he declared he'd try for Chief Minister if elected. What would be the answer of a candidate if asked if they'd agree to be speaker which could also be a similar vote loser?

Just what is a local issue? 

Ian Gorst’s proposition of 2017 suggested that:

"The Speaker would continue to serve as a Senator, Deputy or Connétable and would carry out their duties as a Member of the States Assembly in assisting constituents. The Speaker would be permitted to become involved in local interests and would be available to advise constituents and discuss their problems and concerns."

"The Speaker would be able to raise these matters privately with the relevant Minister, Department, Committee or agency. It would be expected that the Speaker would receive replies and have issues addressed on an expedited basis. This would mirror arrangements which work well in the United Kingdom."

But what are local interests? In a 650 constituency parliament, over an area of 94,060 square miles, there will certainly be local issues for a constituency- planning, parking etc etc - which have no national impact..

It is not so clear what would be local in an area of 45 square miles! Would the issue of camper vans in St Ouen’s Bay be a local or an Island issue? Would housing and rezoning in St Peter be a local or an Island issue?

What if the Deputy of St Peter was the speaker? Would they be able to speak to a Parish assembly and have that reported? Would they be able to campaign for a housing issue? Or would that be an island issue on which they should remain silent?

In the UK, the speaker “will no longer address any issue in a party political manner in accordance with the convention that the Speaker remains impartial.” But how on earth does that translate to a small Island community where there are many independents and only one small party? Granted, the Speaker could not vote or take part in debates in the States, but there are many other times when politicians take up causes before they even get to the Chamber. Should they be silenced on those?

The overlap in a small Island community between local and island interests would be considerable, and while fine in theory, the proposed solution by Ian Gorst would simply not work well in practice. There are not 650 Parishes over an area of 94,060 square miles!

An Interim Solution?

The best interim solution, as I see it, would be that proposed by the Bailiff for an interim transitional arrangement, whereby the Speaker and Bailiff would both be available, and the Bailiff could gradually reduce his role in the States. If then it turned out that the kinds of issues I have noted here proved insurmountable, then a return could be made seamless to the status quo. If it worked perfectly, the Bailiff would come out of the States.

A potentially irreversible solution which turned out to be unworkable would be the worst of all political worlds.

Speaker’s Veto?

“At present the Bailiff is responsible for approving requests from Members when lodging questions, both oral and written, propositions, amendments and making personal statements. If the Bailiff rejects the requests there is no ability to appeal against that decision. I have personal experience and the current arrangements should not continue.” (Former Deputy Bob Hill, giving evidence to Lord Carswell)

The Carsewell review noted that:

“Outside the Chamber, the Bailiff has to consider draft propositions and draft questions, which he must admit unless they contravene Standing Orders. The Bailiff may on occasion discuss these matters with individual members of the States. If questions are not properly framed, the Greffier or the Bailiff will regularly suggest amendments to address the defect and allow the questions to proceed.”

“It was represented to us by a number of respondents that although the Bailiff must apply Standing Orders in all decisions which he makes and is bound to give all members an opportunity to speak when they express a wish to do so, he nevertheless exerts a degree of political influence by the manner in which he carries out his function.”

What is more, as a recent FOI request illustrated, no public record is maintained of the decision making process

“What is the Number of propositions not allowed to be brought to the States by members and effectively vetoed by the Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff over the last three years per year?”

“The States Greffe does not keep a record of the propositions which, in accordance with Standing Order 21(7)(c), are not approved for lodging.”

And there is no clear route for appeal:

“Practically speaking, any member who has a proposition ruled out of order can speak to the Bailiff and discuss with the Bailiff how the proposition could potentially be amended to ensure that it meets the requirements of Standing Orders.”

“There is no right of appeal to the Royal Court against a decision of the Bailiff that a draft proposition is out of order. The correct way to challenge such a decision is to bring a proposition to the States under Standing Orders 98(3) and 167(3)(b). Although technically such a proposition also requires the consent of the Bailiff to lodging under Standing Order 21, the test on whether it would be allowed would also be whether it was in order. It would not be out of order simply because it challenged the Bailiff’s ruling on the earlier proposition.”

This is a serious lack of transparency at the heart of the Bailiff's power. By all means he should be able to veto propositions, as it is within his powers, but he should also make available to public scrutiny the reasons for this, if this is requested.

Would an elected speaker have the same powers and be able to exercise them with the same lack of transparency? That is something which no proposition for an elected speaker has ever considered, and yet it strikes at the heart of democracy.

See also
https://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2017/03/time-to-remove-bailiffs-veto.html
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2012/05/baillifs-veto.html

To be a Pilgrim

This poem is more about an existential journey mapped out on the physical world that a straightforwardly religious quest.

To be a Pilgrim

Slowly walking down the road
Burdened by a heavy load
Past city streets, shops and homes
The flower beds, the garden gnomes
And traffic lights, red turns to green
Walking onwards, sight unseen
The houses now are thinning out
The light is fading, time of doubt
The rosy hue of setting sun
Fast falls the twilight, day is done
And now along a beaten track
Stone walls, fields, wooden shack
The gorse so yellow and in bloom
But slowly fading in the gloom
And high above, the stars come out
The sea gulls give one final shout
Silence descending on the land
Waves crash below on rocks and sand
And walking onwards, to the end
As over cliff tops, I ascend
Amidst the storm clouds raging high
Starlight lost in darkening sky
Rain is falling, beating down
And in the distance, like a crown
A turret high, a beam of light
Upon the waves, a glorious sight
The light house stands, so high and tall
Against waves rise up and fall
A sweeping beam along the bay
On white specked foam of sea and spray

And as the tempest rages long
I hear the light house siren song
And joy in wave, and wind and sky
And now my spirit soaring high.

The Channel Islands in Diocese of Portsmouth – Part 4

Fr. Mahy installed as Dean of Jersey by Bishop Warlock,
St. Mary and St. Peter's, 1975.

This week’s history comes from the “Diocese of Portsmouth: Past and Present” by Gerard Dwyer published in 1981, and looks at the history of Catholics in Jersey after the Reformation to the early1980s.

The Channel Islands in Diocese of Portsmouth – Part 4

At the beginning of January 1843 the church in Vauxhall Street was opened and a month later it was consecrated by Bishop Griffiths. According to the "Handbook of the Channel Islands" by F. Coghlan (London, 1843), "Religion in Jersey is essentially Protestant. There is, however, a yearly increase of Catholics, principally Irish and foreigners. Their number amounts to between two and three thousand."

Because of the Irish Famine 1845-47, this number was doubled. Work on the naval harbours and breakwaters in Jersey and Alderney had just started and labour was needed. The Government gave free passage; the work was constant and the wages good. From the district around Waterford alone 4,000 people came to Jersey. The congregation increased to such an extent that the existing church became completely inadequate for its congregation.

 In 1848 Fr. Cunningham died and was succeeded by Fr. Jeremiah McCarthy who remained priest in charge for not less than 45 years. When in 1850 the English Hierarchy was restored and the Channel Islands became part of the Diocese of Southwark, Fr. McCarthy was given the position and title of "Dean of St. Anne of the Isles."

In July 1851 Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, visited first Guernsey (for the opening of the new St. Joseph's Church) and then Jersey. Wilfred Ward in his “Life and Times of Cardinal Wiseman" writes: "He paid a visit to Jersey in 1851 where he was received with brickbats, the windows of his carriage were broken and his progress impeded by a howling mob as he drove to the Catholic church where he was to preach. A crowd of Protestants came to hear him, and the English directness and common sense of his discourse so won them that a complete reversion took place."

The "Impartial de Jersey" reported on 5th July 1851: "We regret, for the honour of our brothers and neighbours in Guernsey, to learn that not only when he arrived, but also during his stay in their Island, they forgot all points of good behaviour.... Underneath his purple robe is one of the first and most learned collaborators of the magazine called the 'Penny Encyclopaedia.'. . . As for us, we do not care what colour he wears, whether it be black, red or blue. We are proud to say, that without sharing his views, we admired this learned writer, a man of strong convictions. If we heard one lone voice echoing the cries of the children in the streets 'what a hat!, what gloves!' we had great pleasure in noting that it was not the voice of a Jerseyman, but of a foreigner."

The same paper continued its report on 9th July:

"At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Cardinal also administered the Sacrament of Confirmation in the French chapel in New Street. He preached in French, surprising us all with the ease and purity with which this learned Doctor of Divinity speaks the language, a language that is not his own."

Year after year up to 1870 the number of parishioners was increasing. Fr. McCarthy had plans drawn up by Mr. Joseph Hanson for a new church. Bishop Grant opened the new church on 8th August 1867. It was incomplete when opened - the intention being to complete it as soon as possible. But in the 1870s a terrible financial and banking crisis overwhelmed the Island causing great distress and an

almost entire cessation of employment. Many people emigrated to the United States, Canada and Australia, and the prosperous congregation of some 4,000 was reduced almost overnight to just over 1,000 with comparatively little work and greatly reduced wages. Fr. McCarthy did not lose heart; but it took 24 years before the chancel and the transepts could be completed in September 1891. Two years later, in June 1893, Mgr. Jeremiah McCarthy (he had been made a Papal Prelate on the completion of the church) died.

The next parish priest, Fr. John Hourigan, remained at St. Mary and St. Peter's for 38 years. He paid off the debt on the church and so was able to have it consecrated by Bishop Cotter, then Auxiliary Bishop of Portsmouth, in 1905. He was appointed a Canon of the Diocese in 1916, and in 1925 he beautified the sanctuary of the church with a new altar. Canon Hourigan died at this brother's home in Ireland in 1931.

Canon Clifford Bailey succeeded as parish priest. He was no stranger to the Channel Islands having been for over 25 years parish priest of Alderney. Canon Bailey died in April 1940, just a few months before the Germans occupied the Islands. Two priests, Fr. Richard Arscott and Fr. Albert Lion, both Channel Islanders, were in the running for the succession. Bishop Cotter chose Fr. Arscott who, as Canon Arscott, remained in charge of the parish all during the Occupation.

After the Second World War, Canon Arscott joined the Catholic Missionary Society in 1946, thus allowing Canon Lion to get his heart's desire and succeed him. But ill health soon forced Canon Lion to retire in 1948. He was followed by Canon Arthur Olney who remained for 27 years and who, after 25 years in the parish, was made a Papal Prelate of Honour.

Mgr. Olney by 1965 had taken down the old church which had been used as a hall and had given a porch and facade to the west end of the main church with a forecourt opening on to Vauxhall. Mgr. Olney left Jersey for retirement but very soon took up parish duties once again at Shrivenham.

The present parish priest of St. Mary and St. Peter's is Fr. David Mahy who has to consider the need for very considerable repairs to the church or more practically its replacement by a new church on another site.

To complete the picture of the parish and its growth, a Mass Centre was started in 1943, in the early days of the Occupation, at Samares in the Parish of St. Clement. A church was built dedicated to St. Patrick and in 1968 it was formed into a separate Catholic parish. Since then a presbytery and hall have been added.

In November 1949 another Mass Centre was started at First Tower, but in August 1955 there was a change of parish boundaries and the Oblates at St. Aubin took over responsibility for the First Tower and Millbrook area where shortly afterwards they built the Church of Our Lady of the Universe.

The Jesuits in Jersey

No Catholic history of Jersey would be complete without a mention of the Jesuits. During the first half of the nineteenth century the French Jesuits made several attempts to buy property in Jersey with the intention of transferring their schools there should they be forbidden to teach in France. Each time the States of Jersey refused them permission to buy.

In 1880 they tried again when the Imperial Hotel in Jersey was for sale. The Jesuits first approached the Bishop of the Diocese then Southwark), Bishop Danell, and asked permission to open a house in his diocese.

First of all he refused because he feared that the arrival of the Jesuits would arouse the anti-Catholic prejudices of the Jersey Protestants, but Fr. McCarthy, the Parish Priest of St. Mary and St. Peter, sent a strongly worded letter to him which changed his mind. Because foreigners were not allowed to purchase any portion of Jersey soil, the English Jesuit Province bought the property with Fr. McCarthy acting as proxy for them.

Thus began Maison St. Louis. Between 1881 and 1940, when the Jesuits finally returned to France, some 3,000 students had spent at least three years of their training in the College. They came from all over the world - England, Ireland, America, France, etc. Twelve of them became Bishops, and some 600 went on to do missionary work in China and Africa. One famous priest who spent three years there was Pere Teillard de Chardin. After the Second World War the property was put on the market and was eventually sold to become, as it still remains, the "Hotel de France."

In addition to Maison St. Louis, the French Jesuits acquired a nearby property called "Highlands." There they built a large building and to it transferred their French Naval Preparatory School. Many high-ranking French naval officers were trained there between 1881 and 1900 after which, because of a law passed in the French Parliament, the school had to return to France.

In 1903, however, the building became a French Jesuit Secondary School called "Bon Secours College." A thousand young Frenchmen received their secondary education there between 1903 and 1919. In 1919 the Jesuits left "Highlands." The property was bought by the De Lammenais Brothers who used it as their Novitiate and Training College, as well as their Generalate. But in the late 1960s the Brothers moved their Generalate to Rome and sold the property to the States of Jersey who now use it as an education centre.

Religious Houses of Brothers and Sisters

The De La Salle Brothers conduct a flourishing independent school for boys at "The Beeches" and the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception a similar one for girls at Beaulieu Convent (originally a Convent of the Helpers of the Holy Souls before they gave it up after the Second World War).

As has been noted before, the Faithful Companions of Jesus moved their convent and school from David Place in St. Helier to Granville in St. Saviour's. In very recent times they have given up their senior school in order to be able to provide in conjunction with the Diocese an opportunity for Catholic primary education to all the children of the Island who wish to benefit from it.

The elderly have been cared for since 1886 by the Little Sisters of the Poor in the Convent and St. Augustine's Home on West Hill. In recent years this Home has been almost completely rebuilt and thoroughly modernised to meet the needs of the elderly who are there.

Finally, there is the community of Sisters of the Holy Family who came in 1901 to open the Orphanage of the Sacred Heart in Rouge Bouillon; today they run a playschool and do pastoral work in St. Thomas' Parish.

St Patrick's, Jersey

Medical Cannabis: a review of some recent news.

There was a degree of frustration in Deputy Montfort Tadier’s recent email concerning medician cannabis, and the current position recommending against prescribing it. It is worth therefore reviewing recent changes which have taken place in the UK, where very much the same problems arise.

It should be noted that the legalisation of medical cannabis in the first instance has not opened the doors to a flood of prescriptions in the UK, but a mere trickle. But what it has done of significance is to allow products when licenced to come into Jersey with rapid effect, and also in the UK, to facilitate medical trials which can now be conducted without the previous legal restraints.

To understand what was the position, a very succinct précis is given in the Open Access Government website:

“The medical benefits of cannabis – including pain management, seizure remediation, muscle spasms management and others – have been well known for centuries. However, over the past century, cannabis has become a proscribed substance and treated as a law-enforcement challenge. As a result, it has become difficult for researchers to get approval and funding for properly controlled cannabis studies and users are unable, or unwilling, to share their experiences. Consequently, doctors and other practitioners lack trusted information on which to base clinical decisions.”

“Altogether, these factors have led to significant under-prescription of medical cannabis, there has been a large, unfilled demand for quality research, new product delivery methods and consumer information on the uses and effects of this substance.”

The change in the law means that when we look at the Pharmaceutical Journal for 16 January 2019,, we note significant changes in protocols and monitoring. As the market is very much an emerging one, monitoring programmes are key to successful prescriptions:

“A system to monitor the prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use has been established, despite prescribing appearing to be incredibly low. NHS England has established a system to monitor the prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use, with the first data expected by the end of March 2019, health minister Steve Brine has said. Brine was responding to a question from Jim Cunningham MP, following concerns that despite the legal change to the status of medical cannabis, very few, if any, NHS prescriptions have been written.”

“NHS-commissioned interim guidance on the use of cannabis-derived medical products, produced by the British Paediatric Neurology Association (BPNA) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), has been criticised as too restrictive, leaving consultant doctors — the only doctors allowed to prescribe the drugs — unwilling to do so. Genevieve Edwards, director of external affairs at charity the MS Society, told The Pharmaceutical Journal that, as far as the Society was aware, no patient with multiple sclerosis has been able to access a cannabis-based medicine since the law changed — a situation she described as “incredibly frustrating”.

It is clear that the same frustration felt by Deputy Tadier is also felt by others, such as Genevieve Edwards. But meanwhile, a wider analysis, also looking beyond the UK, has produced new guidance as reported in the 21 March 2019 edition of The Pharmaceutical Journal:

“New guidance has identified conditions for which it says there is strong or weak evidence of efficacy of medical cannabis treatment. Guidance for the prescription of medical cannabis has been issued by the by the Medical Cannabis Clinicians’ Society (MCCS) and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Medical Cannabis under Prescription. Published on 20 March 2019, the guidance identifies conditions for which it says there is “conclusive or substantial”, “moderate”, and “limited” evidence of efficacy of medical cannabis treatment — as well as those for which it says there is “no conclusive evidence”.

“In the conclusive category, the guidance lists spasticity, pain, chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, and epilepsy. It says there is currently no conclusive evidence for efficacy in a range of conditions, including behavioural control in dementia, depression and cancer.”

“The MCCS recommends that “given that there are few doctors familiar with cannabis medicine, a specialist does not refuse prescription based on their own lack of understanding but seeks to work with an expert cannabis physician”. To date, there have been no recorded NHS prescriptions for the drug and only a handful of private prescriptions since medical cannabis products were rescheduled in November 2018.”

Part of the reason for resistance to prescription is that it is an emerging medical market, and enough evidence for prescribing, as well as contra-indications, reactions with existing drug regimes etc (a cancer patient may be on multiple drug regimes), does not really exist in detail, and that the manufacturers seem to be reluctant to engage with trials.

This was the frustrating aspect cited by Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer for England, on 28 March 2019:

“Evidence for the prescribing of medical cannabis is lacking, Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer for England, has told MPs. Robust, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are “top of the list”, he added.”

“Baroness Blackwood, under secretary of state for health and social care, told the committee that “pressure should be put on the industry” to fund RCTs, echoing sentiments previously expressed by Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England. Committee chair Sarah Wollaston asked Blackwood what could be done if manufacturers refused to supply a medical cannabis product for trials. She said the British Paediatric Neurology Association had told the committee that they “haven’t been able to secure an agreement from [medical cannabis producer] Tilray to provide the product for a trial that they are proposing to conduct”.

“Blackwood replied that such a response was “completely unacceptable” from a cannabis company. “We obviously need to develop the clinical evidence. I can’t understand for the life of me why a cannabis company wouldn’t want to develop the evidence base in order for their drug to be more prescribed and for there to be more confidence in it,” she said.”

Meanwhile on 9th March 2019, a specialist clinic, staffed by professionals opened in the UK:

“Britain's first medical cannabis clinic opened in Manchester this week despite only just four patients having successfully obtained cannabis-based treatments since their use was legalised in the country late last year. The private clinic is Manchester will deal with patients suffering from chronic pain conditions, neurological condition such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and psychiatric problems including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

"The legalisation of prescription cannabis has given people with chronic illnesses hope; the next step is to ensure the availability of medical cannabis to offer those without other alternatives the treatment they need," Hannah Simon from European Cannabis Holdings — the private investment group behind the new clinics — said in a statement. Two other clinics are also expected to open in London and Birmingham later this spring.

The Open Government Access site has more details:

“The first clinic will open at The Beeches Consulting Centre in Manchester in March and will be led by Dr David McDowell, a Consultant in Pain Management who issued the first prescription for medical cannabis in December. Clinics will then open in London across multiple disciplines including neurology and psychiatry in addition to chronic pain, on Harley Street, and in Birmingham later this spring.”

“Professor Mike Barnes, a consultant neurologist, will serve as the Clinical Director of the Clinics. Prof Barnes was responsible for obtaining the first medicinal cannabis licence for Alfie Dingley. He is also one of the world’s foremost experts in medical cannabis whose 2016 report ‘Cannabis: The Evidence for Medical Use’ helped pave the way for legalisation of medical cannabis.”

And finally, Jersey also has a mention in the 26 March edition of Pharmaceutical Journal:

“The Jersey government should support doctors on the island to prescribe medical cannabis, a member of the States Assembly of Jersey has said. Speaking to the Jersey Evening Post on 18 March 2019, Rowland Huelin, deputy for the Parish of St Peter, Jersey, said the government should work with doctors to “hopefully, accelerate its usage” after all doctors on the island were given permission to prescribe medical cannabis.”

“The law came into effect on 28 February 2019, but on 1 March 2019, Nigel Minihane, chair of the Jersey Primary Care Body, which represents Jersey GPs, told Channel 103, a local radio station, that GPs had been asked not to prescribe the drugs. Minihane said there were “lots of reasons” why GPs would not currently be able to prescribe medical cannabis, but highlighted the risk of a negligence claim being brought against a doctor.”

“Naomi Mews, a prescribing support pharmacist and a Jersey Local Practice Forum lead, speaking to The Pharmaceutical Journal in a personal capacity, said she was not aware of any licensed or unlicensed cannabis-based medical products having been added to the Prescribed List, which details the medicines available for prescription to Jersey residents. “For a medicine to be considered for addition to the list it must be recommended by a registered medical practitioner or pharmacist contractor, and be reviewed by a committee that has oversight over changes to the limited list,” said Mews, adding that any proposed additions then have to be ratified by the minister for social security.

"Mews said this was one of the “potential barriers to the provision of cannabis products through primary care at this time”, also citing GPs’ concerns about insurance and “a lack of clinical knowledge or experience in use in the practice of medicine of cannabis-based products”.

This brings us full circle, and very much highlights the dilmemnas of cannabis prescription. While patients may be eager to have the benefits of medical cannabis, the issue of a litigation against a doctor is a very real one.

Perhaps one way round the impasse might be for medics and politicians alike to work towards engaging with manufacturers and prescribing in accordance with the UK guidelines, but setting up and arranging medical trials for the manufacturer. As trials always contain a degree of risk, patients in would have to give consent and sign a waiver to acknlowlegde it was an experimental trial. This is, however, a complex process, as can be seen from such literature as “Clinical trials litigation: Practical realities as Seen from the Trenches” (2005)

The creation of private clinics in the UK are also worth investigation, in order to see what protocols they follow, and how they deal with the potential claims for negligence. That would also be worth investigation, so as to benefit from understanding what best practice is being followed there.

In the meantime, small comfort though it is, the fact that the recent legislation of medical cannabis has thrown open the doors to an emerging multimillion pound market means that the number of trials will rise exponentially over the next few years, and probably no more than one or two years down

References
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/how-trusted-data-is-helping-to-liberate-the-power-of-medical-cannabis/44954/

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/news/data-on-nhs-medicinal-cannabis-prescribing-expected-by-end-of-march-2019/20205989.article?firstPass=false

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com//news-and-analysis/news/medical-cannabis-clinicians-society-publishes-guidance-for-prescribers/20206324.fullarticle?firstPass=false#cxrecs_s

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com//news-and-analysis/news/medical-cannabis-industry-should-be-told-to-provide-evidence-if-it-wants-products-prescribed-mps-hear/20206346.fullarticle?firstPass=false#cxrecs_s

https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/09/first-medical-cannabis-clinic-opens-in-the-uk

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/ech-uk-medical-cannabis-clinics/60046/

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com//news-and-analysis/news-in-brief/support-jerseys-gps-to-prescribe-medical-cannabis-deputy-says/20206313.fullarticle?firstPass=false#cxrecs_s

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7722524_Clinical_trials_litigation_Practical_realities_as_Seen_from_the_Trenches

Some General Musings

Some General Musings

Some general musings, including two TV shows reviewed, and a few comments on local news.

Victoria: Some TV Notes

While this series is still very good in respect of the historical setting, period costumes, streets houses and customs, it nevertheless is taking various liberties with history and I think more so than before.

Lord Palmerston was undoubtedly a man with a roving eye for the ladies and of course - as many Victorians did had a mistress.

But while he was a populist politician who was opposed to increasing the franchise as the Chartists desired there is not the faintest shred of evidence that he arranged an agent provocateur to infiltrate the Chartists and plant weapons. Indeed I have been unable to find any record of weapons being found. It is true that the Duke of Wellington deployed troops along the Bridges but far from marching through unimpeded the Chartists were forced to allow only some of their members through, the rest remaining, and the petition was delivered in three hansom Cabs. Far from being a clear and brilliantly sunny day it was raining and the movement petered out as something of a damp squib.

And as History Magazine notes:

“The petition which was boasted to have over 5,700,000 signatures, proved to contain just under 2 million. Pages of them were in identical handwriting and many of them were forged or facetious, including those of the Queen and the Iron Duke, who appeared to have endorsed the petition no fewer than seventeen times, along with Mr Punch and names like Pugnose and No Cheese.”

Laurence Fox presents masterful depiction of Palmerston (channelling Boris Johnson!) who was still at the height of his powers in 1848. However he was over 20 years older than Fox and not in his 40s but in his mid-60s at the time.

It should be noted that these historical inaccuracies do not detract from the stories which are about the people and the Queen. This is a drama about characters as much as about events. Indeed, the events themselves are the colourful backdrop and while not completely authentic do nevertheless grounds the series in reality, and the bigger picture of the challenges to the monarch.

After a deficit of good historical drama Victoria is a welcome return and a welcome change from the many reality TV shows coming back onto our screens.

Songs of Praise - and a refugee’s story.

Catching up with Songs of Praise from two Sundays ago I was struck by the story of a young former Muslim woman who had converted to Christianity and left Iran with her fiancé to avoid the brutal punishments meted out to apostates. Converting the Christianity in Iran still carries the death penalty.

Indeed only last month saw the news about 30-year-old Mostafa Nasirpour who was caught in Malta and given a suspended sentence for entering the country illegally. He had fled Iran after changing his religion, said his lawyer. He was part of a group of five who tried to escape the country, and was one of only two who made it out. The Iranian authorities were only two hours behind him, he said. “The others are probably dead,” said the lawyer.

The niceties of diplomacy means that governments such as the UK – when engaged with regimes such as that in Iran - turn a blind eye to the more brutal aspects of life there. It is probably something that atheists would find hard to comprehend that a mere change of religion should carry with it a very real penalty of great severity, and yet it does. And even becoming an atheist in Iran carries the the same penalty.

The woman who fled from Iran was pregnant. After a traumatic journey north having to pay people smugglers to escape and using flimsy inflatable craft she eventually made her way to England where she was able to claim asylum. Yet the price was very heavy - she lost her child.

Changing the Change Expert: Who was responsible?

I find it astounding that Charlie Parker is blaming the media for taking the advertisement for a Change Expert seriously. After all if you wanted them to take it uncritically surely it should have gone out on April the 1st?

That the agency should put out an advertisement which apparently contradicts the rules regarding recruitment of this level of officer suggests that either they're not a very competent agency (which begs the question why they were engaged in the first place) or they were briefed badly by States officials - which begs the question as to what procedures have been put in place to prevent this happening in future.

The cynic will no doubt think that because this advertisement appeared in a rather lesser seen publication that it was in fact supposed not to be seen by local media or social media enthusiasts. With such large salaries being paid to senior posts it is more essential than ever that the trust of the public is retained and this kind of happening does nothing to foster that trust.

Indeed much play is given of the fact the posts for civil service officials above £100,000 have been frozen for the past years. However, as we all know new posts have been created with new salaries and this does seem to have been a way of circumventing the pay of the most senior civil servants.

What is the remit of an Assistant Minister for Culture?

Montfort Tadier has apologised unreservedly for his recent email and also referred himself to the commissioner for standards. I do detect the nascent beginnings of a party whip with in Reform. This is actually very positive insofar as it can constrain his tendency to occasionally shoot himself in the foot.

One of the things that it would be interesting to know is precisely what is the remit of an Assistant Minister with responsibility for Culture – which was his job until suspended. His suspension could not have come at a worse time giving that Fort Regent seems to have been ruled out as an arts venue for large scale events.

It will be interesting to see if Senator Lyndon Farnham will now pick up the baton (an appropriate image) and find a suitable venue for the Jersey Symphony Orchestra who otherwise they find themselves in financial dire straits. While no new venue will provide the same number of seats as Fort Regent, there must surely be at least a second best venue and time is running out.

It should be noted that the recent report on the fort Regent as a sports venue also looked and provided a detailed audit of different sports venues across the island. It would be good if something similar could also be done for arts venues.

And finally, on a different note - while some editing has been required, and punctuation is something I have not got the hang of, I am rather impressed with the capabilities of voice recognition on Google Docs which I have used to type this blog. There are minor proofreading adjustments needed but far less post-production editing than I have encountered in other voice recognition software. Well done Google!

Brexit Deal Approved

In a surprise breaking news, Teresa May has managed to secure a deal with the EU at the 11th hour.

Reviving an ancient Scottish law code, Gowk's law, the Goverment has the power to take executive decisions in times of national crisis when Parliament is in disarray. This is a law which came down from Scotland with the accession of James I and was incorporated into English Law.

It will be remembered that Cromwell employed that to dismiss the "Rump" Parliament in 1653, an action which historian David Starkey described as "right but repulsive". This law only applies on one day of the year, and this year falls on this Monday.

Accordingly, Teresa May must now fly to Brussells on what is termed a "Gowk's Errand" to sign the treaty before midday, after which it would no longer apply.

Ian Gorst, External Relations Minister says he was pleasantly surprised, and that having talked to several Scots living in Jersey, he now has a much better understanding of the legal technicalities of a Gowk's errand.

Requiem

There's been a lot of death in the news, whether it be the shootings in a school in Brazil, the killings in New Zealand, or the natural disaster in Mozambique. This is not about those places although it comes from reflecting on such deaths, but it is a poem on death in a very symbolic and stylised way.

Requiem

Dark falls shadows, the fading of light
A candle is flickering, high in the tower
Pendulum beat marks out each hour
Sirius shining, the dog star of night

The lady is spinning, garment so white
Shroud for the burial, at hand is the hour
Dark falls shadows, the fading of light
A candle is flickering, high in the tower

Storm rages outside, flashes so bright
Crumbling away, lightening struck tower
There in ruins, grows a pasque flower
Mourning the dead, in funerary rite
Dark falls shadows, the fading of light

The Channel Islands in Diocese of Portsmouth – Part 3

Cardinal Heenan lays the foundation stone of St. Bernadette
, Jersey, with Fr. O 'Regan O. M. I.  (left) and Canon Olney (right).
Lay members Mr and Mrs Leo Kelly

This week’s history comes from the “Diocese of Portsmouth: Past and Present” by Gerard Dwyer published in 1981, and looks at the history of Catholics in Jersey after the Reformation to the early 1980s.

The Channel Islands in Diocese of Portsmouth – Part 3

The Parishes of St. Matthew's and St. Aubin's

It was Fr. Volkerick of St. Thomas' who built out in the country the Church of St. Matthew in honour of Matthew de Gruchy. It was opened in 1872 in the presence of Bishop Danell of Southwark and Bishop Fournier of Rennes. For 10 years the Mission was served from St. Thomas' but because it had no resident priest it was not very successful.

In 1882, just after the foundation of the new Diocese of Portsmouth, Bishop Vertue gave the French Oblates charge of the Mission. The Mission revived and from it came the chapel of St. John and St. Anthony at Ville-a-I'Eveque in Trinity Parish and the chapel of St. Anne in St. Ouen's Parish; these still remain centres within St. Matthew's Parish.

A new granite Church of the Sacred Heart at St. Aubin was begun just at the outbreak of the Second World War and was completed and opened in June 1947. A small chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception was provided near St. Peter's and a larger one dedicated to St. Therese at La Moye. Both of these were later closed (the former because it was on land needed for the extension of the airport) and replaced in 1972 by the fine modern church of St. Bernadette in Les Quennevais Estate, the foundation stone of which was laid by Cardinal Heenan of Westminster during a visit to the Island.

Both of these parishes (St. Matthew's and the Sacred Heart) were handed over to the Irish Oblates in 1952. However, in 1981, St. Matthew's Parish became the responsibility of the Diocesan Clergy.

 The Parish of Our Lady at St. Martin's

In 1847 a French priest, Fr. Hallum from Bordeaux, settled in the Island. He built a small school and chapel in Faldouet which he called "Notre Dame de St. Martin."

Although in an unofficial capacity, he worked there for about eight years. In 1851 the parishioners sent a petition to Bishop Grant of Southwark asking for a priest sent to look after them. The petition was signed by 350 French and 200 Irish Jersey, with Fr. persons. The Irish had come to the Island because of the famine in Ireland and were working on the construction of St. Catherine's Harbour, the foundation stone of which bears the date of 1851.

Evidently Bishop Grant, who had only just taken over the newly formed Diocese of Southwark, was unable to grant their request. On 15^th April 1855 Fr. Hallum wrote again to say that he was leaving the Island. As no priest arrived, on 16th October another petition was prepared and signed "Benoit." It was addressed to the French Emperor, Napoleon III, stating how French Catholics were abandoned to their own devices in the eastern part of Jersey. This petition was transmitted to the Archbishop of Paris who in his turn forwarded it to the Bishop of Southwark.

Most probably this "Benoit" had drawn-up and signed the petition in ignorance of what had already been done by Bishop Grant. On 17th September 1856 he had already named Fr. Joseph Guiramand, a priest from the Diocese of Avignon, a former chaplain in the French Army and a Chevallier of the Legion of Honour, as priest in charge of the Catholic Mission of Our Lady and St. Martin. This priest was already 65 years old, and he was taking on no easy task.

We know from a letter written to Bishop Grant that when he arrived at St. Martin's there was nothing

there not even an altar-stone. He lodged first at No. 10 Duhamel Street, St. Helier.

By the following September he had reconstructed and blessed Fr. Hallum's old church and found a place in which to live in St. Martin's. In time the congregation increased and a larger church became necessary. But where was the money to come from? The parishioners were poor working men and a few retired people.

The only hope was to beg. Fr. Guiramand wrote to all the Bishops of France. We know that the Bishop of Besancon sent his offering through Bishop Grant. The Bishop of Coutances allowed a collection to be taken throughout his diocese, and a collection was also taken in most of the larger churches in Paris by permission of the Archbishop. The Queen of Portugal sent £20; the French Emperor, Napoleon III, sent a beautiful monstrance and a set of the Stations of the Cross. By September 1862 the foundations of this new church, to be dedicated to Our Lady and the Martyrs of Japan, had been laid. In February 1863 the church was blessed and opened by Bishop Grant, the sermon being preached by Mgr. Bracart, Bishop of Coutances.

Fr. Guiramand worked in the parish for 26 years until his death at the age of 89 in September 1882. He was succeeded by Fr. Tardivon who died after two years. The Jesuits then took care of the Mission until 1884. In that year Bishop Vertue of Portsmouth asked the French Oblates to take over the parish. This they did until 1960 when they handed it over to the care of the priests of the Anglo-Irish Province of Oblates who are still in residence.

The history of the parish under the French Oblates is a story of valiant efforts to provide Catholic schools. The Dames de St. Andre were a great help by building a large school for girls. In 1893 St. Joseph's, Grouville, was opened as a school chapel and though renovated continues in use until today. But all the schools had to close eventually because of Jersey Law.

Within the parish a tiny chapel dedicated to the Assumption was opened in Gorey Village in 1903. In more recent times this was replaced by the purchase of a building stone of nearby which had started life as a non-Conformist chapel, then been adapted to become a cinema and finally was turned into a Catholic church.

 The Irish Mission in Jersey: St. Mary and St. Peter's Church

Fr. Francis Isherwood, whilst an assistant priest in Jersey in the early 1970s, wrote an extensive account of Catholicism in the Island. The heading of this section has been taken from his account of the parish of St. Mary and St. Peter which appeared in the Jersey Catholic Record of July 1974.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the building of Fort Regent brought a number of Irish labourers to Jersey. At first they went to Mass in the French chapel in Castle Street. From 1811 to 1821 separate registers were kept for the French- and English-speaking communities. Within a few years the numbers of Irish had grown so much that the chapel in Castle Street had become too small for both communities.

The Irish and French did not get on too well together perhaps it was a problem of language - complaining that each would not make way for the other. The Irish complained to Bishop Poynter of the London District. In 1821 Fr. J. Carroll arrived, and in 1826 he built a chapel off Hue Street in St. Helier. Unfortunately the chapel had to be sold the following year: the money to build it had been borrowed and the mortgage could not be repaid.

In September 1829 Fr. Matthew Ryan came to Jersey; Hue Street chapel was re-acquired and put to its original use. Ten years later the chapel had become too small for the congregation and the priest in charge, Fr. John Cunningham, decided that a bigger church would have to be built. A new site was found in Vauxhall Street, and the foundation stone was laid on Wednesday, 13th October 1841.

The stone has a brass plaque with the following inscription (in Latin):

 The Foundation Stone of this Church, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was laid by Wm. Burke Esq. in the year of Our Lord 1841, The Right Rev. Thomas Griffiths, Bishop of Oleno, being Vicar Apostolic of the London District, the Rev. J. Cunningham being Pastor and James Parkinson the Architect.

Religious Education in Jersey: A Comment

A Bailiwick Express report on Minecraft Bibles being donated to schools elicited a large number of negative responses on Politics Jersey.

“This is pretty dark, should it be allowed?”

“Have you read the bible? It’s very dark. Gang rape, Incest. Murder, Slavery. All are good in the Bible. If that’s not dark, then what is?”

"Morality, Slavery is perfectly moral in the bible. The overall message is nothing to do with peace and love. Its "Do what I say or else"”

“More brainwashing propaganda, shouldn’t kids be taught the truth at school??”

“Is that a female teacher handing out the bibles? Yet the New Testament states "I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man; she must be quiet. “

“As a father I’m glad my little girl hasn’t been subjected to this bullshit she already knows that god isn’t real and it’s just something for folk to believe in”

“I would be fuming if they’d hijacked my child’s class for that rubbish. Schools should not be treated as captive audiences that religious groups can prey upon to try and boost their own numbers.

It is amazing how many people assume that because they have definite opinions about the Bible being bad, their children should not be subjected to the possibility of reading the Bible and instead, evidently, take their opinions on trust!

They clearly did not read the statement reported by the Religious Education Advisory Council:

"By having a Bible in class, students can learn how to look up passages and can explore the text first-hand. They can engage directly with the scripts and think about what the text means for believers, and for themselves."

This seems to be about (1) learning about a faith's key text (2) thinking for yourself.

The commentators seem to have taken C.S. Lewis statement (in “Surprised by Joy”) to heart

“A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere — ‘Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,’ as Herbert says”

Clearly the best way to preserve the purity of their children’s atheism is to ensure they are not exposed to something else! But isn’t this a form of censoring the child’s reading? If anything smacks of indoctrination, that does. Are some of these people so scared that their children might make up their own minds, instead of what their parents think? Do they really believe in the old Jesuit maxim: Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man?

The Bailiwick Express article, which no one seems to have read in its entirety, also said:

Francesca Allen, Head of Humanities Faculty at Le Rocquier School, said the school “gratefully received” the donation. “We were previously having to print extracts from the Bible to support students in their Judaism and Christianity studies, which meant they never got to grips with how to negotiate a real Bible.”

Now I’m a great believer in looking at primary texts when doing history. And also in religious education, finding out about what people believe, or stories they have told, are best found in the primary texts.

As Seneca said: " Give over hoping that you can skim, by means of epitomes, the wisdom of distinguished men. Look into their wisdom as a whole; study it as a whole." But people probably don't read Seneca much nowadays.

[That saying is from Moral letters to Lucilius/Letter 33 if you want to read the whole piece!]

The Jersey Education law says:

Subject to Article 20, a pupil of compulsory school age in a provided school shall receive religious education in accordance with a syllabus approved by the Minister after consultation with the Religious Education Advisory Council.

And article 20 also provides a right for the parent “”to withdraw the pupil from religious education”

It should be noted that religious education in provided schools follows a strict curriculum guidelines, and again no one criticising religious education in Jersey schools seem to have given the slightest interest in finding that out. Here is what it says:

RE contributes dynamically to pupil’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong.

In RE pupils learn about and from religions.

RE plays a significant part in a balanced curriculum, enabling pupils to consider some of the fundamental questions of life.

RE offers distinctive opportunities to promote pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

RE should offer a structured and safe space during curriculum time for reflection, discussion, dialogue and debate. It is a subject that explores people’s responses, beliefs, traditions, cultures, behaviours and diversity. Pupils will be able to gain and deploy skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. Pupils will learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.”

Before fulminating against handing out bibles for use in Religious Education, perhaps a little more care should be taken to find out what Religious Education is all about. Certainly in some circles of social media, “respecting the right of others to differ” seems far down the list of priorities for children to be taught.

References:

https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/minecraft-bibles-donated-help-boost-religious-education

The Empty Land

C.S. Lewis wrote of grief that it was like: "A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The long you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it every inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as through as this. "

And I was also thinking (at the end of the poem) of: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

Grief and depression are kindred spirits, and reflecting on that gave rise to this poem.

The Empty Land

The star light flickers far away
I’m shut within a wall
Depression, doubt and crucified
The future seems so small

I may not know, I cannot tell
The darkness and the fear
It comes sometimes to all of us
A black dog shadow’s there

There seems no ending, not enough
No room left at the inn
But walled enclosures, bolted gate
And I will never win

The wind is blowing, now beloved
And I must follow too
And trust in hands held in the dark
And unknown way with you

The Channel Islands in Diocese of Portsmouth - Part 2

St Thomas before Vatican II changes

This week’s history comes from the “Diocese of Portsmouth: Past and Present” by Gerard Dwyer published in 1981, and looks at the history of Catholics in Jersey after the Reformation to the early 1980s.

The Channel Islands in Diocese of Portsmouth – Part 2

Jersey

It would seem that between the English and French Revolutions the Catholic religion was non-existent in the Islands. The extinction of Catholicism at the Reformation produced no Catholic martyr; but its revival at the end of the eighteenth century in France produced one in the person of Matthew de Gruchy. He was born in Jersey in 1761. As a young man he ran away to sea, joined the navy, took part in the war against France, was captured by the French and imprisoned.

At Angers Matthew was used as an interpreter in the hospital where there were many English prisoners. Some of these were Catholics (many Irish used to join the army or navy), and the local Bishop sent an Irish priest, Fr. Drady, to look after the Catholics. Fr. Drady instructed Matthew in the Faith and received him into the Church on 23rd July 1780. In June 1782 peace was signed and de Gruchy became a free man. A local parish priest took an interest in him and eventually had him accepted by the Bishop of Lucon as a candidate for the priesthood. He was ordained on Easter Eve 1788.

The following year the French Revolution began with the fall of the Bastille. In 1792 all priests who refused to take the Oath laid down by the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy" were ordered to leave the country. Great numbers went to England and to the Channel Islands. In Jersey there were three Bishops and 3,000 priests. Matthew decided to go home. When his relations discovered that he was a Catholic priest they were horrified, and he had to leave the Island.

After a visit to London he returned to Jersey. He was called-up to join the Militia; he refused to bear arms and was again exiled. He returned home once again, but the States of Jersey, under the influence of the Anglican Rectors, made his stay impossible. In February 1795 we find him in Southampton working among the French prisoners-of-war and 30 Irish soldiers who were in hospital.

When La Vendee rose against the revolutionaries, Matthew decided to go there. For two years he lived in terrible conditions, hunted by the soldiery with a price on his head. In 1797 he was arrested in Nantes and condemned to death. We possess his last letter to his mother, written in the Bouffay Prison at Nantes: "... I offer Him the sacrifice of my life. I ask Him to accept it as a reparation for my sins and that He may be pleased in his mercy to grant you also, to my sisters and whole family, the grace of conversion “Next day he was shot. The first volley did not hit him; neither did the second: so they put a rifle to his head and blew out his brains. His name is among the 125 martyrs whose beatification has been petitioned for at Rome by the Diocese of Nantes.

Catholicism makes a comeback in Jersey - St. Thomas's

Between 1790 and 1793 great numbers of French émigrés, both priests and laity, poured into Jersey. Almost overnight the town of St. Helier doubled its size. The Governor gave permission for the opening of four chapels for private worship St. Malo with Fr. John Le Saout, St. Louis with Fr. Peter Derbree, Our Lady with Fr. Le Roussel de Vaucelles, and the Sacred Heart with Fr. de la Chateigneraye.

As well as the French emigrants there were also some Irish soldiers garrisoned on the Island. They too were given permission to attend Mass in these chapels. From these two sources- French émigrés and Irish immigrants - came the revival of Catholicism in the Island.

Gradually the émigrés returned to France and the four Mass centres were closed. In September 1803 an old flour loft was rented in Castle Street, access being gained by means of a ladder. This new Catholic chapel was known as "Les Mielles" and was dedicated to St. Louis. The first priest in charge was a Fr. Philibert. He was succeeded in 1807 by Fr. Charles de Grimouville (who, as we saw above, was also appointed Vicar General for the Islands) who died in 1817 having been named Bishop-Elect of St. Malo.

The Mission continued to be served by French priests: Fr.' Le Guedois from 1822 to 1836 and then, after a lapse of nine months when there were no priests, Fr. Morlais. In 1842 Fr. Morlais bought an Anabaptist chapel in New Street which he dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle in memory of Bishop Griffiths, the Vicar Apostolic of the London District, who had helped so much in its foundation.

After 23 years of hard work Fr. Morlais retired in 1860. A Belgian priest, Fr. Volkerick, took charge in October 1860. Helped by rich families in Belgium and France he was able to bring the De La Salle Brothers and the Dames de St. Andre to the Island. The Brothers left Jersey in 1896 but came back again in 1917, and the following year opened their house and school at The Beeches, where they still remain today. The Dames de St. Andre came in July 1863. They opened a school first in Duhamel Street, and then they build a magnificent granite convent in David Place. These nuns opened schools at St. Matthew's, and in the parishes of St. Martin's, St. Aubin's, St. Ouen's and St. John's. These schools were used for Mass on Sundays, and from them grew the Catholic churches and parishes in these parts. The Dames de St. Andre remained in Jersey until 1911.

For 10 years previously there had been a struggle to keep open their schools. The States of Jersey demanded that all teachers should have an English Teaching Certificate. The nuns did not have these, so they invited other Sisters, the Faithful Companions of Jesus (F.C.J.) to take over their two schools in Val Plaisant and at St. Matthew's. The latter was eventually closed, but in David Place the F.C.J.'s built up a fine school. However, in 1967, the premises had become too small, so the Sisters built a new school at Grainville Manor where they still continue to live and teach.

In 1870 the Catholic population of St. Helier had reached such proportions that St. Thomas' Chapel was not able to cope with the crowds. Fr. Volkerick bought land for a new and larger church in Val Plaisant. He began collecting money and by 1879 he had collected 50,000 francs. In that year Fr. Volkerick was called to work in England, and in the following year Bishop Danell of Southwark offered the Mission to the French Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

The latter gratefully accepted the offer as they had just been expelled from France and were looking for a new home. The Oblates lost no time in continuing the work of collecting money for the new church. Fr. Michaud, a noted fund-raiser of the day, was put in charge of the project. Within two years, on Thursday 6th September 1883, the foundation stone was laid by the Bishop of the newly-erected Diocese of Portsmouth, Bishop Vertue, in the presence of his Vicar General, Mgr. Cahill, the Catholic Dean of Jersey, Fr. McCarthy, and the former parish priest of St. Thomas', Fr. Volkerick.

The church, which is a fine example of nineteenth century French Gothic architecture (known locally by the older people as "La Cathedrale"), took four years to build and was to be opened on 30th October 1887.

The night before a tempest blew. About midnight it became so violent that everything shook; the windows of both transepts were blown in and fell to the ground inside the church. Many others in the nave were loosened. The scaffolding around the tower was in danger of collapsing and crashing down on the neighbouring houses; it was a miracle that this did not happen. At about 4 o'clock in the morning the priests were able to get into the church. It was swimming with water and bits of glass lay everywhere. They set to work and by 10.30 a.m. all was ready for the blessing of the new church which was performed by Fr. Rey, Provincial of the Oblates, followed by the first Mass therein.

In 1977 the present Rector of St. Thomas', Fr. Jean-Marie Chuffart, undertook a complete restoration of the outer fabric of the church. At the present time work on the inside has begun; this will restore the full beauty of the church's architecture and provide a worthy sanctuary within it.

On 13th May 1979 a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, provided by the large Portuguese community which now uses St. Thomas', was carried through the streets in procession and enshrined in the church by the Bishop of Funchal (Madeira).

On the evening of Ascension Day, 28th May 1981, a concelebrated Mass of Thanksgiving, presided over by Mgr. Lawrence, Episcopal Vicar for the Channel Islands (as the Bishop of Portsmouth, due to fog, was unable to land in Jersey that afternoon), was offered in St. Thomas' Church to celebrate the centenary of the Oblate Fathers' arrival in Jersey.

Gun Control: Time for a Re-appraisal in Jersey

The JEP reported the following story:

“THERE are more than 2,400 semi-automatic weapons in the Island but Jersey has no plans to alter its gun laws in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack, the Home Affairs Minister has said.”

“Constable Len Norman stressed laws in the Island were ‘robust enough’ but conceded New Zealand’s parliament might have said the same prior to last week’s attack at a mosque in Christchurch which killed 50 people, including women and children. Asked whether there was any room for discussion about altering Jersey’s laws, Mr Norman said: ‘Our gun laws are robust enough as they are and I don’t see any reason for change. Terror attacks can happen in any jurisdiction, absolutely, Jersey included, but now is not the time for knee-jerk reactions. ‘Terror like this can happen anywhere and everywhere and that’s why we need to be vigilant and have robust procedures in place ­– like we do – but nothing is guaranteed.’”

While there are strong procedures, we should be aware that New Zealand said exactly the same, which Len does concede... and then does nothing! An immediate ban would be a knee-jerk reaction, but a re-appraisal of gun control, and a critical probe of any weaknesses would be wise.

As the New Zealand Prime Minister stated in a press release:

“There were five guns used by the primary perpetrator. There were two semi-automatic weapons and two shotguns. The offender was in possession of a gun license.”

CNN reports that Australia curtailed the use of semi-automatic weapons after a fatal shooting:

“Gun laws in Australia were tightened following a 1996 mass shooting in which 35 people were killed by a lone gunman in Port Arthur, Tasmania. Within two weeks, Australian lawmakers banned rapid-fire rifles and shotguns and introduced tighter laws governing ownership of other weapons.”

Semi-automatic weapons self-load a new bullet after every trigger pull, rather than requiring the shooter to manually load one, enabling the wielder to fire off rounds more quickly.

A hand-gun such as a revolver would generally be a manual load weapon, since it takes human power to advance the cylinder.

There has actually not been a great deal of scientific research, but in 2018, a paper was published in the journal of the American Medical Association looking at US statistics.

It was entitled "Scientific research Lethality of Civilian Active Shooter Incidents With and Without Semiautomatic Rifles in the United States" and was compiled by Elzerie de Jager, MBBS(Hons), Eric Goralnick, MD, MS2 and Justin C. McCarty, DO1

Popular Science summarised the results:

“The research looked at every incident in the FBI database from 2000 to 2017 and ended up with 248 shootings, a quarter of which involved a semi-automatic weapon. Most of the rest featured handguns, followed by shotguns and then non-semi-automatic rifles. In those 248 incidents, shooters collectively killed 718 people and wounded 898.”

“Attacks with a semi-automatic rifle were more dangerous and more deadly. An average of 4.25 people died in those attacks versus 2.49 in those with non-semi-automatic firearms. And although 44 percent of those wounded ended up dying of their injuries regardless of the type of weapon used, those armed with semi-automatic rifles were also able to wound more people: an average of 5.48 versus 3.02.”

Potential gun owners in New Zealand must be over the age of 16 and pass a police background check, according to GunPolicy.org and its founder Professor Philip Alpers.

Alpers told CNN: "It's always a terrible surprise when this sort of thing happens. You can never predict where it's going to happen. The most common comment you get from people when this sort of thing happens is that they never thought it could happen here and that's how the people of Christchurch must be feeling."

The JEP noted that “A spokesman for the police said that if the force became aware of a person in the Island showing extremist tendencies, they would be able to seize weapons if there was an imminent threat.”

That’s a very optimistic position to take, and assumes a lot of knowledge about how public someone planning a massacre will be. However, when these massacres take place, there is usually no signalling that it is about to happen, especially when it is a lone individual rather than a terrorist group. Police intelligence in other jurisdictions has not so far been very effective in preventative action.

This massacre has been a wake-up call in New Zealand, and it should be a wake-up call in Jersey. While changes may not be necessary, and there have been no recorded incidents in the past, we are now living in a far more fractured and tribal world, and a re-appraisal would certainly be prudent. This should focus not just on the controls, but how an incident could be contained as rapidly as possible if it did occur.

Getting Priorities Right

Balancing the Books

ITV News reports that:

“Taxes will need to rise or public sector spending be cut if Jersey's government is to balance its books over the next four years. That's the warning of a leading group of economists who advise Jersey's government on its financial plans. The Fiscal Policy Panel warns £340 million was taken out of reserves, or rainy day funds, between 2009 and 2017 to balance the books.”

Just by way of note, the following Ministers had responsibility over that time frame:

2008-2011 Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf
2011-2018 Treasury Minister Alan Maclean

Spend, Spend, Spend

Meanwhile, money is no object:

‘Liberation 75 is a proposal to join Liberation Square and Weighbridge Place by extinguishing the section of road between the two spaces to create a large, improved public-amenity space,’ Deputy Lewis said. ‘It is proposed that it is completed by and opened on 9 May 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Island.

And what does this vanity project cost?

“£1.4m proposals to connect Liberation Square and the Weighbridge have been unveiled”

The other side of the balance...

But on the other hand, cut-backs bite:

“Chronic staffing shortages have prompted one of Jersey’s largest charities to cut a lifeline service offering families of disabled people a break from caring for them, warning of a sector-wide “crisis”. Les Amis, a charity which supports islanders with learning disabilities, have said that recruitment shortages have left them with “no option” but to halt two of the main services they provide at the end of this month.”

“Staff pressures, a lack of social workers and an increased work load have led a service provider to pull out of offering States short breaks. New Horizons provide short breaks for children with disabilities, but say they will not reapply for their Health Department contract once it expires at the end of May.”

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this government seems to have its priorities all wrong?

Rather than putting aside £1.4 million for a project which is not necessary, why not use some of that to help lifeline services to children.

When the liberation of Jersey happened in 1945, it meant an end to five long years of German rule, when the captive Islanders were set free. Lifeline services provide freedom to help islanders and their families with learning disabilities, and while it might not be as high-profile and showy as the proposed Liberation 75  project, wouldn’t it be nice to give them and their families a bit of extra freedom?

And perhaps if some money was spent there, so that it could feature in the Liberation 75 celebrations, perhaps some of the disabled children supported could play a significant part in the celebrations. That would be something which we could all celebrate and be proud of!

References:
https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2019-03-18/jerseys-government-warned-cut-costs-or-put-up-taxes-to-cope-with-economic-uncertainty/
https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2019-03-14/short-breaks-service-provider-to-stop-due-to-staff-pressures/
https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/care-recruitment-crisis-forces-charity-cutbacks/#.XI9PXCL7Tow

The Politics of the Tribe

I notice that the police are investigating claims of racial abuse during the election campaign, and in particular against Inna Gardiner.

I see one blog is still up in which the blogger accusers her in complicity in a genocidal campaign by Israel against the Palestinians which may or may not be related to this. It is an extraordinary claim and couched in extreme language which certainly seems to go beyond mere political argument.

I can well understand why she didn’t rise to the bait. Replying to the kinds of accusations thrown at her, in the vitriolic manner in which this was done, would be to shift the focus of an election campaign onto something else entirely, and as it so often does, bring the more virulent politics of the tribe.

Let’s not forget that as recent as 2003, red swastikas were daubed onto the outside walls of Tabor Synagogue in St Brelade, and while the incident has not been repeated, there's still anti-semitisim around. In fact a more general xenophobic racism, stoked by Brexit, has been rising not just in the UK but also in Jersey.

This is what that the blog said:

"Gardiner is a former employee of the Israeli Ministry of Education in the occupied city of Jerusalem. Any leftist worth their salt should know that the entire Israeli state apparatus is a settler-colonial death machine which works tirelessly to systematically enslave, oppress and ultimately expel or exterminate the Palestinian people, and the Ministry of Education is no different.... Anyone who thought it was remotely acceptable to even engage with an organization and a government which engages in this kind of blatantly genocidal policy is deserving of far more than simply not receiving your vote. I'd advise anyone who even pretends to care about human rights and cultural preservation to refuse to touch her with a ten-foot pole."

A correspondent notes that not only is this abusive, it is also potentially criminal:

“There is not one shred of evidence by which you could claim that Inna is, was, has been party to or supports Israeli government policy, or in being a government employee that infers she was. “

“Had he made the comments prior to Inna's declaration to stand for Deputy it may well have been ignored. However in the context of an election it becomes more than a matter of racial abuse but may possibly stray into an offence under Article 62 (1)(b)(c) of PUBLIC ELECTIONS (JERSEY) LAW 2002 which states:”

“A person shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale if, with intent to obtain a vote for himself or herself, or for any other person, at a public election, or an abstention from voting at a public election,

(b) the person publishes a false statement about a person who is a candidate at the election knowing the statement to be untrue; or

(c) assaults or threatens any person.”

“Sadly anti-semitism is very much alive no matter how comments are dressed up or academic argument made to deny it exists.”

Inna has told Bailiwick Express that since she went public on allegations of racists abuse, she had been inundated with so many emails from islanders “describing racist abuse in Jersey” that she “didn’t have time to reply to all of them”.

“I have had online comments - these email describe [the abuse that] people experienced at their work places, social circles and also between children at schools. It means it's a much wider issue and we need to speak about it. I believe in our community, we need to care for everybody. Who does it need to realise how wrong it is? I don't want to prosecute them because of their ignorance. For me, highlighting this issue is important, so everyone understands exactly what is and isn't acceptable in our society.”

Links

https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/inna-gardiner-racism-support