Why Montfort Tadier was prohibited from asking a question

"In talking to Mr. Imlack Smith, the bank manager, a slim and sallow gentleman of dressy appearance but quiet demeanour, he violently wrenched the conversation to the subject of the gold standard, from which it was merely a step to goldfish."  (G.K. Chesterton, The Song of the Flying Fish)

Why Montfort Tadier was prohibited from asking a question

This is an examination of the facts, looking at Hansard, on the day when Deputy Tadier left the States Chamber claiming the Bailiff had “silenced him”.

Standing orders of the States of Jersey have this:

Questions with notice to be answered orally

Any member of the States may, within the time allowed by the presiding officer for the purpose, ask one or more supplementary questions relating to the subject matter of the question.

The presiding officer shall rule a supplementary question out of order if –
(a) the contents of the questions contravene standing orders; or
(b) the question is not concise.

Now we come to Hansard for the day:

Deputy S.M. Ahier of St. Helier of the Minister for Treasury and Resources regarding  the application of the Goods and Services Tax (G.S.T.) de minimis clause applied to internet purchases: (OQ.174/2019)

Will the Minister advise the Assembly whether she intends to remove the de minimis exemption clause from G.S.T. (goods and services tax) on internet purchases?

Notice that is the question, and supplementary questions under standing orders should only be those “relating to the subject matter of the question”

Various answers and supplementary questions followed on the de minimis limit. And then we had this:

Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade: Does the Minister agree that one of the reasons that G.S.T. is so controversial fundamentally, whether it is to do with de minimis or generally, is that G.S.T. is a fundamentally regressive tax in that somebody who has to spend all of their income on-Island on the essentials of life will be paying a higher rate of G.S.T. effectively than those who do not spend all of their income? Therein lies the fundamental problem.

Now that’s pushing the limits a bit. The original question was about removing de minimis and this is widening the scope of that question.

Deputy S.J. Pinel: No, I do not agree. I think G.S.T. is one of the more broad, fair and simple taxes inasmuch as everybody pays it. Even tourists pay it so I do not agree with the Deputy on this one.

Deputy M. Tadier: Supplementary, if I may.

The Bailiff: That was really not a follow-up question. A supplementary question on the question which was first lodged by Deputy Ahier ...

Notice how the Bailiff, in keeping with Standing Orders, is gently reminding Deputy Tadier that supplementary questions should relate to the subject matter of the question.

Deputy M. Tadier: This is a follow-up question on one of the themes that the Minister has raised. She said that she is committed to a level playing field when it comes to taxation and that is a principle presumably she follows in her policy making. Does that extend to the inequality between 1(1)(k)s who pay 1 per cent of tax and other locals who pay 20 per cent of tax?

The Bailiff: That is not a supplementary on G.S.T.

Deputy M. Tadier: Is this simply about punishing those with the least ability to purchase ...

The Bailiff: Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy M. Tadier: ... who are forced to go overseas?

The Bailiff: That is not ... will you sit down please? Deputy, will you please sit down? That is not a supplementary on de minimis exemptions from G.S.T.

At which point Deputy Tadier stormed out of the Assembly, stating that he had been silenced by the Bailiff, and claiming that the Bailiff’s application of States rules meant he was ‘unable to do his job’!
But as the Bailiff said: “Supplementary questions are in order if they relate to the matter. If they don’t relate to the matter, the purpose of question time is not accomplished,’”

Conclusions

It is patently obvious that Deputy Tadier is using the question to change subject. The supplementary questions have to refer back to the original question, and his final one did not.

“Does that [a level playing field] extend to the inequality between 1(1)(k)s who pay 1 per cent of tax and other locals who pay 20 per cent of tax?” is not a question which has anything to do with de minimis exemptions from G.S.T..

And Deputy Tadier must be aware that he is bending the rules: “This is a follow-up question on one of the themes that the Minister has raised.” 

Now it’s clear that “level playing field” in the replies by the Minister refers to a level playing field on G.S.T. between online and local retailers, and yet Deputy Tadier tries to smuggle in a completely different question.

So the Bailiff was not preventing the Deputy from doing his job, but by applying standing orders, was in fact telling him he was not doing his job properly by obeying the rules of the House. An elected speaker would have done just as the Bailiff did.

Why Montfort Tadier was prohibited from asking a question? Because he didn't follow standing orders on the proper use of supplementary questions and tried to twist the subject to ask a question about something else entirely. 

Services provided for deaf Islanders: Prevarication and Delay

The Ministerial Reply
(in BSL)

I've been looking at Hansard regarding matters raised by Deputies contacted by deaf constituents. The answers below in the Hansard extract, it has to be said, are very much like Jim Hacker's Yes Minister. We have "continue to explore options of how best to meet these needs" and "organising an information and engagement session", but no timelines are given.

"It is not the case, as might be inferred from the question, that we are reacting to a departure of a member of staff." 

That's news to me! As Kevin Pamplin comments: " Families that have contacted me have told me quite simply they knew nothing about this."  There's a serious breakdown in communications, and if, as we are told, "there was a plan being developed throughout last year", clearly the plan didn't involve telling the deaf community what was about to happen.

The Minister has said that he "responds to letters and emails", which is fine, but why respond? Shouldn't he have ensured that families with members of the deaf community were proactively told about what was happening. He says he's had meetings, but evidently not with all the people who matter, for whom the departure of the only BSL Level 3 Social Worker came as a very sudden and unanticipated shock. 

The Minister says he is working with the Deaf Partnership Board, but he should also ensure communication doesn't end with them, but with the families and individuals who need support. As far as I am aware, there has been no personalised, friendly letter to those, telling them to get in touch if they have any concerns.

And of course, he doesn't mention the loss of the BSL level 6 teacher at Highlands, which clearly because of the circumstances involved, could not have formed part of any long term planning.

As for the "two qualified teachers for the deaf", they are not as far as I am aware level 3. And yet best practice as far as I am aware is for teachers to have British Sign Language up to at least Level 3 (the minimum requirement in the UK) , in order to have the relevant skills and competency to then be able to successfully teach students. He's obviously going by what his advisors tell him is sufficient, but perhaps he should do a bit more homework himself on the matter.

To make it clearer, BSL Level 2 is the equivalent of a GCSE in a language. Would you employ a teacher of mathematics or French who only had a GCSE to teach children? That's why UK has BSL 3 as a minimum requirement. Part of the problem is that people hear about different levels but are rather clueless as to what each one means.

Indeed part of the work, as a recent FOI request mentions, says that "there is an ongoing consultation to support the needs of the deaf in Jersey." Interestingly, this lists the phases of this, which don't seem to appear in any of the replies either to oral or written questions by the Deputies:

Request: Can you tell me whether the following costed work has been carried out, or when each phase is likely to be carried out.

• British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter for research interviews (including travel expenses)
• BSL Interpreter for consultation meeting (including travel expenses)
• Speech to Text typist for consultation meeting (including travel expenses):
• Room hire for consultation meeting:
• Production of a BSL version of proposals (ie an online signed and captioned video)

The reply:

"Research has been undertaken to better understand the communication and support needs of the dDeaf community in Jersey. A BSL interpreter was contracted to support qualitative research interviews with BSL users in November 2018. This was at a cost of £354.32, including travel expenses."

"To date, a consultation meeting has not taken place. An engagement and information event is currently being planned. A date for this event will be publicised shortly and communication support and venue costs will be available in due course. "

That was on 26 June, and we are now on 16 July, and "shortly" has not yet appeared on the horizon. As Hansard mentions, the Deputy of St Ouen is still "organising an information and engagement session". 

And as Jim Hacker remarks in "Yes Minister"

"Government is a complex business. So many people have to have their say. These things take time. Rome wasn't built in a day"

Extract from Hansard, 2 July 2019

Deputy K.G. Pamplin of St. Saviour of the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the services provided for deaf Islanders: (OQ.180/2019)
Following the answer to my Written Question 285/2019, will the Minister state what work has been done, or is being undertaken, to ensure sufficient services are provided to meet the needs of deaf Islanders?

Deputy R.J. Renouf of St. Ouen (The Minister for Health and Social Services):
My answer to the Deputy’s Written Question 285/2019 details the services provided to deaf and hard of hearing Islanders in Health and Community Services, and in Children, Young People, Education and Skills, including services within schools. In addition, work has been undertaken alongside the voluntary organisations to better understand the communication and support needs of the deaf community in Jersey. It chose a need for Government to play a part in providing interpreting services, advice and advocacy, community support and specialist knowledge.

The Directors General for both Health and Community Services and Children’s Services continue to explore options of how best to meet these needs and there has been discussion with Earsay, the Jersey Deaf Society and the Deaf Partnership Board to ensure this process includes all voluntary sector bodies and all members of the deaf community. We are organising an information and engagement session so that all these ideas can be shared with the wider deaf community.

That meeting will include communications support using British Sign Language interpreters and speech to text reporters. The plans that will be discussed at that meeting include the introduction of a dedicated worker with specialist knowledge who will provide advice, advocacy and support for the deaf community. In our Customer and Local Services Department there is also work going on, on a project, to implement a remote interpreting services for British Sign Language users across the whole Government of Jersey.

3.1.1 Deputy K.G. Pamplin:

I thank the Minister for his answer and his written answer, which I was trying to read very quickly. In 2018 there was one British Sign Language level 3 trained social worker however their employment ceased in April this year and currently there is no social worker with that high level of skill. What work is going on to replace that much needed role in social work?

The Deputy of St. Ouen:
I am not in a position to discuss an individual member of staff and the departure of any individuals.

But work is going on to create and recruit to a post of a deaf community liaison officer. That work is being carried out in conjunction with representatives from the voluntary organisations that support the deaf community in Jersey and it is currently undergoing external evaluation. Then recruitment to the post will commence. Meanwhile, British Sign Language is used by at least 2 staff within our services who have level 2 British Sign Language.

3.1.2 Deputy K.F. Morel of St. Lawrence:

In regard to the level 3 work of the social worker that Deputy Pamplin just mentioned, or with regard to the post rather than the individual, in a recent communication the Minister for Health and Social Services mentioned that there was no replacement, and I believe this has just been reiterated. Could the Minister for Health and Social Services please explain why a crucial post that created a vital link between deaf people and society was got rid of without having a planned replacement or a plan to replace them?

The Deputy of St. Ouen:

It is not the case, as might be inferred from the question, that we are reacting to a departure of a member of staff. There was a plan being developed throughout last year, indeed when I first came into office this work was being undertaken, as to how best to meet the needs of the community and, as I have said before, the post of a community liaison officer is being developed and that is in conjunction with the voluntary organisations that represent the community.

3.1.3 Deputy K.F. Morel:

The Minister for Health and Social Services mentions that this is being done to best meet the needs of the community. Families that have contacted me have told me quite simply they knew nothing about this. Could the Minister explain how he is meeting the best needs of the community without liaising or speaking with the deaf community?

The Deputy of St. Ouen:

All I can say is that this work is - and I have said it before - being done in conjunction with the 2 charities who work in the area and those 2 charities come together as the Deaf Partnership Board, with Government, to plan these services. I have had meetings with members of the deaf community. I have had letters that I have responded to, emails also. I am willing to discuss the issue with all those who might not yet be aware of the current services and the current plan.

3.1.4 Deputy K.G. Pamplin:

I also return to an F.O.I. (freedom of information ) on a similar subject that the Children’s Service do not have any workers specifically providing support for D/deaf and hard of hearing children. I did not know if the Minister for Children and Housing was aware of this fact. With that in line, and everything he is saying, will he put this as an urgent matter on an already very busy agenda for the Minister?

The Deputy of St. Ouen:

I am reporting from the written answer that was provided to the Deputy, that there are 2 qualified teachers for the deaf and one audiologist working in Education. There are additional resource centres for hearing needs at St. Clement and Le Rocquier schools with team leaders and key workers.

There is a children’s complex needs team, which supports families with children who have permanent or substantial disabilities, which would include deaf or hard of hearing issues. I cannot speak for the Children’s Department any longer but it would appear from the research undertaken to provide the written answer that there is a team and there are people in post supporting children.

Tools for Conviviality

Tools for Conviviality

Good food, drink, a meal shared
Breaking bread together is deep
And as we sow, so shall we reap
Heart of humanity: that we cared

Hospitality to those so scared
Comfort those who still weep
Good food, drink, a meal shared
Breaking bread together is deep

Togetherness, even unprepared
Awake to compassion, not asleep
Connections: to make that leap
Heart of humanity: that we cared
Good food, drink, a meal shared

Night Life in Jersey in the 1960s

In 1966, under the "Four Square", publishers "New English Library" put out a small paperback called the "Four Square Holiday Guide to the Channel Islands". It was compiled by the late Peter Haining, and reflects a pre-decimal and bygone Channel Islands, just as tourism was ramping up to its giddy heights in the 1970s. Here's a brief extract.

For those who don't know, before 1971 and decimal currency, Jersey followed the UK with a monetary system which had 12 d (pence) to the 1 s (shilling) and 20s to £1. There was also a weird value called a "guinea" which was £1 1s, The pennies came in half-pennies, pennies, three pence bits, six pence coins, shillings, half crowns (2 s 6d coin), ten shilling note, and pound note.

Night Life in Jersey

For the younger set St. Ouen's Bay is a very popular spot for young visitors to Jersey. The Surf Room - as its name implies - is the centre for swimmers and surfers and dances are held every evening (Sundays excepted) from 8.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. with music by a top beat group. The place has a tremendous atmosphere - but don't turn up dressed too casually or admission will be refused. Admission 5s. 6d. for men and 3s. 6d. for girls. 

Also along the Five Mile Road is the Chateau Plaisir where the "Crazy Nights" with dancing and games attract a lively crowd.

The Tropicana which is a short distance away is rapidly gaining popularity because of the beat and folk music sessions which are held every night. Admission prices vary according to the night from 2s. 6d. to 6s.

If it's modern jazz you're after, the Granite Bar in the Water's Edge Hotel at Bouley Bay is the spot. Here record sleeves from the latest m. j. records cover the walls and the soothing strains of Charlie Mingus, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane and many others can be heard over the loudspeakers.

For folk and blues fans, The Melting Pot in the Anneport Bay Hotel at Anneport is the island's Mecca. Well known artists and groups appear regularly and there are record intervals for dancing. The "Pot" is open every night of the week (except Sunday) from 8.30 p.m. until 11.30 p.m. - but it is always crowded so it is best to reserve a table by ringing East 58.

Folk Sing-Alongs are also held regularly in the Mecca Ballroom at the Ritz Hotel in St. Helier and admissions costs 3s. 6d.

At the Springfield Beat Forum in Janvrin Road the accent is very much on the latest pop music and every Thursday, Friday and Saturday throughout the summer season leading Jersey beat groups play for dancing. The Forum is open from 8 p.m. until 11.30 p.m. and the admission price is 5s. 

But if it is just a case of wanting to dance to all the latest tunes - and meet other young holidaymakers - Jersey's largest ballroom, the Pavilion on the front at West Park is the answer. The ballroom can accommodate 650 dancers and there is a licensed bar adjoining.

For the older set Tams Hotel at St. Brelade's Bay present cabaret and dancing every night from 8.45 p.m. until midnight, with special extensions on Tuesday and Thursday to 1 a.m. Their summer shows are considered among the liveliest and best presented on Jersey and always include top British and Continental artists (South 550).

For atmosphere, The Rainbow Room in St. Helier takes a lot of beating. Here an Olde Tyme Music Hall is presented with some of the top names in this particular field of entertainment. There is waiter service to all tables and the Rainbow Room goes on from 9 p.m. to 12 p.m. (no Sundays) with extensions on Tuesday and Thursday. Admission is 10s. 6d. – with special tables available (if you're lucky) on the stage at 15s. 6d. (Central 24507).


Another popular spot where the accent is on good entertainment is the Plaza in St. Helier where the cabaret is highlighted by a "big name" artist - last year it was Derek Roy. The place opens at 8.45 p.m. and the show lasts for three hours. Admission 10s. (Central 22487).

A night club with a difference is the brand-new Hawaiian Ballroom which is part of the Marina Grill at Portelet. Here the manager, Mr. Chris Savva, has created a setting straight out of the tropics with exotic plants and bamboo fittings. Thursdays and Fridays are late nights here (open until 12.45 p.m.) or else the time is 8.30 p.m. to 11.45 p.m. There is dancing and a cabaret and admission costs 7s. 6d. (South 728).

Jersey people recommend Le Bal Tabarin at Les Landes, St. Ouen, which presents an elegant, French-style cabaret highlighted by one of the most spectacular Can-Cans you'll see anywhere outside of France. The club is open from 8.30 p.m. to Midnight with extensions to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays. Admission fee is 10s. 6d. (West 203).

The plush atmosphere of a London night spot has been created at the Pavilion Theatre Restaurant at Greve de Lecq. There is nowhere else quite like it on Jersey, and it is possible to have a three course meal, watch the cabaret (which last year, for instance, starred Danny Williams and the Red Price Band) and dance all for 27s. 6d. Admission to the cabaret only is 12s. 6d. (West 100).

The Bay at the St. Brelade's Bay Hotel is without doubt the most sophisticated club on Jersey and much patronized by local businessmen and officials. Because of this it is a "members only" establishment and visitors wishing to go there should contact the management at South 186.

Random notes - Jersey Critic March 4 1933

"The Jersey Critic" was described as “A weekly journal on Island Questions for the Jerseyman at Home and Abroad”

This edition, published on March 4th 1933, has this "Random Notes" section by the Editor Edward Le Brocq. It is astonishing how wild the ideas were to do with waste disposal in an Island which had only around 50,462 inhabitants, half its present number.

It was not until 1952 that the States intervened, when St Helier struck a deal – known as the Bellozanne Covenant – whereby it sold land at Bellozanne to the States to build a waste incinerator. There were originally three "destructors" which were replaced in the 1970s by one tall chimney incinerator. It originally had two streams to the burner, but a third was added in the 1990s to cope with the increasing volume of waste. Now of course that has been decommissioned and replaced with the Energy from Waste Plant at La Collette.

It seems fortunate that most of the Parish schemes described below, especially a dump at Corbiere, never came to fruition. And an incinerator in the West and in the East never came about either! It's like peering into an alternative world!

I have not gleaned Parish figures for 1931, but there was relatively small change even in 1951, where the total was 57,296. But this gives an idea of the amount of people per parish, and hence the waste per household generated.

This population distribution is worth bearing in mind when it came to different ideas for Parishes and waste disposal.

Meanwhile, some things remain the same. From June 2019, the Colorado Beetle is still a very present threat. It is remarkable we have been able to keep it out, and hope we may by vigilance continue to do so.

"The current weather conditions mean that the Colorado Beetle, which is not established in Jersey, may be able to reach the island from France. Warm temperatures and easterly winds are forecast for today, which could carry the flying beetles over the sea." (https://www.gov.je/News/2019/Pages/ColoradoBeetleInvasionWarning.aspx)

Random notes by the editor. 

Garbage.

All the talk at the moment is of incinerators and dumps. We have done with slums for the time being (nine days you know), and we are now concerned with garbage and the best manner of dealing with it. The Constable of St Helier is satisfied that the destructor at Westmount has all its work cut out to deal with the refuse of the parish, and, as a result, certain other parishes are in a difficulty.

Plenty of money.
St Saviour has solved it by deciding to purchase 6 vergees of meadow for £750 which seems a pretty stiff figure, and build an incinerator. The parishioners are told that there is plenty of money in hand and the rate will not go up in spite of this expenditure of £1,600 or so. St. Clement and Grouville will probably send their refuse to this incinerator, but St Martin are out on their own, and will have to settle their problems differently.

In the air.
At St Brelade's the assembly has decided in favour of a dump at Corbière, and it is understood that St Peter and St Lawrence will come into the same scheme. At Trinity the assembly have voted in favour of not entertaining the matter. They don't see anything wrong with the old system of digging holes and burying the refuse. At St Ouen, St Mary and St John, there is apparently no refuse to be disposed of. Meanwhile it is being rumoured one of these days the States will consider the question from an insular point of view, and decide on the erection of two big incinerators, one in the east and one in the West. But this is all very much in the air.

“Divers.”
The States on Tuesday could not very well refuse the grant of £300 to the Mental Asylum Committee for the purchase of a meadow which will give the institution all the water it needs, but it could not possibly sanctioned a grant under the heading of “divers”, and I find it curious that the committee should not have realised the fact. £300, after all, is £300, and not one of those mere trifles which appear in Committees estimates under the heading of “various”.

Cheap at the price.
It is essential, of course, that the Mental Home should have an ample supply of water, but one has always understood that such was the case, and I, for one, was surprised to learn the contrary. The £300 includes only the cost of the land, and further expenditure will, of course, be necessary for the plant. If the spring ensures an abundant supply, however, it can't be considered dear at the price. It would be interesting to know, by the way, how much water is used at the institution during the course of the year. It must amount to a few thousand gallons - and then some!

The Beetle.
Jurat Le Feuvre’s proposed addition to the law on the Colorado beetle should be adopted unanimously. It is obvious that the States can't compel a farmer to spray his crops if he hasn't the means to do it, and in such cases the States must make themselves responsible. As I understand the measure, spraying will not be resorted to if the Colorado beetle keeps away. In Guernsey, spraying is compulsory but they grow only some 1200 vergees of potatoes there as compared with our 16,000 or 18,000 vergees. What is comparatively easy in Guernsey would be a task of infinite difficulty in Jersey, there is no doubt about that.

All wasted.
Still, the fact remains that should the beetle be discovered in Jersey, all the spraying in the world will not save us. It may be a million to one against its coming, but the risk is there, and what we must face is the spraying after one Colorado beetle had been found would be just so much time, money and labour wasted, for England would not take our crops, and we have no other market. I am not saying that the farmers for wrong in deciding as they did, but merely stating the facts as I see them.

The big question
The licensing bench will be sitting presently, and the proceedings will not lack interest, or I shall be greatly surprised. I hear that certain licence holders are again applying for the category of licence they unsuccessfully asked for last December but the big question will be that of the repairs and alterations which, according to the bench, had to be effected by March. One is glad to hear that this decision may be modified to some extent.

Impossible
It is as clear as daylight that in numbers of cases applicants will have to admit that the whole of work has not been completed. They will produce a certificate to the effect that it is well in hand or on the point of completion but they will not be able to go further. The fact is that with all the goodwill in the world, it has not been found possible to do in three months work which in the ordinary course of things would have taken at least double the time to complete with the available labour.

The Pseudoscience of Engels

I’ve been reading “Socialism: Utopian and Scientific” by Fredrick Engels, written in 1880, and I’m afraid to say that I have large doubts about quite how it can be called “scientific”. This is, of course, not limited to Engels. The appropriation of the term “science” by a wide range of different disciplines occurs because to label something scientific gives it an extra cache of respectability, hence we have “Christian Science”, “An Institute Of Astrological Science”, and Hegel’s “Science of Logic”

An excellent outline of Engels approach is given by Jesús Muñoz:

“Historical materialism is the central assumption that social changes must be explained in terms of class struggles, wherein the economic basis of society determines the nature of social classes and the details about class struggles.”

“According to the economic interpretation of history, the current system as a mode of production will be self destroyed by its internal (dialectical) contradictions after passing through several phases, wherein labor and workers gain greater relevance. In other words, at the outset of Capitalism there arises a dialectical evolution which is reflected in recurrent crises (fueled by contradictions between labor and capital), and generate a change in the rules of the game. A new system will then arise wherein co-operation bypasses competition”

Engels indeed notes that:

“All past history, with the exception of its primitive stages, was the history of class struggles; that these warring classes of society are always the products of the modes of production and of exchange — in a word, of the economic conditions of their time; that the economic structure of society always furnishes the real basis, starting from which we can alone work out the ultimate explanation of the whole superstructure of juridical and political institutions as well as of the religious, philosophical, and other ideas of a given historical period.”

And then he goes on to outline the stages through which history moves, which he calls “historical evolution”:

Let us briefly sum up our sketch of historical evolution.

Mediaeval Society — Individual production on a small scale. Means of production adapted for individual use; hence primitive, ungainly, petty, dwarfed in action.

Capitalist Revolution — transformation of industry, at first be means of simple cooperation and manufacture. Concentration of the means of production, hitherto scattered, into great workshops

Severance of the producer from the means of production. Condemnation of the worker to wage-labor for life. Antagonism between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

Growing predominance and increasing effectiveness of the laws governing the production of commodities. Unbridled competition. Contradiction between socialized organization in the individual factory and social anarchy in the production as a whole.

On the one hand, perfecting of machinery, made by competition compulsory for each individual manufacturer, and complemented by a constantly growing displacement of laborers. Industrial reserve-army. On the other hand, unlimited extension of production, also compulsory under competition, for every manufacturer.

Partial recognition of the social character of the productive forces forced upon the capitalists themselves. Taking over of the great institutions for production and communication, first by joint-stock companies, later in by trusts, then by the State. The bourgeoisie demonstrated to be a superfluous class. All its social functions are now performed by salaried employees

Proletarian Revolution — Solution of the contradictions. The proletariat seizes the public power, and by means of this transforms the socialized means of production, slipping from the hands of the bourgeoisie, into public property. By this act, the proletariat frees the means of production from the character of capital they have thus far borne, and gives their socialized character complete freedom to work itself out. Socialized production upon a predetermined plan becomes henceforth possible. The  development of production makes the existence of different classes of society thenceforth an anachronism. In proportion as anarchy in social production vanishes, the political authority of the State dies out. Man, at last the master of his own form of social organization, becomes at the same time the lord over Nature, his own master — free.

It’s a wonderful utopian picture, in which Marx and Engels find this “ultimate explanation” which makes sense of history, and provides stages on the path to Utopia which alone can “trace out the inner law running through all its apparently accidental phenomena.”

But anyone who has studied the history of life on this planet will soon come to realize what a great role contingency plays.

As Stephen Jay Gould argued, something may be selected for some reason at one time and then for an entirely different reason at another time, so that the end product is the result of the whole history of an evolutionary line, and cannot be accounted for by its present adaptive significance.

And the same is true of human history. There is no preferred direction or vector of change. The Whig view of history, which still dominated some of the history I read at school, presented history as a long line of progress towards a better society and greater freedom. The view of Marx and Engels only differs in what they consider to be the better society, but it suffers from the same flaw.

Two modern historians - Robert Brenner in his work “Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-Industrial Europe” and and Ellen Meiksins Wood’s “The Origins of Capitalism” show how histories explaining the rise of capitalism have what might be described as a a dominant teleological model of capitalist inevitability, although Marx and Engels go beyond that to the revolution.

Brenner and Wood’s explanations, by contrast, emphasises the accidental and contingent in history, which led to the dominance of the market. One of the glaring problems with explanations of inevitability is that in fact trade and urbanization has flourished widely in human history without capitalism developing. Rather than capitalism being the natural evolution of any market to which all societies tend once obstacles are removed, instead they show that the development of capitalism was a chance event and, moreover, that it is a late and localized product of very specific historical condition.

History which attempts to “trace out the inner law running through all its apparently accidental phenomena”, such as Engels does in “Socialism: Utopian and Scientific” fails to understand the contingent and accidental nature of history. There are no “inner laws” in history. What may be progress in one generation may be lost in the next.

But Engels had a final trick up his sleeve. If anyone criticised his theories on scientific grounds, he would simply exclaim "bourgeois science", and use that accusation to dismiss his critics. It is a technique which neatly sidesteps the notion of truth and for which their is no easy rejoinder because it discredits reason itself.

Meadowlands

Meadowlands

I walk the old tracks, old as time
Ever flowing beside is the stream
Herb lore: Rosemary and Thyme
Ancient days like a fading dream

Roadside, there grows copper beech
Its red leaves, in the sunlight gleam
Tree lore: hear the Dryad’s speech
Ancient days like a fading dream

Ducklings paddle in freshwater pool
Still point beside the flowing stream
Bird lore: its mother love the rule
Ancient days like a fading dream

Goose green marsh beside a stream
Ancient days like a fading dream

Tea Rooms in Jersey

In 1966, under the "Four Square", publishers "New English Library" put out a small paperback called the "Four Square Holiday Guide to the Channel Islands". It was compiled by the late Peter Haining, and reflects a pre-decimal and bygone Channel Islands, just as tourism was ramping up to its giddy heights in the 1970s. Here's a brief extract.

For those who don't know, before 1971 and decimal currency, Jersey followed the UK with a monetary system which had 12 d (pence) to the 1 s (shilling) and 20s to £1. There was also a weird value called a "guinea" which was £1 1s, The pennies came in half-pennies, pennies, three pence bits, six pence coins, shillings, half crowns (2 s 6d coin), ten shilling note, and pound note.

Cobweb Tea Room

Tea Rooms in Jersey

Jersey has numerous attractive little tea rooms, where Mum, Dad and the children can relax in the afternoon over a pot of tea, home-made cakes and possibly strawberries and Jersey cream. Here is a selection of some of the more outstanding places to be found on the Island:

The Cobweb. At St. Brelade's Bay is an old-world cottage where morning coffee and afternoon teas can be obtained. It is approached by a pretty, winding lane, and is immediately recognizable by the aviary full of colourful birds, which is situated outside.

Equally attractive, but in a different style, are the Cottage Tearooms at Havre des Pas. At the front there is a delightful flower covered trellis passage and tea can be taken in the gardens.

The Green Island Tearooms on the St. Clement's Road have the distinction of being the most southerly cafes in the British Isles. The premises overlook the beach and for the really peckish, grills (including steaks) are served.

Drive-Inn BBQ

Not far down the road from here, at Gorey, is the Drive-In - the only place on Jersey where you can be served without leaving your car. (If you come at night flick your lights for service.)

In Gorey itself, there is Mont Orgueil House where a really outstanding Jersey Cream Tea is served, .also home-made scones and sandwiches.

Apple Cottage, at Rozel, is another attractive tearoom where they specialize in sea foods like lobster and crab.

There is a fine view of St. Aubin's Bay to be enjoyed while you have morning coffee or afternoon tea at the Garden Cafe which stands close to the main coastal road.

A bit further along this same road is the Treasure House which serves morning coffee and light lunches. It can easily be recognized by the quaint trellis work on the front and the patio where other holiday- makers will be enjoying the establishment's good fare.

At St. Catherine's Bay there is only one building - the Tea Rooms. Here the visitor can sit in the open soaking up the sun or enjoying the pleasant view of the harbour.

Beach Cafe Bouley Bay

Strawberries and Cream are the speciality of the Beach Cafe at Bouley Bay. The youngsters taken here will particularly enjoy the variety of cage birds and having their photographs taken with their heads through the "Aunt Sally" boards.

Finally, two places worthy of attention in St. Helier. The Cup and Saucer at Charing Cross is good for a snack if you are in a hurry; while the snack bar and restaurant run by the Jersey Dairies can provide fresh full cream milk almost literally straight from local cows.

Past remembered: St Brelade's Bay Resident's Association

In the early 1980s, largely formed out of a response against the destruction of Chateaux des Roches, which was passed anyway, the St Brelade's Bay Residents Association was formed to deal with issues relating to the Bay, and with overdevelopment of the Bay.

Back then residents of the bay were much more tight knit, and might pop round to each others houses for a cup of tea and cake (which is what I usually was given when I popped to the Fowlers at les Houmets, always hospitable and friendly, or an early evening sherry (other residents whom I won't embarrass by mentioning by name).

Those sitcoms where the husband comes home from work harassed and promptly pours a sherry were true to life! It was usually Harvey's Bristol Cream, and not the other one promoted on TV at the time by Orson Welles in his rich gravelly voice.

The residents association had one minor victory - it managed to get a public meeting held at which L'Horizon's plans to relocate a footpath to the beach were resolutely trounced, but on the whole mostly I remember the interminable boredom of meetings, and they way in which they rambled far from the issues at hand, but not in any particularly interested way.

Deputy Graham Thorne was a deputy for St Brelade No 2, and came to almost every meeting, and was very supportive. Despite the Bay straddling both electoral districts, Deputy Margaret Beadle was conspicuous by her absense. Deputy Enid Quenault was very supportive both as Deputy, and from 1987 as Connetable.

These minutes give a flavour of what it was like!

ST. BRELADE'S BAY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

Minutes of the meeting held at La Marquanderie Inn
on Thursday, July 25th, 1985

Chairman: Andrew Jordan
Secretary: Tony Bellows

Other Members Present:
Mr & Mrs J. Meade, Mr & Mrs P. Jackson, Mr & Mrs W. Fowler, Mr & Mrs H Taylor

In Attendance:
Deputy Graham Thorne
Deputy Enid Quenault
Mrs Harwood

MATTERS FOR REPORT

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting (30.5.85), having been circulated to members, were approved and adopted. (proposed: Joyce Meade; seconded: Joe Meade)

Report on Zebra Crossing

This was to report on what progress, if any, there had been towards the placement of signs posts warning motorists of the zebra crossing. In the absence of Deputy Beadle, it was not possible to ascertain this, so this item was carried over.

MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION

Extension of Membership

A discussion followed on whether or not the membership should be extended to allow people to become full members if they did not actually live in the Bay area, but were interested in looking after the Bay.

Andrew Jordan reported on inquiries for full membership by people concerned with the Bay but living outside the full membership area. Joe Meade objected to an extension to the membership and asked that the area remained clearly defined as it was (in the association rules). He pointed out that associate membership was available for interested outsiders.

Deputy Graham Thorne suggested that all people who had an interest in the Bay should be able to join.

Footpaths being overgrown

It was noted that (a) the path leading to the steps beside the Winston Churchill Memorial park were overgrown; (b) the "goat track" (opposite Tabor Synagogue down to near the Cobweb) was overgrown.

In the matter of (a), Deputy Thorne suggested writing to Public Works and asking them to clear it, if they were responsible for this. Deputy Quenault pointed out that this was likely because Public Works had placed hand rails at the top of the steps at her request.

In the matter of (b), Deputy Thorne suggested writing to Mr Pipon (The Authorise) to ascertain the legal position on responsibility for the path.

Mr Meade raised the matter of the footpath on the Chateaux des Roches land. He was informed that it had been agreed at a previous meeting that no action would be taken on this unless proper legal proof could be found that it was a public footpath.

Present Direction of Organisation

Tony Bellows distributed a discussion document (copy attached) giving suggestions on the future direction of the association. It was also suggested that a social event, such as a cheese and wine, should be held, to further this aspect of the association. In addition, Andrew Jordan suggested that meeting should take place once every two months, and not monthly as at present.

Deputy Thorne suggested that commercial interests in the Bay should be represented in the association. Andrew Jordan pointed out that if owners were not resident in the Bay, and represented by management, a conflict of interests between the interests of Bay and commerce could arise. Mr Meade commented that it was an association for people who lived in the Bay, and did not just worked there.

The general consensus (apart from the question of membership) was agreement with path the association was taking.

Violence in Bay Area

A report was made by Mrs Harwood of a fight in the vicinity of Tamm's Safari bar which broke out while she was strolling along the promenade with her 6 year old son in the early evening (9.30-10.00); a chair was broken across one man's back and splinters came out onto her son. It was a distressing experience to her and her son, and Mr Meade asked her to relate it so that members could understand the sort of violence which can occur in the Bay.

MATTERS FOR DECISION

It was agreed to request information from the authorities on late night policing in the Bay.

It was agreed to write to Public Works about the steps/footpath and the Authorise about the "Goat Track".

It was agreed that agendas would be sent out 10 days before meetings, and that meetings would take place every two months.

It was agreed that the date of the next meeting would be the 19th September, 1985.

The Invisible Memorial that cost over £68,406.. so far!

Invisible Memorial:
An Artist's Impression

Backtrack to 04 July 2018, and a survey noted that almost 94% of the public who responded to a consultation about the future of the former Haut de la Garenne children’s home do not think that the building should be demolished. It said:

"The findings of the former Haut de la Garenne site public consultation have been published today, alongside the recommendations from a citizens’ panel to create a memorial for a permanent legacy."

"The members of the panel, of whom a significant number were survivors of the care system in Jersey, also agreed unanimously that Haut de la Garenne should not be demolished."

"The panel also suggested that the Royal Square should be the place for a memorial, that the anniversary of the Care Inquiry, 3 July, should be designated as ‘Jersey Children’s Day’ and that an emblem, the butterfly, should link all the elements of the legacy project."

"The consultation and memorial project are part of the government’s response to Recommendation 8 of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, which identified the need to determine how the failures of the Island’s historic child care system should be recognised and remembered."

So how is the memorial coming along? Fast forward to May this year, and the BBC notes that a panel of survivors has called for a visible memorial at a site yet to be determined with a competition for the best design.

So far... no memorial, no design for a memorial, no site for a memorial.

Now if I mention the magic word "consultants", you will probably think that costs have been incurred. And indeed they have. As a recent Freedom of Information request (text below) demonstrates, the cost so far racked up is £68,406, of which £45,445 has been incurred by the Consultants (who have themselves also employed two UK consultants and one Jersey consultant).

And a "light touch" approach by the Minister for Children which doesn't see anything wrong with this. 

Heaven knows how this state of affairs came to be.

You really couldn't make it up!

FOI Request

Around March 2018, a committee was set up by the States (and mentioned in the Jersey Evening Post) to look at a memorial for the survivors of Haut de la Garenne and child abuse in Jersey care homes.

A

Have they employed any external consultants from the UK, and if so how many?

B

What is the cost incurred by the committee (and consultants fees, if any) to date?

C

Please can I see a redacted list of any emails to Ministers regarding the memorial committee since its inception? Please use the following key words “citizens panel” and “care inquiry legacy memorial”.
Response

In 2017 the Council of Ministers set out their intention in P.108/2017 to convene a Citizens Panel to consider recommendation 8b of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry in P.108/2017. An invitation to tender for the design and delivery of a Citizens Panel was published on the Channel Islands Tender Portal in December 2017. Following an evaluation process, this work was awarded to Contact Consulting (Oxford) Ltd. The Citizens Panel met for the first time in May 2018; the Panel’s recommendations have previously been published in Jersey Citizens Panel 2018 Final Report, which recommends a memorial, but suggests it goes out for a competition for designs. 

a) Open design competition b) A short-listing process should be led by members of the Citizens Panel with input from relevant experts as required c) A public vote decides on the final design.

A

The Citizens Panel has not employed any external consultants from the UK. The Department for Strategic Policy, Performance and Population (formerly Community and Constitutional Affairs) has engaged Contact Consulting (Oxford) Ltd to design, deliver and facilitate the Citizens Panel. Two UK based consultants employed by Contact Consulting have carried out this work. A Jersey-based consultant has also been engaged to provide specialised advice and support to the Citizens Panel in conjunction with the memorial element of their legacy recommendations.

B

The cost of the Citizens Panel process from to the end of May 2019 is £68,406. This sum includes: professional fees, travel expenses, catering, room hire and vouchers given to participants to recognise their time in contributing to the process. The professional fees paid to Contact Consulting (Oxford) Ltd (excluding travel and expenses) to date are: £45,445.

C

Ministerial involvement with the Citizens Panel process has been light touch but supportive. Government Officers presented two papers to the Council of Ministers relating to the Citizens Panel during 2018. A private meeting was arranged between the Citizens Panel and the Chief Minister in June 2018. Subsequently the Minister for Children and Housing has been regularly briefed about the work of the Panel, having attended one of their sessions in January 2019 and having ministerial oversight for this work.

Women Bishops in Jersey: Blocked by Clergy and Laity!

The new Bishop of Dover, who is responsible for the Channel Islands, has been appointed by the Queen. Rev. Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin is the first ever female black Bishop appointed by the Church of England and was introduced to the diocese by the Archbishop of Canterbury today (28 June).

Reverend Hudson-Wilkin was born in Jamaica and is a former long-serving speaker at the House of Commons. She also worked as a chaplain for the Queen and led prayers at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. The Church of England has not yet announced whether she will be visiting the Channel Islands in the near future.

-- Channel Television News:

ITV News made a mistake recently in the reporting of the next Bishop of Dover as having jurisdiction over the Channel Islands. This is not in fact the case. And thereby lies a sorry tale of delay, prejudice, fundamentalism, misogyny, and a personal conflict between a Bishop and a Dean, with sides taken, which does no credit at all to any institution which is supposed to be devoted to love and reconciliation.

The main problem goes back to when Tim Dakin was appointed Bishop of Winchester and inherited a particular legacy issue from his predecessor. This was about a complaint by a churchgoer about a church warden which had been badly handled by the Dean of Jersey, Robert Key.

The ins and outs of that sorry saga have been well documented elsewhere and I will not repeat them now. The one thing I know is that dwelling on them cause grief to the lady concerned. However I will say this much. Having commissioned a report to investigate what had gone wrong, the Bishop of Winchester then ended up with the report landing on his desk. What should he do? If he suppressed the report and it did not see publication, and it later emerged that such a report had been commissioned and existed, how would safeguarding in Winchester appear? On the other hand if the report were to be published, it was clear that action would need to be taken. 

Probably the wisest course of action would have been to refer the matter upstairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury. But instead he decided to take action himself by suspending the commission of the Dean of Jersey to practice. Maybe he saw it as cowardly to "pass the buck". As he is now heavily protected by a team of PR consultants, we will probably never know.

This suspension awoke the anger of the clergy of Jersey and some of the lay people who saw this as an unwarranted interference in the local affairs of the church - a hasty reaction which did not consider the merits of the case [and which overlooked a churchwarden being "chaperoned" for being too tactile, which should have rung warning bells]. 

The end result was a very visible falling out between Winchester and Jersey, under which Guernsey, still also under the diocese of Winchester, got dragged in.

With accusations and tempers flying high, the end result was satisfactory to no one.The Dean apologised for making mistakes and the suspension was lifted. Further reports were commissioned which found that no disciplinary action should be taken against the Dean. By a clever piece of spin by some Jersey laity, this was taken as meaning that the Dean had been exonerated. It did not. All that meant was the than mistakes he made were not so severe as to warrant disciplinary action.

Meanwhile something had to be done regarding the toxic relation between the Bishop of Winchester and the clergy and Dean of Jersey. The solution of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was to bring the Channel Islands under the oversight of the Bishop of Dover, Trevor Willmott (popularly known in clergy circles as “Tricky Trevor”).

The legal document for this arrangement is complex and also involves Bishop Trevor being appointed as an assistant Bishop within the diocese of Winchester. Clearly the lawyers were taking no chances as to the legitimacy of this oversight. It's a tricky piece of legalese which can argue that Bishop Trevor had oversight both as Bishop of Dover, and by his links to the Bishop of Winchester.

During this period of oversight, women bishops were approved in the Church of England – in 2014. UK Canon law changed. This was rapidly followed by changes in Canon law in the Isle of Man in 2015. But nothing happened in the Channel Islands.

The Canon law of Jersey says that the bishop has to be a man. When the newly revised law was brought in by Bob Key, there was no reason to specified the gender of the Bishop, except as a rearguard holding action against the introduction of female Bishops into the Channel Islands, and particularly into Jersey. 

As far as I have been able to ascertain, the Dean at the time, Bob Key, was opposed to the changes on pragmatic grounds. His own words that on voting on the law permitting Women Bishops in the church of England was that "My concern is that this particular legislation, not the principle, but this particular legislation does not give enough safeguards for good Christian people who can't accept the ministry of a woman bishop.” . Canon Law in Jersey, by specifying the gender of a Bishop was a neat pre-emptive strike.

When Bishop Trevor retired as Bishop of Dover he retained his appointment as Assistant Bishop of Winchester, with oversight for the Channel Islands. Meanwhile changes in Jersey Canon law were cleverly tied into the complex arrangements between Jersey, Winchester and Canterbury.While the law could have been easily changed, it is clear that by tying them into a resolution of those arrangements, it ensured further delay. 

This means that the new Bishop of Dover could come to the Channel Islands, but would have no legitimacy as a Bishop within Jersey, because of the lack of changes in Jersey Canon law.

There is a activist contingent of lay folk and clergy within Jersey who are both resolutely opposed to women bishops, indeed also question the legitimacy of women priests as well. They will do anything in their power to prevent this, and so far have been singularly successful in delaying any changes in the Channel Islands.

It is unlikely that they will succeed in the long-term but they may yet succeed in delaying the legitimate authority of women bishops in the Channel Islands for at least another decade. Some of those with legal skills have even been involved in the task of drawing up changes to Canon law - which not surprisingly have stalled! This contingent see this as their god given Christian duty to not recognise the role of women in leadership roles, despite that being accepted in the Church of England.

But there is absolutely no need to link changes in diocese with the changes in Jersey Canon law. It has been argued - and I have been told myself - that it will be easier to do everything at once. This is a specious argument which serves only as a means of delay. It is to be hoped that at some point this prevarication will be seen as the duplicitous argument that it is. The case of the Isle of Man shows that changes can be made easily and quickly where there is a will. If anyone says it is better to make all the changes in one go, ask them: why we can't we do as the Isle of Man has done, and make one important change now?

Perhaps it might be instructive to ask the new Bishop of Dover what she thinks about the fact that if she comes to visit the Channel Islands during her stay she is effectively stripped of all rights and legitimacy as a Bishop in the Church of England. She cannot ordain clergy. She cannot confirm young adults. She cannot be introduced in church services as a Bishop - with all the rights of a Bishop in the Church of England - visiting Jersey. She is effectively reduced to the status of Parish priest the moment she sets foot on Jersey soil.

I think that is an appalling situation and one which has gone on for far too long. We are now almost 9 years since the Church of England gave women the right to be Bishops, and 8 years since the Isle of Man followed. And instead we are governed by a legal fudge, and all kinds of horse trading and delay behind the scenes. I am sure that St Paul would have had strong words to say about this sorry state of affairs.

Breaking News

From "The Church Times", June 28: "AN ARCHBISHOP’s Commission examining the relationship between the Channel Islands and the Church of England will issue its final report later this year, after completing a consultation on the islands."

This is a report, not a decision.! More delay!

Mike Keirle (on FB) on the ITV Article: Sorry but that isn't accurate as Bishop Trevor continues to have oversight as Assistant Bishop of Winchester until such times as the Commission determines the future flourishing of the Channel Island Deaneries.

Yet strictly speaking there is no reason to link the change in Canon Law on Women Bishops to this ongoing event, which would put even Charles Dicken's Jarndyce v Jarndyce to shame.

Night of The Big Heat

Climate change means extreme weather events such as many more heatwaves, and of longer duration, will become more frequent. So this poem looks at this when it is 30C outside. It is also a pinch of the title for a movie of the same name, set on a small Island where temperatures soar. That, of course, was caused by aliens, but this is all of our own making.

Night of The Big Heat

Heat came that day, burning the land
Thermals, winds in the jet stream
Blowing across the hot sahara sand
Stratosphere howls in red hot scream

Feet blistered on the poor beachgoer
Sea warm with jelly fish in the shallows
As the day heats, everything is slower
Climate change is a corpse on the gallows

Longer and hotter spells of extreme heat
Technology bringing the year of the burn up
Take a siesta, find the shade, admit defeat
Who can take and drink such a boiling cup

The Night of the Big Heat has come to stay
And the Red Death has come to slay

Islanders Health during the Occupation - Part 4

By way of something off the beaten track, here's final part of the report on the health of the Islanders during the occupation, published in 1945, after the war had ended.

A note on drugs mentioned: Sulfonamide drugs were the first antibacterials to be used systemically, and paved the way for the antibiotic revolution in medicine. As the first and only effective antibiotic available in the years before penicillin, sulfa drugs continued to thrive through the early years of World War II.

However, the sulphonamides were soon surpassed by penicillin, which had fewer side-effects and could treat syphilis and sulphonamide-resistant infections. Nevertheless, despite these limitations, the sulphonamides drugs were arguably more important in revolutionising medicine than penicillin, as they achieved the first real success in the war against bacteria.

MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH: ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1945. 

OCCUPATION INCIDENTS.

The Occupation threw much unusual work on the Department and gave rise to many and varied incidents.

The sanitary side of the German Army, at any rate as far as Jersey was concerned, was very inefficient indeed. It was quite common to get complaints of a smell from the neighbour of a house occupied by the Germans. On investigation, we would find that there was a septic tank and soak away which had been constructed to deal with say six people, and the Germans had installed thirty of their men. In a short time the ground was flooded with sewage.

I have seen a garden a foot deep in it, and yet the German occupants had taken no notice! We reported to the German Authorities and sent our machines to clean up the mess in the interest of our own community.

Another odd act of insanitary behaviour was the construction of a concrete privy at the Pavilion within a few feet of an inspection chamber where a perfectly good drain connection could be made. Here again our protest secured its removal and the construction of more sanitary arrangements.

On another occasion, the water supply of a battery overlooking St. Ouen’s was sent to the Laboratory for bacteriological analysis. It gave results reminiscent of sewage. The Germans were very puzzled and asked us to investigate.

We found that the battery was pumping water from a stream, and less than a mile upstream, the O.T. had built it Privy over it.

The complete lack of sanitary supervision of small parties of their soldiers in commandeered houses or in batteries was extraordinary and to me quite unexpected after my experience of the stringent precautions taken by our own forces in the first world catastrophe.

The camps they built for their slave workers had the most primitive of sanitary arrangements, which gave them no end of trouble.

One could go on recording things of this type for a long time but it would be monotonous. When one considers the reputation of the Germans for science and cleanliness, it is all the more remarkable that plain common or garden sanitary sense should be lacking.

DRUGS

At the beginning of the Occupation we were allowed, in fact, encouraged, to buy drugs from Germany. German firms even sent us advertising letters. But gradually it became more and more difficult to get such supplies, and shortly afar the introduction of a quarterly ration from France in January 1942, all purchases front Germany were prohibited. A small illegal trickle conduced however.

One German doctor, who found his pay too small, supplemented it by bringing a suitcase full of valuable and expensive drugs back with him each time he returned from leave. These he sold to me for the use of the Hospital.

The transaction was not strictly legal, but the drugs were valuable, so ways and means were found.

Early in the Occupation, the pharmacists got together and formed the " Chemists' Pool ". They arranged for Madame Labesse to go to France to make the necessary contacts with French wholesale houses for the supply of drugs. These contacts stood us in good stead throughout the five years of the Occupation. All orders for drugs had to be approved by the Imports and Exports Advisory Board, of which I was a member ; they then went to the Department of Essential Commodities, and through them to our buyer in France.

There was some delay, but the goods did arrive in not unreasonable quantities considering the many difficulties.

The quarterly- ration was bought by the (Department and then re-sold to the " Pool ". This, and indeed many other of our supplies came from Jean Langlois of Rennes. All drugs and supplies not bought by the Hospital for its own use were sent to Messrs. Boots the Chemists, who acted as distributing centre for the " Pool ".

It was not easy for the pharmacists, each used to running his business in his own way, to settle down to this sort of combined ordering, but the scheme worked as well as could be expected, thanks to the tact of Messrs. P. Le Quesne, Gould, and Roberts. The brunt of the work fell on Mr. Gould of Boots', to whom we owe much for really unselfish service

Mr. J. S. Price superintended the purchase and distribution of dental supplies with great skill and acumen.

It was very difficult to estimate the needs of the Island as there were no reliable figures to go on. For instance, in 1940, we bought large quantities of insulin, sufficient according to estimates based on figures supplied by the General Hospital and the pharmacists, to have lasted three years. Yet by the spring of 1941 there was a serious shortage, which lasted until 1943 when adequate supplies began to arrive.

This was in part due to panic buying by a few diabetics, but was largely a plain miscalculation. Supplies from the Red Cross helped us to some extent during the period of shortage ; these gifts, though very valuable, were never on a very big scale as regards insulin.

The sulphonamides were at times in short supply, but on the whole never went below the point of threatening to become serious. A very large supply which arrived from the French Red Cross just before D-Day kept us well supplied until our release.

Sodium bicarbonate became sufficiently short in supply to become a very valuable article of barter in the black market.

We received supplies of various drugs, medicaments, and dressings, from the Red Cross Organisations on ten occasions between 1941 and 1944.before D-Day. Sometimes the help was only a small packet of insulin, at others, as in October and November 1942, a really large supply of very useful drugs.

All supplies from France ceased soon after D=Day and although we always kept six months supply of anaesthetics in hand, we were very short just before the Vega arrived, in spite of the strictest economy. On the 31st December 1944, the day the S.S. Vera arrived, we had only 20 lbs of ether left in the Island.

After that, large and varied supplies of all sorts began to arrive, and the drug situation improved steadily until V-E Day. When Red Cross drugs arrived in excess of the requirements of the Hospital, they were sold to the Chemists' Pool, and the money received from their sale paid into the Red Cross.

During the whole period we kept in touch with Guernsey. At times we were able to help her over drug and other difficulties and at times she helped us. A completely amicable arrangement was kept up with Dr. A. N. Symons and Dr. R. W. Revell, by which we kept each other informed of our Island stocks and needs.

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: Some Considerations

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: Some Considerations

A petition asking for stronger sentences for convicted child sex abusers in Jersey has reached the 5,000 signature threshold, meaning it must be considered for a states debate:

“The people of Jersey are sick and tired of seeing paedophiles either found guilty of abusing, or attempting to abuse, our children being handed lenient prison sentences (if any prison sentence) by the Jersey courts. We therefore demand the States of Jersey implement mandatory minimum prison terms for such offences, starting from a minimum of 3 years and change the signing of the Sex Offenders Register to life.”

There are mandatory minimum sentences for a number of offences, but before extending it to sex offenders, I want to consider the arguments for and against mandatory sentencing, and secondly, looking in particular at the USA, how they approach mandatory sentencing for sex offences in a way which differentiates on the grounds of the severity of the offence.

Mandatory Minimums

Lenny Roth’s study “Mandatory sentencing laws”, for the NSW Parliamentary Research Service has an excellent summary of the case for and against mandatory sentencing:

The main arguments for these laws include:

1. The laws help to ensure that sentences reflect community standards and are not unduly lenient. In other words, to ensure that the punishment matches the crime. This is important for maintaining confidence in the justice system. Elected representatives are more sensitive to community concerns than appointed judges.

2. The laws help to reduce crime by acting as a stronger deterrent to would-be offenders. The laws (particularly those that target repeat offenders) also help to prevent crime by incapacitating offenders for longer periods of time. By lessening crime in these two ways, the laws reduce the costs associated with crime.

3. The laws can be drafted so that they do not result in excessively harsh sentences in some cases. For example, the laws can very specifically define the types of offences that will attract the minimum or fixed penalty. In addition, the laws might allow judges to depart from this penalty in “exceptional circumstances”.

The main arguments against these laws include:

1. The laws lead to injustice because of their removal of judicial discretion. Judges will not always be able to ensure that the punishment matches the crime. There will inevitably be cases where offenders receive excessively harsh sentences.

2. Increasing penalties does not deter people from committing crime. Most offenders do not act rationally; they act impulsively, and many are affected by alcohol or drugs. Laws that aim to incapacitate offenders for longer periods are unfair as they apply to some people who would not have re-offended.

3. The laws impose significant costs on the justice system. They are likely to lead to lower guilty pleas, and therefore more trials. They are also likely to result in higher prison costs, with more offenders being sentenced to imprisonment, and for longer periods.

4. Other less severe and costly alternatives can achieve the same objectives, including: presumptive sentencing laws, guideline judgements, and committing resources to apprehend offenders and to tackling the causes of offending.

The UK has tended to keep mandatory minimum sentences to just a few offences, but they do exist. Other countries take a much broader view.

A Few Cases from Around the World

USA: Mandatory minimum penalties generally relate to controlled substances, firearms, identity theft, and child sex offences (United States Sentencing Commission, 2011).

Australia: People smuggling is the only crime that attracts a mandatory minimum penalty under federal laws. In 2010, the law was amended to extend the mandatory minimum penalty provisions in the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to apply the higher minimum sentence and non-parole period for a new aggravated offence of people smuggling involving exploitation or danger of death or serious harm and where a person is convicted of multiple people smuggling offences.

In the United Kingdom, upon conviction for murder, the court must sentence the defendant to life imprisonment. It also has three more mandatory minimum sentences for certain offences, namely: a minimum of 7 years' imprisonment for a person over 18 convicted of trafficking, supplying or producing Class A drugs for the third or subsequent time; a minimum of 5 years' imprisonment (for a person over 18) or 3 years' imprisonment (for a person aged 16–17) for possession, purchase, acquisition, manufacture, transfer or sale of a prohibited firearm or weapon for the first or subsequent time; and a minimum of 3 years' imprisonment for a person over 18 convicted of a domestic burglary for the third or subsequent time.

What appears to be the case, even where mandatory sentences are imposed are three matters:

Firstly, a distinction is often made between first offences and repeat offences. This is the same kind of distinction which is made with non-mandatory sentencing, and reflects the idea that a repeat offense, by its nature, should be treated more seriously than a first offence. Recidivism demonstrates a failure to be rehabilitated.

Secondly, where mandatory minimums do occur, there are degrees of sentencing within the broader scope of the offence. This will become apparent when we consider the USA and Sex Offences, which do carry a mandatory minimum sentence.

Thirdly, and this runs counter to the argument from the Minister that it is not custom to legislate for the judiciary on these mandatory minimum sentences, the fact that other countries have no problem with imposing mandatory minimums on offences, including sex offences, means that the legislature has decided, as sovereign in this matter over the judiciary, that this is both possible and beneficial.

The USA and Sex Offenses

Looking at the USA, a report on the statistics of sentencing, notes the very strong point that legal provisions establishing mandatory minimum penalties for certain offences typically remove any incentive an offender may have to plead guilty or to cooperate with the prosecution in such cases. It notes that:

"It is possible for the legislator to specifically create an exception to the strict application of mandatory minimum penalties for offenders who plead guilty at an early stage of the process, thus creating an explicit incentive for early guilty pleas. It is also possible for the legislator to provide offenders with an incentive for pleading guilty and collaborating with the prosecution by specifically creating an exception to the application of the mandatory minimum penalties for offenders offering assistance to the prosecution. This kind of exception (or “departure” from the mandatory minimum penalties) is found in the United States federal criminal law relating to certain drug offences."

If we apply a thought experiment to a fictitious but possible case under investigation regarding a paedophile ring. When interrogating one of the first suspects, leverage can be applied in the fact that probably (although not certainly) the court will take into consideration how he has helped the police in supplying information on other members of the gang. Mandatory minimum sentencing would reduce that incentive or take it away depending on how high it is set.

The USA has "Mandatory Minimums" for Sex Offenders, but not for all offences. A report notes that: "Offenders convicted of sex offences carrying a mandatory minimum penalty are sentenced to longer terms than those convicted of sex offences not carrying a mandatory minimum penalty"

"In fiscal year 2016, the average sentence for offenders convicted of a sexual abuse offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty was nearly three times longer than the average sentence for offenders convicted of a sexual abuse offence not carrying a mandatory minimum penalty (252 months compared to 86 months)."

"The average sentence for child pornography offenders who faced a ten-year mandatory minimum penalty because of a prior sex offence conviction (136 months) was substantially longer than the average sentence for those offenders who were convicted of a possession offence (without a prior sex offence), which does not carry a mandatory minimum penalty (55 months)."

"Child pornography offenders convicted of distribution (140 months) and receipt offences (93 months), which carry a five-year mandatory minimum penalty, also had a longer average sentence than offenders convicted of possession offences (55 months), who did not face a mandatory minimum penalty"

On the whole, I agree with the way the USA has done it, which is to say mandatory minimums but not for all sex offences. If the petition made that case - which I think is a sensible one - I would have agreed with it. The USA seems to take what (to me) is a common sense approach - in the same way, possession of drugs (for personal use) is different from possession of drugs for dealing. I think that sooner or later that may be the way to go. The rationale is almost certainly in part to ensure the more serious offences have far less mitigation.

The USA has recognised that there are “degrees’ of offence” and have taken a common sense approach. In may ways it is not too dissimilar to the tariff system in Jersey courts where the aggravating factors, and sometimes the age of the defendant, determine the sentence/penalty. Centeniers are given tariff tables for the sort of offences they deal with in the Magistrates Court as a guide to their own deliberations.

Registration for Life

On being on the registry for life, again a perusal of other countries shows that this is determined by the severity of the offence. For instance in Ireland, individuals are subject to these registration requirements for varying duration, based on a sliding scale of the severity of the sentence they received. This scale is as follows: Suspended or non-custodial, 5 years; 6 months or less, 7 years; 6 months to 2 years, 10 years; More than 2 years,Indefinitely.

Anyone who must report to the Gardaí indefinitely can apply to the Circuit Courtto cancel this requirement. They can only apply for this cancellation after at least 10 years have passed since they were released from custody. They apply to cancel the requirement on the grounds that the common good is no longer served by continuing to subject them to these requirements. They must notify the Garda Superintendent in the area where they live of their intention to apply to cancel these notification requirements.

The reason for the ability to have removal from the register comes from the fact that permanent inclusion breaches Article 8 of the European Convention on Human rights.

This came up in the UK in 2008, when two convicted sex offenders have won a ruling that being put on the sex offenders register with no chance of review breaches their human rights

It should be noted that in Ireland, the Dáil has voted in favour this year of a bill which sets out minimum sentences for convicted sex offenders who go on to re-offend.

The Minister bringing the legislation in said the judiciary was of course independent in sentencing and a trial judge could take into account all circumstances of a case and impose a proportionate sentence. However, he added that the Oireachtas was entitled to set out parameters for given offences to reflect what is considered to be the seriousness of that offence.

As the BBC reported:

The judges said the current system denied them the chance of proving they no longer posed a risk of reoffending.

The Home Office said it was disappointed with the judgement and was considering an appeal.

Lord Justice Latham, Mr Justice Underhill and Mr Justice Flaux ruled the scheme was incompatible with their Article 8 right to private and family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Justice Latham warned that an offender might find it very difficult to establish he no longer presented any risk of re-offending.

"But I find it difficult to see how it could be justifiable in Article 8 terms to deny a person who believes himself to be in that position an opportunity to seek to establish it," he said.

However, it should be noted that the less stringent attitude of the UK regarding the removal from the register has not been wise. The Irish restriction of allowing application only after ten years seems far more sensible.

In conclusion

This brief survey of arguments, mandatory sentencing laws, and the consequences of them can do no more than scratch the surface. Nevertheless, it is apparent from looking at least one other country – the USA – where sex offenses often (but not in every case( carry mandatory minimum sentences and imprisonment, that there is a need for a range of sentences based on the severity of the offense, and that there can be a provision exceptions made to mandatory sentencing.

It should also be noticed that some sentencing in the USA falls far below that required by the petition.

Some kind of mandatory minimum sentence is certainly feasible, but the petition is vague about the finer detail of what that might entail. What is clear from the USA is that it requires a clear and detailed framework of law, and cannot just be framed in simplistic terms.

And regarding permanent inclusion on the register, it should be noted that Jersey is a signatory to the European Convention on Human rights under the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000, and therefore currently it would be very difficult to implement that without breaching the convention. However it is important to note that mandatory minimum sentencing ensures that it breaks any failings whereby lesser sentences are leading on to light-touch supervision and a fast track off the register.

Appendix: Extract from Irish Hansard:

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Charles Flanagan), speech in 2019 endorsing Irish Legislation

The role of legislators in sentencing is to set out the maximum sentence that can be imposed. It is then a matter for the courts to decide the appropriate sentence in any particular case taking into account all of the circumstances. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the Judiciary, whose members apply sentences according to principles and the facts of the case, guided by what is provided for in legislation. Lest there be any doubt, I want to stress that the courts are wholly independent in the exercise of this judicial function. The court is required to impose a sentence which is proportionate not only to the crime but also to the individual offender, in that process identifying where in the sentencing range the particular case should lie and then applying any mitigating factors which may be present or any representations which might be made on the conclusion of the trial.

There are very few instances in which mandatory or minimum sentences are specified in law. There is a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for murder. Minimum sentences are also in place for a number of serious offences such as crimes involving drugs or firearms. The use of minimum sentences is intended to reflect the impact of such crimes on society as a whole as well as individuals, often traumatised families and indeed communities. This Bill sets out presumptive minimum sentences for repeat sex offenders. These provisions will apply to those who have been convicted of a serious sexual offence and received a sentence of at least five years. If those offenders go on to commit a further offence within ten years, a presumptive minimum sentence will apply. It should be acknowledged that many convicted sex offenders are effectively managed through the Probation Service and the Garda Síochána on their release from prison and do not go on to commit further offences. However, it is clear that some do go on to reoffend and often offend again and again. By putting these provisions in place the Government is recognising the impact of sexual offences, both on individual victims and on society as a whole. It is ensuring that appropriate measures are available to the Judiciary at sentencing in order to ensure that these crimes can be dealt with both appropriately and effectively.

Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin

The provisions in the Bill will, no doubt, mean more stringent sentences for repeat sex offenders. This is very much welcomed as sexual offences are among the most abhorrent of crimes. The leniency of sentences handed down to persons convicted of sexual offences has been consistently in the headlines and rightly so. The public is rightfully disgusted and angered about this. Behind the headlines are victims who are left feeling totally devastated by the system and who are negatively affected once again.

Deputy James Browne

The Bill before the House is urgently needed. We are all familiar with cases where the leniency of sentences handed down to sexual offenders has been called into question. Lenient sentences can have a damaging impact on survivors of sexual abuse. When people hear of cases where the sentence handed down is reportedly lenient, those who may have considered reporting a sexual offence are often deterred from doing so. There can be a perception that the criminal justice system is not on the side of the victim, and one area that certainly must be addressed is the matter of consistent sentencing.

References https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/mandatory-sentencing-laws/mandatory%20sentencing%20laws.pdf
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42387.html
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/rr16_ex/rr16_ex.pdf
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2018-09-27/43/