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many other variations on the British norm which seem
to lack rhyme or reason.
Many Acts of the Westminster Parliament are virtu-
ally rubber-stamped by Tynwald; but in fire regulations
as in many other fields the differences which have
accumulated over the years are substantial.
Indeed, as the Manxmen are quick to tell you, the
differences have been there from the start. They claim
that their Parliament, Tynwald, is the oldest legis-
lature in the world, dating back over 1,000 years to the
Viking invasions of the island. They have been making
their own laws for a long time and they intend to go on
choosing which British laws to adopt and which are in
need of local improvement.
The Isle of Man is a self-governing dependency of
the British Crown not part of the United Kingdom or
colonies. An ancient kingdom originally governed by
Norway, it was ceded to Scotland in 1266 and disputed
for another 150 years before the English Crown took
over, Henry IV granting the island in 1405 to Sir John
Stanley, whose heirs became the Earls of Derby.
In 1736, the lordship passed to the Dukes of Atholl,
but the most important date in the island's history was
1765, when the Isle of Man Purchase Act placed it
under the direct administration of the British Crown.
For all the autonomy of Tynwald, its present law-
making powers have therefore been won back on suffer-
ance from Westminster, notably in the Isle of Man
Customs, Harbours, and Public Purposes Act of 1866,
which separated the Manx revenues from the rest of the
United Kingdom, and set up the House of Keys as a
popularly elected legislative body with 24 members.
Any Act of the British Parliament can apply to the
Isle of Man if the island is specified in the statute, and
UK legislation on aviation, navigation, nationality, and
similar subjects is generally framed to include it.
In what the Speaker of the House of Keys, Mr.
Charles Kerruish, described as the worst development
in Anglo-Manx relations for 100 years, the Wilson
Government demonstrated just what powers it had by
extending the 1967 Marine Offences Act to the island,
outlawing Radio Caroline.
But in most other fields Tynwald has been allowed
to go its own way for over a hundred years now, and
there have been many demands for further autonomy.
Customs and excise duties have been harmonised
with those of the United Kingdom, in spite of sugges-
tions that Jersey's policy of cheaper cigarettes and drink
should be copied, but tax differences are substantial:
low personal and company income tax, no corporation
tax or death duties, and better incentives for the right
sort of investor than Britain's development areas can
offer.
In the social field, the retention of capital and cor-
poral punishment is well known (although there have
been no executions for years), but Britain's liberalising
laws on abortion and homosexuality were never copied,
and the island has still not passed an equivalent of the
1959 Mental Health Act.
Strikes are extremely rare, and the Industrial Rela-
tions Act was never adopted. Nor has Tynwald
bothered with the price and wage restraint legislation.
In the latest development, the island has just taken
over running its own Post Office, issuing its own stamps
as it also does banknotes. But its most remarkable
achievement, along with the Channel Islands, has been
the arrangement reached with the EEC whereby it
applies the common external tariff and participates in
free trade throughout the Community while remaining
a tax haven, enjoying the best of both worlds as a
country could never do.
The Guardian
(8 August 1973)
Society of Young Solicitors
T he Society organised a visit to the European Com-
mission in Brussels, followed by a week-end in Amster-
dam, from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 26th November
inclusive. About 50 solicitors took part, and the ex-
cellent arrangements were in the capable hands of the
Chairman, Miss Maeve O'Donoghue, and of Michael
Carrigan and Donough O'Connor. The party left
Dublin Airport on Thursday morning, and reached
Brussels after a comfortable flight of 80 minutes, they
were then brought by coach to the Metropole Hotel,
where they were entertained so lunch by Vincent Gro-
gan, Director-General of Policy in the Competition
Section of the Community. They were afterwards
brought to the Berlaymont building in the Community,
and heard lectures by Mr. Grogan and some other
officials in one of the vast basement lecture rooms.
Subsequently, Allied Irish Banks Ltd. gave a very
pleasant reception in the Hilton Hotel, which was
much appreciated by all concerned. The evening was
rounded off when Vincent Grogan and Conor Maguire
took some of us to a supper of mussels in old Brussels.
On Friday morning the party heard lectures in the
morning on "Regional Policy" and "Social Policy",
and this was followed by an excellent lunch given by
the Community in the Europa Hotel. The party then
visited the Headquarters of te Irish Permanent Mission
to the European Communities where they heard a
lecture on the functions and objects of this Mission.
The party were well accommodated at the Central
Hotel, one minute from the Bourse, and, having called
there for their luggage, set out after 6 p.m. for a three
hour coach journey to the Museum Hotel, Amsterdam.
The party were free to wander at their leisure around
Amsterdam until Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.; they had
the advantage of being near the famous Rijks-Museum
and the Van Gogh Museum. The coach took 2£ hours
to reach Brussels Airport, and the party reached Dublin
Airport on Sunday
evening after another
uneventful
flight. It was altogether a most successful trip.
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