On Island of Sark, Twin British Brothers Joust With Feudalism
Barclays Enjoy Castle Life,
But Hate Medieval Laws;
SARK, Channel Islands -- Europe's last feudal state is fighting a rebellion, but its unruly subjects aren't peasants. They're billionaires.
About 20 miles off the coast of Normandy, France, sits Sark, one of the Channel Islands and home to fewer than 600 residents. The rocky and windblown island is ruled by the Seigneur, the local title for the feudal lord, who collects a large transfer tax every time one of the island's 40 properties is sold. The Seigneur in turn pays rent to Queen Elizabeth II to maintain his fiefdom. The annual rent remains at about $3, unchanged since 1565.
The system worked well for almost five centuries -- until the British brothers David and Frederick Barclay moved in next door.
The identical twins, 70 years old, built their fortune buying and selling companies and currently are owners of London's Ritz Hotel and the Daily Telegraph newspaper. In 1993, they paid ￡2.3 million, or around $3.5 million at the time, for Brecqhou, a private island just a stone's throw off Sark's shore. The island is part of Sark's territory.
The Barclay twins built a huge castle, replete with spires and towers, and called it Fort Brecqhou (pronounced Bre-KOO). They issued their own postage stamps and sewed their family crest on the Seigneur's flag to make it their own. Supplies are ferried to the rocky outcrop by a boat called the Brecqhou Warrior.
They also began picking fights against Sark's long-held traditions and laws, including its rules of inheritance, its tax code, and even Sark's claim of sovereignty over their tiny island.
Some island residents say the Barclays are disrupting a tranquil and unique way of life. The brothers "thought they could roll all over us and they can't," says Jennifer Cochrane, who has lived on Sark for 30 years and publishes its monthly newsletter, La Vouair de Sercq (The Sark Voice). "They can't and they're furious."
Yet a campaign of lawsuits and demands by the Barclays has already led to far-reaching changes on Sark. Their aim, it now seems, is nothing less than the end of feudalism itself. "Sark should be governed by a democratic process, a parliament wholly elected by its people and not a parliament whose majority is appointed by an inherited feudal lord and through a payment of money to him," says Michael Seal, a representative of the twins. "It beggars belief that we are living in the 21st century."
Under Sark's feudal system, every landowner is entitled to a seat in the Chief Pleas, the island's tiny legislature, which since the 1920's has also included some elected residents. Feudalism's supporters argue the system ensures the smooth running of an island with just three civil servants (a secretary, a tourism officer and an assistant constable), little bureaucracy -- and almost no paved roads, for that matter.
Sark did have a brush with modernity a few years ago, when it became a haven for offshore "shell" companies. But that business dried up after the Channel Islands, which are part of British Commonwealth, imposed tougher banking rules in the late 1990s. Today, the 5-square-mile island is principally a tourist destination.
Accessible only by passenger ferry, Sark doesn't allow cars. So each summer, thousands of visitors, along with the island's residents -- many of them farmers and retirees from Britain -- walk, bicycle or take horse-drawn carriages to get around.
The Barclays' campaign against Sark's ancient regime began in the mid-1990s, when the brothers petitioned the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, challenging Sark's inheritance law, which mandated their island be left to Sir David's oldest son. The brothers wanted to will their estate equally to their four children.
The human-rights body bars discrimination based on "sex, race, colour, language, religion" as well as on birth order. Even so, more than 60% of Sark's residents signed petitions posted in local shops urging the human-rights court to drop the case, says Ms. Cochrane.
Instead, Sark's legislature decided to amend the inheritance law, allowing residents to leave property to any one of their children. The case made it clear that many of the island's laws couldn't withstand legal challenge, says Sark's Seigneur, Michael Beaumont.
Mr. Beaumont, a regal 77-year-old who inherited the title from his grandmother in 1974, believes the old feudal rules are more "fair." But, he notes, "just about everything in Sark was not human-rights compliant."
As a result, Mr. Beaumont says, members of the Chief Pleas organized into groups that met at kitchen tables across the island and began drafting a new constitution, a process that so far has taken five years.
David and Frederick Barclay's private island, Brecqhou, and the Fort Brecqhou castle.
The Barclays continued to make other demands. In 2002, they took on the local tax system. The elderly twins claimed their property tax was too high, particularly since they maintained Brecqhou's paths and dock. Fearing more litigation, Sark officials cut the Barclay's tax rate.
The Barclays' approach hasn't helped their cause among locals. Sir David, as the elder of the twins, holds a seat in the Chief Pleas. Yet since gaining that seat with the Brecqhou purchase 12 years ago, Mr. Barclay has yet to appear at any of its sessions, according to several Sark officials.
Mr. Seal declined to comment on Sir David's attendance. Through Mr. Seal, the Barclay brothers declined to be interviewed.
Mr. Beaumont recalls seeing the Barclays just a few times. Once he met them for a courtesy coffee at a restaurant at the top of a steep hill leading from the ferry dock. The Barclays didn't venture further onto the island, Mr. Beaumont says, because "they're not as fit as all that."
Tensions flared again in February, when Sark's legislature finally agreed to an overhaul of its constitution. Among the changes: cutting the number of seats held by landowners in the Chief Pleas to 16 from 40, and increasing the number of elected representatives to 16 from 12. Even the Seigneur agreed to relinquish his right to a vote.
Sark's No. 2 official, Lt. Col. Reginald Guille, says shortly after he sent the proposed changes to the Queen he received an email from London law firm Addleshaw Goddard on behalf of the Barclays.
The letter laid out entirely new demands, including for even more elected representatives. The Barclays also took aim at the ￡179,000 transfer tax they paid to Mr. Beaumont when they acquired their property, which was then the equivalent of about $269,000. "Our clients believe that such a levy has no place in today's world," said the letter.
Last month, the Queen's advisers sided with the Barclay twins. A royal emissary dispatched to Sark told officials their reforms didn't go far enough. On Oct. 5, the Chief Pleas decided to withdraw the constitutional changes, and Mr. Beaumont says his island now has no choice but to try again.
"We're very annoyed," says Ms. Cochrane, who last week was printing up copies of the decision to pass around Sark. She says "practically everyone" on the island was in agreement, but now "a couple of guys with too much money have caused us to do it all over again."
She said it's likely to be 18 months or longer before a new version of the constitution is ready to send to the Queen's advisers. "We're not rushing anything," she said. "After all, it took us 400 years to get this far."
与封建制度对抗的现代斗士
眼下，一场造反运动正在欧洲最后的封建领地上如火如荼地展开著，不过那些“乱臣贼子”可不是普通农民，而是亿万富豪。
在距挪威和法国海岸大约20英里的地方坐落著Sark岛，它属于海峡群岛(Channel Islands)，岛上有近600名居民。这个四处都是岩石、常年饱受风雨侵袭的岛屿由当地的封建领主统治著。Sark拥有40处地产，每当其中一处地产被出售时，封建领主就能捞取一大笔交易税。而领主只需向英国女王伊莉莎白二世上缴地租就能继续维持他对封地的统治了。目前的地租年金是3美元，这是自1565年以来沿袭的标准。
上述体制顺利实施了近五个世纪，直至大卫?巴克利(David Barclay)和弗雷德里卡?巴克利(Frederick Barclay)这对英国兄弟搬到附近之后。
这对现年70岁的孪生兄弟长得一模一样，他们原先通过买卖公司发家，目前拥有伦敦的Ritz酒店和报纸《每日电讯》(Daily Telegraph)。1993年，他们花了230万英镑，合350万美元，买下了距离Sark只有一步之遥的私人岛屿Brecqhou。Brecqhou岛是Sark岛的领地。
巴克利兄弟俩在Brecqhou岛上建造了一座巨大的、带有各式尖顶和塔楼的城堡，取名为Fort Brecqhou。他们还发行了自己设计的邮票，并在Sark封建领主的旗帜上绣上了本家族的族徽。各种生活物资则通过一艘名为Brecqhou Warrior的渡船运上小岛。
他们还向Sark岛的传统和法律发起了挑战，其中包括遗产继承法、税法，甚至对Sark岛是否拥有Brecqhou的主权也提出了质疑。
岛上的一些居民表示巴克利兄弟破坏了那里原本宁静而独特的生活方式。这兄弟俩“以为他们能改变我们，但事实是他们不能，”詹尼弗?科宁(Jennifer Cochrane)说。她在Sark岛上生活了30年，目前负责编辑出版每月的时事通讯La Vouair de Sercq，意为Sark岛之声。“他们做不到就恼羞成怒。”
不过，巴克利兄弟打起的官司以及提出的要求已经给Sark岛带来了深远的影响。现在看来，他们的目标可不仅仅是结束该岛的封建统治。“Sark岛应该推行民主政治，议会议员应该由全民选举产生，而不是像现在这样，大部分议员贿赂世袭的封建领主，花钱买官，”巴克利兄弟的发言人迈克尔?西尔(Michael Seal)说。“这实在让人难以相信我们现在生活在二十一世纪。”
根据Sark岛现行的封建制度，所有地主都是岛上的立法机构Chief Pleas的成员。从上世纪二十年代起，该机构也吸收了一些被推举的居民代表。封建体制的支持者们称，该制度确保了Sark岛在只有三名公务员的情况下运转良好，而且一点也不官僚－－因此，岛上几乎看不到平整的道路。那三名公务员分别是书记、旅游部长和警察局长。
Sark岛曾在几年前染上了一点现代的气息。当时，这里是离岸“壳”公司的天堂。但是，在海峡群岛于上个世纪90年代后期实施了更为严格的银行法规后，这种现象就消失了。海峡群岛是英联邦的成员。如今，方圆5平方英里的Sark岛主要是旅游胜地。
由于渡船是唯一的交通工具，Sark岛上没有汽车。因此每到夏天，成千上万的游客以及岛上的居民或是步行、或是骑自行车、或是乘坐马车在岛上四处观光。岛上的不少居民是英国农民和退休人士。
巴克利兄弟改变Sark岛封建制度的运动始于上个世纪90年代，当时两人要求位于法国的欧洲人权法庭(European Court of Human Rights)反对该岛的遗产继承法，因为这部法律规定他们买的小岛只能由大卫爵士的长子继承。兄弟俩则希望把他们的遗产平均分给四个孩子。
欧洲人权法庭规定禁止基于“性别、种族、肤色、语言、宗教”以及出生顺序的各种歧视行为。即便如此，Sark岛上超过60%的居民仍在当地商店里张贴的请愿书上签名，敦促欧洲人权法庭不予受理此案，科宁说。
而Sark岛的立法机构则决定修改遗产继承法，允许居民们把遗产留给任何一个子女。此案清楚地表明岛上的许多法律条款经不起推敲，Sark的封建领主迈克尔?贝蒙(Michael Beaumon)表示。
现年77岁的贝蒙气宇轩昂，他于1974年从祖父那里继承了这一封号，并相信古老的封建制度更为“合理”。但他同时指出，“只要Sark岛上的一切不招致人权组织的抱怨。”
于是，贝蒙表示，Chief Pleas的成员分成几个小组，在各家的厨房间碰头商议起草新的宪法。5年过去了，他们还在继续起草。
巴克利兄弟则不断提出新的要求。在2002年，他们开始关注当地的税法体系。两位老人声称Sark岛的房产税太高，特别是考虑到他们自己还要维护Brecqhou岛的道路和码头。由于担心官司缠身，Sark岛的行政官员削减了巴克利兄弟的税率。
巴克利兄弟在当地的行事作风对他们的事业可没什么帮助。兄弟俩中稍大一点的大卫爵士在Chief Pleas中拥有席位。但Sark岛的官员称，自从大卫在12年前因购买Brecqhou而获得这一席位后，他从来没在该机构的任何会议上露过面。
西尔则拒绝对此事发表评论，巴克利兄弟也拒绝接受采访。
贝蒙回忆说他只跟巴克利兄弟俩碰过几个照面。有一次，在渡船码头旁一座陡峭的山上的餐厅里，他们礼节性地一起喝咖啡。贝蒙说，巴克利兄弟没敢深入Sark岛，因为“他们在这里显得很突兀”。
今年2月，双方的关系突然变得很紧张了。当时，Sark岛的立法机构最终同意对宪法进行重大改革，其中包括把地主在Chief Pleas中的席位从40减少至16，同时把民选代表的席位从12增加到16。封建领主甚至同意放弃自己的投票权。
Sark岛的二号人物雷纳德?格利(Lt. Col. Reginald Guill)表示，当他把宪法修改建议呈交给英国女王后不久，他就收到了巴克利兄弟的代表、位于伦敦的律师事务所Addleshaw Goddard的电子邮件。
这封邮件提出了全新的要求，诸如进一步增加民选代表的席位数量等。巴克利兄弟还提及了他们购买Brecqhou岛时向贝蒙支付的179,000英镑的交易税，当时合269,000美元。信上称，“我们的客户认为如此征税在当今世界是绝无仅有的。”
上个月，英国女王的顾问们站在了巴克利兄弟一边。英国皇室派往Sark岛的一位特使告诉当地官员，他们的改革力度还不够。在10月5日，Chief Pleas决定撤回宪法改革，贝蒙表示他的岛屿现在别无选择，只能从头再来。
“我们非常厌烦，”科宁说。她上周还在印刷上述决定，准备分发给Sark岛上的居民。她表示，岛上“几乎每个人”都对原先的改革表示赞同，而现在“两个钱太多的家伙害得我们又要从头做起”。
科宁说，新版宪法可能需要18个月，甚至更长的时间才能准备完毕，送交英国女王的顾问们。“我们一点也不著急，”她说。“毕竟我们花了400年时间才达到现在的样子。”
