CLAMEUR DE

HARO  , the ancient Norman custom of " crying for justice," still surviving in the Channel Islands . The wronged party must on his knees and before witnesses cry: "Haro ! Haro ! Haro! a 1'aide, mon prince, on me fait tort." This appeal has to be respected, and the alleged trespass or tort must cease till the matter has been thrashed out in the courts . The " cry " thus acts as an interim injunction, and no inhabitant of the Channel Islands would think of resisting it . The custom is undoubtedly very ancient, dating from times when there were no courts and no justice except such as was meted out by princes personally . The popular derivation for the name is that which explains " Haro " as an abbreviation of " Ha ! Rollo," a direct appeal to Rollo, first duke of Normandy . It is far more probable that haro is simply an exclamation to call attention (O.H.G. hera, Kara, " here "!) . Indeed it is clear that the " cry for justice " was in no sense an institution of Rollo, but was a method of appeal recognized in many countries . It is said to be identical with the " Legatro of the Bavarians and the Thuringians," and the first mention of it in France is to be found in the " Grand coutumier de Normandie." A similar custom, only observed in criminal charges, was recognized by the Saxon laws under the name of " Clamor Violentiae." Thus there is reason to think that William the Conqueror on his arrival in England found the " cry " fully established as far as criminal matters were concerned . Later the " cry " was .made applicable to civil wrongs, and, when the administration of justice became systematized, disappeared altogether in criminal cases .

It naturally tended to become obsolete as the administration of justice became systematized, but it was

long retained in north-western France in cases of disputed possession, and was not actually repealed until the close of the 18th century . A survival of the English form of haro is possibly to be found in the " Ara," a cry at fairs when " settling time " arrived .