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Show 286 A TftO C fO"C S J GDDE::.>. (.\.. D. 1680. "The county for which I sen·e is Cheshire, which is a county palatine; and we have two judges peculiarly a signed us by his n1ajesty. Our puisne juuge I have nothing to say against; he is a very honest n1an, ior aught I know; but I cannot be silent as to our chief judge ; and I will name him, because what I haYe to say will appear n1ore probable. IIis name is Sir George JeffreyR, who, I mu t say, behaved himself more like a jack-pudding tban witll that gravity which becomes a juuge. Ife was witty upon the pri ~oners at the bar. lie was very f ull of his jokes upon people that carne to giye e vi<lence, not suffering them to ueclare what they had to say in their own way anJ method, but would intcrru pt them because they beliaved themselves with n1ore gravity than he. But I do not insist upon this, nor upon the late hours he kept up and down our city; it's said he was every night drinking t ill two o'clock, or beyond that time, and that he went to his chamber druuk; but this I have only by common fa1ne, for I was not in his company; I bless GoJ I am not a n1an of his principles and behavior; but in the n1ornings he appeared with the yn1ptoms of a 1nan that overnight had taken a la rge cup. That which I have to ay is the co1nplaint of every man, especially of tl.4e1u that had any lawsuits. Our chief justice has a very a rbitrary power in appointing the a size when he pleases, and this man bas strained it to the l1igllest point; for ·whereas we were accustomed to have two assizes, the iirst about April or l\Iay, the la tter about September, it was this year the n1i<ldle (as I remember) of August before we had any assize ; and then he despatched business so well that he left half the causes untried ; anc1, to help the matter, has resolved. we shall have no n1ore assizes this year." Being tired of revelling in Chester, he put a sudden end to A. D. 1C81.] GEOHGE JEFFREY~. 2~7 his first assize there, that he rnight pay a visit to hi::s nat i \'e place; to which I tun afraiu he was less prompted. by a pious wish to embrace hi, i~tther, who had been o re. olute1y bent on making hin1 a shopkeeper, and who, fron1 the stories propagated about his conduct as a judge, still expressed some Ini:--givings about hin1, a ~ to dazzle his old companions with the splendor of his new state. Accordingly he came with '"'uch a train that the ciuer barrels at Acton ran very fast, and. the larder was soon exhausted.; whereupon the old gentleman, in a great fret, charged his son with a de ign to ruin him, by bringing a ·whole county at his heel~ , and warned him against again attempting the sa1ne prouigality. But a violent political storm now ar o::;e, w llich t hreateneu entirely to overwhelrn our hero, and from which he Jid net escape unhurt. In tllC truggle which arose from the long delay to assemble Parliatnent, he had le~lgued him elf strongly with the "Abhorrers" against the "Petitioners," and proceedings were instituted iu t lle Ilousc of Commons on this ground, against hitn along with Chief J u tice ~croggs and Chief Justice North. A petition frorn t he city of London, yery nu1nerously signed, having been presented, cornplaining that the r ecor<ler had obstructed the citizens in thci r attempt· to have Pari iament assen1bled for the re<lre~s of g rievances, a select committee was appointcu, who, having heard evidence on the subject, and exan1ined hin1 in person, p resented a report, on which the following re ~olutions were pas ~ed :- "That Sir George ,J cffre y~, recoruer of the city of Lo n do n, by traduci.n g nud obstruct·w g pe t1' t 1'o n'1n ror for the sitting of this Parliament, hath destroyed the right of the subject. |
