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Show 288 ATHOCIOuS JUDGES. [A. D. lGSl. "That an bumble address be presented to his 1najesty, to remove Sir George Jeffrey::; out of all public offices. "That the n1embers of this house serving for the eity of London do communicate these resolutions to the Court of Aldermen for the said city." 'rhe king was stancl1, and returned for an wer to the addre s the ·i vil r efusal " that he would consider of it; '' *' but tTeffreys, who, where he apprehended personal danger was '·none of the intrcpi<ls," quailed under the charge, and, afi·aid of further steps Leing takeu against him, carne to an undcrstanuing that he hould give up the r econler ship, which his enemies wished to be conferred upon their parti an, Si1· George Treby. The king was much chagrined aL the loss of such a valuable r ecorder, and saiJ :ar ca:-\tically that '"he was not Parliament-proof." But he was obliged to acquiesce, and fJeffreys, haYing beeu r pritnanded on his knees nt the bar, was diseharged. 1~he uddres. of Speaker \Villiams was very bitter, and caused dc<'\p reRentment in the mind of Jeffreys. On the 2d of Dece1nber he actually did r esign hi~ office, and Trcby was cho · u to uccee<l lti n1. In a few days after th 're wa:; exhibited one of Lord Shafte bury's famous Protestant proces ions, on the nnniversary of the acces ion of Queen Elizabeth. In this roue a figure on horseback, to r epresent the ex-r ecorder, with his face to the tail, and a label on his back, "I am an Abhorrer." i\t Temple Bar he was thrown into a bonfire, coupled with the devil; the preceding pair, who suffered the same fate, being Sir Roger L'E~trange t and the Pope of Rome. * "Le ·roy s'avise1·a," the royal veto to n. bill passed by the two houses. t lloger L'Estmnge was a noted pamphleteer, one of the orac~es of the high church and Tory party, and the founuer of the first Engl!::;h newspaper. - Ed. A. D. 1L8~.] {; EU l~ G E ,JEFFREYS. 289 I-Iowever, all these indigniLics endeared him to the court; and his pusillanimity was forgiven fron1 the recollection of past and the hope of fu Lure services. .A petition fron1 the city being presented to the king at IIampton Court, he attended ns a liveryman, though no longer the mouthpiece of the corporation, when he was tr eatecl with mm·ked ciYility by Charles, and detained to dinner, while the lord 1nayor and aldermen and the new recorder were sent off with a reprimand. To oblige the court, an<l to a~-sisL then1 in their criminal jobs, he accepted the appointment of chairman of the 1\licldle, cx sessions a t IIick "'s llall, although .iL was omewhaL beneath his dignity, an<l iL depri vecl hi1n of a portion of his practice. II ere the grand jury ' v9re worn in; and a ... they were returned by sh riff'· whom the city of London elected, anu who Were Still of the liberal party, the probh~Dl WflS to have them remodelled, , o that they might lind LilLs of indictment again t all whom the government wiHhcd to pro ·eeute. ' Vith this view, J efti·ey-- declared that none hould serve except true church of England n1en ; and he ordereLl the undersheriff to return a new panel purged of all .-ectarian~. He had a particular spite again t the Presbyterians, who hau mainly contributed to hi · being turned out of the recorderbhip. The under-sher iff' disobeying hi8 stun1nons, he ordered the sheriffs to attend next day in p e rson; but in their stead ca1ne the new recorder, who urged that, Ly the privileges of the city of L ondon, they were exempted fron1 altending at Hicks's Hall. lie overruled tbis clain1 with contempt, and :fined the sheriffs one hundred pound . It was found, however, that while the city retained the po\"rcr of electing the sheriffs, all these attempts to pervert j ustice would be f]:u itless. 25 |
