Review: Judge Jeffreys
| DOI | 10.1177/002201834901300111 |
| Date | 01 January 1949 |
| Published date | 01 January 1949 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Reviews
JUDGE
JEFFREYS.
By H.
MONTGOMERY
HYDE,
D.LIT. 8vo. pp. 328
(Butterworth &Co., London.) Price 21s. net.
George, Baron Jeffreys of Wem, is
the
most 'spectacular' lawyer in
the
history of England. Common Sergeant of London
at
the
age of 26,
Recorder of
the
City
at
34,
Lord
Chief
Justice
of
England
at
38,
and
Lord
Chancellor
at
40:
truly
aremarkable career. He figured in
the
trial
of
Titus
Oates
and
in every
other
State
Trial of importance during his
meteoric orbit,
and
has been recorded ever since in all
the
history books
as
the
archetype of
'the
wicked judge'. This reputation, however, rests
chiefly on
'the
Bloody Assizes' which followed
the
suppression of Mon-
mouth's
rebellion,
and
in
this
concern Dr. H. M.
Hyde's
comments are
worthy
of
note
:-
"
In
fairness to
the
Chief
Justice
there
are certain relevant factors
which
must
not
be overlooked.
First,
the
responsibility for
the
outcome
of
the
trials rests
not
alone
with
Jeffreys,
but
jointly
with
him
and
the
four
other
judges in
the
Commission. Secondly, in
the
case of
the
1381
prisoners found guilty of high treason it has never been suggested,
apart
from
the
case of
Lady
Lisle
....
that
any
of
them
were improperly con-
victed.
The
penalty
for treason was death,
and
the
judges
had
no
option
but
to pass
the
statutory
sentence.
The
lists were
sent
to
the
King,
and
the
fact
that
between 150
and
200 were executed
and
several hundreds
more
transported
was
the
fault
primarily of James, who should
have
exercised
the
royal prerogative of mercy in much fuller measure
than
he
did,
and
singled
out
the
ringleaders alone for
the
extreme penalty.
The
King was in
constant
touch
with
Jeffreys during
the
circuit . .
..
The
onus, it is submitted,
must
rest
with
the
King, who was callous, vindictive,
and
cruel. Moreover, it is on record
that
Jeffreys afterwards protested
to
Lord
Ailesbury
that
"he
abhorred
what
had
passed in
that
Com-
mission."
With
all his shortcomings, his arrogance, his bullying disposition,
his intemperance, his irritability
and
violence of
temper
exacerbated
by
apainful disease, Jeffreys was beyond dispute a
great
man,
and
Dr.
Hyde
has done well to
portray
the
man
and
his actions,
with
arefreshing
impartiality, against
the
background of
the
age in which his protagonist
lived.
For
the
background is never allowed to become dim, nor does
the
author
ever allow his
pen
"to
point
a moral, or adorn a
tale".
So
the
reader, having
the
relevant facts before him, is enabled to form his own
opinions.
The
book contains
much
new
material;
it is well
documented;
the
index is full and, so far as we have tested it, accurate.
The
only blemish
-if
indeed ablemish it
be-which
we
have
discovered is
the
repetition
of
the
fable
about
King
James
throwing
the
Great Seal
into
the
Thames.
This
matter
was dealt with by Mr.
Hilary
Jenkinson in The Antiquaries
Journal for
January
1943. As
that
authority
sagely
remarks:
"the
no
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