[from Jefferys A Descriptive Account of the Isle of Man, 1808]

Preface [Continued]

[This section has no connection with the Isle of Man but is an 'explanation' of his earlier conduct towards the Prince of Wales]

It was not my intention to have said a single word of myself or of my concerns upon this occasion; but as a publication offered to the world in my name may lead many persons, from the great publicity which attended the pamphlets published by me some time since complaining of the conduct of the Prince of Wales, to suppose that in this publication they will meet with similar complaints, I think it my duty to state, that no such complaints will be found in these pages, nor indeed will any ever be offered by me again to the public.

No individual (however attached to the Prince of Wales) can more sincerely regret than I do the publication of the pamphlets to-which I have alluded, and which, in a moment of extreme Irritation, arising from great disappointment, severe losses to a great amount, and a very infirm state of health, I was unhappily induced to write;-but

Who can be wise, amaz'd, temperate and furious, Loyal and neutral, in a moment ?-No man.

The Prince of Wales, by an honorable instance of liberality since the period of those publications, has convinced me, by the most unquestionable proof, that I was wrong in my opinion, and precipitate in my conduct; and I am not ashamed, thus publicly, to acknowledge the errors of my own conduct, to do justice to that of His Royal Highness.

In the earlier part of my life the Prince of Wales has conferred upon me many very liberal and great favors, for which I ought ever to consider myself indebted to him; and though the result of his Royal Highness's preference has proved most disastrous, in the ruin of my fortune, my health, and my peace of mind, it is but justice to acknowledge that such events were never in his contemplation.

The sudden and painful change which I experienced in the conduct of the Prince of Wales towards me, previous to the publication of my complaints, and when I was not conscious of having done any act to forfeit that good opinion which his Royal Highness, with the most kind condescension, had frequently expressed to entertain of my conduct, it is my duty (knowing what I do now) to attribute more to the gross and cruel misrepresentations of others, than to any alteration in the character and disposition of his Royal Highness.

Such a declaration coming from me will, I most sincerely hope, not be without its eject, in removing from the minds of the public any impressions to the disadvantage of his Royal Highness's character, which may have been occasioned either by my publications or those of any other person.

After this avowal of my sentiments, I hope my veracity will not be questioned when I assert, that, in the various publications which have at different times appeared in pamphlets and newspapers, under anonymous signatures, reflecting upon the character and conduct of the Prince of Wales, I have never had any concern.

I hope it will not be considered as any infringement upon the respect due to his Royal Highness, that I now offer a few words in the defence of my own character.

The extraordinary and unprecedented circumstance of the non-payment of the sum awarded to me by the Verdict of a Jury, excites such: feelings of incredulity in those who; hear it, as to occasion continual applications to me for the sale of the pamphlets to which I have alluded, and which, in strict adherence to the professions I have just made, I will on no account send again into circulation.

I will therefore, by way of general answer to such applications, and to remove all doubts as to the truth of such a fact, submit to my readers, in as few words as possible, a statement of the case.

I had the honor, for many years, to be employed as Jeweller to the Prince of Wales, during, which period a very considerable debt was contracted. At the time of his Royal Highness's marriage there was a great competition among the jewellers for the occasion; when, in opposition to every interest that was made from various quarters, his Royal Highness favored me by the preference. I repeat the word "favored," because it was meant by the Prince of Wales to do me a service, as he very generously expressed himself, in return for the inconvenience I had suffered from a long unsettled account, as well as for the unremitting and respectful attention, which his Royal Highness was so good as to acknowledge I had ever paid to the execution of his commands.

The completion of this order for jewels, on so great an occasion, added very considerably to the amount of my claims; making, in the whole, a sum not very far short of £100,000.

An act of parliament then passed for the payment of the Prince's debts, and commissioners were appointed for the execution of it, with powers to examine into the nature of the various claims.

Previous to any decision upon my claim, Mr Pitt, who was one of the commissioners, stated to me, that they did not feel justified in the payment of so large a sum, without the opinion of persons conversant in jewels, as to the propriety of the charges; and to this very reasonable mode of proceeding I could not object.

But, very unfortunately for me, the persons appointed to examine these jewels, and into the propriety of my charges, were the very same whom Mr Pitt knew to have been my disappointed rivals, having been unsuccessful candidates for this employment; and the report they made was so disadvantageous, that, to have assented to it' would have been, on my part, a measure of destruction equally to my fortune and my character.

In answer to a question I put to Mr Pitt, if there was no appeal against such a decision ? he replied, that an appeal might be made to the Verdict of a Jury, if I was at all disposed to such a measure.

Conscious of the fairness of the transaction, I had no hesitation as to the line of conduct I should pursue;

And the cause was accordingly tried before Lord Kenyon and a special Jury in Westminster Hall, when, after a hearing of many hours, in which the opinions of the most eminent diamond merchants from the house of Messrs Goldsmid, and others, were beard in evidence to support my claim, opposed to the evidence of the persons who had valued the goods, a verdict was given in my favor, subject to a small deduction only, and that upon the ground of all risk being ended by their decision, and the consideration of the very large sum I was so soon to receive. Thinking, therefore, with the Jury, that I was very Soon to receive in cash the sum awarded (nothing having been said to the contrary upon the trial) I was well satisfied with the verdict.

I must not omit here to state the liberal attention strewn by the Prince of Wales to my interest, in sending Lord Cholmondely, his then Lord Chamberlain, to state in evidence (if necessary) his Royal Highness's entire satisfaction in the integrity of my conduct in the execution of the order for the jewels, then the subject of the d...