BETWEEN SIR JOHN JEFFCOTT AND DR. HENNIS.
May 10, 1833.
On this day a fatal duel took place near Exeter, between Sir John Jeffcott and Dr. Hennis. The dispute had arisen, in consequence of the Doctor having been supposed to have uttered words injurious to the reputation of Sir John, a judge of Sierra Leone. On the 26th of July, at the assizes at Exeter, he was charged with having unlawfully, feloniously, and of malice aforethought, inflicted a wound upon Peter Hennis, M.D., with a leaden bullet, of which wound he afterwards died; and Charles Melford, Robert Holland, and George Anthony Halstead, were charged with aiding and assisting him. Sir John Jeffcott had not been apprehended. The other parties this day appeared in court to take their trial; and the following is the substance of the evidence brought forward.
John Corfield Irving.—“I had a conversation with Dr. Hennis, on the 10th of May, in consequence of which he wrote a declaration. After which, I saw Sir John Jeffcott, and told him I had come to him from Dr. Hennis; upon which he asked, if I came as the Doctor’s friend. In consequence of what he said, I saw Mr. Melford, and I read to him, or showed him, this paper. I said, I trusted it would convince Sir John that the Doctor had never made use of the words in the sense imputed to him, and induce him to retract the expressions he had made use of towards the Doctor in the morning. Mr. Melford said, the Doctor had admitted the words imputed to him; upon which Sir John made use of the words ‘calumniating scoundrel.’ I told Mr. Melford I was directed by the Doctor to deny most unequivocally the use of the words, in the meaning imputed to him; that, on the contrary, the Doctor had asked a member of a respectable family, if the reports circulated in Exeter were true. The party said they were not true, and that Sir John had acted most honourably. Mr. Melford replied, that the words made use of by Dr. Hennis could not have been mistaken by Mr. Holland; and he showed me the copy of a letter, written by Sir John Jeffcott to Dr. Hennis, on the subject. This is the letter:—
“Street’s Clarence Hotel, May 10.
“Sir,
“In a conversation with a gentleman of character and respectability, and I believe hitherto of unquestionable veracity, I was last night, to my great astonishment, informed that you had, about three months ago, stated to my informant, that the reason why a certain affair, in which the name of a most respectable family is involved, to whom I need not more particularly allude, was broken off was, that I had given that family a false statement of my pretensions; that I had, among other things, asserted I had a vote for the University of Dublin, which, in your opinion, I had no more than you had; meaning, I presume, that I had no vote, and that I had stated what was not true, and that you considered that I was, in fact, a mere adventurer. I can scarcely imagine that a person holding the station in society that you do, or that any man who ought, by profession and education, to be a gentleman, could have gone so gratuitously out of his way to traduce the character of any individual behind his back; particularly when that individual was your countryman, to whom to his face you had made professions, if not of friendship, at least, of cordiality and good-will, and whose only previous intercourse with you was consulting you professionally in the first instance, and meeting you afterwards once or twice when you called professionally at the house of his friends. You will therefore, I feel satisfied, see the propriety, from regard to your own character, of coming at once to an explicit understanding upon the subject of this letter, and stating to me whether you did or did not use the expressions attributed to you. If you did not, you cannot, I am sure, as a gentleman, hesitate to disavow them promptly and unequivocally. If, on the other hand, you are prepared to maintain them, you will see the propriety of letting me know so without delay; as I am at present alone in Exeter, and am ordered to embark to-morrow morning on board his Majesty’s ship Britomart, at Plymouth.
“I have the honour to be, &c.
“J. W. Jeffcott.”
“I read this letter, and told Mr. Melford I was not aware it had been written, and must return to Dr. Hennis to know how he had acted under it. I communicated to the Doctor what had taken place. I found Captain Halstead with him. The Doctor told me, the Captain had received a communication from him prior to his meeting me. I therefore begged to resign the business into his hands. The Captain undertook the amicable arrangement of the matter, and with that view instructed me to accompany him back to Mr. Melford’s; two heads being, he said, better than one. I did so. The Captain either read or showed Dr. Hennis’s declaration to Mr. Melford, and said he felt confident Sir John Jeffcott, on being made acquainted with its contents, would retract the obnoxious expressions he had made use of. Mr. Melford said, he took the same view of the words as Sir John did, and that the Doctor had made an admission of them in the morning. He added, that the business could have been settled at nine that morning; but he feared it was then too late, as Sir John was to leave the town at three o’clock for Plymouth, and was perfectly satisfied with the part he had acted. Captain Halstead said, it could never be too late to arrange a business of that kind, and requested Mr. Melford would go to Sir John, and acquaint him with the nature of the strong declaration Dr. Hennis had signed. He afterwards told me, that Sir John would neither accept an explanation nor retract the words he had used. I took no part after.”
William Hucksford, servant to Dr. Eady, said—“I accompanied him in his gig to Halden: when I arrived, I saw Mr. Holland near the road, and four gentlemen on the race-course. I saw them walk up to each other, and then walk away in two parties. I heard the report of a pistol, and, on going up, I saw Dr. Hennis, who appeared to be much wounded. Sir John Jeffcott knelt on the ground, and asked Dr. Hennis if he would forgive him. I could not hear what answer the Doctor gave, but they shook hands; and, immediately after, the Doctor fell upon the ground.” Mr. Luscombe, surgeon, said, he saw Dr. Hennis about six in the evening. “He had a wound in the body below the shoulder blade, caused by a bullet. I attended him till his death, which took place on the 18th.”