If the repeated adjudications of the king's bench, enlightened and adorned, as it then was, by the transcendent genius of Chief Justice Holt, were known to be erroneous, and contrary to former precedents, why did not the merchants, always a wealthy class of the community, make a different appeal, and before the lords in parliament, reverse and annul the erroneous judgment of the king's bench? They, however, acquiesced in these decisions. They were well aware that as they were attempting to innovate upon the rules of the common law, which forbid the assignment of a chose in action, they never could obtain the reversal and annulment of judgments pronounced in accordance with principles which had been settled for ages. They made a different appeal, and obtained an act of parliament of the 3 and 4 of Anne, chap. 25, "giving like remedy on promissory notes as used on bills of exchange," and for the better payment of inland bills of exchange, to the following effect:
"Whereas, it hath been held that notes in writing, signed by the party who makes the same, whereby such party promises to pay unto any other person, or his order, any sum of money therein mentioned, are not assignable or indorsable over, within the custom of merchants, to any other person, and that such person to whom the sum of money mentioned in such note is payable cannot maintain an action, by the custom of merchants, against the person who first made and signed the same; and that any person to whom such note shall be assigned, indorsed, or made payable, could not, within the said custom of merchants, maintain any action upon such note against the person who first drew and signed the same. Therefore, to the intent to encourage trade and commerce, which will be very much advanced if such notes shall have the same effect as in land bills of exchange, and shall be negotiated in like manner, it is enacted, that from the first day of May, 1705, all notes in writing made and signed by any person or persons, body politic or corporate, or by the servant or agent of any corporation, banker, goldsmith, merchant, or trader, usually intrusted by him or them to sign such notes by him, her, or them, whereby such person or persons doth or shall promise to pay to any other person or persons, his, her, or their order, or to bearer, any sum of
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