Another act of 12 C. 2d, ch. 12, "An act for confirmation of judicial proceedings," in which it is enacted, &c. "that nor any writs, or actions on, or returns of any writs, orders or other proceedings in law or equity, had made, given, taken or done, or depending in the courts of chancery, king's bench, upper bench, common pleas, and court of exchequer, and court of exchequer chamber, or any of them, &c. in the kingdom of England, &c. shall be avoided, &c." I must refer to the statute.
In short, wherever the custom house officers could find in any statute the word "writs", the word "continued" and the words "court of exchequer," they had instructed their counsel to produce it, though in express "words restricted to the realm." Mr. Gridley was incapable of prevaricating or duplicity.
It was a moral spectacle, more affecting to me than any I have since seen upon any stage, to see a pupil treating his master with all the deference, respect, esteem and affection of a son to a father, and that without the least affectation; while he baffled and confounded all his authorities, and confuted all his arguments and reduced him to silence.
Indeed, upon the principle of construction, inference, analogy, or corollary, by which they extended these acts to America, they might have extended the jurisdiction of the court of king's bench, and court of common pleas, and all the sanguinary statutes against crimes and misdemeanors, and all their church establishment of archbishops and bishops, priests, deacons, deans and chapters; and all their acts of uniformity, and all their acts against conventicles.
I have no hesitation or scruple to say that the commencement of the reign of George the third was the commencement of another Stuart's reign: and if it had not been checked by James Otis and others first, and by the great Chatham and others afterwards, it would have been as arbitrary as any of the four. I will not say it would have extinguished civil and religious liberty upon earth; but it would have gone great lengths towards it, and would have cost mankind even more than the French revolution to preserve it. The most sublime, profound and prophetic expression of Chatham's oratory that he ever uttered was, "I rejoice that America has resisted; two millions of people reduced to servitude, would be fit instruments to make slaves of the rest."
Another statute was produced, 12 C. 2. cap. 19, "An act to prevent frauds and concealments of his majesty's customs and subsidies." "Be it enacted," &c. "that if any person or persons &c. shall cause any goods, for which custom, subsidy, or other duties are due or payable, &c. to be landed or conveyed away, without due entry thereof first made and the customer or collector, or his deputy agreed with; that then and in such case, upon oath thereof made before the lord treasurer, or any of the barons of the exchequer, or chief magistrate of the port or place where the offence shall be committed, or the next adjoining thereto, it shall be lawfull, to and for the lord treasurer, or any of the barons of the exchequer, or the chief magistrate of the port or place, &c. to issue out a warrant to any person or persons, thereby enabling him or them, with the assistance of a sheriff, justice of the peace or constable, to enter into any house in the day time where such goods are suspected to be concealed, and in case of resistance, to break open such houses, and to seize and secure the same goods so concealed; and all officers and ministers of justice are hereby required to be aiding and assisting thereunto."
Such was the sophistry; such the chicanery of the officers of the crown, and such their power of face, as to apply these statutes to America and to the petition for writs of assistance from the superior court.
JOHN ADAMS.