he
Southerd_, and the matter is over."

There was little hesitancy. The suggestion made by the Boston Whigs was
taken up, and the maritime towns, which had been expected to take
advantage of Boston's predicament, began to discontinue trade, not
merely with Great Britain, but also with the West Indies. Then Salem,
which was to be the capital in place of Boston, formally repudiated the
idea of profiting by the situation. The news spread to the other
colonies, and they began to act. New York proposed, and the sister
provinces agreed in, a call for "a general Congress." In less than a
month after the coming of the news of the Port Bill, Boston was assured
that the continent would not leave her to suffer alone.

But then, on the first of June, 1774, the Port Bill went into effect. So
literally was it interpreted, that all carriage by boat in the harbor
was forbidden. No owner of a pasture on the harbor islands might bring
his hay to the town; no goods might be brought across any ferry; not
even carriage by water from wharf to wharf in the town was allowed.
Further, while food and fuel, according to the provisions of the act,
might be brought to Boston by water, all vessels carrying them were
forced to go through troublesome formalities. They must report at the
customs in Salem, unload, load again, and receive a clearance for
Boston. Returning, they might carry enough provision to last them only
to Salem. Besides all this, the Commissioners of Customs at Salem
undertook to decide when Boston had enough provisions. The blockade, as
enforced by them and the ships of war in Boston Harbor, was minutely
complete and vexatious.

Yet at their mildest its provisions were complete enough. Trade by sea
with the town was stopped. Consequently, so maritime were the town's
activities, prosperity was instantly checked. All the workers
immediately dependent on the sea for a living, sailors, wharfingers,
longshoremen, and fishermen, were at once thrown out of employment. Then
by a severe interpretation of the act all ship-building was stopped,
since the authorities declared that, on launching, any boat would be
confiscated. The shipyards shut down, the boats ready to launch were
filled with water "for their preservation,"[36] and ship-carpenters,
calkers, rope-makers, and sailmakers were thrown out of work. Much
misery to the unemployed would have been the result but for the
forethought of the patriot leaders.

These men, early realizin