POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 47 



on the coasting trade at all became difficult 

 and humiliating. 



The army, navy, and militia of the 

 United States were put at the disposal of 

 collectors of ports and the coast was block- 

 aded from Maine to New Orleans. Vessels 

 that traded in defiance of the law, and some 

 that claimed to be within the law, were 

 seized, tried and condemned, and the prize 

 money shared among their captors as if war 

 existed. 1 By the middle of February, 1809, 

 the situation had become truly alarming. 

 The numerous petitions sent from towns 

 throughout the country had been ignored 

 by the President, and the new enforcement 

 law was rigidly applied. The leaders of the 

 Federalists in New England made no se- 

 cret of their intention to resist the law by 



schooner 'Betsey* was refused clearance for Passama- 

 quoddy from Salem until he had taken out a barrel of tar, 

 some earthen pots and a barrel of beef. No doubt the col- 

 lector acts according to orders, but the execution must be 

 painful." - Salem Gazette, July 15, 1808. 



"Rich cruises. Letter from New Orleans of Aug. 26, 

 from gunboat No. 19, states, that the amount of prize 



