=137. Opposition in Parliament.=—The passage of these acts was strenuously opposed by several of the strongest men in Parliament. The opposition of Fox, Burke, Pitt, and Barré was particularly energetic. In the House of Peers, Lord Rockingham and his friends entered a protest on the journal of the House, and the Duke of Richmond declared, in his indignation, “I wish from the bottom of my heart that the Americans may resist and get the better of the forces sent against them.” But the king was determined, and Lord North, who had just been advanced to the position of prime minister, gave his general assent to the measures, though he privately tried to prevent the king from pressing the Transportation Bill. [Illustration: FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON.] =138. Effect upon the Colonies.=—Upon the colonies the effect of these acts was general and immediate. As soon as the provisions of the Boston Port Bill became known, the colonies all saw that they must act together or be individually crushed. Public opinion rapidly took definite form. This was largely the work of committees of correspondence, organized at Faneuil Hall, Boston, chiefly through the energy and foresight of Samuel Adams. In Virginia a similar mode of procedure was adopted the following year, and an invitation was extended to all the colonies to appoint committees for the same purpose. The work of these committees was to make each colony acquainted with the views of all the others. [Illustration: CARPENTERS’ HALL, PHILADELPHIA.] =139. First Continental Congress.=—As a result of the agitation that followed, Massachusetts, at the request of New York, called for a meeting of representatives of the various colonies, to be convened early in September, 1774. The governor of Georgia prohibited the appointment of delegates, but representatives of the twelve other colonies met on the 5th of September, in Carpenters’ Hall, in Philadelphia. This body is known as the “First Continental Congress.” It contained a large share of the ablest men in the country. After adopting a Declaration of Colonial Rights, in which the political claims of the colonies were clearly and fully set forth, they named eleven different acts, which they declared had been passed in violation of their rights since the accession of George III. They framed a petition to the king, as well as an address to the people of Great Britain, and then formed what was called “The American Association,” the object of which was to put a stop to all trade with Great Britain until the obnoxious laws should be repealed. After providing for another congress, to be held in the following spring, the meeting adjourned on the 26th of October. THE CRISIS.