Mein retaliated by accusing the Merchants' Committee of using the nonimportation agreement for illegal profiteering. The irritated readership ransacked the offices of the Chronicle, and ultimately, it ceased operations in 1770.
The conflict between Mein and the Merchants' Committee escalated when Mein accused them of exploiting the non-importation agreement for personal gain, leading to public outrage and the eventual shutdown of the Chronicle newspaper in 1770.