Free trade ???
July 30, 1847
Garrison thanks the Lorings for paying a tax which had been exacted from him at the Custom House, on account of a tea service which had been presented to him in Scotland, and which he brought back into the country. “Next to a fort, arsenal, naval vessel, and military array, I hate a Custom House — not because of the tax it imposed on the friendly Scottish gift, but as a matter of principle. I go for free trade and free inter-communication the world over, and deny the right of any body of men to erect geographical or national barriers in opposition to these natural, essential and sacred rights. Every government must be regarded as a tyranny, and unworthy of approbation, that erects or maintains such barriers. It also is controlled by a very short-sighted policy. — But this is not the place for a treatise on political economy.” 1