There were demonstrations and intimidation of stamp agents by the
Sons of Liberty. Merchants agreed to buy no more goods from
England. The stamp duty was repealed the same year it had been
enacted because it had been "attended with many inconveniences and
may be productive of consequences greatly detrimental to the
commercial interests of these kingdoms".
To counter the wide-scale running of goods to avoid the customs
tax, the customs office was reorganized in 1766 to have
commissions resident in the colonies and courts of admiralty
established there to expedite cases of smuggling. This angered the
colonists, especially Boston. Boston smuggling had become a common
and respectable business. It was the port of entry for molasses
from the West Indies from which New England rum was made and
exported. The entire molasses trade that was essential to the New
England economy had been built upon massive customs evasions;
royal customs officials had participated in this by taking token
customs for the sake of appearance on London and thereby had
become rich.
In 1766 Parliament imposed a duty of 3d. per pound weight on tea
and duties on reams of paper, glass, and lead into the colonies.
These import duties were presented as external rather than
internal taxes to counter the rationale the colonies gave against
the stamp tax. But these items were of common use and their duties
raised the cost of living.
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