You tried to make the point that tariffs were always paid at the point of arrival.
My question is, how could deep draft ocean transports land dutiable goods first at places like Augusta and Knoxville?
The answer must be that they were transshipped, wouldn't you agree?
And why would tariffs not be charged before transshipment?
Doesn't that seem inconsistent with your scheme of payment at the point of arrival, which, in your mind, means that the final consumer is standing there on the wharf in New York, waiting for his clock and stemware from England?
Tariffs are paid at the point of delivery. Where they are landed and delivered. Always.
My question is, how could deep draft ocean transports land dutiable goods first at places like Augusta and Knoxville?
Ocean transports wouldn't, but there was a very active steamboat traffic on all the rivers.
And why would tariffs not be charged before transshipment?
You introduced the solution yourself. Goods landed in New Orleans and placed in bond, as the Warehousing Act allowed, would not be taxed until they were delivered. Be that New Orleans or Nashville. Have you forgotten the Warehousing Act to begin with? There were warehouses in New Orleans, since it was the busiest Southern port and the gateway to the midwest. Just nothing like the warehouses in New York.
And you still haven't mentioned exactly how much in the way of tariffs we're talking about.
Doesn't that seem inconsistent with your scheme of payment at the point of arrival, which, in your mind, means that the final consumer is standing there on the wharf in New York, waiting for his clock and stemware from England?
I'm not being inconsistent at all, you are. You brought up the Warehousing Act. The act, as I assume you know, allows for the delay of paying tariffs until delivery to the ultimate customer. Now if that customer is in Charleston then the tariff is paid when delivered to Charleston. If the customer is in New York, the tax is collected in New York. The fact that comparatively little was paid in Charleston and New Orleans is further proof that few imports were consumed by people in those areas.