A letter from British Customs official writing a complaint home on the nature of his work:
"In this country an officer of the customs ought to see his way very clear before he ventures to make a seizure. Because he sure of having every possible difficulty thrown in his way. He is looked upon as an enemy to the community and treated accordingly. And whether he succeeds or not, he is sure never to be forgiven, and thinks himself fortunate if his punishment is deferred to a future day." [1]
Joseph Harrison, collector for the port of Boston:
"Large quantities of dutiable goods have been smuggled in a most audacious manner. But publicly known and talked of, such is the temper of the times that no legal information could be obtained so as to prosecute or make any seizure of them. "
And finally a letter from the owner of a small smuggling vessel to the Captain of the Speed Well, a government ship that had confiscated his ship, taken his goods and seized his men.
"Sir: Damn thee and God damn thy two purblind eyes thou bugger, thou death-looking son of a bitch. O, that I had been there (with my company) for thy sake when thou tookest them men of mine on board the Speedwell cutter on Monday, the 14th of December. I would drove thee and thy gang to Hell where thou belongest, thou Devil incarnet. Go down, thou Hell Hound, unto they kennel below and bathe thyself in that sulphurous lake that has been so long prepared for such as thee, for it is time the world was rid of such a monster. Thou art no man but a devil, thou fiend. O Lucifer, I hope thou will soon fall into Hell like a star from the sky, there to lie unpitied and unrelented of any for ever and ever, which God grant of his infinite mercy. Amen."[2]
[1]http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/boston-tea-party-and...
[2]http://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/excursions...