ABSTRACT
A number of preliminary points should be made: • The section is grammatically inelegant: it is not apparent on a first
reading that the first part of the section, ending with the word ‘customs’, is an adverbial phrase followed by a definite pause – it would have been better had the section read: Trade, commerce and intercourse among the States, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall, on the imposition of uniform duties of customs, be absolutely free.
