"Did this have anything to do with taxes or tarriffs to be collected? Why do you suppose they did not want to deal with the SC commissioners...."

It is my understanding, and some one can disprove me if I am wrong, But I read somewhere that Charleston Harbor was second in commercial trade only to New York Harbor. If this is true, then the lost of Taxes and Tariffs revenue would have been a strong concideration. If I am not badly mistaken Fort Sumter was built as much for the collection of the Tariffs as it was for the actual defence of Charleston Harbor.

Whether the United States action in regards to Fort Sumter and Moultrie was solely predicated upon this single factor would be a matter of further discussion.