BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH COLONIZATION 69 



tional, despite an opinion to the contrary by Attorney-General 

 Noy. In order, however, that these rules and provisions 

 might not be void for informality, they were confirmed by a 

 Charter which was afterwards known as the Western Charter, 

 and which repeated word for word the language used by the 

 Star Chamber. 1 The following April (1634) witnessed the 

 appointment of Commissioners of Foreign Plantations, who 

 are the lineal ancestors of the Colonial Office of to-day, and 

 who inaugurated an energetic and systematic colonial policy. 



In 1637 the Commissioners decided that the old patents In 1637 

 for Newfoundland had lapsed through neglect, and re-granted 'j/J^- a/ 

 to the Duke of Hamilton, Sir D. Kirke, the conqueror ofr grants arc 

 Quebec (1629), and others, all that had been granted to Guy jjjjjjji 

 and former patentees. But there were differences in the new to Kirke's 

 patent. The colony was looked on as one colony, instead com P an y> 

 of being divided into an inner and outer half, as in Guy's 

 patent ; the northern boundary was hazily described as 53 N. 

 lat. 2 or Belle Isle Strait, instead of being described as 52N. 

 lat., and the exemption of fishing and incidental rights from 

 the Governor's jurisdiction was pushed to two logical and 

 dangerous conclusions : first, there were to be two separate which 

 kinds of control, the Governor controlling the settlers, while Bribes dual 



the fishing-admirals and mayors under the charter of 1634 control and 



a six-mile 

 controlled the fishermen ; and secondly, there were to be two re /o. 



separate areas of control, an invisible line being drawn six 

 miles from the seaside, which if the settlers crossed they 

 suffered a sea-change, were partially transformed from settlers 

 into fishermen, and might neither build houses nor farm, 

 but could only build forts, fish-stages, and cook-rooms. In 

 so far as these provisions were new, they were ignored. 

 Settlers still lived, built, and farmed as they had always lived, 

 built, and farmed, within a quarter of a mile of the shore ; 3 



1 Feb. 10, 1634. 



2 Comp. Purchas, Pilgrims, vol. xix, p. 429. 



3 See e.g. Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, Add., 1574 to 

 1674, pp. 157-63. 



