THE FISHERIES 65 



which licenses to fish in the Channel were frequently granted 

 by the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports to a limited number 

 of French fishermen, chiefly of Dieppe and Treport, for the 

 ostensible purpose of supplying the king of France's table with 

 fresh fish, and especially soles. It is stated that the French 

 kings " time out of mind " had applied for such licenses, 1 and 

 they were certainly granted under Elizabeth, the Stuart kings, 

 and Oliver Cromwell. It is doubtful when the custom origin- 

 ated, but since the liberty of fishing was granted for a definite 

 area or bank, called the Zowe or Sowe, off Rye and well out 

 in the Channel, it was probably of considerable antiquity, and 

 may have survived from the Norman or Angevin reigns. 

 James also furnished similar licenses for the use of certain 

 high personages, such as the Duchess of Guise and the French 

 ex-ambassador ; but the liberty was greatly abused, and was 

 the cause of much friction and trouble with the English fisher- 

 men later. 2 The fact that such licenses were asked for by the 

 French court on behalf of fishermen of Dieppe, Treport, Calais, 

 and other ports on the coast of France, may indicate that the 

 fisheries out in the Channel were at one time claimed by 

 England. But it is possible it was only the survival of a 

 custom adopted during the times when great lawlessness 

 reigned on the seas, and when the men of the Cinque Ports 

 were a terror to their neighbours. A license from the Lord 

 Warden would be then a safeguard and protection. 



Such are the cases which were adduced to prove the rights 

 of the English crown to exclusive fishing in the British seas. 

 On the other side there is an overwhelming body of testimony 

 to show that the fishery was free. It may be noted in the 



1 State Papers, Dom., Charles I., clxxx. 96. 



2 One of the licenses, which ran for a year, is printed in Appendix C. The 

 Zowe was described in 1630 as "a bank which lies between Rye and Dieppe, 

 and the outermost part is nearly one-third over the sea. This zowe which they 

 call the small zowe is 3 leagues long and 3 broad, and 26 and 28 fathoms deep. 

 The French make it 10 leagues, because they fish till they bring Beachy Head N., 

 fayre Loo (? Fairlea, Fairlight) W.N.W., and fish in 30 fathoms." Sir H. Main- 

 waring to Coke, " A Short Discourse or Propositions concerning the French fishing 

 uppon the Zowe, theyr abusing it, and the Remedy " (ibid.) It was described as 

 the "chief nursery for turbetts, hollibatts, pearles (brill), soules, weavers and 

 gurnetts." In Queen Elizabeth's time only four licenses were granted, but James 

 increased the number to fourteen or fifteen. They were carefully entered in the 

 records of Dover Castle and the Hundred Book of Rye. 



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