UNDER THE TUDORS 89 



was associated. By this time it was clearly recognised that 

 the religious changes that had taken place were prejudicial to 

 the fisheries by lessening the consumption of fish, and in 1548 

 an " Act for Abstinence from Flesh " was passed, by which fines 

 were imposed on those who did not observe the usual fast-days. 

 The object of the measure was clearly explained. " One day 

 or one kind of meat of itself," it said, " is not more holy, more 

 pure, or more clean than another, for that all days and all 

 meats be of their nature of one equal purity, cleanness, and 

 holiness ; " but " considering that due and godly abstinence is a 

 mean to virtue, and to subdue men's bodies to their soul and 

 spirit, and considering also especially that Fishers, and men 

 using the trade of living by fishing in the sea, may thereby 

 the rather be set on work," it was enacted that no person 

 should eat flesh meat on Fridays, Saturdays, Ember-days, Lent, 

 or on any other day which was accustomed a fish-day, under a 

 penalty of ten shillings fine and ten days' imprisonment with- 

 out flesh food. 1 



By this statute the political lent was established, and the 

 policy of compelling the people to eat fish for the good of the 

 fisheries and the navy was continued with more or less vigour 

 for a century and a half. Sir William Cecil was especially 

 active in its favour. He caused careful inquiries to be made 

 into the condition of the decaj^ed havens and sea-coast towns 

 and the state of the fisheries. He was informed by the London 

 fishmongers, to whom he had submitted a series of questions, 

 that there was not so much fish then consumed "by a great 

 quantity" as used to be the case, and that the number of 

 vessels engaged in the fisheries had greatly decreased. On the 

 latter point they referred to a return made about the twentieth 

 year of the reign of Henry VIII., which showed that seven- 

 score and odd ships then went to the Iceland fishery, about 

 80 crayers to Shetland, and about 220 crayers from Scarborough 

 and other towns to the North Seas fishing, making a total of 

 about 440 fishing vessels ; while at the time they wrote in the 

 reign of Edward VI., and probably in 1552 or 1553 the 

 number had fallen to about 133, of which 43 went to Iceland, 

 10 crayers to Shetland, and 80 to " the North Seas," showing a 



1 2 & 3 Edw. VI., c. 19. Certain exceptions, of those licensed, ill, or very old, or 

 in prison, were made. 



