100 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



entitled General and Rare Memorials pertayning to the Per- 

 fect Arte of Navigation, 1 in which he dealt with the fisheries 

 and the boundaries of the British seas, and recommended that 

 the tribute to be exacted from foreign fishermen should be 

 expended in maintaining a navy to be called " The Petty Navy 

 Royall," for keeping the seas and supervising the fisheries. 

 " Should not forreyne fishermen," he asks, " (overboldly now 

 and to to injuriously abusing oure riche fishings about England, 

 Wales and Ireland), by the presence, oversight, power and 

 industry of this Petty Navy Royal be made content ; and judge 

 themselves well apaid to enjoy, by our leave, some great portion 

 of revenue to enrich themselves and their countries by, with 

 fishing within the seas appertayning to oure ancient bounds 

 and limits ? Where now, to oure great shame and reproache, 

 some of them do come in a manner home to our doors ; and 

 among them all, deprive us yearly of many hundred thousand 

 pounds, whiche by our fishermen using the said fishings as 

 chief, we might enjoy ; and at length, by little and little, bring 

 them (if we would deal so rigorously with them) to have as 

 little portion of our peculiar commodity (to our Islandish 

 Monarchy, by God and Nature assigned) as now they force 

 our fishermen to be contented with ; and yearly notwithstanding, 

 doo at their fishing openly and ragingly use suche words of re- 

 proche toward our Prince and realm, as no true subject's hart can 

 quietly digest ; and besides that, offer such shamefull wrongs to 

 the good laboursom people of this land, as is not (by any reason) 

 to be born withall, or endured any longer : destroying their nets, 

 cutting their cables to the los of their anchors ; yea, and often- 

 tymes of Barkes, men and all." 2 Here is the first note of a 

 plaint which will become very common. He also accused the 

 foreign fishermen, under colour of fishing, of making secret 

 soundings of the channels and banks along our coast, to the 

 great danger of the realm. 



As for their fishing on the English coast, he says, erroneously, 

 that the men from the Low Countries had frequented the herring 

 fishing off Yarmouth for only thirty years (since 1540), since 



1 Better known by its running title, The Brytish Monarchic. It is a very rare 

 work, only 100 copies having been printed. The author's own copy is in the 

 British Museum. 



2 P. 7. 



