UNDER THE STUARTS : JAMES I. I A NEW POLICY 145 



places with their shipping, enclosing, as in a circle, the shoals 

 of herrings, and preventing the native fishermen from fishing 

 among them. They were thus deprived of one of the best 

 commodities of the land, and the herrings which they were 

 prevented from catching were taken by the Hollanders and 

 sold fresh on the English coast in contravention of the statutes. 

 They said they were threatened with utter decay and impover- 

 ishment, and were discouraged from building barks for the 

 Iceland fishing, which had in the past produced numbers of 

 good mariners, to the great honour and defence of the realm. 

 They pointed to the " ingenious dexterity of the Netherlanders, 

 who in the care and pollicy of their State, and for the main- 

 tenance of their navigation and fishing," had imposed a tax of 

 fifteen shillings on every last of herrings imported by foreigners 

 into their country ; and they begged the king, by the justice of 

 lex talionis, to do likewise, and thus to save the poor fishermen 

 from the multitude of foreigners who oppressed them. 1 About 

 this time complaints began to be made of cruel and harsh 

 treatment of the native fishermen by the Dutch, but they 

 appear to have rested on very slender grounds. 2 



The complaints against the Hollanders gave James his 

 opportunity. The policy of issuing a proclamation to forbid 

 unlicensed fishing by foreigners on the British coasts was 

 discussed by the Privy Council early in the year. Doubts, 

 however, were expressed whether such action would be in 

 conformity with the provisions of the "Burgundy" treaties, 

 which granted liberty of fishing to the Low Countries. In 

 the " qualification " of Rainsford's fishery scheme the question 

 as to how the king's title and rights could be proved had 

 been answered in a lofty spirit " By prerogative royall, 

 without any accompt to be rendered to other nations; yet 



1 State Papers, Dom., xlv. 22. The petition was signed by fishermen of Yarmouth, 

 Dover, Hastings, Rye, Hythe, and Folkestone. It is said in the petition that they 

 had previously craved both the king and the Council for redress, without avail. 



2 The author of Britaines Buss had heard, but did not believe, stories of the 

 "very foul and insolent dealing of their bussmen with our poor weak fishermen 

 upon our coasts." Tobias Gentleman, who admired the Dutch for their industry, 

 said they scorned us only " for being so negligent of our profit, and careless of our 

 fishing ; and they do daily flout us that be the poor fishermen of England, to 

 our faces at sea, calling to us and saying, ' Ya English, ya zall, or oud scoue 

 dragien,' which in English is this: 'You English, we will make you glad for to 

 wear our old shoes.'" Englands Way to Win Wealth, p. 44. 



K 



