CHARLES I. : FISHERIES AND RESERVED WATERS 243 



herrings which had gone ashore, on the ground that it was 

 wreck, and wreck belonged to the Admiral of Scotland, and 

 committed other hostile actions. The grievances of the Society 

 became so acute, and redress from the Privy Council and the 

 Admiralty Court so tardy and imperfect, that Charles in May 

 1635 appointed a commission, consisting of Archbishop Laud, 

 the Earl of Pembroke, Sir Thomas Edmonds, and Secretaries 

 Coke and Windebank, as judges, according to the charter, to 

 deal with cases as they thought fit. 



Disasters at sea were even more injurious to the Society 

 than the troubles ashore. Again and again the busses were 

 taken by Dunkirk privateers, who threw the crews into prison 

 and held them for ransom. When those freebooters came 

 across a Dutch-built buss, with a Dutch crew on board, they 

 did not quite see why they should relinquish it because they 

 were told it belonged to an English society ; and the letters 

 of " denization " which were provided by the king did not 

 avail them much. 1 Notwithstanding strong protests, prolonged 

 negotiations with the Cardinal Infanta, and reprisals made by 

 English men-of-war on Dunkirk shipping, the Society suffered 

 great loss in this way. 



The misfortunes of the Society caused many of those who 

 had promised subscriptions to withhold them. Then followed 

 drastic measures : summonses before the Star Chamber, warrants 

 for apprehension, threats of imprisonment, and most of the 

 subscriptions were squeezed from the unwilling adventurers. 

 On the other hand, creditors sued the Society for goods supplied 

 and money lent ; seamen sued it for wages ; even the clerks had 

 to petition the king for theirs, appropriately suggesting that 

 they might be paid from the license-money that Northumber- 

 land's fleet had extorted from the Dutch herring-busses. 2 As 



1 In August and September 1633, before the Council had met (busses having 

 been purchased on the strength of subscriptions promised), two busses were taken 

 by Dutch men-of-war and one by a Dunkirker. The former captures were doubt- 

 less made because the Dutch fishermen were acting contrary to the fishery laws of 

 the United Provinces in taking service with aliens, and they were promptly dis- 

 avowed by the States-General and the busses restored. The Dunkirkers made 

 pri/.e of some of the busses (there were ten or twelve of them) almost every year : 

 one, the Salisbury, was taken twice, and in 1639 four were captured. Spain was 

 then at war with the United Provinces, and the Dutch buss was a natural prey of 

 the Dunkirk privateer. 



2 P. 309. 



