38 CHARLES I. 



in obtaining this information to the nobiUty and gentry, 

 but especially to the free burghs.^ On receiving these 

 instructions the Estates appointed a Committee of Lords 

 Spiritual and Temporal to discuss these matters with repre- 

 sentatives from the burghs and report. 



On August 8th the committee duly made their report.^ 

 After deUberation all parties were of opinion that the asso- 

 ciation with England in the fishing was very " inconvenient " 

 to the estates. The Scotch " land fishings " extended 28 

 miles from the coast, " whilk is proper to the natives, and 

 whairof they have beene in continuall possessioun and neuer 

 interrupted thairin be the Hollanders." The Burghs felt 

 themselves able to undertake this " land fishing " without 

 the aid of " anie other natioun," and, in addition, declared 

 that Enghshmen could not legally fish in Scotch lochs 

 and sell their fish in the Scotch burghs. As regarded the 

 " Bushe fishing," they stated that the fishing season for the 

 year was already far advanced, and that they required time 

 to deliberate further on a matter of such importance to 

 aU.' 



Although they had been furnished with this report, which 

 indicated very plainly the reluctance of the Scotch burghs 

 to enter upon any such scheme as that proposed by the 

 king, the Estates now thought it would be well to have 

 from the burghs definite answers to the following questions : 

 Would the Scotch burghs and gentry enter into an associa- 

 tion with the Enghsh for undertaking a common fishing, 

 without any reservation, or did they desire to reserve the 

 land fishing " within the loches, yles, and a land kenning frome 

 the coasts " ? * In their reply the burghs were asked to state 

 clearly their reasons " of desyres or refuisall." With 

 reference to this, the following " Observations and Answers 

 to His Maj. letter to the Council," by a Scotch writer of 



1 Act. Pari. Scot. vol. v. p. 223. ^ jf^i^i^ vol. iv. pp. 226, 227. 



3 Ibid. vol. V. p. 227. •* Ibid. vol. v. p. 226. 



