THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE FISHING 39 



the time, form an interesting commentary ^ as showing 

 current contemporary Scotch opinion. 



The writer says that the king seems to think the fishing 

 of Ireland, Scotland and England, common to aU his sub- 

 jects, but that it is to be remembered that although the 

 " fishings upon the coasts of Ireland and England has been 

 enjoyed peaceably by ye natives of Scotland past memory 

 of man without interruption," the " land fishing " in Scot- 

 land had always been reserved for the merchant traders of 

 Scotland " and strangers debarred therefrom." The sea 

 fishing off the west coast and in the islands of Orkney and 

 Shetland he admits to be prosecuted for the most part by 

 strangers, but "It is to be remembered that when either 

 ye Dutch or Enghsh anchore in any sound of Shetland or 

 Orkney, they pay certain duties for hbertie of their anchorage , 

 as strangers." 



This same desire to retain the " land fishing " for the 

 Scotch traders -v^dthout interference from strangers, is 

 apparent from the report of their objections to the pro- 

 posals of the king given in, on November 30th, 1630, by the 

 Scotch burghs. On three points they were very definite ; 

 they insisted that the " land fishing " should be reserved 

 for the Scots themselves ; they maintained that if, as the 

 king had proposed, the EngHsh members of the company 

 were to be given the privilege of " denization " in Scotland, 

 the Scotch adventurers of the society must be naturahzed 

 in England, " seeing the denizatioun which the Enghsh are 

 to have in Scotland is equivalent to naturahzatioun in Eng- 

 land " ; finally they asserted that to erect free burghs in 

 the Lewis was directly against " the standing right of regall 

 burro wes." - 



To all this, the Enghsh commissioners, who had been 

 appointed by the king to meet the Scots and answer their 



iMSS. 32.1.16, Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. 

 2 Act. Pari Scotland, vol. v. p. 228. 



