THE NEW SOCIETIES 91 



*' Counsellors " — each of whom must have subscribed at 

 least 1000 merks to the general fund. 



All goods imported for the use of the Societies were to 

 be free of customs duty ; their fish were to be brought to 

 land and exported without any kind of tax, while it was 

 declared that " all ale, beir, strong waters and other pro- 

 visions for outreiking of any vessel for the saids fishings of 

 the saids companies, is and shall be free of all maner of 

 impositions whatsomever." In order to maintain the quahty 

 of the herring cured it was declared that each barrel of 

 fish packed by these Societies was to be marked, " ilk 

 barrel of grein fish to contain tuelve gallons, which is to be 

 the ordinar gage betuixt buyer and seller," As a mark 

 of special favour the members and employees were freed 

 from service on juries and from various other forms of public 

 duty, and were given a monopoly of the export trade in 

 herring, it being declared that " no herring or white fish 

 taken by Scotsmen in the said Kingdom e or yles therto 

 belonging be sold fresh or salt to any but to natives, except 

 by the companies," and again that " no persone or persones 

 shall have libertie to export herring or fish, nor use or have 

 the priviledges, liberties and imunities abovewrin but those 

 that shall enter themselffes and be frie in one or other of 

 the saids companies and societies," 



To further encourage these companies, the king on 6th 

 February, 1662, issued a proclamation enjoining the observ- 

 ance of Lent, (a custom which had been in abeyance since 

 1640) ; Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday were also to be 

 observed as the three fish days, on which it was forbidden 

 to eat flesh, butchers being warned not to kill or sell meat 

 on those days. Thus, the proclamation continued, "the 

 young brood and store will be preserved, so that therafter 

 the hazard of security and dearth may be prevented and the 

 fishes (which by the mercie of God abound in the salt and 

 fresh watters of this kingdom) may be made use of for the 



