112 CHAELES II. 



men, vessels, and stock be foreign, " but the whole trade 

 may be also driven in Scotland or Ireland, or in foreign 

 parts beyond sea and yet capable of this Bounty." ^ 



In face of these numerous objections, the king was pre- 

 vailed upon to send back the proposals of the Fishery Com- 

 pany to be revised. The council of the company, however, 

 did not wait for their patent to be issued in its final form, 

 but commenced work with a smaU fleet of doggers, one of 

 which had scarcely gone to sea before, in July, 1676, it was 

 captured by a French privateer. ^ The seven remaining 

 vessels belonging to the Fishery Company were named as 

 follows : The King's Fisher, The Adventure, The Speedwell, 

 The Success, The Frogg, The Holy Island, The Experiment.^ 



On February 28th, 1677, the patent for the Royal Fishery 

 was issued in its final form, some of the former proposals 

 having been modified to suit the wishes of the Commissioners 

 for the Customs. The Duke of York was again to be at the 

 head of the Royal Fishery, and along with him there was 

 placed the Earl of Danby. The company, it was arranged, 

 should be managed by a General Court, which was to consist 

 of the Governor, the Sub-Governor, the Deputy-Governor, 

 and a committee of twelve. It was given powers to purchase 

 lands and tenements not exceeding £1,000 per annum in 

 value, and was granted a common seal ; its vessels were 

 to be allowed to fish in aU waters of Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, so long as they did not encroach upon the privileges 

 of any other corporation or private person. On any groimd 

 not belonging to private individuals, houses necessary for 

 the work might be erected, or wharfs and docks built by 

 the company, without payment of rent or duty to the Idng ; 

 the members of the company were at liberty to seU their fish 

 wherever they wished, either in exchange for money or for 



^CaL S.P. Dom. Car. II., vol. 382, No. 39. 

 ^Ibid. vol. 383, No. 91. 

 Ubid. vol. 387, No. 242. 



