32 CHARLES I. 



Acting under a patent granted by James I., various 

 adventurers had attempted to develop the resources of the 

 Lewis, but had been compelled to desist owing to " the 

 rudeness and violence " of the inhabitants. 1 Some of the 

 adventurers lost their lives, and the others were easily 

 induced to hand over their patent to the Mackenzies of 

 Kintail, of which family Seaforth was chief. Seaforth 

 sought to develop the fisheries of the island by means of 

 the Hollanders, and gave the foreigners permission to settle 

 on the island, granting them so many privileges as prac- 

 tically to deprive the native fishermen of all their ancient 

 rights in the Lewis. 2 



In 1627 the Earl applied for a charter erecting the burgh 

 and barony of Stornoway into a royal burgh. The Free 

 Burghs of Scotland opposed this application, stating that 

 such a grant would do great harm not only to Tain and 

 Inverness, the burghs nearest the Lewis, but to all the 

 royal burghs and the whole kingdom. John Hay, Town 

 Clerk of Edinburgh, was commissioned to represent the 

 whole matter to the King and the Privy Council. Before 

 the case was heard, however, the Hollanders began to settle 

 and to fish " with above a dozen sayle," for Seaforth was 

 confident that his application would be granted. His con- 

 fidence was not justified by the decision of the King and 

 Council ; as a result of Hay's representations, Charles 

 resolved to withhold the promised Charter from Seaforth, 

 and Seaforth was ordered to dispense with the services of 

 foreign fishermen. 3 



The burghs now proceeded to urge the king to transfer 

 these fishing rights in the Lewis to themselves, and, from 

 letters received from John Hay, Town Clerk of Edinburgh, 



1 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 229, No. 78. 



2 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. II., vol. 339, No. 111. 



3 Records of Convention of Burghs, Scot., vol. 3, pp. 142, 279, 291, 302, 

 308, 318, 323. 



