64 THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE FISHING 



civilitie and for increase of policie within the same lie." This 

 charter was confirmed by Parliament on 17th November, 1641. l 



The sequel showed that Charles had done wisely in thus 

 securing the co-operation of Seaforth. There were no further 

 complaints by the adventurers of the Association of depreda- 

 tions committed by the islanders until 1642, when a certain 

 William Cobb, captain of one of the ships belonging to the 

 society, accused some of the islanders of having stolen his 

 ship and wrongfully kept himself and his ship's company 

 prisoners for four months. This case was the occasion 

 of a letter from the king to the Privy Council of Scotland, 

 asking that Cobb should be again put in possession of his 

 ship and goods, and that the " pirots " should be brought 

 to England. 2 



The very attention, however, attracted by the case of 

 Cobb, serves to show that the molestation of the vessels of 

 the Association had ceased to be a common occurrence. 

 The society had, for some years, enjoyed that practical 

 monopoly of the fishing about the Lewis which the king 

 had secured for it, the great influence of Seaforth being a 

 sufficient check on the native fishermen, most of whom, as a 

 matter of fact, were probably already in the service of the com- 

 pany, for this was a favourite and frequently expressed idea 

 of the king. 3 If the work of the Association in the Lewis 

 ultimately proved unsuccessful, its members could not say 

 that the company had lacked opportunities. The want 

 of success was due partly to the fact that the troubles 

 in the realm during the period of civil war crippled 

 all trade movements, but, as we shall see, in greater 

 measure to the want of skill and the dishonesty of those 

 to whom the affairs of the Association had been entrusted. 4 



1 Act. Parl. Scotland, vol. v. p. 531. 



2 Reg. Privy Council, Scotland, vol. vii. (2nd series) p. 548. 



3 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 203, No. 54. 



* Simon Smith, A True Narrative ; Macpherson, Annals of Commerce, 

 vol. ii. p. 365. 



