584 A. D. 1677. 



XIV, XV) Captors of prizes fhall be feverely punifhed who treat the 

 mafters, &c. of thofe prizes with any kind of cruelty, as fhall thofe alfo 

 be, who fhall take commillions from the enemies of either king, in or- 

 der to take prizes from his fubjeds *. 



A new company, under the pompous title of Tbe company of the royal 

 fijhery of England, was incorporated this year. The duke of York, the 

 earl of Danby, lord treafurer, and many other lords, gentlemen, and 

 merchants, were partners. The king bellowed on them in perpetuity 

 all the privileges enjoyed by any former company, with power to pur- 

 chafe lands, and a premium, to be continued for feven years, of L20 

 for every dogger or bufs they fhould build and fit out, to be paid out ot 

 the cuftoms of the port of London. The flock at firfl was Li 0,980, 

 to which there was added L1600. But this fmall capital was exhaufted 

 in the purchafe and equipment of feven bulfes, fome of which, with 

 their cargoes, were taken by the French : and the company, having run 

 confiderably in debt, found themfelves obliged to difpofe of their re- 

 maining bulfes and flores in the year 1680. Yet in the year 1683 Sir 

 Edward Abney and feveral others joined in a new fubfcription, under 

 the privileges and immunities of this company's charter. But their at- 

 tempt alio came foon after to nothing. It being perfeverance alone that 

 is ever likely to bring a general fifhery in England to a flate of perfec- 

 tion, much time and patience will be required, and many lofles and 

 difappointments mufl be born with ; which feeras not to be the cafe 

 of all, or any, of our attempts for eflablifhing a general fifhery. 



There having been many doubts and objedions flarted about this 

 time againfl the Eafl-India company of England, and particularly a 

 famous printed anfwer in the year 1676, from a barrifler of the Temple, 

 to a country gentleman's fuppofed letter to him on this fubjedl, diffuad- 

 ing him from longer trufling his children's fortunes in Eaft-India bonds ; 

 becaufe as they were not an exclufive company by a6t of parliament, 

 they could not legally a<fl: as fuch, and were therefor liable to be over- 

 turned, or annihilated, &c. A very judicious anfwer came out to this 

 in the year 1677, it^titled, ' the Eafl-India trade a mofl profitable trade 

 ' to the kingdom ; and befl fecured and improved in a company and a 

 ' joint flock : reprefented in a letter, written upon the occalion of two 



* The perufal of this treaty of commerce, and cially remark, that tlie tranfcribing of many old 



of that with the Dutch under the year 1668, to- treaties of this kind does but fwell our work without 



gether with other fubfequent ones, fufficiently in- much inftrufting the reader, when, perhaps, the 



dicates the importance of them, as well as the ex- very latell treaty with a nation, (as France for in- 



pediei'cy of commanders in the royal navy, and ftance) with whom we have had frequent wars, 



thofe of merchant fliips, and of higher people alfo, {hall, in moft cafes, cffcntially repeal all preceding 



being well acquainted with fuch treaties, which ones, which we here mention, to prevent an objec- 



we have abridged as much as poffible, confiflent lion which fome might ftart, to our not tranfcrib- 



with retaining the entire fenfe and import of every ing (as Savary, Polllethwayte, &c. have done) all 



article thereof. Yet, after all, we muft here fpe- thofe obfolete treaties injudicioufly. A. 



I 



