UNDER THE STUARTS: JAMES I.: A NEW POLICY 161 



with strangers for licenses to fish on the British coasts. The 

 arguments adduced from the point of view of benefit to the 

 nation were of the usual kind; but others of a more or less 

 domestic nature were added, which must have appealed to 

 the heart of her consort. " It is desired by the Queene," pro- 

 ceeds the petition, "that the King's Majesty will be pleased to 

 graunt unto her a Pattent of theis fishings under his Majesty's 

 great Scales of England and Scotland, whereby her Majesty 

 may have power to graunt lycense and to compound with 

 these strangers for an yearly revenue to be paid unto her 

 Majestie for theis fishings." By this means a great revenue 

 would be drawn into the country, which would be sufficient 

 to support and maintain her estate, "and so his Majesty's 

 coffers will be spared." She promised besides that she would 

 give him a full fifth of the amount she obtained ; and another 

 advantage would be that the king would be " royally invested 

 in possession of his undoubted right, which," she naively added, 

 " hath never ben yet obtayned by anie of his royall progenitors." 

 The petition was brought before the Privy Council, who decided 

 that the proposal was not feasible, as it depended upon " so 

 many points of question and circumstance between us and 

 the House of Burgundy in former times, and the States of 

 the Low Countries and us for the present." l 



In her petition the queen referred to the proposal to build 

 a number of busses. While explaining that her project would 

 not prevent the king or any of his subjects from building 

 busses if they so desired, she questioned whether that plan 

 would be successful. Some men, indeed, of great judgment, 

 she said, were of opinion that the king would reap no benefit 

 at all in that way, for 1000 busses was "the least number 

 that could be thought^ to doe any good upon this fishing," 

 and each would c6st 1000 at least, while 100 a - year 

 would be required for repairs, and 20,000 men would be 

 needed to man them. 



About this time several works were published giving details 



1 State Papers, Dom., Ixxvii. 79. The Earl of Northampton to Sir Thomas Lake, 

 4th July 1613. Ibid., Ixxiv. 23. The queen, who was fond of the banquet and the 

 masque, was often in financial straits. Chamberlain wrote to Win wood in 1609 

 that she had been melancholy about her jointure, and that 3000 a-year had been 

 added to it out of the customs, with a gift of 20,000 to pay her debts. Memorial*, 

 Hi. 117. 



L 



