JAMES I. I DISPUTES WITH THE DUTCH 187 



committed by the Dutch fishermen, and for preventing in 

 future any unlawful proceeding by the States, "either by 

 fishing in his Majesty's Scottish seas" or by doing wrong to 

 the inhabitants. They were, moreover, "to concur" with the 

 English commissioners to be appointed as to the " friendly 

 behaviour" of British subjects and the subjects of the United 

 Provinces in all other seas, fishings, voyages, and other foreign 

 intercourse, necessary for the continuance of peace and amity. 1 

 The business of the herring fishery was thus placed in charge 

 of the Scottish commissioners, while the English had specially 

 to deal with the other subjects in dispute the East Indian 

 trade, the whale fishery, the coinage, and the trade in cloth. 

 Towards the end of November Lord Binning informed the king 

 that the Council had sent off the commission, together with a 

 statement of the injury sustained by the whole kingdom by the 

 daily increase of the Dutch usurpation in his seas. 2 



With regard to the other matter about which James had 

 desired "the most perfect information," his right to exclude 

 foreigners from fishing on his coasts, the Council had the 

 greatest difficulty in discovering anything whatever pertaining 

 to it. It was the most important part of the question to come 

 before the commissioners, because the States had already issued 

 & strongly- worded edict forbidding their people from committing 

 any wrongs upon the Scottish people (p. 179), and the king could 

 scarcely make out a just case for prohibiting the Hollanders 

 from fishing on this ground alone. He desired to show, what 

 he no doubt fully believed, that his claims were supported by 

 historical precedents and the laws of Scotland, and that none of 

 the treaties on which the Dutch always relied in such negotia- 

 tions were contrary to his claims. In his letter to the Council 

 he therefore repeated the request that the public records should 

 be searched, and desired that Lords Lauderdale and Balmerino, 



1 Rty. Privy Counc. $cot., xi. 462. 



- Lord Binning to the king, 27th November 1618. Melrosc Papers, ii. 631. 

 The statement was to the same effect as that previously referred to. A Mr 

 Bruce of Shetland stated that while of old the Hollanders used to carry on the 

 greater part of their fishery forty miles and more from the land, yet they came 

 usually within fourteen miles before shooting their nets ; that in the time of the 

 late Earl of Orkney they came still nearer, within six or seven miles ; while now 

 they came so close that their nets were sometimes torn on the rocks. Sir Gideon 

 Murray to Lord Binning, 26th November 1618. MSS. Advoc., 31. 2. 16. 



