CHARLES I. I FISHERIES AND RESERVED WATERS 215 



up by Secretary Coke and was submitted to a meeting held at 

 Suffolk House on 29th November 1629. The two main points 

 for consideration were: how they should obtain command of 

 the fishery and be able to supply both themselves and foreign 

 people, and how to tind a " vent " for the fish taken and 

 encourage merchants to purchase and export them. With 

 regard to the first point, Coke said that to command and 

 govern the whole fishing so as to make it a foundation of 

 wealth to the kingdom, " equal to the Indies," as it was then 

 to the Hollanders, would require not fewer than 1000 busses, 

 the cost of which would exceed 800,000. This, he admitted, 

 would be a work of time, and he proposed, for a beginning, 

 that timber should be felled in England, Scotland, and 

 Ireland so as to be seasoned for the construction of 200 

 busses in the following year 40 in Scotland, 40 in Ireland, 

 and 120 in England. Meanwhile, for the year beginning in 

 January 1630, he recommended that ten or twelve busses 

 should be bought in Holland, six Dutchmen to serve in each 

 for the year ; and that the necessary salt and timber for 

 casks for curing the herrings should be got at Dunkirk from 

 the prizes taken from the Dutch. As the cost of ten new 

 busses built in England, fully equipped, would amount to 

 8390, including the cost of maintenance for four months, 

 the plan suggested would be the best, and it was proposed 

 to raise the money required by the " contributions of such 

 adventurers as may be persuaded upon hope of the gains and 

 by privileges from his Majesty." It was intended that the 

 busses should fish along with the Dutch on the east coast, 

 beginning like them at Bressay Sound, Shetland, on 23rd June, 

 and the herrings were to be put ashore to be repacked, after 

 the Dutch method, at Aberdeen, Tynemouth, and Yarmouth. 

 Supplementary to the buases, it was proposed to have six 

 "doggers" to fish for cod and ling at Orkney and Shetland 

 in the spring. 



With respect to the second head, the prospect of obtaining 

 markets for the produce, Coke said that English fishermen did 

 not catch above 2000 lasts of herrings in a year, of which not 

 more than 1000 lasts were consumed in England; 1 and he 



1 The other half were exported as red-herrings. 



