THE STORNOWAY CHARTER. 293 



cast was intended for the service of the country. The 

 Privy Council recommended the King to grant the prayer 

 of the petitioners, and in June, 1628, the latter received a 

 patent for twenty-one years, empowering them to manu- 

 facture all sorts of ordnance with bullets, &c., and to erect 

 the necessary works for the purpose. 



In the meantime, Seaforth seems to have gone to London, 

 with the object of securing from the King a patent for the 

 erection of Stornoway into a Royal burgh. A few words 

 of explanation are required to show the importance to 

 Stornoway of a charter of erection. 



As already stated, it had been erected into a " free " 

 burgh of barony, but this did not confer upon it the trading 

 privileges of a free burgh Royal. A free burgh of barony 

 enjoyed certain trading rights in cattle, horses, and sheep, 

 &c.,but only the freemen of the Royal burghs were entitled 

 either to import foreign merchandise or and this was the 

 important point for Stornoway to export native com- 

 modities by sea. The consequence was, that the acknow- 

 ledged capacity of Stornoway for expansion was denied 

 any scope, solely on account of its exclusion from the 

 charmed circle of the Royal burghs. The loch fishings 

 of Lewis were in the hands of the burghs, and by statute, 

 they had the sole right to " pack and peil" (pile) ashore. 



The theory underlying the constitution of Royal burghs 

 was, that the feuars should hold direct from the Crown. 

 In practice, there were important exceptions to this rule. 

 Both Glasgow and Inverness, for example, held from 

 Superiors other than the Crown. But the Royal charters 

 conferring upon such towns the trading privileges of free 

 burghs, were sometimes loosely interpreted, as also giving 

 them a title to call themselves " burghs Royal." In course 

 of time, the fundamental difference between the constitu- 

 tions of the two kinds of burghs was obscured, if not 

 obliterated, except where it was raked up to resist en- 

 croachments upon privileges ; an instance of which will 

 presently be noticed. The ridiculous monopolies of the 

 free burghs Royal were curtailed by a statute of 1672, 



