THE STORNOWAY CHARTER. 295 



such burghs as owned no Superior save the Crown ; whereas 

 the immediate Superior of Stornoway was the Earl of 

 Seaforth. It was proposed by the charter that Seaforth 

 was to hold Stornoway in feu, with the liberties of the 

 King " allanerlie " (only), but this provision, the Convention 

 argued, did not remove the legal difficulty. 



The fishing at Stornoway, said the Commissioners, was 

 prosecuted by the West burghs, the rest of the Northern 

 burghs, and men from the Fifeshire coast. The fishermen 

 visited Stornoway annually and took their fish home, 

 supplying, according to law, the kingdom's wants before 

 exporting any. If Stornoway were made a Royal burgh, 

 the inhabitants of the town would appropriate the fishing, 

 and cause the whole of the fish taken by others to come 

 to the burgh, where the owners would be compelled to 

 sell them. The Stornowegians would export the fish to 

 " forraine plaices," and thus Scotland would receive no 

 benefit from the fishing grounds ; while the free burghs 

 would be also deprived of the means of exchange with 

 foreign countries, to the " utter overthrow of all trade and 

 ruine of the haill schipping of this kingdom." So the 

 Commissioners argued. 



But the chief fear which the burghs professed, lay in the 

 intrusion of strangers. James I. of England had granted 

 Hollanders, on certain conditions, the right of fishing in 

 Scottish seas, keeping themselves always " ane kenning " 

 (14 miles) from the land, the shore and loch fishing being 

 reserved for natives. If, said the Commissioners, this 

 charter were confirmed, Seaforth would have power to give 

 the Dutchmen these reserves within his bounds, in which 

 case, the whole fishing of the country would pass into the 

 hands of the foreigners, who would export the total catch, 

 leaving the country " cast loose and desolate." And in 

 course of time, these strangers would get hold of the 

 plaiding, skin, wool, and yarn trades, which were the only 

 ones that remained, and so the whole trade of the country 

 would pass to foreigners, from whom the necessities of the 

 natives would have to be obtained. The shipping of the 



