3 oo HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



and the burghs, so that the charter might be completed 

 without further delay. But nothing was further from the 

 intention of the burghs than to permit the passing of the 

 patent, on any consideration, and it is not surprising to find 

 that the well-meant attempt of Charles to settle the matter 

 was fruitless. Far from adopting a conciliatory attitude, 

 the burghs again petitioned the Privy Council to redress 

 their grievance in respect of the Hollanders in Lewis, 

 towards whom, it is interesting to notice, the inhabitants ol 

 Stornovvay were favourably disposed. The Council referred 

 the petition to the King, and suggested that Seaforth's 

 presence at Court offered a good opportunity for dealing 

 with the matter, But at this stage, fresh developments 

 were appearing. 



In the month of November, the question of the 

 Stornoway charter was being considered in London. The 

 document was then in the hands of Sir William Alexander, 

 Secretary for Scotland, and certain clauses in it, deemed 

 specially objectionable, were under discussion. One 

 Captain John Mason, who appears to have had some 

 personal knowledge of Lewis, suggested to Secretary 

 Coke, as a means of settling the difficulty, that the charter 

 should be cancelled, and that the island should be pur- 

 chased by the King and those associated with him, in a new 

 fishing venture which was then in contemplation. Fishing 

 stations would be established in the island, and a free 

 burgh erected, with privileges similar to those about to be 

 granted to the Dutch settlers by Seaforth's charter. The 

 co-operation of the Scottish burghs was to be obtained, their 

 existing rights in the Lewis fisheries to remain unimpaired. 

 The natives of the island were to pay rent to the pur- 

 chasers, who, it was estimated, would by this means redeem 

 the purchase price in fifteen years.* Sir William Monson 

 supplemented these suggestions by formulating a scheme 

 for working the fisheries of Orkney, Shetland, and Lewis. 

 Besides the proposed grant of privileges to the Adven- 



MS. in Public Record Office. State Papers (Domestic), Charles I., 

 Vol. CLII.,No. 66. 



