3 io HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



shores ; (2) to obtain the assistance of Sheriffs and other 

 officers of the Crown in order to prevent all strangers from 

 fishing in the reserved waters ; and (3) to expel all foreigners 

 from Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, and all other places in 

 Scotland frequented by them, and to restrain the natives 

 from trading with them. And having regard to the liberties 

 granted to English fishermen in Scotland, he was further 

 instructed to endeavour to obtain for the burghs, permission 

 to prosecute the pilchard fishings of England and Ireland.* 



In a letter to Secretary Coke dated I5th December, 

 Seaforth states that he has received a summons to Court, 

 with regard, as he conceives, to the fishing, and he promises 

 to attend as ordered, and will meanwhile do what he can 

 to hasten the proceedings of the Commissioners. He 

 recommends that the King hold firm to his intention of 

 erecting a Royal burgh in Lewis. This was exactly what 

 the burghs intended to prevent, by any means in their 

 power. The shelving of the question until the next meet- 

 ing of Parliament, was plainly a pretext at the instigation 

 of the burghs, designed to defeat, ultimately, any such 

 erection. There is no record of the question having ever 

 been discussed in Parliament, or a committee appointed to 

 consider it. 



The two sets of Commissioners at length got fairly to 

 work. Asked to describe, specifically, the waters which 

 they wished to be reserved, the Scottish Commissioners 

 were at fault, and were compelled to refer home for par- 

 ticulars. When these arrived, the proposals of the Scotsmen 

 were put in a tangible form. The fishings of the Outer 

 Hebrides which they wished to be reserved for the use of 

 natives, extended from the most easterly point of Lewis 

 to the most westerly point of Barra, including a limit 

 of fourteen miles from the coast. The Privy Council of 

 Scotland suggested certain modifications in respect of the 



* Rec. of Con. of Ryal Burghs, Vol. III., pp. 324-6. The Convention 

 records from 3rd March, 1631, to 3rd July, 1649, being unfortunately missing, 

 it is impossible to follow, from that source, these interesting negotiations 

 further. But the Acts of Parliament (Scotland) and the State Papers in th 

 Public Record Office supply the information which is lacking. 



