FISHERY COMPANIES 117 



allowed to be imported into England except 

 in English-built ships, salt for the fisheries of 

 New England and Newfoundland being exempt 

 from its provisions. In the same year two 

 Acts were passed for the encouragement of the 

 manufacture of linen and tapestry — the latter 

 a revival of the famous Mortlake tapestry 

 factories of James I. and Charles I., for the use 

 of which the cartoons of Raphael had been 

 brought to England — ^the encouragement of the 

 importation of foreign manufactures and the 

 regulation of the packing of herrings. It was 

 also enacted that no ship should sail for Ice- 

 land from England till March 10th of each 

 year, this provisioR being made to protect the 

 fish at breeding time and the newly developed 

 spawn. 



A new Company of the Royal Fishery was 

 incorporated in 1677, the Duke of York, the 

 Earl of Danby, and many peers and gentlemen 

 being partners. All the privileges enjoyed by 

 any former Fishery Company were conferred 

 upon this venture ; it had power to purchase 

 land, and a bounty of £20 for every dogger or 

 buss built and fitted out was to be paid out of 

 the Customs of the Port of London for a period 

 of seven years. The capital was £10,980, after- 

 wards increased to £12,580, but this was ab- 

 sorbed by the building of seven busses. Some 

 of these, with their cargoes, were captured by 

 the French, who had become very prosperous 

 in their maritime and commercial undertakings 



