L'ESTRANGE AND BURROUGHS 121 



Majesty's fleet in the late wars, they should 

 be officially recognised and their functions 

 extended [since who but they know the banks 

 and shoals upon our coasts ?], and that this 

 could only be by increasing their numbers and 

 improving their condition. He refers at the 

 end to the works of Sir Walter Rawleigh and 

 Sir John Burrowes, and concludes by saying 

 that he has said enough to vindicate his asser- 

 tion of the " Absolute Necessity, as well as the 

 Advantages," of such a policy. 



Burroughs (Sir John), or Borough, or Bur- 

 rowes (a very familiar name in Norfolk in all 

 its variations), d, 1643, was one of the most 

 distinguished students of the age. He became 

 Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London 

 in 1623, Norroy King-at-Arms in 1624 and in 

 1634, Garter King of Arms — in the latter 

 capacity having for several years much 

 personal intercourse with Charles I., of whom 

 he was a devoted adherent. His " Soveraignty 

 of the British Seas " was, like Selden's work, 

 a counterblast to Grotius, and shows the per- 

 ception common to the Stuarts and to their 

 wiser adherents of the necessity for a strong 

 fleet. Burroughs' services as a note-taker 

 were of considerable value during the Civil War 

 when conferences were held between the rival 

 parties, and he was happy in the moment of 

 his death, which occurred on October 21st, 

 1643, before the fortunes of his Royal master 

 had begun to wane. 



