148 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 



Lord is greatlie defrauded of his custome, and his hienesse 

 heges wants the frut of the sea appoynted be God for their 

 nurischmeiit, and the burgesses and freemen of burrowes 

 disappoynted of their trafScque and commoditie. 



" Therefore our Soveraine Lord, with advice and consent 

 of his regent's grace, tlie three estaites, and haill body of 

 this present parliament, ordains tliat all maner of fischeres 

 that occupies the sea, and other persones quhat sumever 

 that happenis to slay herring or quhite fische upon the 

 coast, or within the isles, or out-with the samin, with the 

 firthes bring them to free portes there to be saulde com- 

 mounlie to all our Soveraine Lordis lieges, and the rest to 

 freemen, quhairby his Majestie's customes be not defrauded, 

 and his hienesse lieges not frustrat of the commoditie ap- 

 poynted to them be God under the paine of confiscation, 

 and tinsell of the veschelles of them that cumniis in the 

 contrair heirof, and escheitting of all their movabel gudes 

 to our Soveraine Lordis use." * 



In the same year another Act was passed fixing the 

 measure of every barrel of herring to be nine gallons of 

 the striveling measure, enacting, " that the coopers shall 

 brand the barrels each with his ain proper marke," as the 

 Act says, " Great sclander sustaines the haill nation tlirow 

 the default of few number, in so farn as every trafiBquer 

 with sic merohandice causis the cowperis make his bar- 

 relies and trees of sic quantitie as he pleases." 



Smoked or red herrings about this time seem to have been 

 a common article of food, for Montgomery, a celebrated 

 Scottish poet who flourished about 1575, seemed to think 

 little of the smoked or red herring. His words are : — 



" This is no life that I leid up a land 

 On raw reid herring reisted in the reik." 



* 4t]i Pari., James VI., 80th April 1673, sect. 60. 



