CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 157 



Majesty, and his successors, their comptrollers, chamber- 

 lains, and factors, in their name, in all time coming ; and 

 touching the custom craved from the said strangers for 

 the commodities exported and imported by them, the said 

 Lords understand that the said customs properly belong 

 to his Majesty, and that all foreign princes, within their 

 dominions, have the freedom and privilege of customs as a 

 royal prerogative, and that no person, stranger, or native 

 subjects, can, with reason, crave an immunity and freedom 

 from payment of customs: Therefore, the said Lords ordain 

 the customs to stand, and to be paid, in all time coming, to 

 his Majesty, his comptrollers, and officers, and touching all 

 other tolls and duties craved of the said strangers, the Lords 

 discharge the same simpliciter ; discharging the said Sir 

 James Stewart of all asking and uplifting the same."* 



That the Scottish nation, in former times, fully under- 

 stood and asserted their right to the fishery on their coasts 

 is evinced by the Eecords of the Privy-Council of Scotland. 

 Thus, in 1619, a commission was passed under the Great 

 Seal of Scotland, appointing Mr John Fenton to rej)air to 

 the North Seas of his Majesty's kingdom, and there, in 

 his Majesty's name, to ask and receive from those of 

 Holland, Zealand, Hamburgh, Sweden, and Rostock, and 

 from all other strangers haunting the trade of fishing in 

 his Majesty's said seas, this present year, his Majesty's 

 rent of assize and teind of the hail fishes taken, or to be 

 taken, by them, in his Majesty's said seas and waters, of 

 this present year, counting his Majesty's assize duty to 

 10,000 herrings for every buss of herrings, and a last of 

 white fish for every buss of white fish, or else to receive 

 from them the sum of 13s. 4d.,t usual money of this king- 



* Privy-Coun. Reg., June 30, 1614. t L.l Scots is Is. 8d. English. 



