172 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING- FISHERY. 



Eoyal Herring-Fishery; and they accordingly met, attended 

 by three gentlemen well acquainted with the subject (Mr 

 Simon Smith, Mr John King, and Mr Thomas King), and 

 measures were arranged for prosecuting the undertaking 

 with vigour, and it was then proposed to adopt the Dutch 

 herring-fishery laws; and the Eoyal Fishery Company was 

 ultimately established . The stock of the company amounted 

 to L.11,000, and they fitted out seven busses in Holland ; 

 but unfortunately the French, in 1677, took six out of 

 their seven busses, with their cargoes, and in July 1680 

 the company sold their remaining ship and stores ; but 

 in 1681 the subject was again revised, and a capital of 

 L. 60, 000 was subscribed for the purpose of renewing the 

 fishery, but without much success. * 



About this time however, the herring-fishery seems to 

 have been prosecuted with vigour on the coast of Scotland ; 

 M'Ure in his " View of Glasgow " (page 206), says 

 " Walter Gibson one year made, packed, and cured, 300 

 lasts of herrings, @ L.6 stg. "^ last, containing 12 

 barrels each last ; and having freighted a Dutch ship 

 called the " St Agati," burdened 450 tons, the ship with the 

 great cargo arrived safely at St Martins, in France, where 

 he got for each barrel of herrings a barrel of brandy and 

 a crown ; and the ship at her return was loaded with salt 

 and brandy, and the product came to a prodigious sum, so 

 that he bought this great ship and other two large ships." 

 And from a MS. of Sir Kobert Sibbald's, in the Advocate's 

 Library, quoted by Dr Walker, it appears that 600 boats, 

 with above 4000 men, had been seen at one time employed 

 in the herring-fishery of the Clyde, which afforded about 

 3750 tons for exportation ; and it is also stated that one 



* John Collins on Salt and P'ishery, 1681, pp. 2 and 67. 



