THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE FISHING 45 
proposals to the commissioners, leaving them to adopt those 
which they thought best.! 
On 20th July, 1631, a reply was received from the king 
himself, in which he expressed himself as dissatisfied with 
both sets of proposals. He thought that since members of 
the association were to have liberty to land anywhere upon 
payment of the usual dues, they ought to be permitted to 
fish, “‘ wherever they had to pass.”’ He was willing to reserve 
for the natives “all suche fishings without whiche they 
‘cannot weill subsist and whiche they of themselfes have 
and doe fullie fishe,” but he was determined that no hindrance 
should be placed in the way of the carrying out of “ this 
generall worke.” ? 
Acting upon this letter, the Council instructed the Burghs 
to revise what they had already done and arrive at a definite 
decision as to what fishings they considered absolutely 
essential to the subsistence of the natives. 
On the 21st September, 1631, the Gentry and Commis- 
sioners for the Burghs, assembled at Perth, made a final 
declaration embodying their modified demands. After these 
declarations had been considered by the Privy Council they 
wrote to the king saying that they thought it necessary to 
reserve the “‘ firthes of Lothiane, Murrey and Dumbartane.”’ 
These firths were defined by the burghs thus: the “firth 
of Lothian ’’ ‘‘ betuix the heids of Sanct Tobsheid in the 
Merce upon the south and the reid head in Angus upon the 
north”; the ‘‘ Murrey firth,’ “betuix Buchannase in 
Buchan and Dungisbieheid in Caithness”; the “ Dum- 
bartane firth” “ betwix the Mule of Kintyre and Mule of 
Gallouay.”* The Privy Council asked the king to reserve 
also ‘fourteen myles aff the coast interjected betuix the 
saids firthes in respect that the countrie there is weill peopled 
and that the salmound fishing may otherwayes be spoyled.”’ ¢ 
1 Act, Parl. Scotland. vol. v. p. 236. 2 Ibid, vol. v. pp. 236, 237. 
3 Ibid. vol.v.p.237. 4 Reg. Privy Council, Scotland, vol. iv.(2nd series) p.340. 
