THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE FISHING 55 
nominated, composed one half of persons of English or Irish 
descent, and the other half of persons of Scottish descent. 
Captain John Mason was appointed ‘“ Receiver and Ex- 
penditor,” being authorised to provide fishermen, shipping 
and nets,? while Edward Nicholas and James Philp were 
appointed Clerks of the Society, their appointment dating 
from July 28rd, 1632.3 
Each member of the Association undertook to “ adven- 
ture’ a certain sum. In the list* of those who agreed to 
join the Association and who inscribed their names “in 
Mr Attorney’s book,” are included the Lord Treasurer, 
who agreed to pay £1,000; the Lord Chamberlain and the 
Earl of Rutland, who paid £500 each; Katherine, Duchess 
of Buckingham, £3,000; Attorney General Noy and Sir 
John Hippisley, £200 each; Sir Thomas Middleton, Sir 
Anthony Irby, John Lord Poulett, John Ashburnham, 
John Chamberlain, Endymion Porter, Susan Countess of 
Denbigh, Lord Fielding, Sir Toby Matthew, and many others, 
£100 each ; some few persons ventured £50 each; the sum 
of the subscribed capital of the Association amounted to 
£11,750.5 
Captain Mason had definitely decided to abide by the 
king’s decision that the Island of Lewis should be the chief 
centre of the operations of the Association, and now proposed 
that the associates should be naturalised as Scotchmen and 
made burghers of Stornoway, which was to be made a royal 
burgh. This would enable them to engage in other forms of 
trade there, besides fishing. The king was to purchase the 
island from the Earl of Seaforth ; he was to have the whole 
of the petty customs of the island, and was to fix a reason- 
able rate for the Association to pay for the use of the harbour 
and for ground leave; the ships of the Association were 
1 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 221, No. 1. 
2 Ibid. vol. 229, No. 96. 3 Ibid. vol. 221, No. 21. 
+ Ibid. vol. 231, No. 15. 5 Ibid. vol. 331, No. 15, 
