JAMES I; MARE LIBERUM 9 
It was evident, indeed, that the object of the Dutch 
throughout these negotiations concerning fishing rights was 
simply to delay the settlement of the matter as long as 
possible. Being aware of the intention of the Dutch, and 
seeing that Sir D. Carlton was being put off from day to 
day at the Hague with legal quibbles, James sent him orders 
to “‘deale roundly in it.””’ That the Dutch were not at all 
sure of the position in which they now stood is evident ; 
in 1618, a double convoy accompanied their fishing fleet to 
the fishing grounds, proof that the Hollanders were dubious 
as to the reception awaiting them, and expected some 
molestation.! 
Their right, indeed, to fish even within sight of the coasts 
of Britain was also a matter of dispute. It had always been 
understood that for a certain distance from the shore the 
fishing was reserved for native fishermen ; the exact distance 
had varied considerably with varying conditions. The 
French, for example, by a treaty made in the reign of 
Henry IV. of France, with regard to fishing off the coast 
of England, had accepted a limitation both as to time and 
place. They agreed not to fish “between Autumn and 
the Calends of January,” and only throughout that part of 
the sea “which is bounded on this side by the Ports of 
Scarborough and Southampton, and on the other side by 
the coast of Flanders and the mouth of the river Seine.’’? 
Similarly, the Dutch, from the beginning of their fishing 
enterprise in British waters, had recognised the claims of 
the native fishermen. When, in 1594, they asked and 
obtained permission to fish in Scotch waters, it was agreed 
that they should not come “ within the sight of the shoar, 
nor into any of the loughs nor in the seas betwixt islands.” * 
1 Cal. S.P. Dom., vol. 339, pp. 1-5. 
2 Selden, Mare Clausum, I. ii. cap, 25. Stubbs, Justification of the War 
against Holland, 2nd part, p. 63. 
3Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. II., vol. 339, p. 161. 
