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university, and was a liberal encourager of learning. In 1504 hewas made bishop of Rochester, from which he would never re-move to a better see. lie was a zealous opponent of the Refor-mation, and of the king’s divorce from Queen Catherine . Greatefforts were made to bring him to acknowledge the king’s supre-macy, which proving ineffectual, he was sent to the Tower.While in confinement the nope made him a cardinal, which soenraged the king, that lie caused him to be tried for high treason,condemned, and beheaded in 1535. lie was a man of considera-ble learning, strict integrity, and fervent piety, lie wrote a com-mentary on the Penitential Psalms: a Defence of the King’sBook against Luther; a Funeral Sermon for the Lady Marga-ret, &c.

FISHERMEN. There shall be a master, wardens, and assist-ants of the fishmongers’^company in London chosen yearly, at thenext court of the lord mayor and aldermen after the 10th of June,who are constituted a court of assistants ; and they shall meet oncea month at their common hall to regulate abuses in fishery, regis-ter the names of lishermen, and mark their botes, &c.

FISHERY , a place where great numbers of iish are caught.The principal fisheries for salmon, herring, mackarel, pilchards,&c. are along the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; forcod, on the banks of Newfoundland; for whales, about Green-land; and for pearls, in the East and West Indies .

Fishery, Free, in law, or an exclusive right of fishing in apublic river, is a royal franchise ; and is considered as such in allcountries where the feodal polity has prevailed : though the mak-ing of such grants, ami by that means appropriating, what it seemsunnatural to restrain, the use of running water, was prohibited forthe future by Magna Charta ; arid the rivers that were fenced inKing Jonn’s time were directed to be laid open, as well as the fo-rests to be disforested. ’Phis opening was extended by the secondand third charters of Henry 111. to those also that were fencedunder Richard I. ; so that a franchise of free fishery ought now tobe as old at least as the reign of Henry II . This differs, as judgeBlackstone observes, from a several of piscary, because he thathas a several fishery must also be the owner of the soil, which in afree fishery is not requisite. It differs also from a common fishery,m that the free fishery is an exclusive right, the common is not so;and therefore, in a free fishery, a man has a property in the fishbefore they are caught; in a common piscary, not till afterwards.Some indeed have considered a free fishery not as a royal fran-chise, but merely as a private grant of a liberty to fish in the seve-ral fishery of the grantor. But the considering of such l ight as ori-ginally a flower of prerogative, till restrained by Magna Charta ,and derived by royal grant (previous to the reign of Richard I .)to such as now claim it by prescription, may remove some dif-ficulties in respect to this matter with which our law-books areembarrassed.

Fishery, denotes also the commerce of fish, more particularlythe catching of them for sale. M ere we to enter into a very minuteconsideration of the fisheries established in this kingdom, this ar-ticle would swell beyond its proper bounds; since fisheries, how-ever, if successful, are not only objects of great commercial im-portance, but also contribute materially to our naval strength., bybecoming permanent nurseries fori seamen, we shall take notice ofsome of the most considerable of the British fisheries, and the in-stitutions set on foot for their support. The situation of the Bri-tish coasts is the most advantageous in the world for catching fish :the Scottish islands, particularly these to the north and west, liel^ost commodious lor carrying on the fishing trade to perfection.

these advantages the Scots seem indeed to have been abund-?!’% se'nsible; lor their traffic in herrings is even noticed inistory so early as the ninth century. The frequent laws which"ere enacted in the reigns of Janies IH. IV. and V. discover asteady determined zeal for the benefit of the country, and the fullmstoration of these fisheries which the Dutch had found means tofngross. The Scottish fisheries were, however, more particularlyindebted to the zealous encouragement of James V. and VI.; thetormer having planned, and the latter carried into execution, va-tmiis projects for tlieir extension. The well-meant effort of Jamesl. were impeded, and at last wholly suspended, bv the disputesnch prevailed in the kingdom at that period concerning the suc-cession, Nevertheless the plan was resumed by Charles I. who°'dained an association of the three kingdoms, for a general fisli-Vo f- u.-no. 84.

ing within the seas and coasts of his majesty’s said kingdoms; andfor the government of the said association, ordained, that thereshould lie a standing committee chosen and nominated by his ma-jesty and his successors from time to time,” Sic. Several personsof distinction embarked in the design, which the king honouredwith his patronage, and encouraged hv his bounty, lie also or-dered Lent to he more strictly observed ; prohibited the importa-tion of fish taken by foreigners; and agreed to purchase from thecompany his naval stores, and the fish for his fleets. Thus thescheme for establishing a fishery in the Hebrides began to assumea favourable aspect; but all the hopes of the adventurers werefrustrated by the breaking out of the civil wars, and the very tra-gical death of their benefactor. In 1661, Charles II . the duke of'York, lord Clarendon, and other persons of rank and fortune, re-sumed the business of the fisheries with greater vigour than any of'their predec essors. For this purpose the most salutary laws wereenacted by the parliaments of England and Scotland ; in virtue ofwhich, all materials used in, or depending upon, the fisheries, wereexempted from all duties, excises, or imposts whatever. In Eng-land, the company were authorised toset up a lottery and tohaveavoluntary collection in all parish churches. Houses of entertainment,as taverns, inns, ale-houses, were to take one or more barrels of her-rings, at the stated price of 30s. per barrel: also 2s. 6 d. per barrelDutch was to be paid to the company on all imported fish takenby foreigners. Some families were also invited, or permitted, tosettle at Stornaway : the herrings cured by the royal English com-pany gave general satisfaction, and, as mentioned above, brought ahigh price for those days. Every circumstance attending this newestablishment seemed the result of a judicious plan and thoroughknowledge of the business, when the necessities ot the king obligedhim to withdraw his subscription or bounty ; which gave such um-brage to the parties concerned, that they soon after dissolved. In1 <577, a new royal company was established in England, at thehead of which were the duke of York, the earl of Derby, &c.Besides all the privileges which former companies had enjoyed,the king granted this new company a perpetuity, with power to-purchase lands ; and also 20/. to be paid them annually out of thecustoms of the port of London , for every (logger or buss theyshould build and send out for seven years to come. A stock of10,980/. was immediately advanced, and afterward 1600/. more.This small capital was soon exhausted in purchasing and fitting outbusses, witii other incidental expellees. 'File company made,however, a successful beginning ; and one of their busses or dog-gers actually took and brought home 32,000 coil-fish ; other ves-sels had also a favourable fishery. Such flattering beginningsmight have excited fresh subscriptions, when an unforeseen eventruined the whole beyond the possibility of recovery. Most of thebusses had been built in Holland , and manned with Dutchmen ;on which pretence the French, who were then at war with Hol-land , seized six out of seven vessels, with their cargoes and fishing-tackle: and the company being now in debt, sold in 1CS0 the re-maining stores, ike. A number of gentlemen and merchants raised-a new subscription oltiO.uOO/. under the privilege-sand immunitiesof the former charter. This attempt also came'to nothing, owin<*to the death of the king, aud the troubles of the subsequent reign.Soon after the revolution this business was again resumed upon a.more extensive scale ; the proposed capital being 31/0,000/. ofwhich 100,000/. was to have been raised by the surviving paten-tees or their successors, and 20,000/. by new subscribers. Copiesof the letters patent, the constitution of the company, and terms ofsubscription, were lodged at sundry places in London and AVest-minster for the perusal of the public, while the subscription wastilling. It is probable that king William’s partiality to the Dutch -fisheries, the succeeding war, or both of these circumstances, frus-trated this new attempt; of which we have no further account inthe annals of that reign or since. The Scottish parliament hadalso during the last three reigns, passed various acts for erectingcompanies and promoting the fisheries; but the intestine commo-tions of that country, and the great exertions which were made forthe Darien establishment, enfeebled all other attempts, whethercollectively or by individuals, within that kingdom. In 1749, hislate majesty, having, at the opening of the parl ament, warmly re-commended the improvement of the fisheries, the house of com-mons appointed a committee to inquire into the state of herringand white fisheries, and to consider of the most probable means of5 S extending

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