  | INTRODUCTION. | | PAGE | | Prominence of maritime affairs in English history—The meaning of the term Sovereignty of the Seas—Early appropriation of seas—Venice—Genoa—Denmark, Sweden, Poland—Spain and Portugal—Reasons for appropriation—Insecurity of sea in middle ages—Merchants associations—Origin of the English claims—Their nature—Became important under the Stuarts—James I.—Charles I.—The Commonwealth—Charles II.—Decay of the English pretension to the dominion of the seas—Extent of the “Sea of England” and of the “British Seas”—The “Narrow Seas”—The “Four Seas”—Selden on the British Seas—The territorial waters | 1 | | SECTION I.—THE HISTORY OF THE CLAIMS TO THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA. | | CHAPTER I. | | EARLY HISTORY. | | Alleged sea sovereignty exercised by ancient Britons, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons—King Edgar—Canute—Norman, Angevin, and Plantagenet kings—The Channel or Narrow Sea—The safeguarding of the sea—Admiralty jurisdiction—Impressment of ships—Liberty of navigation and fishing—The question of tribute—English kings as lords of the sea—King John’s ordinance as to lowering sail to a royal ship—The sovereign lordship in the so-called Sea of England—The roll De Superioritate Maris AngliÆ—Complaint against Reyner Grimbald—Nature of jurisdiction exercised in Sea of England | 25 | | CHAPTER II. | | THE FISHERIES. | | Importance of fisheries in middle ages—Ecclesiastical fasts—A great herring fishery—Foreign fishermen frequent British coasts—The question of freedom of fishing—Licenses to French to fish in the Channel—Treaties guaranteeing liberty for foreigners to fish on the British coasts—The “Burgundy” treaties—The Intercursus Magnus—Practice in Scotland differed from that in England—Waters reserved for natives, and foreigners excluded—Treaties with the Netherlands—Acts of the Parliament of Scotland | 57 | | CHAPTER III. | | UNDER THE TUDORS. | | Decay of English fisheries—Influence of Reformation—Rise of Dutch fisheries—The “Political Lent”—Cecil’s inquiries and proceedings—Legislation to protect the English fisheries and encourage the consumption of fish—First complaints against foreign fishermen on English coast—Hitchcock’s “Pollitique Platt”—His scheme of a national fishery association to compete with the Dutch—Proposals of Dr John Dee to tax foreigners fishing on British coasts—Claim advanced to the sovereignty of the sea—Supposed limits of British seas—Queen Elizabeth opposes all claims to Mare Clausum—Spanish and Portuguese pretensions to dominion on the great oceans—Negotiations with Denmark as to trading and fishing at Iceland and Norway—Queen Elizabeth’s exposition of the principles of the freedom of the seas—Further legislation to promote the fisheries—Failure of the policy of fish-days—The striking of the flag | 86 | | CHAPTER IV. | | UNDER THE STUARTS. JAMES I. A NEW POLICY. | | Change of policy as to freedom of fishery—The “King’s Chambers” defined and described—Limited to questions of neutrality—Beginning of struggle with Dutch for commercial and maritime supremacy—Expansion of Dutch fisheries—English accounts of their extent—John Keymer—Sir Walter Raleigh—Tobias Gentleman—The Dutch great herring fishery along British coast—Its value and importance—English fishery trifling in comparison—English envy and jealousy of Dutch—Rival fishery schemes proposed—Plan of London merchants—Proposals to tax foreign fishermen—Complaints of encroachments of Hollanders in England and Scotland—Petition from Cinque Ports for protection—Privy Council consider unlicensed fishing by foreigners—Recommend proclamation restraining foreigners from fishing on British coasts without license from the king—Proclamation issued—Aimed against Dutch—Protest of States-General—Proclamation suspended—The “assize-herring”—Discussions with the Dutch ambassador—Dutch embassy of 1610—Fishery question postponed—Other fishery schemes—The queen’s proposals—Records to be searched to establish king’s jurisdiction at sea and right to the fishings | 118 | | CHAPTER V. | | JAMES I.—continued. DISPUTES WITH THE DUTCH. | | Grant of “assize-herrings” in Scotland to Duke of Lennox—Considered by Scottish Council—James instructs that the tax be levied from foreign fishermen—Mr John Brown collects them in 1616 from Dutch—Protest by Dutch ambassador—Dutch naval commanders ordered to prevent further payments—Brown again sent in 1617—Seized and carried to Holland by Dutch man-of-war—Repudiation of act by States-General—Further complaints in Scotland against Dutch—Representations by British ambassador at Hague—“Land-kenning” or range of vision claimed as limit—Scottish Council asked to prevent Hollanders from fishing within sight of land—Dutch edict of 1618—Assize-herrings again demanded by the Restore—Mare Clausum in the Arctic Seas—Spitzbergen whaling disputes—Dutch embassy of 1618—Evasion of fishery question—James’s displeasure—Threats to use force—Fishery treaty again postponed—A limit of fourteen miles requested—Dutch concession—Proposals regarding whaling at Spitzbergen—Assize-herrings again demanded by the Charles—The Dutch strengthen their convoying squadrons—Dutch embassies of 1619 and 1621—Fishery question still evaded—Edict of 1618 renewed—Fresh complaints against Hollanders—Fishery societies proposed—The striking of the flag—Incident with French in 1603—Monson’s action against Dutch—Spanish complaint—The custom as to striking the flag | 165 | | CHAPTER VI. | | CHARLES I. FISHERIES AND RESERVED WATERS. | | Extravagant pretensions to the sovereignty of the sea—The ship-money writs and the old records—Charles proposes a great fishery society to compete with the Dutch—Coke prepares a scheme—Difficulties with Scottish burghs—Charles requests Scottish Privy Council to further the scheme—Strenuous opposition in Scotland—Claim of “reserved waters” advanced—Commissioners on behalf of England and Scotland appointed—Prolonged negotiations—Extent of reserved w
212;British Colonies—Japan—United States of America—Chile—Argentina—Uruguay—Three-mile limit generally adopted for fisheries—Exceptions in four European states—Spain and Portugal claim six miles—Repudiated by British Government—Discontent in Spain and Portugal—Norway and Sweden—Special Scandinavian limits—Fjords reserved—Vestfjord—Varangerfjord—Discussion of Norwegian limit—Rejection of three-mile boundary—Recent Norwegian laws—The three-mile limit is an Anglo-American doctrine—Opinions of modern publicists—Calvo, Bluntschli, Phillimore, Halleck, Lawrence, Bishop, Woolsey, Dana, Twiss, Fiore, Pradiere-FodÉrÉ, Perels, Ferguson, Desjardins, Kleen, Aschehoug, de Martens, Hall, Oppenheim—The limit under the Law of Nations is the range of guns—Declarations of the International Law Association and the Institut de Droit International—Three miles insufficient—Six miles proposed for fisheries, &c—The zone or line of respect for neutrality to be declared by each state | 650 | | CHAPTER V. | | THE INADEQUACY OF THE THREE-MILE LIMIT FOR FISHERY REGULATIONS. | | Three miles insufficient for the regulation of the fisheries—Seal fisheries—Behring Sea arbitration—Oyster, pearl-oyster, and coral fisheries—Regulations for “floating” fish—Relation of trawl-fishing to three-mile limit—Recent great extension of trawling—The effect on the fishing-grounds—Official inquiries—English trawlers desire an increased limit in North Sea—International conference at London, 1890—Inquiry by select committee of House of Commons—They recommend international extension of present limit for fishery purposes—Immature Fish Bill—Its object—Parliamentary inquiry, 1900—They urge international arrangement for North Sea—Bill again introduced—Inquiry by committee of House of Lords, 1904—They recommend international agreement for North Sea—The impoverishment of the fishing-grounds in the North Sea—Trawlers flock to foreign coasts—Feeling among foreign fishermen—Legislation in various countries regulating trawling beyond the three-mile limit—Norway, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria—Ireland—Not restricted to bays—Scotland—Fishery Acts—Firth of Clyde—Moray Firth—Act of 1895 empowering a thirteen-mile limit—Intrusion of foreign and pseudo-Norwegian trawlers into Moray Firth—Prosecutions and convictions—Case of Peters versus Olsen—Case of Mortensen versus Peters—Decision of the Scottish High Court of Justiciary—Opinions of the judges—Intervention of Norwegian Government—Release of offenders—Foreign Office decline to open negotiations with foreign Powers—Debates in Parliament—Lord Fitzmaurice on territorial limit and bays—Opinions of Lord Halsbury, Lord Herschell, Lord Salisbury, Lord Chancellor Loreburn—Declarations of Sir Edward Grey, Minister for Foreign Affairs—Views of British Government—Previous action of Great Britain in connection with extra-territorial fisheries—Recent proceedings with foreign Powers regarding the three-mile limit—The international fishery investigations—Need of an international arrangement | 693 |
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