ne, but for
the benefit of the Commonwealth, and profit of the fishing trade.' In
Queen Elizabeth's reign matters were still worse, for the eating of fish
had now come to be a badge of religious opinions, and '"to detest fish"
in all shapes and forms had become a note of Protestantism.'

And not only had the demand for fish lessened, but the fisheries had
fallen into the hands of foreigners. The Yarmouth waters were 'occupied
by Flemings and Frenchmen,' 'the narrow seas by the French,' 'the
western fishing for hake and pilchard by a great navy of French within
kenning of the English shores,' and Scots and Spaniards fished other
parts of the coasts. Cecil, who was anxious for greater reasons, to find
'means to encourage mariners,' set to work to revive the English
fishing-trade, and with great difficulty succeeded in carrying a Bill
through the House of Commons, making 'the eating of flesh on Fridays
and Saturdays a misdemeanour, punishable by a fine of three pounds or
three months' imprisonment, and as if this was not enough, adding
Wednesday as a subsidiary half-fish day.'

About this time Plymouth tried to rid itself of at least one branch of
foreign competition by appealing to the Privy Council to forbid 'the
exportation of pilchards, save in ships of Devon and Cornwall, because
"divers ships and mariners lye idle without employment within our
harbour," while foreign ships were continually employed.' Pilchards were
a very important item, and many regulations were made in reference to
them. One order, dated 1565-66, gives a good example of Plymouth's views
of free trade. It ran: 'That no alien should lade or buy fresh pilchards
above the number of 1,000 in a day; no man ... being free to buy or sell
above 5,000, unless the fish "were in danger of perishing."' The
business of curing fish was a large one and very jealously guarded. At
the British Museum, among the Lansdowne manuscripts, is a letter to Lord
Burghley from Mr Richard Browne, showing that this subject was sometimes
the source of friction between the citizens themselves. It begins:

'My honorable good Lord, as I have ben always most bound vnto yor ho.,
so I humbly besech you to stand my good Lord.' The letter goes on to
explain that the writer had been granted a 'pattent for salting, drying,
and packing of fishe in the counties of Devon and Cornwall,' but letters
from the Privy Council had caused the 'staie thereof.' These letters
were apparently inspired