merchants as vsually euery yeere some such as aduenture thither haue done, they may then (salt being made there, as it may bee fitly & cheaply) take in thereof a fit quantity, and fresh water, wood, fresh fowles, great store, and other victuall, and likewise a sufficient quantity of herrings, mackerall, capeling and lawnee, to bait thier hookes withall, for taking of fish on the said banke: because such bait the French-men are not able to haue, that saile purposely to fish there, but are constrained to bait thier hookes with a part of the same cod-fish which they take there wherewith they loade thier ships' (pp. 97-98).

'Such as shall be imployed in that voyage, may afterwards spend thier time at thier homes merrily, vntill it bee towards Aprill in euery yeere, which is timely enough to set forth again in said voyages' (p. 100).

'Now also I will not omit to relate something of a strange creature which I first saw there in the yeere 1610 in a morning early, as I was standing by the river-side in the harbour of S. Iohn's, which very swiftly came swimming towards mee, looking cheerfully on my face, as it had been a woman: by the face, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, eares necke & forehead it seemed to bee so beautifull, and in those parts so well proportioned, hauing round about the head many blue streakes resembling haire, but certainly it was no haire, yet I beheld it long, and another of my company also yet liuing, that was not then farre from me saw the same comming so swiftly towards mee: at which I stepped backe; for it was come within the length of a long pike, supposing it would haue sprung aland to mee, because I had often seene huge whales to spring a great height aboue the water, as diuers other great fishes doe; and so might this strange creature doe to mee if I had stood still where I was, as I verily belieue it had ́such a purpose. But when it saw that I went from it, it did therevpon diue a little vnder the water and swam towards the place where a little before I landed, & it did often looke backe towards mee; whereby I beheld the shoulders & backe down to the middle to bee so square, white & smoothe as the backe of a man; and

from the middle to the hinder part it was poynting in proportion something like a broad hooked arrow: how it was in the fore part from the neck & shoulders, I could not well discerne; but it came shortly after to a boat in the same harbour (wherein one William Hawkbridge then my seruant man was) that hath been since a captaine in a ship to the East Indies, & is lately there so imployed again; & the same creature did put both his hands upon the side of the boat; whereat they were afraid, and one of them strucke it a full blow on the head, whereby it fell off from them, and afterward it came to two other boats in the same harbour, where they lay by the shore the men in them for feare fled to land and beheld it. This (I suppose) was a maremaid or mareman. Now because diuers haue writ much of maremaids, I haue presumed to relate what is most certaine of such a strange creature that was thus then seene at Newfound-land, whether it were a maremaid or no I leave it for others to iudge: And so referre you to the perusall of the copies of these letters following which haue been lately sent from the New-found-land, which I doubt not but they will also giue you some satisfaction of what I haue written of that countrey whereby to bring you the more in loue to the imbracing of a plantation in that countrey which may be well styled a sister land: which God grant to blesse and prosper' &c. (pp. 4-5 of conclusion).

APPENDIX II.

KING CHARLES'S COMMISSION FOR THE WELL-GOVERNING OF HIS SUBJECTS INHABITING NEWFOUNDLAND, OR TRAFFICKING IN BAYS, CREEKS, OR FRESH RIVERS THERE.

CHARLES, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting.

Whereas the region or country, called Newfoundland, hath been acquired to the dominion of our progenitors, which we hold, and our people have many years resorted to those parts, where, and on the coasts adjoining, they employed themselves in fishing; whereby a great number of our people have been set on work, and the navigation and mariners of our realm have been much increased; and our subjects resorting thither one by the other, and the natives of those parts were orderly and gently entreated, until of late some of our subjects of the realm of England planting themselves in that country and there residing and inhabiting have imagined that for wrongs or injuries done there, either on the shore, or in the sea adjoining, they cannot be here impeached; and the rather for that we, or our progenitors, have not hitherto given laws to the inhabitants there; and, by that example, our subjects resorting thither injure one another and use all manner of excess, to the great hindrance of the voyage and common damage of this realm; for preventing such inconveniences hereafter, we do hereby declare in what manner our people in Newfoundland and upon the seas adjoining, and the bogs, creeks, and fresh rivers there,

shall be guided and governed; and do make and ordain the laws following in the things after specified, commanding that the same be obeyed and put in execution.

'1st. If any man on the land there shall kill another, or if any shall secretly or forcibly steal the goods of any other in the value of forty-shillings, he shall be forthwith apprehended and arrested, detained, and brought prisoner into England, and the crime committed by him shall be made known to the Earl Marshal of England for the time being, to whom the delinquent shall be delivered as prisoner; and the said Earl Marshall shall take cognizance of the cause; and if he shall find by the testimony of two witnesses or more that the party had there killed a man (not being at that time first assaulted by the party slain, or that the killing were by misadventure) or that he had stolen such goods, the delinquent shall suffer death, and all the company shall endeavour to apprehend such malefactor.

6

2nd. That no ballast, prestones, or anything else hurtful to the harbours, be thrown out to the prejudice of the said harbours; but that it be carried on shore and laid where it may not do annoyance.

3rd. That no person whatever, either fisherman or inhabitant, do destroy, deface or any way work any spoil or detriment to any stage, cook-room, flakes, spikes, nails or anything else that belongeth to the stages whatsoever, either at the end of the voyage, when he hath done and is to depart the country, or to any such stages as he shall fall withal at his coming into the country; but that he or they content themselves with such stage or stages only as shall be needful for them; and that, for the repairing of such stages as he or they take, they shall fetch timber out of the woods, and not do it with the ruining or tearing of other stages.

4th. That, according to the ancient custom, every ship or fisher that first entereth a harbour in behalf of the ship, be Admiral of the said harbour, wherein, for the time being, he shall receive only so much beach and flakes, or both, as is needful for the number of boats that he shall use, with an overplus only for one boat more than he needeth, as a privi

lege for his first coming; and that every ship coming after content himself with what he shall have necessary use for, without keeping or detaining any more to the prejudice of others next coming; and that any that are possessed of several places in several harbours shall be bound to resolve upon which of them they choose, and to send advice to such aftercomers in those places, as expect their resolution, and that within eight and forty hours, if the weather so serve, in order that the said after-comers may likewise choose their places, and so none receive prejudice by others' delay.

5th. That no person cut out, deface, or any way alter or change the marks of any boats or train-fats, whereby to defraud the right owners; and that no person convert to his own use the said boats or train-fats so belonging to others, without their consents; nor remove, nor take them from the places where they be left by the owners, except in case of necessity, and then to give notice thereof to the Admiral and others, whereby the right owners may know what is become of them.

6th. That no person do diminish, take away, purloin, or steal any fish, or train, or salt which is put in casks, train-fats, or cook-room or other house, in any of the harbours or fishingplaces of the country, or any other provision belonging to the fishing trade, or to the ships.

7th. That no person set fire in any of the woods of the country, or work any detriment or destruction to the same, by rinding of the trees, either for the sealing of ships' holds or for rooms on shore, or for any other uses, except for the covering of the roofs for cook-rooms to dress their meat in, and these rooms not to extend above sixteen feet in length at the most.

8th. That no man cast anchor or aught else hurtful, which may breed annoyance, or hinder the haling of seines for bait in places accustomed thereunto.

6

9th. That no person rob the nets of others out of any drift, boat, or drover for bait, by night; nor take away any bait out of their fishing-boats by their ships' sides, nor rob or steal any of their nets or any part thereof.