Fifteen Last of barrelled fish at £14 8s. the Last, which is but twenty-four shillings the barrel, amounteth to £216; whereout if that you do deduct £57 for the charge of setting her to sea, there is still resting £159 clear gain by one Pink, with fifteen Last of fish, for two months.
Wherefore, seeing the profit so plain; and, by the grace of GOD, so certain; both by the Busses and Line-boats, whereby the Hollanders have so long gained by: let all noble, worshipful, and wealthy subjects put to their adventuring and helping hands, for the speedy launching and floating forward of this great good common wealth business, for the strengthening of His Majesty's dominions with two principal pillars, which are, with plenty of coin brought in for Fish and herrings from other nations, and also for the increasing of mariners against all common invasions. And also for the bettering of trades and occupations, and setting of thousands of poor and idle people on work, which now know not how to live; which by this Trade of Busses shall be employed: as daily we see is done, before our eyes, by the Hollanders. And, as always it hath been seen, that those that be now the fishermen of England have been always found to be sufficient to serve His Majesty's ships in former time, when there has been employment: which fellows, by this new trade of building and setting forth of Busses will be greatly multiplied and increased in this land. Which fellows, as we see the Hollanders, being well fed in fishing affairs, and strong[er] and lustier than the sailors that use the long southern voyages that sometimes are greatly surfeited and hunger-pined: but these courageous, young, lusty, fed-strong younkers, that shall be bred in the Busses, when His Majesty shall have occasion for their service in war against the enemy, will be fellows for the nonce! and will put more strength to an iron crow at a piece of great ordnance in traversing of a cannon or culvering, with the direction of the experimented [experienced] Master Gunner, than two or three of the forenamed surfeited sailors. And in distress of wind-grown sea, and foul winter's weather, for flying forward to their labour, for pulling in a topsail or a spritsail, or shaking off a bonnet in a dark night! for wet and cold cannot make them shrink, nor stain that the North seas and the Busses and Pinks have dyed in the grain, for such purposes.
And whosoever shall go to sea for Captain to command in martial affairs, or to take charge for Master in trade of merchandise (as in times past I have done both) will make choice of these fellows: for I have seen their resolution in the face of their enemy, when they have been legeramenta [Italian for light-hearted] and frolicsome, and as forward as about their ordinary labours or business.
It is not unknown, that last year [1613] there was a general press along the coast of England, from Hull in Yorkshire unto St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, only for sailors to furnish but seven ships, for the wafting over [conveying] of the Count Palantine and his noble Princess but twenty-eight leagues.
And when His Majesty shall have occasion and employment for the furnishing of his Navy, there will be no want of Masters, Pilots, Commanders, and sufficient directors of a course and keeping of computation; but now there is a pitiful want of sufficient good men to do the offices and labours before spoken of. All which, these men of the Busses and Pinks will worthily supply.
And to the art of sailing they may happily attain. For hitherto it hath been commonly seen, that those men that have been brought up in their youth in fishery, have deserved as well as any in the land for artificial [scientific] sailing: for at this time is practised all the projections of circular and mathematical scales and arithmetical sailing by divers of the young men of the sea-coast towns, even as commonly amongst them, as amongst the Thamesers.
Some of these be 60 and 80 tons, the burden.
Besides all the Hollanders before spoken of, the Frenchmen of Picardy have also a hundred sail of fishermen, only [solely] for herrings on His Majesty's seas every year in the summer season; and they be almost like unto the Busses: but they have not any Yagers that cometh unto them, but they do lade themselves, and return home twice every year; and find great profit by their making but two voyages every summer season.
The Hollanders do yearly take so many, as they do make more than two millions of pounds sterling. And we, his Majesty's subjects, do take no more than do bait our hooks!
And it is much to be lamented that we, having such a plentiful country, and such store of able and idle people, that not one of His Majesty's subjects is there to be seen all the whole summer to fish or to take one herring; but only the North Sea boats of the sea-coast towns that go to take Cod, they do take so many as they do need to bait their hooks and no more.