A brief being made upon the allegations of the Yarmouth men, and delivered to the judges in writing (which such allegations, in truth, were not under the hands of their councel, though they proceeded from their councel), shewing that the judges should have delivered a certificate of their opinions to the Council-Table before the Yarmouth men were gone out of London, although the judges had not sufficient time for that purpose, the Yarmouth men not presenting their allegations till the last day of term, and then deferred it till the judges were going to supper; therefore the Lowestoft men have retained Mr. Sergeant Drewe and Mr. Bargrave, her majesty’s attorney, together with Mr. Councellor Bacon, to consider the whole state of the matter, and that their opinion might be shewed as occasion should require, they have subscribed to the same, as followeth: “That by the statutes and charters aforesaid, any man may sell and buy herrings in the road called Kirkley road, or elsewhere, without the lawful let or hindrance of the town of Yarmouth; and if any proclamation be made by the said men of Yarmouth, or any other of the subjects of this realm, to the contrary, the same, in our opinion, is unlawful, whether it be within or without the time of the fair.” CHAR DREW, JA. BARGRAVE, FR. BACON. In order to form the better judgment of this intricate and much disputed affair, it may be necessary to observe, that by the statute of the 9th of Edward III it was enacted, “That every subject of the realm might buy and sell herrings without disturbance in city, burgh, sea-port, or elsewhere throughout the kingdom; and if any charters and patents were granted to the contrary they should be holden null; which statute was confirmed in a subsequent parliament.” Probably from some abuse of this privilege, it might become necessary afterwards to lay it under some restrictions, in view of preventing those infringements which interested persons, from lucrative motives, had made on the rights and privilege of others; and therefore to redress this grievance, the following statute of the 31st of Edward III was granted, on which the Yarmouth men grounded part of their claim, and is the statute referred to in the certificate of the judges. STATUTE OF THE 31ST OF EDWARD III. Edward, by the grace of God, king of England and France, and lord of Ireland—To our bailiffs of the cinque ports, and the burgesses of our town of Yarmouth, keepers of the said town, greeting, etc. A certain concord by us and our council, made within the time of the present fair of the said town, we will have kept, etc.