THE PERIOD OF BEGINNINGS 17

Frobisher’s vague aspirations, which issued in three 1 expedi­tions in 1576, 1577 , and 1578 to the Northern seas. We may note that Frobisher thought that he had found precious metals. The licence obtained by Frobisher to take criminals from the jails, with whom to garrison the land that he might discover, throws an ominous light on the failure of early schemes for colonization. A petition in 1574 of divers west March 22. country gentlemen to the Queen to allow of an enterprise for the discovery of certain rich and unknown lands “ fatally and it seemeth by Providence reserved for England,” whatever its immediate effect, received a practical answer in the patent granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578. 2 He was em­powered to discover heathen lands, not enjoyed by any Christian Prince, and to hold and enjoy the same with all commodities, jurisdictions, and royalties both by sea and land. He was thus restricted by no geographical limitations.

The usual one-fifth of gold and silver was reserved for the Crown. No one might settle, without his leave, within two hundred leagues of the place in which, during the next six years, he should make his settlement. Full powers were

given of making laws or ordinances, “as near as con­veniently might be to the laws of the realm and not opposed to the Christian religion as professed by the Church of England.”

It may be well here to point out the necessity of these Import- letters patent, which we shall find continually recurring, According to the common law, British subjects cannot take Grants, possession in their own right of a foreign country, but, what­ever they acquire, they acquire for the Crown. (The idea that the natives might have independent right to the soil was late in dawning.) Hence the necessity of a previous grant ; that that grant must come from the Crown follows from the rule that the sovereign is ultimate owner of all land.

So far, the matter is plain enough, but a grave constitutional Constitu- question might have arisen with respect to the claim of the

1 ' ‘ Much experience in ice navigation was gained during the last of these expeditions,” Sir Clements Markham in the Royal Navy , ch. xvi.

2 Sainsbury, Cal. of State Papers (Col. Ser.), June n.

B