CHARLES I. : THE NAVY 261 



throughout the narrow seas. " In this your Lordship's employ- 

 ment," wrote the Lords of the Admiralty, " you are not to per- 

 mit or suffer any men-of-war to fight with each other, or men- 

 of-war with merchant, or merchant with merchant, in the 

 presence of his Majesty's ships in any part of the Narrow Seas. 

 But you are to do your best to keep peace in those seas for the 

 freer and better maintenance of trade and commerce through 

 the same, so that all men trading or sailing within those his 

 Majesty's seas do justly take themselves to be in pace Domini 

 Regis. And therefore his Majesty in honour and justice is to 

 protect them from injury and violence." 1 



It is interesting to compare these instructions to Lindsey 

 with those given earlier to Pennington as admiral of the fleet 

 for the guard of the narrow seas. His private instructions 

 from the Lords of the Admiralty in 1631 contained a clause 

 regarding the homage of foreign vessels on meeting the king's 

 ships. He was to expect the admiral or chief, in acknowledg- 

 ment of the king's sovereignty in the narrow seas, " to strike 

 their toppe sayles in passing by," and if they refused he was to 

 force them to do so ; and in no wise suffer any dishonour to be 

 done to his Majesty, or derogation to his sovereign power in 

 those seas. At that time the efforts of Richelieu to create a 

 French navy had caused some disquiet in England, and Pen- 

 nington was also ordered to do his utmost, by spies and other- 

 wise, to discover whether any considerable preparations were 

 being made abroad. 2 The instructions in 1631 appear to have 

 represented the English pretensions so far as they were under- 

 stood at the time. There was nothing about forbidding the 

 hostilities of belligerents, as in Lindsey 's instructions. On the 

 contrary, Pennington was told that if he saw any Hollanders 

 and Dunkirkers in fight at sea he was to take no part with 

 either, " but to pass by and leave them to their fortunes " ; and 

 he issued orders to his subordinates to that effect. 3 In his 



1 Instructions for our very good Lord, the Earle of Lindsey, Admirall of his 

 Majesties' fflete, in his Majesty's shippe the Mcrhonour, prepared for this present 

 Expedicon for Guard of the Narrow Seas. 2nd May 1635. State Papers, Dam., 

 clvii. fol. 1356 et seq. 



2 Ibid., cxcii. 3, 21st May 1631 ; clvii. fol. 1176. It was found that the French 

 had a fleet of thirty-nine men-of-war, and two additional ships were building. 

 Ibid., cxcviii. 84. 



3 20th May 1631. Ibid., cxci. 80. 



