THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS 431 



there is no doubt at all that the States-General would never 

 have agreed to the English proposal. 



Concessions were also made as to the striking of the flag, 

 "The 15 article," said Cromwell, "to be as following: that the 

 ships and vessels of the United Provinces, as well men-of- 

 war as others, meeting at sea with any of the ships of war of 

 the State of England, shall strike their flag and lower their 

 top-sail, and perform the other respects due to this State until 

 they be passed by " ; but the request that a naval commission 

 should draw up a " regulation " on the subject was not acceded 

 to. On the other hand, the clauses which stipulated for a 

 right of visitation of Dutch ships at sea, and the declaration 

 that the dominion and sovereignty of the sea belonged to 

 England, were entirely withdrawn ; but the Protector would 

 not yet part with the clause which provided for an English 

 fleet to guard the seas and protect commerce. Surely, he said 

 in effect, since the article limiting the number of warships has 

 been withdrawn, you will not contest our dominion of the sea 

 in this ? and at this stage it was retained, with the remark, 

 " this article is insisted on." One of the new clauses provided 

 that not more than eight men-of-war at a time were to enter 



o 



any port of the other Power, unless constrained by force of 

 tempest, without having obtained consent to do so ; and when 

 compelled to enter by danger of the sea, they were immediately 

 to signify to the chief magistrate the cause of their coming, and 

 to leave when he required them to depart. 1 



On the subject of striking the flag, the deputies were not 

 yet satisfied. They still continued to urge that a " regulation " 

 should be prepared ; and they now raised a new point. Crom- 

 well had always used the words " at sea," which might mean 

 any sea or any part of the sea. They now desired that the 

 ceremony should be restricted to the narrow seas, "which," 

 they said, "are called the British seas." 2 To this proposal 

 Cromwell assented in so far that the words "in the British 

 seas" were inserted later. It is curious to notice how the 



1 Verbael, 273. 



2 Ad. 15. ut ad angustum mare (quod Britannicum vocant) ibique ad certaa 

 regulas cum distmctione locorum et littorum ita restringatur, ut idem ille honor 

 eademque dignitas, qua) vexilli supremi et veli dimissione unquam delati aut 

 observati fuerunt, in posterum adhuc deferantur, et observentur. Verbael, 275, 



