THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS 435 



States-General, and they had willingly and immediately with- 

 drawn it when objection was made. Cromwell then asked 

 if it had ever been their intention to define in any way the 

 limits of the seas by that article. They replied that they 

 believed not, and added that they had never thought of 

 yielding anything with regard to right or jurisdiction or 

 limits of the seas; and they failed to see what prejudice his 

 Highness could suffer from the extension of the article, unless 

 it was to be maintained that the whole of the French and 

 Portuguese coasts to Cape St Vincent were within the narrow 

 seas, as they had defined in the fourteenth article, which 

 was withdrawn. 1 Cromwell then angrily told them that he 

 would not exchange the ratification of the treaty unless he 

 got the explanation and interpretation requested. 2 It was 

 only, the ambassadors reported home, by their earnest in- 

 sistence to the Protector that the articles had been signed 

 with perfect knowledge on both sides of their contents, that 

 he passed from the point. Whatever the object may have 

 been in thus raising a discussion at the last moment as to 

 the extent of the British seas, there is little doubt that the 

 circumstance would prove useful to De Witt in his difficult 

 and manifold manceuvres to get the Act of exclusion of the 

 House of Orange adopted. 



The treaty of peace, which had been signed by the plenipo- 

 tentiaries on 5th April, was ratified by the Protector on 19th 

 April, and proclaimed with due solemnity on the 26th May. 

 It was received with rejoicing both in this country and the 

 Netherlands. 3 



1 " Gelyk sy in 't 14 van de 27 Artikelen haere Brittannische Zen selver gede- 

 finieerfc hadden." Vcrbael, 396. 



a "Daer op syne Hoogheyt in colere seyde, dat sender de versoghte elucidatie 

 ende interpretatie, hy de Ratificatie niet konde uytwisselen." Ibid., 397. 



3 Next day Cromwell entertained the Dutch ambassadors and their wives to a 

 sumptuous banquet, and after dinner he passed them a paper with the remark, 

 " We have hitherto exchanged many papers, but in my opinion this is the best." 

 It was the first verse of Psalm cxxxiii., which they all then sang together solemnly 



" Behold, how good a thing it is, 



And how becoming well, 

 Together such as brethren are 

 In unity to dwell." 



Verbad, 419. Aitzema, iii. 927. Geddes, i. 422. 



