480 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



man-of-war. It was at all events, he said, a question which 

 should first be submitted to inquiry by the two Governments. 



Captain Crow was puzzled and perplexed, and on Van 

 Ghent's departure he appealed to Lady Temple as to what 

 he should do. She, seeing he did not relish his job and would 

 be glad to get out of it by her help, shrewdly told him that he 

 knew his orders best and what he ought to do, and begged him 

 not to mind her or her children. After firing another gun, the 

 Merlin continued her voyage to England, leaving the Dutch 

 fleet with their flags displayed, and without having fired a single 

 angry shot in reply. Very naturally, Charles was irritated at 

 the miscarriage of his plan. He had hoped for a sharp and 

 unequal contest about the flag, the news of which would have 

 rung from end to end of England and enabled him to drag the 

 country into war to resent the affront. Crow was thrown into 

 the Tower, "for refusing to do his duty towards the Dutch 

 men-of-war who refused to strike to the king's flag." The 

 Privy Council debated whether a frigate, the other class of 

 vessel to whose status De Witt had objected, should not be 

 hastily despatched to the Dutch fleet to draw the spark which 

 the Merlin had failed to elicit, by firing on every ship that 

 refused to take in her flag. Probably the device was deemed 

 to be too transparent; but it was rumoured that the captain 

 of the Reserve, which left Deal a few days later for Ports- 

 mouth, had received instructions to fight the Dutch fleet if he 

 met them and they did not strike, a rumour which, it was 

 reported, " deads the hearts of people lest we should have war 

 with Holland." 



Meanwhile, Sir Leoline Jenkins was requested to inquire into 

 the case of the Merlin, presumably to see what could be made 

 of it. He examined Lady Temple and others, and drew up a 

 memorandum embodying the information he had received as to 

 the extent of the British seas and the precedents of striking to 

 the English flag off foreign coasts. 1 After citing the precedents 

 at Goeree and elsewhere, he expressed an opinion against call- 

 ing witnesses in such cases " for fear of chicane," declaring that 

 we had " a constant uninterrupted possession of the prerogative, 



1 " A Draft made by Sir Leoline Jenkins about the King's Sovereignty in the 

 British Seas." Brit. Mus. Add. MSS., 30,221, fol. 466. Undated, but probably 

 referring to this case. 



