CHARLES I. : THE NAVY 279 



was in these words : " For ye French roades," he said, " ye 

 king of England's ships should suffer none to wear ye flag but 

 themselves : but in other roades after salutes both may weare 

 ye flag without dishonour." The exceptional treatment pro- 

 posed for ships in French roads may have been in part owing 

 to the political circumstances of the time, but probably chiefly 

 had reference to ancient custom and the old claims of England 

 to the soil of France. Charles still styled himself King of 

 France ; and later Selden argued that though English dominion 

 had been lost in France itself, it nevertheless extended over the 

 sea up to the very shores. It became the common practice to 

 enforce the homage on the coast of the Continent, but not 

 within harbours, ports, rivers, or within buoys, or at any place 

 under the command of the guns of forts or castles. 1 The Earl 

 of Northumberland, on repeating Pennington's question in 

 1636 as to Calais, Dunkirk, and the Briel, was told that the 

 homage was to be exacted "in the roads out of command of 

 any forts." 2 



There was always some doubt as to the etiquette of the salu- 

 tation between ships and forts or castles. Dutch vessels were 

 fired on and detained at Portland Castle in 1633 for putting up 

 their flags in the presence of the king's colours, which were 

 flying on the walls ; and the act was justified to the States' 

 ambassador when he complained about it. In the year before, 

 the commanders of the Castles at Deal and Walmer fired upon 

 a French man-of-war that came in with his flag in the main- 



o 



top, because after taking it down when requested, he hoisted it 

 again on going away. " I gave him five shots," said the Captain 

 of Deal, " without hitting him," and he added that the Council 

 on a previous occasion approved of a like action against the 

 Dutch, who had never since offended, but he had never heard of 

 the French attempting it before. The Admiralty asked Penn- 

 ington's opinion as to the proper course, and he said he thought 

 that all the ships of his Majesty's subjects and of foreigners 

 and strangers should strike their flags and top-sails as they 

 passed by any of his Majesty's castles ; such, he said, was the 

 custom in all parts of Christendom, " which, being done, they 

 may ride under the castles with their colours flying abroad if 

 there be none of the king's own ships present." The king's 



1 State Papers, Dom., cclxv. 23, 25, 41, 49. 2 Ibid., cccxvii. 102. 



