THE THIRD DUTCH WAR 505 



strongly and boldly shown its sympathy with Holland) " should 

 happen to stand vigorously by his Majesty in this demand 

 which he is pleased to make." They suggested almost, one 

 may think, with a touch of irony that the Dutch might be 

 offered, as an alternative, "a Bill," like the proclamation of 

 James in 1609, or the Act of 2 Richard II. that laid an impost 

 of sixpence a ton on our own fishing vessels, " wherein," they 

 added, " if strangers be not intended (as we humbly conceive 

 they are), they may be more expressly taken in." 1 



Although it was on the fishery article that the negotiations 

 stuck most, difficulties also continued to arise about the one on 

 the flag. The Dutch said they were willing to do anything 

 that had been done in former times by way of respect to the 

 crown of England ; they could not do it as a right, nor could 

 they do anything that might be construed to be an acknowledg- 

 ment of the king's claim to the dominion of the British seas. 

 They were unable to admit, without proof, that it was the 

 former practice for a whole fleet of theirs to strike to a single 

 English ship ; and while again affirming their willingness for 

 this to be done in future, they declined to make any express 

 recognition of it as a right in the treaty, saying that it would 

 be " abundant courtesy " if they admitted the words Maria 

 Britannica, as in all their other treaties ; it was a term, more- 

 over, which the French could not be brought to admit into their 

 treaty of Breda, insisting on the term maria proxima instead. 

 The English representatives would not condescend to adduce 

 proofs as to the past usage. The king, they said, would not 

 allow an observance so ancient and notorious to be questioned 

 as a matter of fact, any more than that England was an ancient 

 monarchy ; and they did not ask for a fuller stipulation than 

 in the article proposed by Cromwell. On the other side, it 

 was pointed out that Cromwell had given up all the points 

 raised, especially the striking of a whole fleet ; and, moreover, 

 they could not allow that all the tract of sea between the 

 North Cape and Cape Finisterre was the British Ocean, and 

 they hinted they were willing to strike all the world over 

 without any limitation of places. The English ambassadors 



24 Oct. 11 14 - T 23 Dec. 1673 2 , 3 ~ , 



1 The same to the 8am . 31^' 21' 24 N V - 1673 > 2 Jan. 1674' 12 Jan '< 13 Feb ' 

 1674. Ibid., i. 151, 170, 171, 223, 235, 237, 279. 



