Naval Expeditions } etc. of the English, Book I,

ic others, ut their Pleasure-, from the<ir free Enjoyment of the Sea, they must“ certainly have been the .Lords of it./ " And that this was not a bare Prohibi-" tion of coming into the Island of Bri-(C tain , but even of navigating within" the Extent of their Maritime Domi-tf nion, is plain from this, that the Mer-te chants them selves, who were allowed" to go thither, seem to have only had" the .Liberty of coming to an Anchor,<c and disposing of their Goods upon the" Coasts, without being admitted into" the Ports, (or, as Selden terms it, any,r Man at all to view or found the Ports" and Sea-coasts) since those whom Cœ-<e far had summoned to conduct his" Navy into Britain , could not under-take to do it, as being entirely igno-" rant of the Situation of their Ports. If<f they were ever permitted to come to" any Place, ’tis conceived to be Gaul's" Town, now Golf on, near Tar mouth.

Many more Instances might be giv-en ; (and Selden abounds with them;) Butfrom this it is plain, that the Britons werein Possession of it from the most remoteAges. It is upon good Ground conclud-ed, fays Mr, Selden , that the most an-cient History, whereto any Credit oughtto be given about the Affairs of Britain,is not older than the Time of JuliusCæsar, the Ages before him being tooobscured with Fables. But, adds he,at his coming we find clear Passages ofthe Britons Dominion of the Sea flow-ing about them, especially (tho’ not ex-clusive of the Rest) of the South andEaf part of it, as a perpetual Appen-dant of the Sovereignty of the Island :And all this he proves very largely.TheRomans upon their Conquest of Britain,derived this Sovereignty from them.Many Instances might be given of theirexerting themselves in the Support ofthis Right j But they would carry metoo far. I shall, therefore, only observe,that, upon the Romans having acquiredthe Sovereignty of the British Seas, theycommitted the Management of NavalAffairs here to a great Sea Officer, cal-led Archigubernus, who had a nume-rous Fleet under his Command, withwhich he was ordered to assert and main-tain the Roman Dominion, in the BritishSeas. Upon the Romans abandoningtheir Conquests in Britain , the Sove-reignty of the Sea naturally devolved tothe Britons again, and they kept it,till, with that, they lost their Country.The Saxons , when they became Ma-

sters of England, acquired this Rightfrom the Britons, and handed it downto their Successors. We have several In-stances that th cSaxon Kings, at allTimes,enjoyed, and upon all Occasions assertedthis Right. I shall mention some few :But first it may not be improper to re-mark, that the Saxons, before their Ar-rival in England, were not only mightyat Sea, but skilful in the Art of Navi-gation, as it was then managed; Inso-much that they made their Computationof Time, by an Observation of the Tides.And it is, therefore, not to be presumed,that they should tamely give up, or in-dolently neglect a Right of Sovereignty,which they had so easily obtain’d, andfor the Support of which they had sogreat Capacity as well as Power : Es-pecially, as theirReputation for a Know-ledge of Maritime Affairs was one ofthe Motives which had engaged theBritains to crave their Assistance.

Sidonius Apollinarius , in oneof his Letters to Naamatius, gives us anexcellent Idea of the Valour and Con-duct of the Saxon Mariners: " While<c I am writing to you (fays thisAuthor)I just now received Advice from the" Coast of Xaintonge, that you havegiven the Signal to the Fleet, and" that you are actually put to Sea to" encounter the Saxons. I advise you(t to be upon your Guard, you have" to deal not only with a powerful" but a cunning Enemy. There is not" a Rower among them but is capable" of commanding a Squadron. They" command, they obey in theirTurns,

" they instruct one another.-

" They are Enemies, of all Enemies,cc the most to be feared, They give" the Assault, when least expected,<r and if they are discovered, they re-" tire with an admirable Skill. When" they surprize an Enemy, they give" him no Quarter; And their natural" Ferocity makes them despise all who" come in their Way. When pursued,

" they are excellent at a Retreat, and" when they pursue, it happens very" seldom that any escape out of their" Hands. Shipwrecks, instead of dif-" couraging them, serve but to make“ them bolter. They sport withDan-" gets, and know the Seas to a Mira-" cle. They take the Advantage of a" Storm to fall upon the Enemy, and" the Hopes of Success makes them" despise the Dangers they expose" themselves to, in the Midst of the

Raging