HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

36 V

The dispute itself strongly contributed to destroy all possible means of re-sorting to maritime contest, as an additional method of deciding the quarrel.Even supposing the quiet and unoffending inhabitants of the maritime parts ofthe kingdom had been swayed, through inclination, or motives of affection, tojoin in the dispute, the paralised state of commerce, occasioned by that verydispute itself, deprived them of almost every means of becoming parties to thequarrel, except in the capacity of mere soldiers. The destruction of tradecaused, for a short period, as a very natural consequence, with very few excep-tions, the almost total annihilation of British shipping.

The celebrated earl of Warwick, who had been entrusted with the sovern-ment of Calais, and had fled thither in order to avoid the vengeance of queenMargaret, collected, in exception to the remark just made, a small squadron,with which he paraded the seas unopposed, and made prizes of all the vesselsbelonging to the Lancastrian party which fell in his way : a proof, thanwhich a stronger one need not be adduced, of the deplorable condition intowhich the navy, actually under the power of the crown, or that auxiliaryaid which it was capable of drawing together from its subjects, had fallen.In 1470, after Edward had assumed the crown, and success appeared in somemeasure to have put a stop to any attempts on the part of the Lancastrians,by which peace might be considered as in some degree restored to the king-dom : the navy of England was in so low a state, that the guard of the seas,(for the purpose of preventing the passage of the earl of Warwick, who hadlately deserted the cause of the house of York) was committed to the duke ofBurgundy, who, in consequence of a treaty entered into with Edward, causeda strong squadron to be equipped for that purpose, but it failed to perform the:service that was required of it.

A singular occurrence took place very soon after this, which still more fullyconfirms the fallen state of the English marine. Edward, on being attacked’by his revolted friend Warwick, fled, with a very small retinue, to Lynn inNorfolk, where being fortunate enough to meet with some Dutch vessels, heimmediately embarked, and effected his passage to Alkmaar in Holland, thoughwith the greatest difficulty, being very closely pursued by a squadron belonging to-the Hanse Towns, which were then at war with England as well as France, andcaptured the vessels of both without the smallest fear of retaliation, or punish-ment. When in the ensuing year, the duke of Burgundy, in aid of his friend-

and