However badly off fleets might be in material necessaries, they should have been well furnished with the æsthetic refreshment of flags, judging from the number in store. In 1626 £1280 was spent in providing them, and in January 1627 there were 415 of various kinds to be had at Chatham alone, and however low in the future might fall the reserves of powder every care was taken that the men should not lack this solace. A proclamation was issued on 5th May 1634 commanding that English and Scotch merchantmen were no longer to fly the Union flag of St George’s and St Andrew’s crosses, but to each keep to its own national cross, men-of-war alone flying the Union.[1269] The parliamentary committees were just as fond of flags, for in the sixteen months ending with November 1646 they spent £1178 on these articles, while sailors’ hammocks for the same period cost of £777. For 1647 their bill for flags was £567, and for hammocks £307. In February 1649 the parliament ordered that men-of-war should carry a St George’s cross on a white ground, similar to the present admiral’s flag, which, although the St George’s cross had been in general use for many centuries, may be considered to be the beginning of the present naval ensign in its special form.[1270]

Prices.

The following prices were paid for naval necessaries at various dates:—

Cordage(1625),£26, 13s 4d a ton.
”(1629),£32 a ton.
”(1631),£30 ”
”(1640),” ”
Tar(1631),£8, 10s a last.
”(1635),£10, a last.
Rosin(1631),£13, a ton.
Train oil(1631),£20 a ton.
Crooked and straight timber(1631),£1, 10s a load.
Knee timber(1631),£2, 10s a load.
Elm ””£1 6s ”
” ”(1640),£1, 12s ”
” plank (1626),£1, 18s ”
Oak ””£2, 2s ”
” ”(1640),£3, 11s ”
French canvas(1635),£22 a bale.
Ipswich ”(1626),£1, 6s a bolt.
” ”(1635),£1, 10s a bolt.
Powder(1627),£5 a barrel.
”(1646),£4, 10s a barrel.
Round shot(1627),£11 a ton.
Musket shot(1627),£14 a ton.
Hammocks(1625),2s each.
”(1642),2s 7d each.
Anchors(1626),£1, 10s to £2 per cwt.
”(1631),£2 per cwt.
”(1640),£1, 13s per cwt.
Beer(1635),28s to 34s the tun.
”(1646),38s the tun.
Beef in 4-lb. pieces(1635),9d and 10d the piece.
Pork in 2-lb. pieces(1635),5d and 6d the piece.
Codfish(1635),£4, 3s the cwt.
Biscuit”13s and 14s the cwt.
Seamen’s clothes(1628):—[1271]
Shirts, 3s 4d each; caps, 2s each; cotton breeches, 2s 8d each; stockings, 1s 4d a pair; canvas suits, 6s each; cotton waistcoats, 3s each.

THE COMMONWEALTH
1649-1660

The Events of the Interregnum.

Among the many social and political developments which characterised the era of the Commonwealth the most interesting, to the naval student, is the sudden expansion of our maritime power and the extension of its field of action. There was no previous experience to justify our rulers in supposing that the drain in men and money necessary to the support of a great navy—equal to that of the combined powers of Europe—could be borne by a state already exhausted by civil war; and it may well be that, although the sequence of events showed the maintenance of such a force not to be beyond the national capacity, the strain on the national resources between 1649 and 1660 was a large factor in creating the popular discontent which welcomed the return of the Stewarts.

Under Charles I the pecuniary resources of the crown were unequal to the construction of ships during war time, while the launch of one, or at the most two, a year in the time of peace was thought to be sufficient cause for legitimate pride and congratulation: under the Commonwealth they were ordered by tens at the time, and in one year—1654—twenty-two new men-of-war left the slips, besides the hired merchantmen in pay and the numerous prizes fitted out for naval service. Under Charles the preparation of a single fleet for a peaceful summer cruise in the narrow seas necessitated a previous year of preparation, while the coasts were supposed to be sufficiently protected by the occasional presence of a few small vessels: under the Commonwealth, besides a powerful reserve kept in the Downs ready for immediate action, besides the numerous cruisers patrolling the coasts, we find for the first time that Mediterranean station which has played so great a part in English history occupied in force, a moderately strong West Indian squadron, and the small beginning of the North American station. The rulers of the Commonwealth only did, so far as home waters were concerned, what Charles vaguely desired to do with the Navy; but the wildest dreams of Charles never pictured the permanent Mediterranean and West Indian fleets.