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Defined in 2 dictionaries — Cyclopedic (1922), Black's (1891)
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
DUTY OF THE. Saluting the British flag, by striking the flag, and lowering the topsails of a vessel, exacted as a tribute to the sovereignty of England over the British seas.
A Dictionary of Law
Henry Campbell Black · 1891
DUTY OF THE. This was an ancient ceremony in acknowledgment of British sovereignty over the British seas, by which a foreign vessel struck her Hag and lowered her top-sail on meeting the British flag.