On the morning of the 20th June the Dutch fleet was believed to be sailing homewards, but by midday news arrived of its appearance off Harwich, which was threatened with an immediate attack.(1375) The next day (21 June) the mayor and aldermen obeyed a summons to attend upon the king in council, when, a proposal having been made to fortify Sheerness and other places on the river, they agreed to raise the sum of £10,000 for the purpose.(1376) That the government should be driven to borrow so small a sum excited the contempt of Pepys, who thought it "a very poor thing that we should be induced to borrow by such mean sums." That the City could afford no more is not surprising when we consider what had been the state of trade during the last three years. As it was the money was paid by small instalments. The coffers of the city merchant or goldsmith keeping "running cashes" were well nigh empty, and the credit of some of the best men was shaken.(1377) (M692) There was another difficulty besides the want of money. There was a deficiency of workmen to carry out the works at Sheerness. Application was accordingly made to the wardens of the several companies of masons and bricklayers to furnish able men so that the fortifications might be completed before the cold weather came on.(1378) (M693) At last negotiations for a peace were concluded and the Treaty of Breda was signed (31 July). The peace was proclaimed at Temple Bar in the presence of the lord mayor on St. Bartholomew’s Day (24 Aug.). The bells were set ringing in honour of the event, but there were no bonfires at night "partly"—writes Pepys—"from the dearness of firing, but principally from the little content most people have in the peace." Yet the terms of the treaty were not wholly ruinous to the country. England, at least, gained New York, hitherto known as New Amsterdam. (M694)