The flag of the Commonwealth was borne to victory at Dunbar, Worcester, and many another hard-fought field, and under its folds Blake, Monk, and other gallant leaders gained glorious victories over the Dutch and Spaniards, and made the English name feared in every sea.
"Of wind"s and water"s rage they fearful be, But much more fearful are your flags to see.
Day, that to those who sail upon the deep, More wish"d for and more welcome is than sleep, They dreaded to behold, lest the sun"s light With English streamers should salute their sight."[37]
It was not until the year 1651 that Scotland was brought under the sway of the Commonwealth, and the ordinance for its full union with England and Ireland was not promulgated until April 12th, 1654. Somewhat later an Order of Council recognised the new necessities of the case, and decreed that the Standard for the Protectorate be as shown in Fig. 83. England and Scotland are here represented by their respective crosses, while Ireland, instead of having the Cross of St. Patrick, is represented by the harp. In Fig. 80 all three crosses are introduced, but there seems somewhat too much white in this latter flag for an altogether successful effect, and the blue of the Irish quarter, balancing the blue of the Scottish, is more pleasing. The Union Flag underwent yet another modification, and instead of being like Figs. 82 or 86, the Union Flag of James I., Fig. 73, was reverted to, and in the centre of the flag was placed a golden harp--"the Armes of England and Scotland united, according to the anncient form, with the addicion of the harpe." On the restoration of Charles II. this harp was removed, and Ireland does not appear again in the Union Flag, Fig. 73, until January 1st, 1801.
A pattern farthing of this period--preserved in the magnificent numismatic collection in the British Museum--shows on its reverse a three-masted ship: at the stern is a large flag divided vertically, like Fig. 86, into two compartments, the Cross of St. George in one and the harp in the other; the main and mizen masts are shown with flags containing St. George"s Cross only, as in Fig. 91, while the foremast bears a flag with St. Andrew"s Cross upon it, a flag similar to Fig. 92.
For nearly fifty years before its rise, and for nearly one hundred and fifty years after the downfall of the Protectorate, that is to say from 1602 to 1649 and from 1659 to 1801, the Union Flag was as shown in Fig. 73, but in 1801 the Legislative Union of Ireland with Great Britain was effected, and a new Union Flag, the one now in {51} use, was devised. This may be seen in Fig. 90, the n.o.blest flag that flies under heaven.
Though the National Flag is primarily just so much silk or bunting, its design and colouring are full of meaning: and though its prime cost may be but a few shillings, its value is priceless, for the national honour is enwrapped in its folds, and the history of centuries is figured in the symbolism of its devices. It represents to us all that patriotism means. It is the flag of freedom and of the greatest empire that the world has ever known. Over three hundred millions of people--in quiet English shires, amid Canadian snows, on the torrid plains of Hindustan, amidst the busy energy of the great Australian group of colonies, or the tropical luxuriance of our West Indian possessions--are to-day enjoying liberty and peace beneath its shelter. Countless thousands have freely given their lives to preserve its blazonry unstained from dishonour and defeat, and it rests with us now to keep the glorious record as unsullied as of old; never to unfurl our Union Flag in needless strife, but, when once given to the breeze, to emulate the deeds of our forefathers, and to inscribe on its folds fresh records of duty n.o.bly done.
How the form known as St. Patrick"s Cross, Fig. 93, became a.s.sociated with that worthy is not by any means clear. It is not found amongst the emblems of Saints, and its use is in defiance of all ecclesiastical tradition and custom, as St. Patrick never in the martyrological sense had a cross at all, for though he endured much persecution he was not actually called upon to lay down his life for the Faith. It has been suggested, and with much appearance of probability, that the X-like form of cross, both of the Irish and of the Scotch, is derived from the sacred monogram on the Labarum of Constantine, where the X is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ.
This symbolic meaning of the form might readily be adopted in the early Irish Church, and thence be carried by missionaries to Scotland.
A life of St. Patrick was written by Probus, who lived in the seventh century, and another by Jocelin, a Cistercian monk of the twelfth century, and this latter quotes freely from four other lives of the Saint that were written by his disciples.
St. Patrick was born in Scotland, near where Glasgow now stands. The date of his birth was somewhere near the close of the fourth century, but as to the year authorities differ widely--372, 455, 464, and 493 being all given by various biographers.[38] His father was of good family, and, while the future saint was still under the paternal roof, G.o.d manifested to him by divers visions that he was {52} destined for the great work of the conversion of Ireland, at that time plunged in idolatry. Hence he resigned his birthright and social position, and devoted himself entirely to the salvation of these barbarians, suffering at their hands and for their sakes much persecution. He was ordained deacon and priest, and was ultimately made a bishop. He travelled over the whole of Ireland founding monasteries and filling the country with churches and schools of piety and learning.
Animated by a spirit of perfect charity and humility, he demonstrated not only the faith but the spirit of his Master, and the result of his forty years of labour was to change Ireland from a land of barbarism into a seat of learning and piety, so that it received the t.i.tle of the Island of Saints, and was for centuries a land of mental and spiritual light.
On the Union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with Ireland in the year 1801, the following notice was issued by Royal Authority:--"Proclamation, George R.--Whereas by the First Article of the Articles of Great Britain and Ireland it was declared: That the said Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland should upon this day, being the First Day of January, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and One, for ever after be united into One Kingdom, by the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: and that the Royal Style and t.i.tles appertaining to the Imperial Crown of the said United Kingdom and its Dependencies, and also the Ensigns Armorial, Flags, and Banners thereof, should be such as We, by our Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of the said United Kingdom should appoint: We have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to appoint and declare that our Royal Style and t.i.tles shall henceforth be accepted, taken, and used as the same set forth in Manner and Form following: Georgius Tertius, Dei Gratia, Britannarium Rex, Fidei Defensor; and in the English Tongue by these words: George the Third, by the Grace of G.o.d of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith; and that the Arms or Ensigns Armorial of the said United Kingdom shall be Quarterly: first and fourth, England: second, Scotland: third, Ireland: and it is Our Will and Pleasure that there shall be borne thereon on an escutcheon of pretence, the Arms of Our Domains in Germany, ensigned with the Electoral Bonnet:[39] And that the Union Flag shall be Azure, the Crosses Saltire of St. Andrew and St. Patrick Quarterly, per Saltire counterchanged Argent and Gules: the latter fimbriated of the second, surmounted by the Cross of St. George of the third, fimbriated as the Saltire." {53}
The heralds who devised the new flag of the extended Union, Fig. 90, have been subjected to a very considerable amount of adverse criticism,[40] but no one has really been able to suggest a better plan than theirs. It will be noted in the ill.u.s.tration and in every Union flag that is made, that the red Cross of St. Patrick, Fig. 93, is not in the centre of the white Cross, Fig. 92, of St. Andrew. The scarlet Cross of St. George is equally fringed on either side by the white border or fimbriation that represents the original white field, Fig. 91, on which it was placed, and on the addition of the white cross or saltire of St. Andrew on its field of blue, Fig. 92, it fitted in very happily. When, however, another X-like cross had to be provided for, on the admission of Ireland to the Union, a difficulty at once arose. As the Irish Cross would, according to all rule and fairness, be of the same width on the joint flag as that of St. Andrew, the result of placing the second or red X over the first white one would be to entirely obliterate the latter. Even then the Irish Cross would not be rightly rendered, as it should be on a white ground, and by this method it would be on a blue one, while if we placed the Irish Cross on that of St. Andrew, but left a thin line of white on either side, St. Andrew"s Cross would still be obliterated, as the thin fimbriation of white would be the just due of St. Patrick, and would not stand for St. Andrew at all. Besides, Scottish indignation would not unjustly be aroused at the idea that their n.o.ble white cross should become a mere edging to the symbol of St. Patrick.
Hence the somewhat awkward-looking compromise that breaks the continuity of direction of the arms of the red cross of Ireland by its portions being thrown out of the centre of the white oblique bands, so that in each portion the crosses of Ireland and Scotland are clearly distinguished from each other. This compromise notwithstanding, no more effective or beautiful flag unfolds itself the round world over than the Union flag of Great Britain and Ireland.
The crosses might have been quartered as we see them in Fig. 80, but it is clearly better to preserve the idea of the unity and blend all three crosses into one composition. No criticism or objection has ever come from Ireland as to the Union flag, but even so lately as 1853 the Scotch renewed their grievance against the Cross of St. Andrew being placed behind that of St. George, "and having a red stripe run through the arms thereof, for which there is no precedent in law or heraldry." If ever an Irishman cared to hunt up a grievance, surely here is one at last--the cross of his patron saint "a red stripe"! {54}
When the Union flag is flown, it should always be as we have drawn it in Fig. 90, with the broad white stripe nearest to the head of the flagstaff.
It would be quite possible, our readers will see, on a little study of the matter, to turn it with the red stripe uppermost; but this, as we have indicated, is incorrect; and, trivial as the matter may appear, there is a right and a wrong in it, and the point must not be overlooked.
Many suggestions at the time of the Union were made by divers writers in the public prints, such as the _Gentleman"s Magazine_, and the like. One version preserved the flag of the first Union, Fig. 73, but placed in the centre a large green circle having within it the golden harp of the Emerald Isle; but this is objectionable, as it brings green on red, which is heraldically false, and as Ireland has a cross as well as England and Scotland, it seems more reasonable to keep the whole arrangement in harmony. Another version, and by no means a bad one, is shown in Fig. 89, where each cross is distinct from the two others. This appeared in the _Gentleman"s Magazine_ for March 20th, 1803, and, like all the other suggestions, good, bad, and indifferent, suffered from the fatal objection that it saw the light when the whole matter was already settled and any alteration scarcely possible.
In view of the changes from the simple Cross of St. George to its union later on with that of St. Andrew, and later on still the union of both with that of St. Patrick, it is sufficiently evident that Campbell"s stirring appeal to the mariners of England to defend the flag that for a thousand years has braved the battle and the breeze, however excellent in spirit, does not fit in with the literal facts, though we would not willingly change it for such a version as
Ye mariners of England, That guard our native seas: Whose flag has braved since eighteen-one, The battle and the breeze.
The "Queen"s Regulations" are very precise as to the hoisting of the flag at the various home and foreign stations and fortresses. Some few of these have the Royal Standard for use on Royal Anniversaries and State occasions only, and these flags are issued in two sizes--either twenty-four by twelve feet, or twelve by six feet--according to the importance of the position; thus Dover, Plymouth, and the Tower of London, for example, have the larger size. In like manner the Union Flag is of two sizes: twelve by six feet, or six by three feet. These flags at the various stations are either hoisted on anniversaries only, or on Sundays in addition, or else daily; thus Dover, besides its Standard, has a Union flag, twelve by six, for special occasions, and another, six by three, {55} which is hoisted daily. Our foreign stations, Bermuda, Cape of Good Hope, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Halifax, St. Helena, and so forth, are all equally rigidly provided for in Regulations. There is no option anywhere in the matter. A particular fortress has to fly a particular flag of a particular size on a particular day.
The white ensign, Fig. 95, is the distinguishing flag of the Royal Navy. It is hoisted at the peak of all vessels in commission, or in such other conspicuous position of honour as their rig or (as in the case of some ironclads) absence of rig will permit. It is a large white flag, having upon it the Cross of St. George, the portion of the flag nearest the mast-head being occupied by the Union.[41]
Until 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into the white, the blue, and the red squadrons, distinguished by the flags shown in Figs. 95, 96, and 97, but this arrangement, though it had lasted for over two hundred years,[42] was found to have many inconveniences. It was very puzzling to foreigners, and it was necessary that each vessel should have three sets of colours, so as to be able to hoist the orthodox flag for the squadron in which, for the time being, it might be placed. It was also a difficulty that peaceful merchantmen were carrying a red ensign, Fig. 97, exactly similar to the war flag of the vessels of the red squadron. It was inconvenient in action, too; hence, Nelson at Trafalgar ordered the whole of his fleet to hoist the white ensign. An Order of Council, dated October 18th, 1864, put an end to this use of differing flags, declaring that henceforth the white ensign alone should be the flag of the Royal Navy. In the old days the red was the highest, the white the intermediate, and the blue the third in rank and dignity.
Her Majesty"s ships, when at anchor in home ports and roads, hoist their colours at 8 o"clock in the morning from March 25th to September 20th, and the rest of the year an hour later; and on foreign stations, at either of these hours as the commanding officer shall direct; and either abroad or at home they remain flying throughout the day until sunset.[43] When at sea, on pa.s.sing, meeting, {56} joining or parting from any other of Her Majesty"s ships or on falling in with any other ship the flag is hoisted, and also when in sight of land, and especially when pa.s.sing any fort, battery, lighthouse, or town.
When salutes are fired on the occasion of a foreign national festival, such as the birthday of the sovereign, the flag of the nation in question is hoisted at the main during the salute and for such further time as the war ships of such nation are be-flagged, but if none are present, then their flag remains up till sunset. Should a British war vessel arrive at any foreign fortified port, the flag of the foreign nation is hoisted at the main during the exchange of salutes.
It is a rank offence for any vessel to fly any ensign or pendant similar to those used in the Royal Navy. It will at once be boarded by any officer of Her Majesty"s Service, the offending colours seized, and the vessel reported. The penalty for the offence is a very heavy one.
The admiral has as a flag the white flag with the Cross of St. George thereon, Fig. 91, and this must be displayed at the main top-gallant mast-head, since both the vice and rear-admirals are ent.i.tled to fly a similar flag, but the former of these displays his from the fore, and the latter from the mizen top-gallant mast-head; it being not the flag alone but the position of it that is distinctive of rank. The commodore"s broad pendant is a very similar flag, but it tapers slightly, and is swallow-tailed.
The "Naval Discipline Act," better known as "The Articles of War,"
commences with the true and n.o.ble words--"It is on the Navy, under the Good Providence of G.o.d, that our Wealth, Prosperity, and Peace depend," and we may trust that the glorious traditions of this great service may be maintained to the full as effectually under the White Ensign as in any former period for the defence of
"This royal throne of kings, this scepter"d isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise; This fortress built by nature for herself, Against infection, and the hand of war; This happy breed of men, this little world; This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands; This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."
The blue ensign, Fig. 96, is the flag of the Royal Naval Reserve, and may be flown by any merchant vessels that comply with the {57} Admiralty conditions respecting that service. Such vessels must be commanded by officers of the Reserve, and at least one-third of their crew must belong to it: they then, the structural conditions being satisfactory, receive a Government subvention and an Admiralty Warrant to fly the blue ensign.
Officers commanding Her Majesty"s ships, meeting with ships carrying the blue ensign, are authorised to go on board them at any convenient opportunity and see that these conditions are strictly carried out, provided that they are of superior rank to the officers of the Royal Naval Reserve. The men of the Reserve receive an annual retainer and drill pay.
The number of men in the Reserve, at the time we write these lines, is 10,600 in the first cla.s.s and 10,800 in the second. The first cla.s.s Reserve is composed of the men on the long voyage ships, the second being the fishermen and coasting crews. In addition to this there are some 3,000 engineers and stokers, and some 1,500 or so of officers, all equally prepared to rally to the pennant and to take their place in the national defence.
This utilisation of the faster vessels of the Mercantile Marine as cruisers in war time has seriously engaged the attention of the Admiralty. The Government gives an annual subsidy, and then claims the right to the vessel at a fixed charge in case of emergency. Such vessels would be of immense service in time of war in many ways: for scouting, for transporting troops, and for engaging such of the enemy as she felt fairly a match for. When, some few years ago, it seemed as though war with Russia was imminent, the _Ma.s.silia_ and the _Rosetta_ of the Peninsula and Oriental Company"s fleet were put in commission by telegraph at Sydney and Hong Kong respectively.
These vessels were provided at once with warlike stores, and were at gun practice off the ports referred to a few hours after the receipt of instructions, and ready to go anywhere. This Company, during the Crimean War, carried over sixty thousand men to the scene of operations, and during the Indian Mutiny, the war in the Soudan, and all other possible occasions, has rendered the greatest aid to the State. The _Teutonic_ and the _Majestic_, of the White Star Line, each carry twelve Armstrong guns, and could either of them land two thousand infantry at Halifax in five days, or at Bombay in fourteen days, or at Hong Kong in twenty-one; and many other armed cruisers of the Mercantile Marine, that we need not stay to particularise, could do as much, and as effectively, flying the Blue Ensign as worthily as those we have named.
"Little England! Great in story!
Mother of immortal men!
Great in courage! Great in glory!
Dear to Freedom"s tongue and pen!
{58} If the world combine to brave thee, English hearts will dare the fight, English hands will glow to save thee, Strong for England and the right!"[44]
The Red Ensign, represented in Fig. 97, is the special flag of the ordinary merchantman. "The Red Ensign"--lays down the "Merchant Shipping (Colours) Act"--"usually worn by merchant ships, without any defacement or modification whatsoever, is hereby declared to be the proper national colour of all ships and boats belonging to any subject of Her Majesty, except in the case of Her Majesty"s ships or boats, or in the case of any other ship or boat for the time being allowed to wear any other national colours, in pursuant of a Warrant from Her Majesty or from the Admiralty."
This Act goes on to say that any ship belonging to any subject of the Queen shall, on a signal being made to her by one of Her Majesty"s ships, or on entering or leaving any foreign port, hoist the red ensign, and if of fifty tons gross tonnage or upwards, on entering or leaving any British port also, or incur a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds. A merchantman may also fly the Union Jack from the bowsprit, but if so the flag, as in Fig. 104, must have a broad white border.
The earliest form of red ensign is seen in Fig. 66. In a picture at Hampton Court, representing the embarkation of William of Orange for England, in the year 1688, his ship is shown as wearing two flags, one a red one with St. George"s Cross in the canton, as in Fig. 66, while the other, also red, has the Union Flag in the canton. We get, therefore, a regular sequence of red ensigns: that with St. George"s Cross alone in the corner next the masthead; that with the Union of St. George and St. Andrew--this picture at Hampton Court being the earliest example known of its use; and, thirdly, that of to-day with the crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick.
Some little degree of flag-lore is valuable not only to the soldier, the seaman, or the traveller, but to everyone. For want of this knowledge, ludicrous and serious mistakes are often made. Discussing these matters with a man of good general knowledge, we found that he had a notion that there were two kinds of "Union Jack," one, that had most red in it, being the Army flag; while the other, in which blue preponderated, was the flag of the Navy! Outside a large provincial theatre we saw a conspicuous notice indicating that the piece then running was ent.i.tled "The Old Flag." To emphasise this was a picture of a square of British linesmen surrounded by {59} Zulus, while in the centre of the square rose the Royal Standard! As a set-off to this we saw, not far off, a public house called the "Royal Standard," flying from its roof the white Ensign! A friend of ours brought home for his son a really capital toy model of an ironclad, with turrets, ram, fighting tops, etc., and yet flying the red ensign of the harmless merchantman!
At a church we occasionally pa.s.s, the living being in the gift of the Queen, the Royal Standard is hoisted on such Church festivals as Christmas Day, while at other times, for no apparent reason, the white Ensign is subst.i.tuted--the special flag of the War Navy. Anyone venturing to point out to the authorities thereof that, as the old church could scarcely take up its position as a unit in our fighting fleet--having, in fact, quite another mission in the world--the special flag of the Royal Navy was not the most appropriate, would probably derive from the interview the impression that, after all, to the churchwardens a flag was a flag, and that it was quite possible to make a mountain out of a molehill.
To one who knows anything about it, the eruption of silk bunting, and baser fabrics innumerable that comes to the fore on any occasion of national rejoicing, is a thing of horror, not merely in the festal disfigurements of the patchwork counterpane or cotton pockethandkerchief type, seeing that to some people any coloured piece of stuff that will blow out in the wind is a valid decoration, but in the painful ignorance shown in the treatment of recognised ensigns. Some little time ago, for instance, we found ourselves in a town gaily beflagged and radiant in bunting on the occasion of a great popular rejoicing. The Royal Standard, betokening the presence in the house of some member of the Royal Family, was flying with a profusion that made it impossible to believe that all the people displaying it could be entertaining such distinguished guests. As a set-off, others were decking their houses with red flags, the symbols of revolution and bloodshed, or with yellow ones, leaving us to infer that such houses were to be avoided as nests of yellow fever or such-like deadly infection. The Stars and Stripes of the United States were, in almost every case, upside down, as indeed were many others; a thing that, except for the ignorance that was its excuse, might be considered as an insult to the various Foreign Powers, while the repeated reversal of the red ensign implied a signal of distress.
The good folks really meant no harm to anybody, and they were quite happy to believe, as they strolled in their thousands up the leading streets of the town, that their decorations were a great success. At the same time, a little more knowledge would have done them no harm. As it is an insult to hoist one national flag below another, it is a rigid law that in all official decorations national flags may not be so placed, but {60} enthusiastic and irresponsible burgesses, in the depth of their ignorance, ignore all such considerations of international courtesy, and in the length of a short street commit sufficient indiscretion to give umbrage to all mankind. It may be said that
"Happiness too swiftly flies, Thought would destroy their Paradise"--
that "he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow," that
"From ignorance our comfort flows, The only wretched are the wise"--
but despite all this philosophy, that "where ignorance is bliss "tis folly to be wise," no one is the worse for knowing something about the matter with which he is dealing; and if proverbial philosophy is to count for anything in the matter, a not inappropriate moral may be quoted as to the rushing in of fools where their betters feel a judicious modesty. The confidence of knowledge is better than the confidence of ignorance, and would certainly, in street flagging, produce a more satisfactory result.
We have in Plate VI. some few examples of these vagaries from sketches that we made at the time. Fig. 45, if it had not got the Union in the canton, would nearly be the Danish flag, Fig. 225, but the addition of the canton makes it sheer foolishness. Fig. 46 is a good example of the notion that anything will do if it be only bright enough: it is a mere piece of patchwork, not by any means the only one in evidence. Figs. 47 and 50 explain themselves; it is evident that in one case the decorator started with a white ensign and in the other with a blue one, and then, feeling that they were a little small and insignificant looking, tacked on a goodly amount of red material to bring them up to their notion of what would be sufficiently conspicuous in size. Fig. 48 is very quaint: there is a notion of the white ensign hovering about it, but the Royal Standard employed as a canton in one quarter is outside all the proprieties, and in any case all the arm of the cross that one would expect to see below the canton is absorbed by it. The addition of the two red tails to the Royal Standard in Fig. 49 is not by any means legitimate, while in Fig. 51 the Royal Standard is made the canton of a red ensign, and, as if this were not bad enough in itself, the whole thing is flown upside down. Many of the so-called flags had no semblance to anything, some were strange and abnormal tricolors; others, chequers: one, we remember, was deep crimson, with a broad bordering round three of its edges of light blue. Whatever opportunity of going wrong seemed to be at all feasible appeared to be eagerly seized by some well-meaning burgess, so that the result was a perfect museum of examples of how not to do it, and therefore of immense interest.
{61}
CHAPTER III.
Army Flags--the Queen"s Colour--the Regimental Colour--the Honours and Devices--the Flag of the 24th Regiment--Facings--Flag of the King"s Own Borderers--What the Flag Symbolises--Colours of the Guards--the a.s.saye Flag--Cavalry Flags--Presentation of Colours--Chelsea College Chapel--Flags of the Buffs in Canterbury Cathedral--Flags of the Scottish Regiments in St. Giles"s Cathedral--Burning of Rebel Flags by the Hangman--Special Flags for various Official Personages--Special Flags for different Government Departments--The Lord High Admiral--The Mail Flag--White Ensign of the Royal Yacht Squadron--Yacht Ensigns and Burgees--House or Company Flags--How to express Colours with Lines--the Allan Tricolor--Port Flags--the British Empire--the Colonial Blue Ensign and Pendant--the Colonial Defence Act--Colonial Mercantile Flag--Admiralty Warrant--Flag of the Governor of a Colony--the Green Garland--the Arms of the Dominion of Canada--Badges of the various Colonies--Daniel Webster on the Might of England--Bacon on the Command of the Ocean.