By virtue of his office, a Governor-General represents the person of the sovereign of the empire in the local government in his portion of the British realm, and is the connecting link between the mother parliament in Great Britain and the parliament in the colony. He can influence but does not direct, he can advise but does not determine, for as has been well said of the British Monarchy: "Le Roi regne mais ne gouverne pas"—The King reigns, but does not govern. As in the parent kingdom the Sovereign is secured in impartiality by the grace of birth, so in the daughter realm the Governor-General is dissociated from all local entanglements or party feelings by virtue of being selected for his particular abilities and appointed from another portion of the Empire by the central source of honour and power. The distinctive flag (65) of the Governor-General of Canada is the "Union Jack," having on its centre the arms of Canada, surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves, the whole being surmounted by a royal crown.

The flag of the governor or administrator in all other British colonies and dependencies is also the Union Jack, having upon it the arms or badge of the colony on a white shield, surrounded by a green garland of laurel leaves, surmounted by a crown.

In 1870, as a special honour, the imperial sanction was given to Canada to place a garland of maple leaves—its national emblem[168]—instead of the laurel upon the flag of its Governor-General.

The Lieutenant-Governors of the Provinces of Canada also wear the Union Jack as their distinctive flag, bearing upon it the arms of their respective Provinces, surrounded by a similar garland of maple leaves; but as they are appointed by the Government of the Dominion, and not by the King, the garland is not surmounted by a crown (66).

In this governor-general's flag, with its royal crown, its maple leaves, and Canadian coat-of-arms, as also in the lieutenant-governors' flags, backed up by the Union Jack, is symbolized the existence of British constitutional government in Canada. In this the reigning King or Queen is the whole Canadian people, and the Premier and his Cabinet are the representatives of the political party for the time being in power.[169] The Cabinet is responsible to Parliament for the policy which they introduce, and for which they, as well as all the other members of the Parliament, are immediately answerable to the electors, who are the original source of their power.

This modern flexible system of responsible government in Canada, so closely in touch with the people, in contrast with the irresponsible and rigid system in the United States, was neatly brought out by Lord Dufferin during his term as Governor-General of Canada, in a speech he delivered at Toronto, in 1874, after his visit to Chicago:

It is, then, easily seen why Canadians and our brother Britons love their Union Jack. It is the signal of parliamentary government by British constitutional principles. It represents progress and modern ideas—the rule of the people, for the people, by the people, through their unbiased King; and, therefore, it is the evidence of their affectionate and loyal allegiance to that monarchy and system of government under whose benign sway the colonies have advanced, and Canada, above all other countries on the continent of America, is the land of the self-governed and the free.

These are the liberties which the Union Jack signals in all parts of the British Empire to all the varied nations, with varied tongues, which have come beneath its sway. It is the consciousness of such liberty and the enjoyment of such equal rights that impelled Canada, Australia, New Zealand and all the colonies of the empire to send their sons to the field of contest in South Africa as a free-will offering to defend their fellow-men and to spread the blessings of Liberty and Freedom to the peoples of that continent.

From this has come that most recent acknowledgment of its incomparable liberties that the peoples of South Africa, the Boers of Dutch and French descent, so recently warring with their British neighbours of Cape Colony and Natal, have now[170] united together and, meeting as brothers, have raised it as the union sign of their united liberty in the fourth[171] daughter Parliament of the Britains beyond the seas in our united empire.

The world over it is the free-will Flag of Liberty.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE UNION JACK AS A SINGLE FLAG.

This Union Jack, so spread abroad, is in its single form a declaration and an evidence of British nationality, and is raised every day from sunrise to sunset over every one of the garrisons of the British peoples which surround the world. It is the flag which is raised and saluted whenever formal possession of any new territory is taken in the name of the Sovereign of Great Britain, and was thus raised at Khartoum, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria, to signify the success of the British arms and the accession of British rule, just as its predecessors had been in Newfoundland, on the shores of America, and all other colonies and conquests around the seas when each was first occupied.

Some considerable discussions have taken place as to whether it should be called the "Union Jack" or the "Union Flag."

This latter is the name usually given in the Official Regulations respecting the official use of a three-crossed flag of this description. There is in the navy the rank of "Admiral of the Fleet," corresponding to the rank of Field Marshal in the army. The Admiralty Regulations state that the proper flag of an Admiral of the Fleet is the "Union Flag," to be worn at the top masthead, and an Admiralty memorandum further states: "A Jack is a flag to be flown only on the 'Jack' staff, i.e., a staff on the bowsprit or forepart of the ship."

The difference in name of the same flag when carried on a ship would appear to indicate a difference in size appropriate to the different positions.

In the order in Council[172] directing what flags are to be used by diplomatic and consular officers, it is stated: "The flag to be used by Her Majesty's consular officers ashore to distinguish their residences is the Union flag."

There is, however, another official name of this flag given in official instructions which must be noticed.

The Military Regulations (1899) order to be displayed afloat, by generals and other military officers commanding stations, as their distinguishing flags, "the Union, bearing in the centre as a distinguishing mark the Royal Initials, surrounded by a garland on a blue shield and surmounted by a crown." For Commissioners and Consuls-general, "the Union, with the Royal Arms in the centre, on a white shield, surrounded by a green garland."

This same name "Union" is also given in directions respecting this flag when included as a part of a larger flag.

The Admiralty Instructions directing what Ensign is to be worn by all ships of the Royal Navy in commission state that they shall "bear a White Ensign with the Red St. George's cross, and the Union in the upper canton."

The Foreign Office Regulations direct that "consular officers when embarked in boats or other vessels shall use the Blue Ensign with the Royal Arms in the centre of the fly of the flag, that is, in the centre of that between the Union and the end of the flag."

Many other instances could be quoted, but these are typical and sufficient.

Three names are used—the "Union," "Union Flag," and "Union Jack," all describing the same flag.

It is interesting to note the transition of the names. Under Charles I., in 1634, it was described as "the Union Flagge"; under Charles II., in 1663, "His Majesty's Jack, commonly called the Union Jack." The usage of the name Jack had thus early and largely spread, and it is further shown by a letter written by Burchett, the Secretary of the Admiralty, in 1695, regarding the flag carried by the Earl of Pembroke in the expedition against Cadiz, in which he says: "There was some doubt as to whether his Lordship should have borne at the maintop masthead the Royal Standard of England or the Union, or, more properly speaking in maritime phrase, the Jack flag commonly worn by those who have under the Lord High Admiral been appointed Admirals of the Fleet."[173]

It is not surprising, therefore, that under Queen Anne, in 1707, it is again described as "Our Jack, commonly called the Union Jack."

This name of the flag had, in fact, become so general that it had affectionately passed onward to give its name to the gallant sailors who bore it, as is instanced in nautical ballads:

Used thus for centuries by sailors in song and on shore, although the name given in the proclamation of George III., 1801, was the "Union Flagge," the ancient and loving name of Union Jack has always prevailed among its upholders.

In the issue of official instructions there is propriety and, perhaps, necessity for using the different names, but they all contain the dominant name of "Union," and describe the same flag in its single form—the two-crossed or, in its succession, three-crossed Jack of united nationality.

There is another and distinctive use of the Union Jack. Surrounded by a white border of one-fifth of its width, it becomes a "Pilot Jack," and in this form becomes the official signal for a pilot, and is so used on all British ships, merchantmen as well as men-of-war, in all parts of the world. This white-bordered Jack is only appropriately to be used for this special signal service.

The restrictions given in the early proclamations as to the flying of the Union Jack at sea, and the official instructions as to its use as a special distinction on shore, particularly for military garrisons and official residences, have given rise to questionings as to the right of its being used by all British private citizens on land. Their authority to use it afloat has been clearly defined, but not so clearly that of their right on shore, although such has been the usage and practice of centuries.

The proclamation of Queen Anne declared the flag which conjoyning the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, had been approved to be "used in all flags and ensigns both at sea and land," and then proceeded to state restrictions only as to their particular using as insignia at sea, where as signs of authority and signals on ships such restrictions were unquestionably necessary.

No restrictions were placed upon their use on land, and thus all citizens of the United Kingdom were given authority to use on land "Our Jack, commonly called the Union Jack," the loyal usage which had grown up under its predecessors being confirmed. This right was not in any way changed at the time of the creation of the present Union Jack, which, in 1801, succeeded it, and so to the first century of loyal and common usage have been further added two centuries of loyal right.

In more recent times additional interesting evidence and authority have been given, both as to the name of this flag and its use by private citizens. In reply to an enquiry in 1902 by the Vicar of Folkestone, England, as to the propriety of the display of the Royal Standard upon his church at the time of the coronation of His Majesty Edward VII., Lord Knollys, Private Secretary to the King, in reply, informed him that the Standard should not so be used, but "you can always fly the Union Jack."[175] The name and the propriety of the use of the Jack by private citizens in the United Kingdom was graciously confirmed.

As there had been considerable discussion as to what flags were proper to be used on land in Canada, the writer addressed Lord Knollys, quoting the previous letter, and stating the particular attention given to the flying of flags in this and the outer realms of the Empire, and received in reply, that "the Union Jack, being the national flag, may be flown by British subjects, private or official, on land."[176]

The Colonial Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet, in reply to a question in the House of Commons (1908), said that the Union Jack could be flown by every citizen of the Empire, as well as on Government offices and public buildings; that the Union Jack should be regarded as the national flag, and undoubtedly might be hoisted on land by all His Majesty's subjects.

Authority has also been since given by the "Home Office" in England, stating "that the Union Jack is to be regarded as the national flag, and may be used generally by British subjects on land".[177]

The three crosses of the three nations whose successive unions it first typified, have since expanded far beyond the United Kingdom of the parent isles.

The sons of the Kingdoms have in centuries of prowess carried it far afield, and bringing distant continents beneath its realm, have built up the Dominions beyond the seas in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the myriad islands of the oceans, so that it has become the Union Jack of the British Empire.

A British subject, wherever he may be on British soil, may, therefore, always use the Union Jack.

It has already been noted that when flags are to be employed for official purposes it is desirable that definite regulations shall be issued for their use. In Canada we raise the Union Jack on our Parliament and Legislative Buildings, as indicating the presence of Government under the British Constitution; by Parliaments derived from and following the precedents of the original Union Parliaments, and on our law courts, as sign of the administration of British law.

To emphasize and inculcate the world-wide duties that this flag proclaims, the Union Jack is raised over the Public Schools, so that the newcomers to our lands from other lands and other nationalities may know that they and their children have come to enjoy with us allegiance to King and country, the securities of British protection of person and property, and the rights and privileges of British citizenship, which loyal allegiance to it conveys.

Public education in Canada is under the charge of each of the Provincial Governments, and in Manitoba, Ontario, British Columbia and the Maritime Provinces the single Union Jack is the flag which has been instructed to be officially raised daily over the Public Schools.

Whatever flags may be used for other purposes and on other occasions, it is manifest that to be raised over schools this widely-spread national Union Jack is the most fitting; telling the children, as it does, the duties and relations they bear to the other members of their Empire, and leading them to study, not only the history of the continent in which they live, but to go far back into the centuries and learn the growth of the glorious liberties which this flag has brought them, and the unity which its colours proclaim.

The patriotic celebration of "Empire Bay," which first was originated in the schools in Canada,[178] has extended through the schools of the Empire. On this day, as well as on other notable days, appropriate addresses are given, this Union Jack, the national flag, is reverently raised and saluted, and the National Anthem and patriotic songs sung by the scholars. It has been recorded that in the Public Schools in Canada, Australasia, New Zealand and Great Britain over 8,000,000 children united in this celebration in 1908, and it is still fast extending.

It is an inspiration for ourselves to have it thus brought to mind that our Union flag floats on every sea, and that on one-fifth of the earth's surface it is hailed as their union emblem by four hundred millions of fellow-patriots, in every clime, of many languages, and all religious faiths, each dearly loving their own native land and devoted to its welfare, but united in loyal brotherhood with their fellow, yet far-distant, Britons under One King, One Flag, One Empire.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE JACKS IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE ENSIGNS.

In its single form the Union Jack has these special duties, which have been noted, but combined in the upper corner of a larger flag it creates a general flag of the nation, and thus environed becomes a Union Ensign.

Although usage has sometimes used the name, yet it is a misnomer to call a flag of this larger combined form a Union Jack, this being the proper name solely for the flag containing only the three island crosses.

The distinction in the names arises from the early days when a smaller flag—bearing a national emblem or the crest or coat-of-arms of a liege lord—had been inserted in a larger flag. This larger flag, bearing the emblem or insignia of its wearers, was termed an "Ensign."

Place our smaller union flag in the upper corner of a larger flag, and it there becomes the sign of identity, of allegiance, and of the union of British patriotism with the special story which is told by the colourings and form of the other parts, or fly, of such Ensign.

PLATE VIII

The Union Jack was first quartered in the upper canton of three flags, the Red, White and Blue ensigns. These flags have arisen from the flags which were used of old to distinguish the ships of the respective squadrons into which British fleets were divided.

Lord Lisle, in the time of Henry VIII., divided his fleet at Shoreham in 1545 into three squadrons, the Vanwarde, Battle and Wing, corresponding in their position to the van, centre and rear.[179] These were the germ of the red, white and blue squadrons of the seventeenth century.

There were at that time only two distinguishing flags used in the navy, the Royal Standard and the St. George Jack.

The admirals hoisted their flags in accordance with their rank upon their flagships, in 1545, in the following order:[180]

The other ships of their respective squadrons displayed:

Eighty years afterwards, in the time of Charles I., we learn of another change, when in 1627 the Duke of Buckingham divided his fleet into squadrons at the Island of Rhe, each designated according to the flag it carried:

The admirals' flags were, in 1627:

It was into the upper corner of these red, blue and white flags of the squadrons that the single-cross St. George's English Jack was placed, in 1649, when the "Commonwealth Ensign" (Pl. IV., fig. 1) was formed and the red, white and blue ensigns of the navy first appeared.

Difficulties must have been caused by the fact that from the "Restoration," in 1660, the English merchantmen were, without authority, using the Ensign Red at the stern in exactly the same form as the flag of the red squadron, and still more when the general use of the Red Ensign on all ships had been officially authorized by Queen Anne in 1707.

At first the admirals holding the highest position had carried the red, but afterwards the seniority had been changed.

A rank of admiral, vice-admiral and rear-admiral was appointed for each colour. Promotion was made from the rank of captain to that of rear-admiral of the blue, which was the lowest, and upward through the red to admiral of the white, which had become the highest rank.

There were then nine ranks of admirals carrying the three ensigns:

As merchant ships, which were all flying the red ensign, increased in size, it became increasingly difficult for foreigners to distinguish these from the ships of the Royal Navy—a difficulty which was further intensified for them by the fact that a squadron of the Royal Navy might be sailing on one coast under the blue ensign, while another squadron was sailing under the red, and yet another under the white, according to the rank of the admirals of their respective squadrons.

Confusion and possibility of mistakes in identification in action was sometimes caused by the ships of one squadron becoming intermingled with those of another. Nelson solved this difficulty by directing that only the white ensign, which was the ensign of his own squadron,[182] should be used on the ships of all the squadrons at the battle of Trafalgar.

The three ensigns, with their successive one, two and three-crossed Jacks, had continued to be used in these varying ways during more than two hundred years, until 1865, when the positions of the three ensigns were separated and distinctive duties allotted to each.[183] The number of the rank of admirals was at the same time reduced to three—admiral, vice-admiral and rear-admiral. All of these were to fly, as they still do, the white ensign at the stern, their seniority being indicated by the position of the St. George Jack at the mast head.[184] These ranks are in addition to the rank of Admiral of the fleet, which confers the right to wear the Union Jack instead of the St. George.

The ensigns were described in the Order and directed to be used as follows:

The White Ensign (Pl. VIII., fig. 2).—A white flag, with a St. George cross through the whole flag and the Union Jack in the upper canton, to be used at sea only by ships of the Royal Navy or by yacht clubs to which special license has been given.

The Blue Ensign (Pl. VIII., fig. 3).—A blue flag, with the Union Jack in the upper canton, to be used only by ships of the Royal Naval Reserve, or by merchantmen which are commanded by officers of the reserve, and have been duly licensed, or by yacht clubs to which special commission has been granted.

The Red Ensign (Pl. VIII., fig. 1).—A red flag, with a Union Jack in the upper canton, to be used as a national ensign by all British merchantmen.

By the Admiralty Regulations, afterwards issued, instructions are given as to the relative proportions of the parts of these flags.

In the Red and Blue Ensigns the Union Flag in the upper quarter next the staff is to be "in length half the length of the flag, and in width half the width of the flag."

In the White Ensign the Red Cross of St. George, which runs through the whole of the white field, is to be "2-15ths of the width of the flag." The Union is to occupy the upper quarter next the staff, leaving the whole Cross intact. This was virtually adding the Union Jack to the original English Jack of Richard I.

By a special Act it was afterwards more particularly enacted in 1889:

It may be that the Red Ensign, which was the common flag of all the people ashore and afloat and the admiral's flag of highest rank and worn by the merchant ships, in the time of the Dutch wars, was given to the merchantmen in recognition of their great services in winning the supremacy of the sea; that the White Ensign was given to the Royal Navy in recognition and memory of Trafalgar; and the Blue Ensign to the Royal Naval Reserve because they were the rear guard to Her Majesty's ships; but the Union Jack was the binding link between them all, and established their rank and designation as "Union Ensigns."

The Red Ensign, first with its St. George cross under Charles II., afterwards with its two-crossed Union Jack under Queen Anne, and then with its three-crossed Jack, had thus become the national ensign on all British ships at sea, and not being restricted to any particular services, as are the white and blue ensigns, and in its red form, authorized by Queen Anne for use on land, it increased in its usage, and has become the Ensign of the British people on shore as well as afloat.

Whether it be in the "right little, tight little islands" of the old land, or in the greater area of the colonies which stud the globe, the presence of this Union Ensign proclaims the sovereignty of the united nations and the presence and protection of the British Empire.

Thus the three crosses in the Union Jack have ceased to have solely their local meanings, for their story has become merged in the larger significance which their presence now imparts to the several Dominion Union Ensigns as being the sign of this greater British Union.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE UNION ENSIGNS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

A further evolution in the Union flag has come step after step, by which the distinguishing emblems of the colonies have become part, first of the Union Jack, afterwards of the Union ensigns, and then through the red ensign to unite home and colony in one Imperial Union ensign.

In the century of the expansion of Raleigh's "trade command," the governors of the English colonies, principally of those in America, began giving commissions to their local colonial ships, authorizing them to engage in the various free and ready methods by which that trade was being obtained from foreign sources. Some inconvenience seems to have resulted from this practice, as the colonial ships carrying the two-crossed Jack were making prizes and taking trade under the flag which the Old Country merchant ships were directed not to use. Objection was made by the ships sailing from the home ports, and under William III. the matter was taken up.

PLATE IX.

The English Lords Justices in Council considered the question and reported:

"At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 31st day of July, 1701.

Directions were accordingly so issued, and of the instructions transmitted to the governors of the colonies in America originals are extant of those sent to Massachusetts, in 1701, and New York, in 1709. Fig. 56 is from an actual tracing from the drawing of the flag on the margin of the instructions sent to the Governor at Boston.[186] It will be noted that the white escutcheon on the Jack is perfectly plain and without any special distinctive emblem, such as those worn on the escutcheons on the ordnance and other departmental flags.

The white escutcheon of the home departmental flags was thus extended to the Union Jacks used in the colonies, and formed the new and first "colonial flag" (Pl. III., fig. 3).

The Governors, High Commissioners or Administrators of British colonies and dependencies were afterwards authorized to place upon this white escutcheon on the Union Jack the arms or emblem of the colony in which they served. In this way it has come that the arms of Canada, the southern cross constellation of Victoria, the red cross and British lion of New South Wales, the black swan of Western Australia (67), and the other special distinctive emblems in each of the British colonies are now displayed upon the centre of the Union Jacks which form the Governor's flag in each.

In 1865, when Colonial Navies were first established, the vessels of war maintained by the local governments in Australia were authorized to use the blue ensign, with the seal or badge of the colony in the centre of the fly,[187] and thus the escutcheon being transferred from the centre of the Jack to the centre of the "fly," was given another position, and the local stories of the Australian colonies, which established these fleets, became embodied in the British blue ensign.[188]

A similar privilege, although they are not commissioned as vessels of war, was afterwards extended to the "fishery protection" cruisers of Canada, so that these and all other vessels which are owned by the Government of the Dominion carry the blue ensign with the arms of Canada in the centre of the fly.

Authority was also given to all these vessels owned and commissioned by the colonial governments to fly a blue pennant of the same shape as that of the British navy (Fig. 22, page 108), with the white ground and red cross of St. George at the head, but having the fly blue instead of red.[189]

By such successive steps the Imperial idea became attached to one of the ensigns of the British navy.

From the plain white escutcheon in the centre of the colonial Union Jack, 1701, to the special emblem in the fly of the colonial blue ensign, 1865, was a long way, but other steps were yet to be taken.

The vessels owned by the governments of the colonies had thus been given their special British Union flags, but provision had not been made for those owned by private citizens. The plain red ensign has, by authority of Queen Anne, become the national right of all British subjects on all lands as well as on all seas. As the colonies developed in native energy so their merchant shipping increased, and in recognition of this advance, and in order that their ports of origin might be made known, all colonial-owned merchant vessels were accorded, in 1889,[190] the right of wearing, together with the red ensign, an additional flag on which might be shown the distinguishing badge or insignia of their colony, similarly as under James I. direction had been given to raise the separate national Jack of England or of Scotland at the same time as the King's Union Jack. In order to prevent the possibility of mistakes in identification, it was further directed that any flags of this character were to be made in such a way as not to resemble any of the existing flags of the Royal Navy.

In some of the Australian colonies local flags of excellent design had been devised, but these additional flags of entirely separate design were not all that could be desired, for while the special local flag might give expression to the local patriotism represented, there might come with it also an idea of separation, and it did not succeed in expressing the dominant and prevailing sentiment of allegiance to "One Empire, One Flag."

It fell to the lot of the statesmen of Canada, who do not seem to be behindhand in developing new and imperial ideas, to suggest (1890) another step in the history of the ensign.

The merchant shipping of Canada stands fifth in rank in merchant shipping among the nations of the world.[191]

The government ships were authorized to use the blue ensign with the Dominion arms as their distinguishing flag, but as no distinctive flag had been adopted for Canada, her merchant marine used the same plain red ensign as worn by the merchant marine of Great Britain, and Canadian merchant ships were unable to be recognized amidst those of the Mother Country.

In 1892, to meet this requirement, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, on the suggestion of the Canadian Department of Marine, issued a warrant permitting the badge of the arms of Canada to be inserted in the flag of the red ensign as well as in the blue, and this new combined red ensign was by this empowered to be used on board vessels registered in the Dominion of Canada.[192]

Thus was formed the union ensign of Canada. This Canadian ensign (Pl. IX., fig. 1) is the British red ensign, having the Union Jack in the upper corner and the arms of Canada in the fly.[193]

This restriction to its being used only afloat has, like the ancient restriction of the Union Jack, been modified by usage and authorized by permission. Yet it is also to be remembered that the right of the red ensign had been conferred by Queen Anne upon all British citizens whether at sea or on land in all British Dominions, and is rightfully to be raised by all Canadians. The "Dominion Ensign" is the red ensign of the Empire with the insignia of Canada on the broad red of the fly, and, being accorded to Canadians as an evidence of the ownership of their ships, has passed onward to be an evidence of their country over their own homes. As they have the right to use the plain red ensign everywhere, so now they may use its daughter, the Canadian ensign, and although there was at first a restriction as to its use at sea, this has been merged in the more widely extended and general usage on land.