The lesson intended to be taught by the position of the crosses is plain. The kingdom of Scotland had entered into the union with England before the kingdom of Ireland, and, therefore, as being the senior, the white cross of St. Andrew is given the precedence over the red cross of St. Patrick, but this, in its turn, is given the upper position in the remaining quarters. The utmost care must, therefore, be taken to see that the Union Jack is correctly raised on the flagstaff, with the broad white of the St. Andrew uppermost. When the Red Ensign, or any similarly quartered flag, is reversed on the flagstaff--that is to say, displayed with the Union down--it becomes a signal of distress. Union Jacks are often seen hoisted upside down (Pl. VII., fig. 1). No more distressing act can be done to the Union Jack than to thus carelessly reverse its crosses by putting the wrong end next the staff, with the broad white saltire down, nor greater indignity be done to its supporters than by thus reversing the correct positions of their national Jacks. Flags are sometimes to be seen (Pl. VII., fig. 2) in which the white border around the red cross of St. George is reduced to the same narrow size as the border of St. Patrick, and thus the white ground of the Jacks of England and Ireland has been wiped out. [Illustration: PLATE VII. 1 PRESENT UNION JACK UPSIDE DOWN 2 JACK WRONGLY MADE 3 JACK WRONGLY MADE] Still more often the red cross of St. Patrick is set full in the centre of the diagonal cross, and thus the cross of St. Andrew is completely expunged, for its white is reduced to only two narrow white margins on both sides of the Irish red cross. The broad white of St. Andrew has thus been entirely lost. (Pl. VII., fig. 2). Such errors as have been mentioned cannot be too greatly lamented, or be too carefully avoided, for by them dishonour is done to the memory of the nations whose prowess has ennobled their national emblems, and the beautiful story of the Union Jack is utterly marred; for the positions of the crosses and borders cease to tell the consecutive history of the empire nation whose combined union emblem they form. In Pl. VII., fig. 3, a further error will be noted, that the opposite ends of the combined saltires are not in continuous line with one another, as in the correctly made Jack (Pl. V., fig. 3). This has occurred from the centre lines of the combined saltires having been drawn directly from the inner corners of St. George to the outer corners of the oblong flag. We have seen that as the space of the one saltire of 1707 was to be divided equally between the two saltires of 1801, the two ends of the saltire should be in line, and the division run equally through the centre. [Illustration: 53. SQUARE UNION JACK.] In view of these errors it may be well to give some simple instructions by which the flags may always be correctly made, and which are in accordance with the Admiralty regulations.