History of the Union Jack and Flags of the EmpireCumberland, Barlow
History
History of the Union Jack and Flags of the Empire
Cumberland, Barlow
Emblems -- Great Britain; Flags -- Great Britain
By a subsequent enactment another point was added to the star, making a
star of seven points,[195] one for each of the States, New South Wales,
Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and
one for the Territories of Papua and Norfolk Island; but the rest of
the ensign remained the same as previously.
[195] Admiralty Warrant, 3rd October, 1908. Colonial Office despatch,
27th October, 1908.
Thus was formed the Australian ensign (Pl. IX., fig. 2).
The Union Ensign of the Dominion of New Zealand contains in the same
way the Union Jack in the upper corner, and a southern constellation of
four stars in the middle of the red fly (Pl. IX., fig. 3).
As the separated colonies of South Africa are now joining together in
a union Parliament under the Union Jack, we may expect another Union
Ensign to be added to the galaxy of these loyal union and native
ensigns.
Like the expansion of the British Constitution to patriot governments
beyond the seas, so has come the extension, step by step, of the old
union flag to the newly-created Dominions. As the spirit of that
constitution has been adapted to the local circumstances in each, so
the red ensign with its Union Jack, which is the embodiment of the
power and glory of the British nation, has been emblazoned with the
local fervour of each young and growing people, who, ardently loving
their new land, yet stand unconquerably in union with the Motherland,
and rejoice at seeing their own emblem set upon the mother flag. Each
such flag tells us its grand story in a way that a national flag ought
to do; for the red ensign of the homeland, with the sign of the colony
added to its folds in these far-off lands, signals to the beholder that
it is an _Imperial Union Ensign of the British Empire_.
These are the union ensigns of the self-governing Dominions of the
outer Empire, which have been adopted in succession in each, as a Union
Parliament for their Dominion has been created, to embrace the several
Provinces or States of their continent, and endowed with powers from
the Union Parliament of the Parent Realm.
As in the sixteenth century the forces of the Percys raised the cross
of St. George in their ensign (Pl. III., fig. 1), to show that
of whatever district they might be they were all _Englishmen_, so the
younger nations of the Britains over the seas raise the Union Jack in
the upper corner of their _Dominion Union Ensigns_ to tell that their
bearers are all _Britons_, sons and daughters of the Family, loyal to
the British Crown.
When the Canadian sees the union crosses displayed on his Canadian
ensign, or the distant brother colonist on that of his colony, it
speaks to each, not only as his own native flag, but yet more as his
sign of brotherhood in an empire wider than his own home, broader than
the continent on which he lives, for it is the visible evidence of his
citizenship in the Empire of Great and Greater Britain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account