The Irish standard., 1895-01-26

pondence II the details OF the English
ensign as displayed at different periods
in the history 81 that country. We some
times seea white ensign flying at the
peak or masthead; then, again, q blue
one aboard Of some ship; upon other oc-
casions red one. This, we: are told, is
in conformity with an old custom. which
prevailed among .nava! men at time
when an Admiral was distinguished by
the color of his flag, or. perhaps, it might
better be put by Saying his rank was in
Dictated by the color. Not only did this
apply tothe flag flying at the masthead
to show shat an Admiral was on bosrd,
but it also applied with equal force to
the national ,lors as displayed at the
peak. =
"One used in those times to hear such
and such an Admiral spoken OF as Admi-
raj of the Red, Admiral of the White, or
the Blue, as the case may be. Nowadays
the flag officers still have distinctive
flags, but they are of the, sane color
white; and the rank is Indicated by che
masthead at which the flag. is flown.
Then, as further distinction, some
countries have stars in the Admiral's
flags, while others have balls or some
similar marks, an Admiral wearing four,
q vice-adm1ral three, and a rear admiral
two, similar insignia appearing also on
the bow of his boat. The white ensign
OF st. George, as tits generally called, is
now flown by all English men of-war
and by yachts OF the Royal Yacht squad
ron. The blue ensign is flown by mas
ters of vessels or owners of yachts who
belong to the Royal Naval Reserve. We
can see this flag flying almost any day in
New York harbor aboard the tranaatlan-
tic liners, as tits now quite the the thing
for ship-captains in the employment Of
first class lines to be members of the
Naval Reserve. The red ensign we see
flying aboard English merchantmen, and
tits this flag that makes American sal
lors so disgusted, as tits found in every
portion Of the world, civilized or uncivil-
lied, whereas it is only here and there, at
very long intervals, that the Stars and
Stripes are seen.
"In all Of these flags there is Union
Jack, which in our own flag is represen-
ted by blue field with a white star for
each State in the Union. In the English
flag, no matter whether tits the red, the
white or the blue, the Jack is of the same
pattern, although it has been changed
from time to time, as England has en-
larged and embraced Scotland and Ire
land. Like our own Union Jack, that of
England has blue ground, and on it are
placed the crosses Of St. George, ST..
Andrew and st. Patrick us representing
England, Scotland and Ireland. The
cross of st. Andrew forms the basis, and
is placed upon the blue field; upon it is
placed the cross Of st. Patrick, and over
it all the CROSS of st. George.
"What is known as the Jack OF 1906,
and which was flown until January l.,
1901, when the Irish Parliament was
united to that of Great Britain, consisted
of St. Georges and St. Andrews crosses
only. 1t was made also on blue field,
and in appearance was like the accomp-
anying cut 1t was adopted owing to
the accession of James the Sixth, Of
Scotland, to the throne of Englas d
under the title of James the First, of
England, in 1903, though the Parliaments
Of England and Scotland we're not unit
ed until May I, 1907
"When Ireland wasincluded, the cross
of St. Patrick was added, and was placed
between that of England and Scotland,
making the Union Jack of the present
day. u
''The original color Of the flag of old
Ireland, so far as it's history can be
traced, was light blue. The ribbon of
the Order of St. Patrick is sky-blue, and
was possibly made so to conform tn the
national color. AT Fontenoy the colors
at the head of the Irish Brigade were
blue, and showed sunburst Sir Ed
ward Burke declared that there was no
warrant, heraldic or other, for the green
flag now generally considered as the
Irish flag In attempting to find a
solution for the adopting of the color
now so generally associated with the
Emerald Isle, a clever Irishman has
suggested that the Irishmen, whose color
was blue, and the Ulstermen, whose
color was yellow, united in the '98 rebel
lion, and that as the mixture of blue and
yellow produces green, that color has
ever since been considered as the correct
one for the IRISH flag. Certainly, the
Ulstermen and the Irish united about
that time, and equally certain, the green
flag of the united Irishman dates from
tho same nariOd The contribution of