A movement was, some time ago, set on foot to gather in the old flags from the various Scottish regiments and to place them all in the Cathedral Church of Edinburgh. This was effected, and the perspective effect of these, as they line the nave on either side, is very fine. The oldest colours there are those of the 82nd, the Duke of Hamilton's regiment, presented in the year 1782, and still in excellent preservation.
When on November 14th, 1883, the old colours borne by the various Scottish regiments were deposited in St. Giles' Cathedral, they were escorted in all honour and military pomp from the Castle; and says one who was there: "When the colours came in sight, the multitude raised a shout and cheered, but the impulse was but momentary, for at sight of the array of shattered rags the noise of the tumult died away, and a half-suppressed sound was heard as through the hearts of the people there flashed a thrill of mingled pride and pain. Those who saw it will never forget the scene. In the centre the tattered silk of the Colours, and on the fringe and in the background a wonder-stricken crowd, as past uncovered heads, past dimmed eyes and quivering lips, the old flags were carried."
When the flags had been received with service of prayer and
praise, the meaning of it all was summed up in burning words of love, devotion, and pride. "We have gathered to-day," said the speaker, "for a noble purpose—to receive with all honour into this national church these flags, which have been borne by our soldiers through many a hard fight and in many a distant land. 'In the name of the Lord,' said the inspired Psalmist long ago, 'we will set up our banners.' In the spirit in which he spoke, these banners were first unfurled; and in that great Name they were blessed by God's ministers ere they were committed to those who were to carry them, as a testimony that, as a nation, we believe in God, and desire that He should guide our destinies alike in war and in peace; and now, after the lapse of years, they are brought back to rest in God's house as a testimony to the same truth, that we acknowledge Him as the supreme source of all our national success and greatness. 'Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the victory, and the majesty! Both riches and honour come of Thee, and in Thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all.' It is in this spirit that we place these emblems in Scotland's great historic church. The associations that gather around these faded banners are of the tenderest and most touching kind. They are such as cause the heart to swell and the tear to come to the eye. Few, I feel sure, in this vast assemblage have not felt in some degree their power. There are soldiers here whom they carry back to old days, and to comrades with whom they stood shoulder to shoulder in many a perilous hour. The old flag has for the British soldier a meaning so deep and powerful that it is impossible to put it into words. It is but a piece of silk, often faded and tattered, and rent with shot: but it is a symbol, and symbols are amongst the most sacred things on earth. It means for the soldier his Queen and his country, and all the honour, loyalty, truth, and heroism they demand of him. Therefore it is that men will follow their colours down into the dreadful pit, and would be willing to die twice for them rather than let them be taken by an enemy; and in the hour of defeat, like the heroes of Isandlwhana, will fall pierced through with wounds, but with these precious symbols, still untarnished, wrapped around them. And though to the peaceful citizen these emblems can never mean all they stand for to those who have served under them, even to him, as they hang here, they may speak of things that it is good for him to remember. They may well tell him of the history of his country, and the wonderful way by which God has led her, and of the brave men He has raised up to fight for her. Nor can we help specially remembering that these are the colours of our Scottish regiments. Scotland is a poor country compared to the great neighbour with whom it is happily united, but it possesses a distinct national life
of its own which all true Scotchmen would not willingly let die. We are proud of our Scotch regiments. We feel that they, of the whole army, belong especially to ourselves; and they too, as they have swept on to battle with the cry, 'Scotland for ever!' feel, we believe, that they belong specially to us. Providence, said Napoleon sneeringly, is generally on the side of the strongest battalions. Be it so; but will anyone deny that the character of the soldier has much to do with the strength of the battalion they form? And was it not the character of our soldiers—a character fostered by the traditions of their native land, fostered still more, perhaps, by the religious teaching of their native church and parish school—that made them strong on many a memorable day, and never more than on that memorable day at Waterloo, when the great commander I have named generously exclaimed, as he saw his own ranks yielding before the onslaught, 'Les braves Ecossais!' May the sight of these banners inspire every soldier who looks on them, whether Lowland or Highland, to echo the desire to hand down the name they bear without a blemish! And should the day ever come when we as a people are tempted to succumb to sloth and luxury, first to undervalue, and finally to give up, national power and privileges which are an heritage from God, and have been dearly purchased by those who went before us—may these emblems, and the stirring memories that cling to them, help us in some degree to wake up the last drop of blood left in our hearts, and nerve us to bear ourselves like the children of our sires. 'We have heard with our ears, O God, and our fathers have told us, what Thou didst in their days in the times of old. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but Thy right hand and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them. Through Thee will we push down our enemies; through Thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.'" This impressive and imposing ceremony closed with the magnificent "Hallelujah Chorus" of Handel, and the final Benediction.
That colours do not always perish in honour may be seen by the following extract from the Scots' Magazine of June, 1746, where the citizens of Edinburgh assisted at a very different function to the one we have just described. "Fourteen rebel colours," says the ancient newsman, "taken at Culloden, were brought into Edinburgh on the 31st May, and lodged in the castle. On Wednesday, the 4th of June, at noon, they were brought down to the Cross, the Pretender's own standard carried by the hangman, and the rest by chimney sweepers. The sheriffs, accompanied by the heralds, pursuivants, trumpeters, city constables, etc., and escorted by the city guard, walked to the Cross, where a proclamation was
made that the colours belonging to the rebels were ordered by the Duke of Cumberland to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman. The Pretender's standard was then put on a fire that had been prepared, and afterwards all the rest one by one—a herald always proclaiming to whom each belonged, the trumpets sounding, and the populace, of which there was a great number assembled, huzzaing."
Various government officials have their special flags. The flag of the Union having been established by "Queen's Regulations" for the naval service, as the distinguishing flag to be borne by the admiral of the fleet, great inconvenience arose from the use of the same flag when military authorities, diplomatic and consular agents were embarking in boats or other vessels; so it became necessary to make some modification in the flag. It is therefore now ordered that a general or other officer commanding a military station shall have, in the centre of the Union, a blue shield bearing the Royal initials, surmounted by a crown and surrounded by a garland; those in the diplomatic service shall have, in the centre of the Union, a white shield bearing the Royal Arms, and surrounded by a garland; while consuls-general, consuls, or consular agents have the Blue Ensign as their distinguishing flag, and in the centre thereof the Royal Arms. The flag of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland is the Union, and in its centre, as we may see in Fig. [106], a blue shield bearing the golden harp.
Different Government Departments have their special flags also. Thus the Transport Service has the blue ensign with a golden anchor, placed horizontally, in the fly, while the Victualling Department has the blue ensign again, but this time as shown in Fig. [98], with two crossed anchors. On the blue ensign of the Board of Trade is found in the fly a white circle, and within this a ship in full sail (see Fig. [105]). The Ordnance Department flag, represented in Fig. [108], bears a shield with cannons and cannon balls upon it, while vessels and boats employed on submarine mining service are authorized to carry the blue ensign with—as its special badge—a hand issuing from a mural crown, and grasping a thunderbolt. The Telegraph branch of the Post-Office has a very striking device: a representation of Father Time with his hour glass smashed by lightning. The red ensign is employed by the Custom House and the Excise, in the first case having, as we see in Fig. [107], a golden crown in the fly, and, in the second, a crown and star. The flag of the Admiralty is a very striking one (Fig. [99]). This association of the anchor with the Admiralty is a very natural one; we see it not only in our English flag, but in those of France, Italy, Germany, Russia, etc. Our Admiralty flag is hoisted on any ship when the Commissioners
of the Admiralty are on board,[[53]] and it is also hoisted at the fore top-gallant mast of every ship on which the Queen may be on board. Vessels carrying Her Majesty's mail fly on the fore-mast a white burgee, having in its centre a crown, and on one side of it the word "Royal" and on the other "Mail"; the words Royal Mail and the crown being in red on the white field of the flag.