[Illustration: 50. UNION JACK OF GEORGE III., 1801.]
It is to be remembered that heraldry does not, except when specifically given, deal with exact dimensions, but gives the general appearance and particular colourings of the shield or banner. If, as in this case, the arrangement of the flag selected may have been in the opinion of some of the heraldically inclined, "an extraordinary amalgamation,"[129] and by others not made in accord with the heraldic "blazon" or description given of it in the proclamation, yet this division of its parts is not to be attributed to the "officers of arms" of that day, for it has been expressly put on record that "in this allotment they were not allowed the exercise of their own judgment."[130] Suggestions have constantly since been made that the forms in the flag should be changed, because, as is reiterated, "the guide to all heraldic devices is the verbal blazon of the heralds," and with this, they say, the flag does not agree, for the saltire crosses do not bear the appearance of having been "counterchanged"--that is, alternated, share and share alike; and that the "fimbriation" to the red cross of St. George is wider than an "heraldic fimbriation," which on an heraldic shield is only a very narrow edging or border for the purpose of separating one colour from another.
[129] _Gentleman's Magazine_, January. 1801.
[130] _Naval and Military Magazine_, 1827, p. 182.
These are objections arising only from the wording of the "blazon" and not from the flag itself; to the description given of it and not to the design.
We have seen that, both in 1707 and in 1801, the changes made in the "Union Jacks" proceeded by a regular and formal progression of, consideration by Sovereign, Committee of Enquiry, Order in Council and registration of the drafts of design then selected and approved, and the promulgation of the Royal proclamation for its use.
_The design of the flags preceded the blazon_, or description given of them in the proclamations. We must, therefore, refer to the flags themselves as the guide to their proportions and to the intentions of their designers.
It does not appear that any "draft" of the first flag of James I., 1606, was fyled, but a formal proclamation authorizing it was made by the King "according to the form made by our heralds."