* * * * The most honoured flags are not
those which have been suddenly invented but those which by experiment and accretion express the history of the nation itself. The Union Jack, of course, describes, so to speak, the gradual harmonizing of elements which were once at discord. There is the banner of St. George for England the cross of St. Andrew for Scotland, and the cross of St., Patrick for Ireland. Similarly the flag of the United States changed and grew continually until it took its present form. The French flag is a combination of the Bourbon and Orleanist colours which, in combination, happened to coincide with the colours of the French Capital. Napoleon made only temporary additions to it. One might go on indefinitely showing how national flags are the embodiment of history. It is with this tendency that General Hertzog's Government wishes to break.
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