the outer border the inscription, "Republica de 

 Paraguay." 



501. The ensign of Paraguay. is composed 

 of three bars — the upper red, the middle white, 

 the lower blue — running horizontally. In the 

 center on the obverse side appears the national 

 coat-of-arms. On the reverse side, also in the 

 center, is the seal of the Hacienda (Treasury), 

 a circle bearing the inscription, "Paz y Jus- 

 ticia" (Peace and Justice), in the center of 

 which is depicted a lion in a vigilant attitude, 

 defending the Phrygian cap — the symbol of 

 liberty — above him on a pike. 



502. The national standard and flag of Peru 

 is composed of three vertical stripes, the end 

 ones red and the middle one white. On the 

 latter appears the coat-of-arms with its crest. 

 and surrounded at its base by a laurel branch 

 to the left and a palm to the right, both tied 

 together at their lower ends. This flag was 

 established by the Peruvian Congress which 

 met in 1825 and has never been changed. 



503. The merchant flag of Peru is the same 

 as the national ensign, except that the coat-of- 

 arms is omitted. 



504. The merchant flag of Paraguay has the 

 same colors as the national ensign, the coat- 

 of-arms being omitted ; in its place appears at 

 the end of the white . stripe next to the flag- 

 staff the seal of the department having to do 

 with merchant marine matters. 



505. The flag of the admiral of the Para- 

 guayan navy is a swallow-tailed banner in the 

 national colors, with a yellow half moon on 

 the end of the white bar nearest the swallow 

 tail. 



506. In 1912 the Congress of Salvador or- 

 dered a return to the original coat-of-arms 

 and flag of Central America as they existed 

 in the days of the "United Provinces of the 

 Center of America." The flag consists of the 

 familiar three horizontal bars, the upper and 

 lower blue and the central one white, with the 

 coat-of-arms of the country in the middle of 

 the white bar. This is the flag for ports and 

 vessels and for government envoys to foreign 

 countries. 



507. The merchant flag does not bear the 

 coat-of-arms, but on the middle stripe is in- 

 scribed in silver letters, "Dios, Union y Lib- 

 ertad." 



508. Uruguay has but one flag for its na- 

 tional banner and the emblem of its merchant 

 marine. This consists of nine stripes, five 

 white and four blue, white at the top and bot- 

 tom. _ In the upper corner next to the staff is 

 a white canton on which appears a blazing sun. 

 This is known as "El Sol de Mayo" (The Sun 

 of May), symbolizing the awakening of the 

 colony into independent national life. 



509. The escutcheon of Uruguay is an oval 

 crowned with a sun and divided into four 



quarters. In the upper right-hand division is 

 depicted, on a field of blue, a pair of scales, 

 symbolizing equality and justice; in the upper 

 left-hand division, on a field of silver, the 

 Cerro of Montevideo, as a symbol of power; 

 in the lower right-hand division, on a field of 

 silver, a horse running loose, symbolizing lib- 

 erty ; and in the left-hand lower quarter, on a 

 blue field, an ox, as a symbol of abundance. 

 The field is inclosed within two branches of 

 olive and laurel joined at the bottom by a bow 

 of azure. 



510. The law establishing the coat-of-arms 

 of Salvador says: "The escutcheon of El Sal- 

 vador shall be an equilateral triangle. At its 

 base shall appear a cordillera of five volcanoes 

 located on a strip of land appearing to be 

 washed by both seas; in the upper part a rain- 

 bow curved above ; beneath an arc, a liberty 

 cap radiating light, and in the form of a semi- 

 circle an inscription, "15 de Setiembre 1821." 

 Surrounding the triangle and in the form of a 

 circle shall be inscribed in letters of gold, 

 "Republica de El Salvador en la America 

 Central," and at the base of the triangle, "Dios, 

 Union y Libertad." The great seal of the na- 

 tion, that of the Secretary of the National 

 Assembly, and that of government representa- 

 tives and tribunals of justice bear the same 

 coat-of-arms. 



511. The coat-of-arms of Venezuela was 

 established under a decree of 1905. It consists 

 of a shield divided into three parts, the one at 

 the right yellow, with a sheaf of seven heads 

 of wheat. The second section is red, bearing 

 arms and two national flags bound together 

 with a wreath of laurel. The third section 

 occupies the entire lower portion of the shield, 

 is blue, and bears an untamed white horse. 

 The crest of the shield is an emblem of plenty, 

 two cornucopias flowing with fruit. At the 

 lower edge of the shield is a branch of laurel 

 and palm tied together by a ribbon, bearing in 

 gold letters the following inscription : "Inde- 

 pendencia — Libertad — 5 de Julio de 181 1 — 24 

 de Marzo de 1854 — Dios y Federacion" (Inde- 

 pendence — Liberty — God and the Federation). 

 July 5, 181 1, was the date of the republic's 

 declaration of independence, and March 24, 

 1854, the date of the abolition of slavery. 



THE NAVAL FLAGS OF THE WORLD 



514-727. These flags and pennants, showing 

 all of the flags of command, commission pen- 

 nants, jacks, and pilot flags of the navies of 

 the world, are used in the same manner as 

 the corresponding ones of the United States, 

 and the reader is directed to descriptions 49, 

 50, 5 T ,. 53, 54, 58, and 64-68, inclusive, for in- 

 formation as to the time, occasion, and manner 

 of their respective use. 



369 



