And after the first
day of July, 1867, the said Provinces should form and be one Dominion
under the name of Canada accordingly.
And forasmuch as it is Our Royal will and pleasure that for the greater
honour and distinction of the said Provinces, certain Armorial Ensigns
should be assigned to them;
Know Ye, therefore, that We, of Our Princely Grace and special favour have
granted and assigned, and by these presents do grant and assign the
Armorial Ensigns following, that is to say:
FOR THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
Vert a sprig of three Leaves of Maple slipped, or on a chief Argent the
Cross of St. George.
FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC
Or on a Fess Gules between two Fluer de Lis in chief Azure, and a sprig of
three Leaves of Maple slipped vert in base, a Lion passant guardant or
FOR THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA
Or on a Fess Wavy Azure between three Thistles proper, a Salmon Naiant
Argent
FOR THE PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK
Or on Waves a Lymphad, or Ancient Galley, with Oars in action, proper on a
chief Gules a Lion passant guardant or, as the same are severally depicted
in the margin hereof, to be borne for the said respective Provinces on
Seals, Shields, Banners, Flags or otherwise, according to the Laws of Arms
And we are further pleased to declare that the said United Province of
Canada, being one Dominion under the name of Canada, shall, upon all
occasions that may be required, use a common Seal, to be called the "Great
Seal of Canada," which said seal shall be composed of the Arms of the said
four Provinces quarterly, all of which armorial bearings are set forth in
our Royal Warrant
Our Will and Pleasure is that you, Edward George Fitzalan Howard,
(commonly called Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard) Deputy to our said
Earl Marshal, to whom the cognizance of matters of this nature doth
properly belong, do require and command that this Our Concession and
Declaration be recorded in our college of arms, in order that Our Officers
of Arms and all other Public Functionaries whom it may concern may take
full notice and knowledge thereof in their several and respective
departments. And for so doing this shall be your Warrant, given at our
Court at St James, this twenty-sixth day of May, in the thirty-first year
of Our Reign
By Her Majesty's command,
(Signed) BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS
"SEAL OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA - Messrs J. G. and A. B. Wyon have now on
view, at 287 Regent Street, impressions from the seals of the four
provinces of Canada and the Great Seal of the Dominion, just completed,
with the gold medal that has been struck in commemoration of the union of
the provinces. They are all designed and executed in a very high style of
art. Of the seals, that for the Dominion is, of coarse, the largest. It
represents the Queen seated under a Gothic canopy and holding the ball and
sceptre, while the wings of the canopy contain the shields of the
Provinces - two on either side - hanging on the stem of an oak. These Gothic
canopies occupy nearly the whole of the middle space of the seal, the
ground between them and the border is covered with a rich diaper, and a
shield bearing the Royal Arms of England fills the space beneath the
centre canopy. The border of the seal bears the inscription, "Victoria,
Dei Gratia, Britanniae Regina, F. D. In Canada Sigillum." This work would
add to the reputation of any other seal engraver, though it can hardly do
so to that of the Messrs Wyon, whose productions have long enjoyed a high
and deserved celebrity. The seal is well filled, as it should be in a
Gothic design, but it is not crowded, the ornaments are all very pure in
style, and the whole is in the most perfect keeping. The execution is not
less remarkable, the relief is extremely high in parts (although it does
not at first appear to be so, owing to the breadth of the composition),
but, in spite of this difficulty, the truth, sharpness, and finish of
every part have been preserved as well as they could possibly be on a
medal, or even on a coin. The smaller seals for the provinces are engraved
on one general design. The crown surmounts a central shield bearing the
Royal Arms, below which is a smaller shield bearing the arms of the
particular province - New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, or Nova Scotia. The
Royal motto on a flowing ribbon fills up the space at the sides; a border
adapted to the outline of the design runs outside this, and touches the
circular border of the seal containing the legend. These seals are no less
remarkable for carefulness of execution than the one to which we have
referred. The medal which has been struck to commemorate the confederation
of the provinces is in solid gold, and is so large and massive that its
value in metal alone is L50. On the obverse there is a head of the Queen,
for which Her Majesty recently gave Mr. Wyon sittings; the reverse bears
an allegorical design - Britannia seated and holding the scroll of
confederation, with figures representing the four provinces grouped around
her. Ontario holds the sheaf and sickle; Quebec, the paddle; Nova Scotia,
the mining spade; and New Brunswick the forest axe. Britannia carries her
trident and the lion crouches by her side. The following inscription runs
round a raised border: "Juventas et Patrius Vigor Canada Instaurata 1867."
The relief on this side is extremely bold, and the composition, modelling
and finish are such as to leave little to be desired. The treatment of the
head on the obverse is broad and simple; the hair is hidden by a sort of
hood of flowing drapery confined by a plain coronet, and the surface is
but little broken anywhere.
