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8 HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [anno ibis.

Michael and Saint George: and We do hereby declare that the number of theKnights of the First Class shall not exceed Eight, including the Grand Masteraforesaid; that the number of the Knights of the Second Class shall not exceedTwelve; and that the number of the Knights of the Third Class shall not exceedTwenty-four. It is moreover Our Royal will and pleasure, that all persons onwhom the said Distinguished Order shall be conferred, shall be natives of thesaid United States of the Ionian Islands, or of the said Island of Malta and itsDependencies, nobly born, or eminently distinguished for their merit, virtue,and loyalty; provided nevertheless that it shall be lawful for Us, Our Heirs andSuccessors, to nominate and appoint to the said Order, such persons beingnatural born subjects of the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britainand Ireland, now holding, or who may hereafter hold, high and confidentialsituations within the said United States of the Ionian Islands, or the said Islandof Malta and its Dependencies, or in the employ of Us, Our Heirs or Suc-cessors therein, or in Our or their Naval Service in the Mediterranean, as maybe deemed deserving of such a testimony of the Royal favour or regard: And tothe end that the Statutes of the said Order may be legally established withoutdelay, We do hereby direct and command, that a Seal be immediately engraven,having thereon two Escutcheons, that on the Dexter side bearing a representa-tion of Saint Michael trampling upon Satan, and that on the Sinister sidebearing a representation of Saint George on horseback and in armour, withhis spear, encountering a Dragon; and that over the said Escutcheons be theMotto, “ Auspicium melioris iEvi,” and that the whole be within this cir-cumscription, “ Sigillum Ordinis Sancti Michaelis et Sancti Georgiiand Our Royal will and pleasure is, that the said Seal shall hereafter be theSeal of the said Order, and that the Statutes to be observed within the sameshall be established by, and with the said Seal, which Statutes so to be givenby Us, Our Heirs and Successors, to which the said Seal shall be affixed, shallbe of the same validity as if the same and every article of them had beenverbatim recited in these Our Letters Patent, and passed under the Great Sealof Our said United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland : And further We dohereby ordain, constitute, and appoint Our right trusty and well-beloved Coun-cillor, Sir Thomas Maitland, Lieutenant-General in Our Army, Our Lord HighCommissioner in and for the said United States of the Ionian Islands, OurGovernor of the said Island of Malta and its Dependencies, and Commanderof Our Forces in the Mediterranean, Knight Grand Cross of Our Most