Telegraphy the sense of a system that can transmit arbitrary messages over arbitrary distances. Lines of signalling relay stations can send messages to any required distance, but all these systems are limited to one extent or another in the range of messages that they can send. A system like flag semaphore, with an alphabetic code, can certainly send any given message, but the system is designed for short-range communication between two persons. An engine order telegraph, used to send instructions from the bridge of a ship to the engine room, fails to meet both criteria; it has a limited distance and
Law of heraldic arms are called pursuivants, heralds, or kings of arms (in increasing order of seniority). The law of arms is part of the law in countries which regulate heraldry, although not part of common law in England and in countries whose laws derive from English law. According to the usual description of the law of arms, coats of arms, armorial badges, flags and standards and other similar emblems of honour may only be borne by virtue of ancestral right, or of a grant made to the user under due authority. "Ancestral right" means descent in the male line from an ancestor who