1-150-179 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!', 1858. The cockerel represents the French newspaper, the Moniteur, loudly crowing a passage from the Conspiracy to Muder Bill, with the embarrassed Napoleon in the background worrying that the racket will further annoy the British. In January 1858 an Italian revolutionary, Felice Orsini, tried to assassinate Napoleon III. He had hatched his plot in London and public outrage in France forced Napoleon to make an official protest to the British Government. The PM, Palmerston, then introduced the Conspiracy to Murder Bill, but that was seen by many as a disgraceful kowtowing to France. In the end, in February 1858, the Bill was defeated, and Palmerston resigned. From Punch, or the London Charivari, February 13, 1858.