1-150-211 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Mr. Bright offers to give satisfaction to the Liberal Party', 1858. Mr John Bright (on the left) had made a speech at Manchester in which he forcefully reiterated his well-known views on the subjects of the aristocracy, parliamentary reform, and the duty of the Liberal Party. Bright was a Quaker and many of his writings were filled with a prosy religiosity. However, he was arguably one of the great orators of his age, allowing himself to express sarcasm and irony in equal measure. One of the points of his speech, according to Punch was that 'it [was] the Independent Liberals who habitually save the country by making Government impossible'. His attack on the Liberal Party is illustrated by Russell stemming the flow from his bloodied nose, and Mr Bright dances lightly around, inviting Russell to come and get him - if he can. From Punch, or the London Charivari, December 18, 1858.