1-150-296 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The Gladstone Pill', 1860. Dr Gl-dst-ne says: There, Mr Bull-Swallow it at once, and it will Relieve your Chest Directly. Mr Gladstone's 1860 Budget had increased direct taxation once again. Here, Gladstone is shown presenting his Income Tax pill to an ailing John Bull. There is a hidden joke here at Gladstone's expense: his Budget speech had had to be delayed from the 6th February to the 10th. He had had a chest infection and, having lost his voice, had been unable to deliver his speech. From Punch, or the London Charivari, February 25, 1860.