1-150-474 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Bribery and Corruption', 1866. Father Thames asks a Member of Parliament, who leans over the wall of the terrace of the Houses of Parliament, Which of us has the cleaner hands, I wonder? In a return to a more common depiction of Father Thames, despite its recent thorough cleansing, the Thames is here depicted as dirty with the usual complement of dead dog and broken basket. The Honourable Member chastises Father Thames but is told that his own hands are likely to be dirtier than the water. Punch had long highlighted the practice of bribery of voters. The Bribery Commission, indicated by the paper in the MP's hand, was held in August 1866 following alleged malpractices in the lead up to the 1865 election of the MP for the Borough of Reigate. From Punch, or the London Charivari, September 15, 1866.