1-150-875 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Two Forces', 1881. Britannia, armed with a large sword labelled The Law, protects Hibernia from a stone-throwing, animalistic Irish anarchist. As is usual in these cartoon, Britannia is depicted as much the stronger, almost manlike, of the two symbols. In contrast, with her flowing hair, Hibernia is girlish and weak. This relates to a speech made by the Liberal Prime Minister, Gladstone, after the passing of the Irish Land Act. He urged the Irish people to use the bill, rather than just test it. He went on to say that if it should then still be necessary to face the final conflict between law and lawlessness, then the resources of civilisation were not yet exhausted. From Punch, or the London Charivari, October 29, 1881.