1-150-985 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage Images

'Cross-roads', 1886. The new Conservative Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, pulls up at a crossroads. Two former Liberals, Lord Hartington, and, with the monocle, Joseph Chamberlain take the opportunity to climb down rather than proceed in the Conservative direction. This relates to the recent General Election which the Conservatives had won, partly through the disunity in the Liberal Party. If Gladstone could reunite his party, he would then have a majority in the House. Lord Hartington had refused to join the Conservative Cabinet, as had Joseph Chamberlain. From "Punch, or the London Charivari", July 31, 1886.