1-150-229 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The Street Up Again!', 1859. The defeat of Disraeli's Reform Bill in March 1862 brought down Lord Derby's Conservative Government. In this cartoon, parliament is dissolved, and the general election looms. In the meantime, the normal business of government is suspended. John Bull, the People's representative, glowers down on Disraeli and Derby (in the crown). Depicted as road-workers, they have dug a large hole in the road which is blocking John Bull's path. Disraeli and Derby were seen therefore as being responsible for the disruption of the smooth passage of government legislation and management of the country's affairs only one year after the previous election. From Punch, or the London Charivari, April 23, 1859.