Rowlandson the Caricaturist; a Selection from His Works. Vol. 2Grego, Joseph
History
Rowlandson the Caricaturist; a Selection from His Works. Vol. 2
Grego, Joseph
English wit and humor, Pictorial; Rowlandson, Thomas, 1756-1827
_May 31, 1806._ _A Diving Machine on a New Construction._ Published
by T. Rowlandson, 1 James Street, Adelphi.--The unpopular increase
of Taxation, levied under the Broad-bottom'd auspices, was severely
dealt with by the satirists. In the present version, the Ministers
are represented as the crew of a diving-barge, _The Experiment_. Fox
is the diver, and a noble wreck, the 'Constitution cutter, John Bull
commander,' has gone down to the bottom of the 'Ocean of Taxation.' Her
commander is done for; amidst the spoils of the shipwreck, the Diver
(Fox) is securing certain weighty additions to his treasury: pig-iron,
Beer Tax, and heavy chests, '10 per cent.' are among the spoils. A rope
is secured to the ponderous Property Tax; Fox is giving the word to
'Haul up;' Petty, Sheridan and others are hauling away at the ropes;
their lighter is nearly filled with the precious wreckage they have
been able to secure.
_June 20, 1806._ _The Acquittal, or upsetting the Porter Pot._
Published by T. Rowlandson, 1 James Street, Adelphi.--Lord Melville and
his counsel are exulting over the results of his acquittal by his peers
of the charge of investing the public funds for his personal advantage,
as far as the interest was concerned, a perquisite previously allowed
to the Treasurer of the Navy. When Lord Melville, then Henry Dundas,
filled the post of Treasurer to the Navy, he brought in an act for
the better regulation of that office, making such employment of the
funds in hand a misdemeanour; Whitbread, (at the head of the advanced
Liberals, or 'Radical Reformers,' who began to make his party dreaded
as formidable opponents of the old-fashioned Whig section, from which
his supporters had receded), and Wilberforce, as the enemy of all
corruptions, were the principal movers of Melville's impeachment, for
the alleged breach of his own act.
The two Scots, Melville and Trotter, who are dressed in Highland
garb, are embracing fraternally; at the same time, Melville is giving
a sly backward kick to a huge pewter pot, bearing the face of the
disconcerted mover of the charges. _Whitbread's Entire Butt_ is knocked
over, its contents _Impeachments_, _High Crimes_, _Misdemeanours_,
and _Peculation_, are flowing away unheeded; 'What is life without a
friend?' cries the ex-Minister on his acquittal; his counsel, Trotter,
is assuring his relieved patron, 'I'll _trot_ for you! I'll gallop for
you all over the globe. O happy day for Scotland! and see how pleased
John Bull looks--ah Johnny, Johnny, this is indeed a glorious triumph.'
But Mr. Bull declines to be soft-sawdered: his face is wearing anything
but a satisfied expression; he significantly keeps his hands in his
pockets, and is grumbling, 'I say nothing,' as if he could say a great
deal if he were disposed to express his honest opinion of the entire
transaction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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