Sons of Harmony. First Fiddle (Earl R*ss*ll) : — “We should get on better, Mr. B[right]., if you took your time from me and didn't play so loud. Fun (6 January 1866): 165. Source: Hathi Digital Library Trust web version of a copy in the Princeton University library.
Bright, who's here depicted in a Quaker garb (or the costume by which cartoonists indicated a person was a member of the Society of Friends) launched a speech-making campaign for parliamentary reform in Birmingham at the end of 1858 which faded out within a few months, but it marked the beginning of the movement toward the reform agitation of the mid-1860s. During the second half of 1866 Bright found himself the hero and chief mouthpiece of the reformers, accepted by both those who demanded universal suffrage and those who wanted more limited reform. In terms of immediate influence this was the high point of his career. Bright was satisfied with the household franchise introduced by the 1867 Reform Act, which extended the vote to skilled urban artisans but still excluded the town and country labourers.
Related material
- Lord John Russell (1792-1878)
- John Bright (1811-1889)
- The Second Reform Bill
- A Surprising Success
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Last modified 4 February 2016