Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Animal Behaviour, Politics

    Describes the 'ungovernable' behaviour of the government 'Indian Elephant'. This is an allusion to Edward Law (1st Earl Ellenborough), president of the East India Company Board of Control and former governor-general of India, who was often called 'Elephantborough' by Punch. The reference is to Ellenborough's attack on the current governor-general of India, Charles J Canning (1st Viscount Canning), for delivering a proclamation confiscating lands in the Oudh province of India, which threatened to precipitate another rebellion. Punch thinks this behaviour could have been controlled with the taming skills of John S Rarey.