Genre:

Illustration, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Illustrators:

J T *

Subjects:

Medical Practitioners, Gender, Politics, Government, Religion, Religious Authorities

    This illustration shows Nurse Canterbury (the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archibald C Tait) presenting a baby, labelled 'Irish Church Bill', to Mrs Prime Minister and her assistant (William E Gladstone and John Bright respectively). The nurse explains that she has taken 'the greatest care of 'im' and hopes they will 'think 'im grow'd'. Mrs Prime Minister denies that the child is hers or looks like her. This plays on the fact that Tait had amended Gladstone's original Irish Church Disestablishment Bill (which had been rejected by the House of Lords and Tait himself in 1868) in order to make it more acceptable to the Irish clergy and to both Liberals and Tories.