A Cabinet Council

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|John Doyle|Ducôte and Stephen|Thomas McLean

November 28, 1834 · Lithograph · Drawings and Prints

This satire comments on the moment in 1834 when the Duke of Wellington held all of the principle offices of state between the dissolution of Lord Melbourne's Cabinet and the formation of one led by Sir Robert Peel. The Duke sits at a table surrounded by seven empty chairs, as though addressing a meeting, and asks "How is the King's government to be carried on?" Two years before he had asked the same question during a speech in Parliament when the Reform Bill of 1832 was being debated, on that occasion referencing the consequences of proposed removal of nomination boroughs (districts where the local landowner simply appointed a Member of Parliament because there were no electors).

Artist

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|John Doyle|Ducôte and Stephen|Thomas McLean

Date

November 28, 1834

Medium

Lithograph

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2014