The New Broom
Mr. Bull. "New Brooms sweep — Well, well, we shall see."
Wood engraving
Punch (16 May 1857): 195
More cartoon commentary on the Crimean War
[See commentary below]
Scanned image by Philip V. Allingham; text by PVA and by George P. Landow
This cartoon about post-Crimean War reforms obviously refers to the old adage, "A new broom sweeps clean." Note the depiction of the reforming politician as a crossing sweeper, an occupation upon which Punch comments elsewhere [GPL]. As for the identity of the crossing-sweeper, it does indeed stand to reason that he is a caricature of Palmerston, but the face looks much more like that of Lord John Russell, who seems to have been the spokesman for the radical wing of Palmerston's party.
Military reforms included a land transport corps, a military board, a reorganization of the War Office, and sundry medical reforms associated with Florence Nightingale. Of 21,000 British soldiers who died in the Crimea, 16,000 perished from various diseases and infections..
Last modified 5 April 2004