Which of the following cartoon representations of the Revolt of 1857 has a caption, "Well, then they shan't blow him from nasty guns; But he must promise to be a good little sepoy"?

The Clemency of Canning, Punch, 24 October 1857.

The correct answer is Option (3) → The Clemency of Canning, Punch, 24 October 1857.

“The Clemency of Canning”, Punch, 24 October 1857

The caption at the bottom of the cartoon reads: “Governor General: ‘Well, then they shan’t blow him from nasty guns; but he must promise to be a good little sepoy’.”

At a time when the clamour was for vengeance, pleas for moderation were ridiculed. When Governor General Canning declared that a gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would help in winning back the loyalty of the sepoys, he was mocked in the British press. In one of the cartoons published in the pages of Punch, a British journal of comic satire, Canning is shown as a looming father figure, with his protective hand over the head of a sepoy who still holds an unsheathed sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, both dripping with blood – an imagery that recurs in a number of British pictures of the time.