After all, this concerned Free Trade and the freedom of the bourgeoisie. Britain might once have gone its own way, but after so many years of propaganda and development, coupled with the need to preserve its hegemony, the British could not simply stand by.
Gladstone in particular, Palmerston's old rival, would never let such an opportunity slip by. Unlike Palmerston's pragmatism, Gladstone had always been an advocate of British ideology.
"Enough! Gentlemen, we have heard far too many useless debates. The facts are already crystal clear: the Austrians' so-called law is, in truth, a shackle of enslavement!
"How dare a government tell a worker how long he should work, how much he should earn, what he may and may not do.
"This is not protection! This is sowing discord! This is enslavement!
"Today, he dares to rape your mind; tomorrow, he will dare to rape your family!
"Am I to watch those across the sea—people who succeeded through their own intelligence, their own hardworking hands, and their thrifty character—be persecuted and coerced?
"You may dislike a factory owner, but you cannot deny that they have always represented freedom, civilization, and progress.
"They may not be lovable, but they are without question the most worthy of respect in this world!"
Thunderous applause erupted in Parliament and lingered on. Yet the Austrian Empire's years of propaganda warfare had not been in vain, and Parliament itself was far from a solid block.
"Mr. Gladstone, how can you deny the goodwill behind it?"
Gladstone did not allow the young member of Parliament to finish.
"Child, no tyrant has ever admitted to being a tyrant. How many atrocities in history have been carried out beneath the banner of goodwill?"
Without waiting for an answer, Gladstone continued.
"Man is born equal, born free! Man should not