There should be a sympathy with freedom

An invigorating statement from Prime Minister Gladstone. From a speech, West Calder, Scotland (27 November 1879)

There should be a sympathy with freedom, a desire to give it scope, founded not upon visionary ideas, but upon the long experience of many generations within the shores of this happy isle, that in freedom you lay the firmest foundations both of loyalty and order; the firmest foundations for the development of individual character; and the best provision for the happiness of the nation at large.