LAURIER 



3347 



LAUT 



eral elections of 1891, but in 1896 were trium- 

 phantly returned. 



The First French-Canadian Premier. One of 

 the chief issues of the campaign related to the 

 Manitoba separate schools. Although himself 

 a Catholic, Laurier opposed the Dominion bill 

 which was intended to force the Manitoba 

 government to restore the Roman Catholic 

 separate schools. On this issue, and on the 

 plank of moderate tariff revision, the Liberals 

 won a sweeping victory. The principal events 

 of the next fifteen years are referred to else- 

 where (see CANADA, subtitle History of 

 Canada) and have also been mentioned above. 

 The settlement and exploitation of the Cana- 

 dian Northwest is likely to be considered, a 

 century hence, as the greatest achievement of 

 this period. In 1910 Sir Wilfrid arranged a 

 reciprocity treaty with the United States, but 

 when the issue was submitted to the voters at 

 the general elections of 1911, the verdict was 

 against reciprocity. The Laurier Ministry re- 

 signed on October 6, 1911, and gir Wilfrid 

 again became leader of the opposition. On the 

 outbreak of the War of the Nations he ably 

 seconded Sir Robert Borden's appeals for loy- 

 alty and service to the Empire, though he sec- 

 onded Quebec in its opposition to conscription, 

 and headed the ineffective movement against 

 the plan. This exhibition of restraint, though 

 it could not add to the regard which Canadians 

 have for Laurier as a man, was evidence to the 

 world of a new Canadian nationalism, in which 

 party interests were lost to view. 



Sir Wilfrid bore a striking facial resem- 

 blance both to Sir John A. Macdonald and to 

 Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. Pub- 

 lic interest in this fact was noteworthy during 

 his first visit to England in 1897, on the occa- 

 sion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. 

 Laurier was a speaker of genuine eloquence, 

 without doubt one of the greatest of Canadian 

 orators. He was not merely a skilful party 

 leader, but a statesman of vision, who kept 

 the respect of his opponents as well as the loy- 

 alty of his followers. On the many occasions 

 when he represented the Dominion at the 

 Imperial Conferences in London in 1907 and 

 1911, at the sessions of the Joint High Com- 

 mission at Washington in 1898 and 1899, at 

 every conference in which he took a part 

 his presence insured a dignity and integrity 

 which was as characteristic of him in private 

 affairs as it was in public life. W.F.Z. 



Consult Willison's Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the 

 Liberal Party. 



LAURIUM, law'rium, MICH., is a village in 

 Houghton County, in the Keweenaw Penin- 

 sula, the extreme northwestern part of the 

 state. It is seventeen miles northeast of 

 Houghton and seven miles from Lake Superior. 

 Laurium and Red Jacket comprise the town- 

 ship of Calumet. The town is served by the 

 Copper Range and the Mineral Range rail- 

 roads. In 1910 the population was 8,537; in 

 1916 it Was 10,356 (Federal estimate). 



Laurium was incorporated as a village under 

 its present name in 1895. It is in one of the 

 richest copper-ore regions in the United States, 

 in the vicinity of the Calumet and Hecla and 

 other rich mines. Copper mining and associ- 

 ated industries are of chief importance. 



LAUSANNE, lozahn', the capital of the 

 Swiss canton of Vaud, situated about one-half 

 mile from Lake Geneva, from which a cable 

 railroad runs to the central railway station and 

 the upper city. The town is built on and 

 around five hills, two of which are connected 

 by a lofty viaduct. The beautiful Gothic 

 cathedral, the finest ecclesiastical building in 

 Switzerland, built in the thirteenth century, 

 is an imposing landmark, and from the town 

 there is a fine view of the lake and the moun- 

 tains of Savoy and Valais. The opening of 

 the Simplon tunnel in 1906 added greatly to 

 transportation facilities and placed Lausanne 

 on a commercial basis never before attained. 



Close to the cathedral is a castle, built early 

 in the fifteenth century, also the Palais de 

 Rumine, containing an important local univer- 

 sity and the cantonal library of 150,000 vol- 

 umes. In recent years Lausanne has under- 

 gone modern improvements, and many of the 

 older picturesque buildings have been destroyed 

 or altered beyond recognition. 



The city is visited by a great number of 

 tourists and is well provided with hotels. It 

 is as an educational center, however, that 

 Lausanne is most famous, the splendidly con- 

 ducted institutions attracting many foreign 

 pupils. The population in 1910 was 63,926; the 

 people are largely Protestants, and the French 

 language is spoken. 



LAUT, AGNES CHRISTINA (1872- ), a 

 Canadian journalist and author, best known 

 for her biographical and historical sketches. 

 Miss Laut was born at- Stanley, Ont., but re- 

 moved to Winnipeg during her childhood. 

 She attended the University of Manitoba for 

 three years, until ill health compelled her to 

 withdraw. Ill health was not entirely a mis- 

 fortune, for she spent the following summers 



