A GREAT CANADIAN

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 124, 19 February 1919, Page 7

A GREAT CANADIAN

PASSING OFJSIR WILFRID LAMER

AFTER A SUDDEN ATTACK OP *

PARALYSIS

By Telegraph--Press Association-Copyright Ottawa, February 17. Sir Wilfrid Luurier, ex-Preniier of Canada,- is dead, aged .78.' While in the act of dressing for church ■■~ on Sunday, .Sir Wilfrid Laurier fell to the floor, stricken-with paralysis, and.it « evident that lie-had but .a-few hour* to live. - ... Owing to the : death'of•"Sir', Laurier, the meeting- of-'Parliament "has been postponed; 'o.'" ~ : ~i- ;".>".- A State funeral will be held. Tributes nre pouring in from every portion of the Empire.—Aus.-N.Z, Cable Assn.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who.was born at Quebec on November 20, 1841, was called to the Bnv in 18C4. In 187] he entered Parliament vand became Minister of Inland Revenue (137") and Leader of the Liberal Party (iSiH). Ho was Premier of Canada from jaSS'fo 1911* bsing the first French Canndimi to hold that post, and was then succeeded by Sir JMiert Borden when the Conservative Party came into power. Sir Wilfrid was a promient figure at the'lmperil)] Conferences of 1907 and 1911. He was prominent in 1917 as an opponent of wiiseription, nnd in October of that year resigned his leadership of the Liberals.

A Canadian writer, describing Sir Wilfrid Laurier, said:—His clear eye, 6tately, carriage, firmly-compressed lips, and general demcimour reveal the born leader of. men, and. in any gathering he would stand out in pieturwnue Teiief those around him like a Saul among hie fel- ■ lows. His dignified and courtly bearing as he walks to his seat •is that of the French Empire period. He looks every incli the type of a statesman and a leader that appeals to the imagination of a peapie. His great strength as a l.eader lieu in his personal .charm of .manner. Like the late Sir Henry Campbell-Binnerman, the Liberal.Premier .who.'preceded' Mr. Asquith in. office, between Sir -Wilfrid and his followers there subsist' the' most intimate relations. To see him llit from eeat to seat for a quiet chat wih some Liberal member is to discover one source of hie marvellous hold on til* afEecttidn of the Liberal rank and file. -When- not engaged in debate or in oonvtfrsation with his colleagues, Sir Wilfrid generally spends his time reading. There are three books that lvaveif singular fascination-for Mm: - These are the Authorised Version of the Bible, Shakespeare's plays, and 'he Encyclopaedia. Like , all great orators, Sir Wilfrid draws freely fawn tha' Bible for iU lustrations, and his speeches are, replete with passages whose imagery suggests the sublime source of .their inspiration. Hβ stands in a class by himself as a Paxlia-. mentarian. His catholicity of outlook and abounding charity, his firm hand and clear eye, his ability to measu're'-and to seize the psychological moment to press home.the attack, as well as his consum- , mate skill as atactician,- i>over seen ' to greater advantage than during the recent naval controversy. ..There-is.no figure in public life in Canada; to-day that stirs the imagination of the rjeojjlo as that of the Leader of the Opposition at Ottawa. '■' ■"- "'="■: