Wilfrid Laurier "in office" 1910 typed letter signed
Place Published: Ottawa
Date Published: 1910
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: No binding
8 x 10-1/4 inches, was folded not flat. Typed Letter Signed, dated Ottawa, 9th June, 1910, on stationery of the Prime Minister's office, addressed to W. F. Alloway, Winnipeg. 6 lines on one sheet. Minor 3/8 inch open tear in black border fold long open separations, W in Wilfred signature smudged, otherwise in near fine condition.
Response letter to Alloway regarding two senior Canadian Pacific Railway management executives very positive.
Laurier was a major supporter of Railway expansion in Canada. In the early 1900s, Laurier’s government financed a second transcontinental railway, whose construction was entrusted to Grand Trunk Pacific. Laurier would later finance a third transcontinental line built by Canadian Northern Railway, in direct competition with Grand Trunk Pacific.
Laurier writes: “My dear Alloway,*- / Many thanks for your kind letter. Give my thanks to / Mr. Whyte**. I have nothing that I could ask him; Sir Thomas Shaughnessy*** has / been kindness itself and I cannot wish anything more. // Please remember me to Mrs. Alloway and believe me, / Yours very sincerely, / Wilfrid Laurier.”
Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919) was Canada's seventh and first French-Canadian Prime Minister and second "elected" Prime Minister (after Sir John A. Macdonald), holding office 1896-1911. Laurier was born in St. Lin, Quebec. He received a law degree from McGill University in 1864, and practiced law in Montreal and Arthabaskville from 1864-1896. Wilfrid Laurier was Liberal party leader from 1887 until his death in 1919 . His nearly 45 years (1874-1919) of service in Federal politics in the House of Commons stands as a record in Canadian politics.
In a 2010 poll of 1,000 Canadians, weekly news magazine Maclean’s asked who Canada’s greatest Prime-Minister was. More than 80% of respondents replied “Wilfrid Laurier”.
*William Forbes Alloway, 1852-1920, businessman, banker, politician, and philanthropist; one of the richest men in Canada;
**Sir William Whyte, 1843-1914, Superintendent Central Division of the Canadian Pacific Railway;
***Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1853-1923, 1st Baron Shaughnessy, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1899-1918.
Item #7604
$1,100.00 USD
$1,493.35 CAD