Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/546

LEYTE accumulates on the inner, and negative electricity on the outer coating. If, on the contrary, the jar be held by the knob and the outer coating be presented to the machine, positive electricity is ac- cumulated on the outer, and negative on the inner. liEYTE (la'ta), an island of the Visaya group in the Philippines; be- tween Samar, Dinagat and Mindanao on the S. E., Bohol on the S. W. and Mashete on the N. W.; area, 2,722 square miles; pop. about 360,000; capital, Tacloban on the Bay of San Pedro and San Pablo. It is about 100 miles long and 47 miles wide in its broadest part. The interior of the island is mountainous, containing a number of extinct volcanoes. There are mines of gold, silver, lead and sul- phur. The large valleys are cultivated by the natives, the chief agricultural pro- duct being hemp. Sugar, chocolate, cof- fee, and corn are also raised, and some live stock. Wax, honey, shells, birds* nests, sponges, and pearls are exported in small quantities. Civil government was established in 1901, which was found to be generally acceptable by the people but in 1905-1906 there were local dis- turbances. Besides the capital, the chief ports are Carrigari on the E. coast and Ormoc, Baybay, Ilongos, Ma-asim, and Malitbog on the W. coast. LHASSA, the capital city of Tibet, and residence of the Grand Lama. The city is circular, 2% miles in circumfer- ence, and occupies an open level plain surrounded by mountains. It has nu- merous towers, bazaars, and temples. The city is remarkable for the number J d size of its monasteries, which are greatly resorted to by the Chinese and Mongols as schools of the Buddhist re- ligion and philosophy. It is the "Rome of Buddhism." Pop. about 10,000. Priests, students, etc., 15,000. The an- nual gathering of lamas number about 80,000. LIABILITY OF EMPLOYERS. See E M PLOYERs' Liability. ^ LIAO-TTTNG, a peninsula east of the river Liao, In Manchuria, China, _ on which the port of Newchwang is situ- ated. The region projects into the Yel- low Sea between the Gulf of Liao-tung and that of Korea. The name is gen- erally used to denote the peninsula alone. LIBATION, a sacrifice, by an actual drink offering, by pouring liquids — usually oil or wine — on the ground in honor of a divinity, or by the combina- tion of both methods. In classic times bloody sacrifices were usually accom- panied by libations, which always formed part of the religious ceremonies at a treaty of peace; hence the Greek spondai = a solemn treaty, from speyido = to of- fer a libation. (See Verg., ^n. v: 77; xii: 174). Libations were usually of un- mixed wine {enspondos = merum), but sometimes of milk, honey, and other fluids, either pure or diluted with water (Plin., H. N. xiv: 19). The word "liba- tion" does not occur in the Authorized Version, but clear traces of the practice may be found. "Jacob set up ... a pil- lar of stone, and he poured a drink of- fering thereon and he poured oil thereon" (Gen. XXXV : 14). LIBAIT, a seaport of Latvia, on the Baltic; 146 miles W. by S. of Riga. It fiossesses a fine harbor, admitting vessels hat draw 17 to 23 feet, and free from ice except for less than 14 days in the year. Its exports consist of grain, lin- seed and linseed oil-cake, petroleum, eggs, spirits, flax, hemp, etc. Since 1872 Libau has important railroad con- nections with Moscow, Kharkov, and other cities. It possesses a naval cathe- dral, shipbuilding yards, and a school of navigation. The industries include iron founding, brewing, oil-pressing, etc. Libau is much frequented as a seaside resort. One of the churches contains an organ (1886), one of the largest in the world. Pop. about 90,400. An ice- free naval port was constructed here at enormous cost (1893-1904). In the World War, Libau suffered great dam- age from the attacks of the German armies. LIBERAL, a name given to that party in England which is opposed to the Con- servative party. The designation "Lib- eral," applied to a political party in Eng- land, is said to have been derived from the "Liberal," a periodical set on foot by Lord Byron and his friends. Both po- litical parties are named with tacit ref- erence to an irresistible movement to- ward democracy long in progress in Great Britain. The Conservatives, dreading the effect of this democratic current on the time-honored Institutions of the country, make it their main ob- ject to conserve them. The Liberal party, on the contrary, little or nothing fearing the results of change, help the movement instead of attempting to stem or lessen its progress. The Liberal party in English politics consists of two great sections or wings, generally in co- operation though sometimes in antag- onism. These are the Whigs and the Radicals, the former seeking to remove the more obnoxious defects in the institu- tions of the country, with the view of in- suring their stability; the latter, on the