introduction of the constitution in the Austrian Empire in 1861, Lavrič became politically active again. He soon rose among the leaders of the Slovene national movement in the County of Gorizia and Gradisca. In 1863, he moved to the town of Ajdovščina in the Vipava Valley and in 1869 to Gorizia, the provincial capital. A broadly educated intellectual, he became one of the main theoreticians of the so-called Young Slovenes, the liberal wing of the Slovene national movement. Influenced by the theories of Sismondi, Bluntschli and Karl von Rotteck, he believed in the need of connecting economic reformism with liberal political institutions in a decentralized state. A powerful orator, he travelled around the region to promote his liberal values of constitutionalism, economic improvement, and ethnic and linguistic equality. Lavrič was among the first Slovene politicians who endorsed the idea of mass public mobilizations of the peasantry in support of the idea of national emancipation. Following the example of Daniel O'Connell's monster meetings, Lavrič helped organizing mass public rallies in support of the program of United Slovenia. These rallies, known as Tabori, which took place between 1868 and 1871, proved extremely successful. Lavrič was personally involved in the organization in 8 of the 18 rallies. Among those, the most successful were the rallies in Šempas near Gorizia in October 1868, attended by around 14,000 people, in Vipava in August 1870 (12,000 people), and in Kastav in Istria in May 1871 (10,000 people). In 1870, Lavrič was elected to the Provincial diet of Gorizia and Gradisca. Last years In the early 1870s, the split between the liberal Young Slovenes and conservatives Old Slovenes became more acute. The two camps established their own political organizations in the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, and Lavrič became the leader of the local Young Slovene faction. His conservative opponents launched many attacks against his personality, ridiculing his idealism and exploiting his Protestant faith in an overwhelmingly and devoutly Roman Catholic constituency. The split reached its climax in 1873, when the local Slovene nationalists failed to gain a seat in the Austrian Parliament due to their internal divisions. The two Slovene factions in Gorizia and Gradisca reached an agreement in 1875, differently from the neighbouring Slovene region of Carniola, where the fight between the two continued, evolving in a two-party system. Despite the disappointment over the relations within Slovene nationalism, Lavrič continued his public activities, focusing on