I was born in 1802, at Posen, the principality of the Duchy of that name, in Prussian Poland. I came to England in 1823, and after travelling through a great portion of the country, I got employment in my trade of coach-lace weaver, at Mr. Calvert's, in Manchester. The first wages I received, was £0. 178. 1d., for eleven days' work, (that portion of the wage-book where the entry was made, is at present in my possession.) After working several years as a journeyman-weaver, Mr. Calvert employed me as foreman over the coach-lace and webb weavers, which situation I retained till I commenced business in partnership with Mr. George Heyward, the then treasurer of the Manchester District, and host of the Apollo Lodge. I was initiated in the Apollo Lodge, on the 3rd of September, 1828.

For a foreigner, I speak the English language tolerably well, and although I occasionally, amuse myself with writing an article for the Magazine, I must confess that I often find considerable difficulty in the choice of words, and the framing of sentences. I name this for the purpose of craving the indulgence of the reader for any incorrectness in my style of writing; not that I should wish it to be understood, that I am a greater proficient in my native language, for I never had what is termed an education; in my boyhood I certainly went to school, but the little I there learned was very soon neglected; for the small portion of knowledge which I at present possess, either in the English or my native languages, I am indebted to a desire and a determination (when 1 found my deficiency) to be able to approach in some degree the correctness of my neighbours.

The above brief sketch must suffice, as far as my biography is concerned, as I am not aware of any circumstance relating to myself which would be interesting to the reader; but I cannot avoid embracing this opportunity of publicly acknowledging the many favours I have received from the members of the Apollo Lodge, from the members of the Manchester District, and from the members of the Order at large, as well as from all those with whom I have been at various times connected. The kindness I have experienced shall never be erased from my memory: the reflection of it is a source of much gratification to me, situated as I am, an alien to the country, an alien to the language, an alien to the religion, and yet with all those disadvantages to be selected from amongst 100,000 men as the chief governor of such a benevolent and praiseworthy Institution, as that over which I have now the honour to preside. This act, brethren, pleasing as it is to me to be the instrument of your greatness, will be handed down to posterity, so long as Odd Fellowship exists. You have, by this act, erected a monument of your goodness,-it is another laurel to the wreath of your country. Englishmen! well may you be proud of your happy island. As a nation you have no rival; your constitution, your country, your enterprise, your manners, your everything is noble and great: your benevolence and your disinterestedness is developed in all your actions! It is not to be supposed, that of the 10,000 members VOL. 5-No. 5-2 B.

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in the MANCHESTER DISTRICT, there is no one so competent, so intelligent, or so worthy as myself to be placed at the head of your philanthropic Society. No! I myself say, no; on the contrary, it is your liberality, your kind and charitable disposition to assist and shelter the stranger. Would to heaven that I could wield the pen to give utterance to my feelings: it grieves me that I cannot do you justice; but I know that your kindness will accept the will for the deed. Brothers, I am proud of the position in which you have placed me; and well may I be so, when I refer back to the time when I arrived in Manchester, with but a few shillings in my pocket, without knowing that I had a single friend to consult, and to find that one and all assisted me, not only to obtain a living, but to obtain it under favourable circumstances; and, as if that was not sufficient, a body of 100,000 men should select me for their chief director. Have I then not a right to be proud? My answer is, yes! But with all my pride I must confess that I envy you, inasmuch as I am thus compelled to accept your favours without a possibility of repayment; but I will endeavour so to guide my future conduct as will prevent you regretting the confidence you have placed in me.

As the head of the Institution, it will not be thought presumption in giving my opinion of the Order, and the reason which actuates the members to devote their time and talent in supporting it. It is often the theme of the inquisitive to know the cause of persons taking office, which they are aware is attended with much trouble and loss of time, and they, in general, believe that there must be some pecuniary gain arising from it. Those who reason in this manner know very little of the character of man, or have paid very little attention to the benevolent disposition of the human species.— Man is not that cold-blooded monster which some persons suppose: his own timidity teaches him that it is his interest to deal charitably with his fellow-men, independent of the serenity he enjoys from acting gratefully to those who were the instruments of his own happiness. We are not always able to judge why a person acted in a certain manner, but we in general know the motives of our own actions. To judge rightly of the actions of others, we should reason from analogy, how we should act ourselves, if similarly situated; therefore, the motives which induced me to lose so much time by taking an active part in our society, will, at the same time, stand good as the motives of not only my predecessors, but of all those who have devoted a portion of their time for the welfare of the many. In the first place, let me ask, is it more than the duty of a reasonable being, who often consulted his fellow-labourers on the best method to improve the condition of man, and who at the time, however willing, was not able to render the service necessary ;-and no sooner does he emerge from that position, and finds himself practicably capable of rendering the assistance required, is he then to turn round and forget all the past occurrences,-is man such a deceitful wretch? No! Experience proves the contrary; ambition, of itself, to have the good-will of our fellow-men, will deter us from acting so Janus-like. To show the necessity of disentangling ourselves of such notions will be evident by the very parties who suspect others with acting from sinister motives. Let those explain the reason why they themselves lose so much time in investigating the conduct of others: what object have they in view? Let them explain whether their own motives on the same mode of reasoning, have not an equal claim to be questioned. The fact is that man prides himself to serve his fellow-beings, and he knows that he cannot be more useful than when in office; and no person can be in any office, however humble, without considerably encroaching upon his leisure hours, and very often on his purse. That this is the case, many of my readers will bear me out. We also keep in mind that it is a duty, when we have the power, to allow our neighbours to partake of our enjoyments; we also remember our views, to serve our companions when not so favourably situated. Such are the motives of man for devoting his time; had this not been the case, could Odd Fellowship have held the proud position it does? Should we have had an existence, if our predecessors had not gratuitously served us; and even at the present time, when the Order is better able to remunerate its servants, there are the twenty-one Directors of the Order, meeting twice and thrice each week to serve you, without receiving one penny remuneration. Previous to the Rochdale A. M. C., the very laws which they had to compile for the use of the Order, they had to pay for, if they wanted a copy for their own use. This circumstance shows the disinterestedness and charitable disposition of man; and as Odd Felows, we can pride ourselves that the principles of our Institution have a tendency to encourage and cultivate such friendly

actions. Although a great deal of prejudice against us has worn off, there are still some who view Odd Fellowship as a useless and even an injurious Society. Should this article come under the notice of any who harbours such an idea, I would recommend him to ponder and reflect, until he has read the view I take of the utility of Odd Fellowship.

In addition to relieving the sick and burying the dead, we relieve the distressed under all circumstances; we also succour the widow and the orphan. The good gov ernment and the friendly feeling amongst the members has a tendency to induce persons to join our ranks who are not, from their station in life, so liable to claim the benefits of the Society; and this circumstance enables us more liberally to relieve the really distressed. If the members of a sick club get aged, there is no inducement for a young man to join them; with Odd Fellowship it is quite the contrary, for the young take a pride in administering to the relief of the old. And should any one doubt that Odd Fellowship teaches and brings into practice those good and generous actions, we can cite numerous instances, where the members of Lodges were aged, and had no funds to relieve their sick, but which did not deter young men from joining, and by their exertion restoring prosperity. I am not acquainted with an instance of young members deserting a Lodge on account of its poverty, or for having old members belonging to it. Odd Fellows would consider themselves debased were they to sneak away from a Lodge owing to its poverty, nor would such conduct be tolerated; but practically we find it the reverse. Grants have often been made by Annual Committees to relieve Lodges, and this very circumstance induced persons to join them; and when the money granted was offered to them, they refused to receive it, until, as they said, they could see what the next twelve months would bring forth. We know, also, Districts displeased with Lodges by applying for assistance from the General Fund, without previously giving a fair opportunity to try whether they could not relieve their own neighbours. This proves, that although we have a claim to be assisted, the principles of our Society teach us to depend upon our own resources. It would not be a degradation for the philosopher, the philanthropist, or the statesman, to examine the working of our Institution; they would find that we are doing as much, if not more, practical good, as the most approved schemes for the amelioration of mankind. Politically we are useful by soothing that rancourous spirit which exists amongst persons who are never in the habit of assembling, except to oppose each other. It often happens that the three principal officers of a District, or of the Order, profess opposite opinions in politics and religion; and yet our constitution teaches them to act in unison. I have known a person much surprised when he was told that his colleague the year previous entertained extreme opposite political opinions to himself; the reason is, that we never meet but to alleviate and amend the conditions of our brethren; our attention is entirely engaged with such objects, and politics are therefore not thought of. Odd Fellowship has also a tendency to civilize and cultivate the uneducated; it teaches its members to pay due respect to the governors for the time being, and to devote their leisure hours for the purpose of improving their habits. Let any person examine and compare the habits of the working people in the collieries of Lancashire and elsewhere, and let him also compare the present with the past, and then say whether the introduction of Odd Fellowship has not had a beneficial effect; take Irlams o' th' Heights, Chowbent, and other places, there will be found many who used to amuse themselves with "dog and up-and-down fights," now rationally devoting their time by inculcating the best feelings of humanity, and improving their own minds, and their neighbours' morals. In some Districts they go so far as to inflict a fine or a censure when a member neglects to attend a place of worship on the Sabbath, and frequently do we hear one member censuring another, with not acting on the principles of the Order, when neglecting his employment, or when in a state of inebriety. Our Society is also of service to the Government by teaching the necessity of behaving orderly, and paying due respect to the presiding officers, which shows us that as we ourselves cannot exist without strict discipline, so is it also requisite for every member of society strictly to be guided by the laws and regulations of the country. But above all, Odd Fellowship gives a lesson how easily man may be governed, and how willing to be guided when fairly dealt with. Here is an Institution of 100,000 members, and taking the usual average dependants of such a number, we may calculate about half a million of souls voluntarily consenting to be governed by certain laws, and strictly adhering to their