HYDE -On Saturday, May 28th, the members of the Benevolent Lodge, presented their worthy permanent secretary, Mr. James Shaw, of Flowery Field, with a handsome Patent Lever Silver Watch, bearing the following inscription:"Presented to P. S. James Shaw, by the members of the Benevolent Lodge, No. 62, of the I. O. of O.F., M.U., Hyde District, as a testimonial of his fidelity during a period of 18 years as permanent secretary of the above lodge, May 28th, 1859."

LEEDS.-On Wednesday, June 29th, at a banquet given in honour of Dr. Hook, on the occasion of his leaving Leeds for the Deanery of Chichester, the following address was presented by P.G. William Longley, on behalf of the Odd-Fellows of Leeds town and District :

To the Very Reverend the Dean of Chichester.

Very Reverend Sir and Brother,We, members of the Manchester Unity of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows Friendly Society, having been appointed by the members of that Order to represent them on this occasion, beg to express to you, on their behalf, the strongest feelings of gratitude for the many and important favours which the Order in this district has received at your hands, and for the blessings with which, by your noble example, our brethren throughout the world have been benefited.

For the patience and candour with which you investigated the principles upon which it was founded, before connecting yourself therewith; and, subsequently for the steadiness with which you have adhered to it, through good and evil report, we are grateful. In our prosperity you have rejoiced with us; in our adversity, you have sympathised with us. In every change we have attempted in our economy, with a view to improvement, we have always felt that we were sure of your hearty good wishes and co-operation.

When the hand of benevolence has been necessary to supplement the regular contributions of the Order, either in aid of the ordinary or accidental claims upor our funds, we have always felt that in you we had a true brother, with whom the fraternal title was not a mere name, whose voice would be raised, and whose hand would be ever ready to assist in the cause of the widow, the orphan, the sick, and the needy. And as you have thus aided them, be assured that the blessings of the widow and the prayer of the fatherless have ascended for you to their Father and your Father, to their God and your God; and that our common Great Master, who through human sufferings has felt human sympathies, has graciously received those prayers and blessings, to become gems of purest ray in the heavenly crown we trust you will receive at his hands when you have finished your course.

Our sorrow at parting with you, even when modified by the conviction that you will not be far removed from us, and that you will occupy a like sphere of usefulness as heretofore, is most deep. Still Reverend Sir, we do most heartily rejoice that you have been rewarded by your elevation in that church for which you have done so much and laboured so earnestly. Nor do we less rejoice to find that our Gracious Sovereign, in recognising those labours, proclaims her appreciation of their value in your elevation.

May God grant to you, and to those amongst whom your future lot will be cast, that your life may long be preserved, and your usefulness increased; until, at a ripe old age, you be gathered to your fathers in peace, leaving the bright light of your example to guide and to encourage your successors.

For our brethren in the city to which you go, we venture to as a transfer of your kindness; and for ourselves, your continued kind remembrances.

In conclusion, we beg, as we are deputed, to pray your acceptance of this token of our love and esteem, which you will not estimate according to its intrinsic worth, but as the humble but voluntary offering of your brethren in Odd-Fellowship, whose hands may be feeble to give, but whose hearts are strong to feel.

The emblems which decorate it are those cardinal virtues-Faith, Hope, and Charitywhich the Order was established to inculcate, and which you have so well illustrated in your life. Desiring every blessing for you and yours, we feel happy in being still able to call ourselves Your Brethren in the bonds of Odd-Fellowship.

Mr. Longley next presented the testimonial subscribed for by the members of the Order in Leeds. It consisted of a chaste and elegant silver centre-piece. The base, which rested on a plateau of burnished silver, with rock border, was triangular, and supported figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity, in frosted silver. The figures were grouped round an oak tree, rising from the centre, with branches, leaves, and acorns, and bearing upon the foliage a pierced silver basket, with large cut glass dish. It was inscribed as follows:

"Presented to Very Rev. W. F. Hook, D.D., Dean of Chichester, by the members of the Leeds District of Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, Manchester Unity, on the occasion of

his leaving Leeds, as a small token of their love and esteem, for the many kind and valuable services rendered by him to the Order during his residence amongst them as the Vicar of that Parish.-Leeds, June 29th, 1859.

In reply the Reverend gentleman said, he did not need that kindness at their hands, because he had recently received from the members of friendly societies in Leeds, an address, which was deeply gratifying to his feelings. He certainly did feel indignant when, some years ago, an attack was made on the working classes and on friendly societies, for they must remember that the science of vital statistics was a new science. Calculations had been wrongly made by the upper and middle classes. They had rectified their mistakes, and it did seem hard, without allowing the working classes gradually to rectify their errors, to call upon them at once to give up their societies-not to reform them, but to break them up. The Order of OddFellows, now nearly numbered 300,000 members, and its business was conducted by men of the working classes, and having recently attended their Annual Meeting he must say he never saw business carried on in a more orderly and decorous manner. Their attention from the first had been devoted to the great question of vital statistics, and he believed that their tables were now on a proper basis. He begged to be allowed to give them his thanks and his blessing.

LEWES.-About fifty of the members of the Lewes Lodge of the Manchester Unity, with their wives and families, paid a friendly visit to the members of the Brighton Lodges, at a tea party and soiree at the Odd Fellows' Hall, on Monday, March 28th. There were about 300 present, and after partaking of an excellent tea, provided by Mr. Chatfield, of Bond Street, a concert took place, supported by Messrs. Affleck, Peters, Warbrick, Lindfield, and the Brighton Vocal Union, interspersed with speeches, &c. A most agreeable evening was spent, and the party from Lewes returned home at a late hour, a special train having been liberally provided by the Railway Company.

MANCHESTER.-The brethren of the Caledonian Lodge (863) lately presented to P.G. Brookes, the thanks of the lodge, handsomely engrossed on vellum, as an expression of their appreciation of his valuable services to the district and Order. In the same lodge a raffle was got up for the benefit of Brother F. Handsford, by which the sum of £9 4s. 6d. was realized in the course of a few weeks.

NORTH LONDON DISTRICT.-On Wednesday, March 9th, the members of the Loyal Craven Lodge presented the secretary, W. Haldfield, with a valuable silver watch, as a token of their acknowledgment of his long and valuable services.

NORWICH DISTRICT.-Loyal Temple of Friendship Lodge, Beccles, Suffolk. Recently the tenth anniversary of the above lodge was celebrated at the Assembly Rooms, Beccles; W. L. Crowfoot, Esq., in the chair. Upwards of 130 members and friends were present. The interesting proceeding of the evening was the presentation to P.G. Francis Clarke, the treasurer of the lodge, of a very elegant time-piece and teapot and cream-jug. After P.G. Clarke's health had been most enthusiastically drank, he made the following acknowledgment :-"Gentlemen and most esteemed brothers,I assure you that I consider myself unworthy the respect thus shown me, although I admit that I always did (as I trust I always shall) use my best abilities to promote the advancement of a society which has for its objects the relief of the distressed and afflicted. In early life I joined the Order, and I have never had cause to regret it. I regard it as the best conducted benefit society with which I am acquainted; and I have not the slightest

hesitation in saying, that if its rules are strictly adhered to, it cannot fail to make its members better husbands, better fathers, and better members of society. I will not trespass further upon your time than to say, that the handsome testimonial with which you have been pleased to honour me will be most highly prized, and that it will form a conspicuous object in my cottage, which I shall ever look upon with feelings of pride and gratitude. As long as life may last it will tend to remind me of this happy evening when you were pleased to present it to me; and when these eyes shall have closed upon time, I have no doubt it will be regarded as a sacred relic. Allow me once more to thank you all, and to say that I trust my future efforts in the cause of Odd Fellowship may continue unabated, and ever meet your kind approval. Brother Odd-Fellows, I sincerely thank you."

SOUTHAMPTON.-The anniversary dinner of the Prosperity Lodge took place on Monday evening, March 7th, at the Haymarket Tavern. It was numerously attended by brethren and friends. Mr. Councillor J. R. Weston, (in the absence of the surgeon, J. Wiblin, Esq., F.R.S.,) presided. The lodge is in a very safe financial condition. P.P.G.M. Arnold said he was happy to say that the Manchester Unity had arrived at an unexampled state of prosperity. It was not, nevertheless, to be supposed that it had not difficulties with which to contend at the present time. It was once thought that Odd-Fellows were a body of men joined in secret conclave for the mere purposes of hilarity and conviviality, and that they did not conduct their business on safe commercial principles. They had outlived that sort of thing, and practical thinking men had been brought to accord to them that they certainly did a large, a vast amount of good.

UPWELL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE.-The seventeenth anniversary of the Victoria Lodge, No. 3,181, Wisbeach District, was celebrated on the 31st of May last. The members having assembled in the lodge room, proceeded thence in procession to church. The Rev. J. R. Pilling read prayers, and a very appropriate sermon was preached by the Rev. J. Rolfe. After leaving church the members went in procession through the village, and returned to their lodge room at three o'clock, when about 80 persons sat down to dinner; Mr. L. Ollard, Esq., solicitor, P.G., presided. After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, P.P.G.M. James of the Neptune Lodge, Wisbeach, proposed, "Prosperity to the Victoria Lodge," which was responded to by P.G. Benjamin Webber, the secretary, who entered into some very interesting details relative to the past operations and present position of the lodge, which he stated then numbered 90 members, and possessed an accumulated sick fund amounting to nearly £400. Mr. James Webber, jun., the G.M. of the lodge, in proposing, "Prosperity to the M.U.I.O.F.," detailed the numerical position of the Order and the amounts paid by the Unity during 1858 for relief in sickness, and on the deaths of members and members' wives, and gave an estimate of the amount paid by the Manchester Unity in surgeon's salaries, which in 1858 was, he believed, upwards of £50,000. The health of the surgeon was drank, and ably responded to by Mr. Balding; and, after various toasts and songs, the health of the chairman terminated the evening's proceedings.

UNITED STATES.-We have received a copy of Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, containing a long and interesting account of an anniversary festival, held by our American brethren of Boston.