An Unknown Episode from the Life of Marceli Chlamtacz, a Lwów-based Professor of Roman Law: A Few Words on the Election and Candidates for the Post of Secretary at the University of Lwów in the Academic Year 1894/95

doctor of law at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, expert in the field of theater, literature and translations. The last one who applied for the above-mentioned position was widely unknown alumni of law Kazimierz Tychowski, a Ukrainian.


INTRODUCTION
As the 155 th anniversary of the birth of Marceli Stanisław Chlamtacz 1 has just passed this year, the article aims to recall one of the unknown episodes from the life of this increasingly rediscovered professor of the Francis I University of Lwów, operating as Jan Kazimierz University after World War I, who specialized in Roman and civil law. His life and activity are drawing more and more attention from subsequent researchers. After his death in 1947, only a few short articles or biographical entries concerning him came out 2 , however, in the last several years he has been mentioned by, i.a., Adam Redzik 3 , Bożena Czech-Jezierska 4 and Renata Kamińska 5 . The author of these words also has published several publications about the life and work of M. Chlamtacz, including the monograph Roman Law at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów in the Interwar Period 1918Period -1939 (Prawo rzymskie na Uniwersytecie Jana Kazimierza we Lwowie w okresie międzywojennym 1918, Toruń 2015, 2017 ). Grzegorz Nancka has also recently published Lwowska" on 13 and 15 December (no. 284,p. 7 and no. 286,p. 8) in the column called "Konkursa". The announcement said: In order to fill the post of University secretary at the local Imperial-Royal (I-R) University that carries salary of class IX clerks, we hereby announce a vacancy to be filled by 31 January 1895. Applicants should hold certificates of law studies with good grades in theoretical state examinations and submit evidence of their age, status, abilities, work experience or other performed jobs, and finally certificates confirming their knowledge of the official languages and German. Applicants who are already civil servants should submit their applications through their superiors while all other applications should be submitted directly to the Senate of I-R University in Lwów. University Senate of I-R University. Lwów, 7 December, 1894.

MARCELI CHLAMTACZ'S APPLICATION
Seven candidates submitted their applications for the vacancy including five doctors of law among them Marceli Chlamtacz, doctor of law at the University of Lwów (since 1891). In 1894, Chlamtacz returned from Germany where he had continued his studies of Roman and civil law for three years 14 . Soon after his return from Berlin to Lwów, he resumed his law practice, and on 29 January 1895, he applied for the above-mentioned post of the University secretary 15 . In his application, the longest of all the submitted ones 16 , he presented his career and professional path as follows: Having graduated from gymnasium and passing the final matriculation exam in 1885, I continued my education at the University of Lwów where I studied law and passed three state examinations within the prescribed time period. As I was planning to become a barrister, I completed an obligatory criminal court placement at the Imperial-Royal National Court at the 1 st Instance Tribunal in Lwów in 1890 and 1891. During the same period of time, I successfully passed the qualifying examinations and was awarded the degree of doctor of laws at the University of Lwów. Afterward, I embarked on my barrister training at barrister dr Paweł Dąbrowski's law firm in Lwów. Feeling enslaved, I decided to terminate it less than one year into the training, and head for Vienna. In the academic year 1891/92, I attended the University of Vienna where I studied private law, common law and Austrian law for two semesters. As I had been supported by the esteemed Professors of the Faculty of Law 14 After his return, he lived at Jagiellońska 24, Lwów. See Державний архів львівської області (hereinafter: ДАЛО), ф. 26, оп. 5, спр. 1989, арк. 5v. About Marceli Chlamtacz's foreign studies, see R. Wiaderna-Kuśnierz, Zagraniczne studia i stypendia naukowe…; eadem, Prawo rzymskie na Uniwersytecie Jana Kazimierza we Lwowie w okresie międzywojennym (1918( ), Toruń 2015( , pp. 183-186, 282-289. 15 ДАЛО, ф. 26, оп. 5, спр. 1989 It was possible to establish most of the facts concerning the candidates on the basis of their comprehensive applications and attachments where they described their professional and scholarly careers. Unfortunately there are only few attachments that they had included with their applications as they were later returned to the candidates. Marceli Chlamtacz and Tadeusz Bujak submitted comprehensive applications.
Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 14/08/2021 10:13:09 U M C S and Administration in Lwów, I was awarded a two-year imperial scholarship thanks to which I could go to Berlin where I dedicated myself almost entirely to the study of Roman law with a special focus on its historical development. The certificates written by the professors of Berlin University which I enclose define the content and direction of my studies and confirm my command of spoken and written German language. Having returned from my scholarships abroad towards the end of 1894, I commenced my professional practice as a barrister at dr Tadeusz Skałkowski's law firm where I am still working. In order to receive veniam legendi in Roman law at the University of Lwów, I am working on a dissertation on the conventional character of tradition in classical Roman law which I intend to submit to be published this year. To prove that I also have a good command of spoken and written Ukrainian [archaic Polish: ruski], I submit two certificates to confirm that I also studied Ukrainian at the Lwów-based Franz Josef I Gymnasium 17 .
Finally, he justified his request for the post as follows: In the end, I dare assure the Esteemed Senate that both my efforts so far and responsibilities involved in the new post, would be fulfilled with my utmost conscientiousness, zeal and loyalty if the Esteemed Senate did me the honor to appoint me for the post 18 .
He had included 20 attachments which were not found in the documentation (the included attachments were returned to the rejected candidates).
The first counter-candidate to Chlamtacz for the post of university secretary was Jan Józef Wierzbowski born in 1861 in Skałat, marital status -single, adjunct at the local court in Mikulińce. In the table concerning "Command of languages and other information and skills" of the questionnaire which he had completed on 20 January 1895, he wrote: Polish, Ukrainian, German, certificates of barrister and judicial examinations. The table concerning "Service up-to-day" says, i.a., that he embarked on his placement at the I-R regional court in Stanisławów on 28 April 1885, then he worked for I-R local courts: in Tyśmienica from 6 August 1888, 17 ДАЛО, ф. 26, оп. 5, спр. 1989, арк. 4-5. 18 Ibidem. 19 At present: Mykulyntsi, Sniatyn raion, Ivano-Frankivs'k oblast, Ukraine. Because Wierzbowski was already a civil servant, he submitted his application on 26 January 1895 (register number 416) according to the announcement in "Gazeta Lwowska" through his superior Teofil Niedźwiński, president of I-R local court in Mikulińce. However, Wierzbowski did not wait for the results to be announced and withdrew his application thus resigning from the procedure on 2 February. The following note on his application says: "I hereby waive my request and confirm receiving all the documents I enclosed, Lwów, 2 February 1895. Jan Józef Wierzbowski" 23 .
Very little is known about Jan Błeszyński. Some archival files show his name as Jan Bleszyński, others as Błeszyński. It was established that his real name was Jan Honoriusz Ignacy Abdon Błeszyński. According to the information included in his application, he was born in Skoraczewo in 1865 in the Posen Region (the Grand Duchy of Posen) and lived in Jarosław. The results of the research confirm that the above information tie in with the data found in Dworzaczek's Files (Teki Dworzaczka) on the Internet website of Kórnik Library which belongs to the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) as well as in "Gazeta Warszawska" and in Jan Michalik's The History of the Theater in Kraków in 1865-1893: Theater Companies (Dzieje teatru w Krakowie w latach 1865-1893: przedsiębiorstwa teatralne, part 1). They confirm that he was born on 16 June 1865 and his parents were Bonawentura Błeszyński (Suche Komnaty or Oksza coats of arms 24 ) and Elżbieta Szczaniecka (Ossorya coat of arms) 25 . After the January Uprising, Bonawentura -his father -was charged in a great political trial which began on 7 July 1864 at the Tribunal in Berlin for 149 participants of the uprising 26 . Bonawentura was accused of delivering arms and weapons for the insurgents and the public prosecutor sought a 6-year prison sentence for him 27 . Jan lived in his mother's estate in Skoraczewo near Kościan until 1874 when his parents sold it and went to live in Kołdowo, Suliszewice farm. Later he lived in his father's estate in Suliszewice. Jan had four siblings: Bronisła-22 ДАЛО, ф. 26, оп. 5, спр. 1989, арк. 7 30 . Probably his work for the theatre was his additional activity as he was studying law and was awarded the title of doctor of laws at the Jagiellonian University in 1891. It was impossible to find out much about his life from 1891 to 1895 when he applied for the post of secretary apart from the fact that he lived in Jarosław at the time of his application for the post at the University of Lwów. Another candidate for the post of secretary was Aleksander Doliński born on 18 February 1866 in Laskowce 31 . He graduated from the gymnasium in Buczacz and Tarnopol and then studied at the University of Lwów where he was also awarded the title of doctor (1890). After that, he studied in Germany for two years. In the academic year 1890/91 he studied in Berlin taking part in the seminars taught by Alfred Pernice, Heinrich Dernburg and Ernst Eck, professors of Roman law, and in the seminar taught by Levin Goldschmidt, professor of commercial law. During his stay in Göttingen, he also attended seminars taught by Rudolph von Jhering, professor of Roman law, the precursor of solidarity and the author of the "theory of interest" ("Jurisprudence of interests") in 1891/92. On 21 July 1893, he applied for the veniae legendi in Austrian private law at the Faculty of Law. He presented his work: Haftung des Contrahenten für seine Gehilfen bei der Abschlieβung von obligatorischen Verträgen which was met with criticism from his reviewers -Ernest On 31 January 1895, another application registered as application number 427 was submitted by Kazimierz Tychowski -I-R junior administration clerk (archaic Polish: koncepista administracyjny) who was born in 1862 in Hoszany 34 , Rudki county in Galicia. He was Ukrainian socialist 35 . It is known that he was arrested in 1882 when he was a student at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Lwów. As "Gazeta Toruńska" informs on 13 May 1883, three days before, the verdict was passed against him and fifty other comrades, i.a. Jan Kozakiewicz and Michał Drabik, for promoting socialist ideas and organizing illegal socialist clubs 36 . In this trial, Tychowski was sentenced to 6 months of maximum security prison 37 .
On 2 February 1895, the University of Lwów received two more applications submitted by Tadeusz Bujak 38 (L. 431) and Jan Waygart (L. 432) 39 . They were sent through their superior dr Karol Kunz -court advisor and the Attorney of the Treasury (Prokurator Skarbu). Both candidates worked for the Office of the Attorney of the Treasury, the first one as an adjunct, the latter as a junior administration clerk.
Tadeusz Bujak was born on 5 February 1862 in Lwów. He came from a Protestant family who settled down in Śląsk Cieszyński. After he had graduated from the Gymnasium I in Lwów in 1879, he embarked on his studies in Lwów and Vienna. He completed his education in 1887 when he was awarded the title of doctor of laws at the University of Lwów 40 . The Office of the Attorney of the Treasury received Bujak's application together with 16 attachments (i.a. birth certificate, graduation certificate, certificates of state examinations, diploma of doctor of law) on 3 January 1895 (L. 280). The application says that he started his career in the Office of the Attorney of the Treasury on 25 October 1883. At that time, he was referred by the decree of I-R National Directorate of the Office of the Attorney of the Treasury for a placement to work without remuneration as 32 A. Redzik, Aleksander Doliński (1866-1930. Profesor prawa handlowego Uniwersytetu Jana Kazimierza we Lwowie, "Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne" 2007, vol. 59(2), pp. 291-292;Kronika Uniwersytetu Lwowskiego 1894/95-1897/98, pp. 133-134. See also ДАЛО, ф. 26, оп. 5, спр. 1989 He was promoted in the following years and received payment of 500-600 złotys annually. By the Decree of 24 June 1890, he was promoted to junior administration clerk (archaic Polish: koncepista) class X, while on 15 June 1892 he was promoted to an adjunct class IX at the same Office of the Attorney of the Treasury 41 .
His superiors thought very highly of him. His application form about his career includes the following comment: He has excellent skills and broad knowledge of acts and the ability to apply them. He is truly devoted and passionate towards his service, fulfills his duties and tasks with zeal, diligence and great conscientiousness. His behavior is exemplary in any consideration. Lwów At that time, dr Tadeusz Bujak declared to be single and to have a command of "basic French and English" 43 . Apart from his employment in the I-R Office of the Attorney of the Treasury in the 1890s, he worked for the Department of Law Society in Lwów and, on i.a. 23 and 30 October 1890, he presented his report on conditional sentence according to § 25 of the draft of the criminal law, on 28 January and 4 February 1892 -on bidding terms and conditions for sales of property at property auctions, and on 6 and 13 May the same year he reported on the resolutions of chapter V of a project on "The reasons to exclude, mitigate or annul punishment" ( § § . Bujak was also good at organizational tasks. In 1889, he started a chess club in the Academic Library. He was considered one of the best chess players in Lwów from mid-1880s. In 1894, he was one of the 45 founders of Lwów Chess Club and he was nominated for the position of librarian at the first board meeting 44 . The 41 Ibidem,арк. 14,14v. 42 Ibidem,арк. 12. 43 Ibidem,арк. 14v,28. 44 T. Wolsza, Tadeusz Bujak (1862-1926), [in:] Arcymistrzowie, mistrzowie, amatorzy… Słownik biograficzny szachistów polskich, vol. 4, Warszawa 2003 Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 14/08/2021 10:13:09 U M C S club was established on 25 November at a general meeting of chess players in the Grand Hotel in Lwów 45 .
The other candidate, Jan Eugeniusz Juliusz Waygart -junior administration clerk -was born on 5 May 1870 in Macoszyn (Żółkiew county, Lwów district) in a landlord family. In the second half of the 19 th century, the Waygarts were owners of Macoszyn. Jan studied in Lwów and was awarded the title of doctor of law at the Faculty of Law and Political Skills in the 1893/94 academic year 46 . He was one of the founders of the first academic society in Lwów, namely "Fencing Club". He was appointed its first chairman at the first general meeting of the club in 1891 47 . He also held the position of chairman in the following year 48 .

FILLING THE VACANCY
The Academic Senate took only two candidates from the above-mentioned ones into consideration namely, Marceli Chlamtacz and Tadeusz Bujak. At the meeting on 16 February 1895, the decision to present only Marceli Chlamtach for the post of the University secretary to the minister finally passed by a majority of votes 49 . The Minister of Religious Affairs and Education appointed him for the post of secretary at I-R University in Lwów by the rescript of 10 May 1895 (L. 9164) and assigned 110 złotys annual pay. Chlamtacz was also entitled to receive a five-year allowance and an activation allowance of 300 złotys annually. The designation became valid on 1 June 1895 by the Official Letter from the Minister of Religious Affairs and Education of 7 June that year and the Academic Senate was authorized to deliver the designation decree to the newly appointed secretary together with the U M C S annexes of competence application and order him to report and take on his official duties immediately. They were also asked to inform I-R Governorship about the designation and assignation of his salary and finally to inform the other candidates applying for the post that it is already filled and return their applications with all enclosed documents. It was also mentioned that the attachments submitted by Tadeusz Bujak had been returned to him on his demand immediately" 50 .
Marceli Chlamtacz took on his duties as University secretary on 1 June 1895 to work at his post for 5 years until he was appointed professor extraordinarius of Roman law at the University on 12 June 1990. His successor to the position was Alojzy Winiarz -private university associate professor (in Polish: docent prywatny uniwersytetu), adjunct of national archive of the town and land files in Lwów 51 .

FURTHER LIVES OF THE APPLICANTS FOR THE POST OF SECRETARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LWÓW
After being awarded the title of professor extraordinarius, Marceli Chlamtacz continued his scholarly career at the University of Lwów but from 1908 he also embarked on a career in the local government. He was a councillor on the Lwów City Council for many years and in the years 1918-1927 he was deputy mayor for the City of Lwów 53 .
Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 14/08/2021 10:13:09 U M C S he was a well-known and respected figure 54 . He never started his own family. He died on 4 March 1939 in Stanisławów as a retired judge 55 . Not much is known about Kazimierz Tychowski. He probably died in the defence of Lwów in 1918. It was difficult to find information about Jan Błeszyński's life. However, it was possible to establish a few facts and find a few of his publications which prove that he pursued his passion for the theatre, literature and art and wrote about them. He signed them Jan H. Błeszyński (as mentioned his second name was Honoriusz) 56 .
Adam Redzik described broadly the life and professional activity of Aleksander Doliński (another rejected candidate) in the article entitled Aleksander Doliński (1866Doliński ( -1930. Professor of commercial law at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów (Aleksander Doliński (1866-1930. Profesor prawa handlowego Uniwersytetu Jana Kazimierza we Lwowie) 57 . In 1895 Doliński was habilitated in Austrian private law 58 . In 1899 he was included in the list of barristers of the Bar in Lwów 59 while in 1904 he was awarded the title of professor extraordinarius of commercial law and bill of exchange law at Lwów University. Due to his nomination, he was forced to resign from advocacy which he did. He was awarded the title of professor ordinarius of commercial law and bill of exchange law 5 years later, in August