Letter to Friedrich Engels, February 26, 1851

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 26 February 1851


First published: in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 1, Stuttgart, 1913
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 38, pp. 303-305


TO ENGELS IN MANCHESTER

[London, 26 February 1851]

Dear Engels,

I am sending you Pieper's and Schramm's[1] letters so that you may learn the facts from the actual participants. This is the best way for you to form your own opinion. Incomprehensible lâcheté[2] on the part of the 200 fraternal[3] murderers who discharged their revolutionary energies upon two individuals, incomprehensible lâcheté on the part of our dear[4] of Landolphe, of Louis Blanc, etc., who calmly looked on, memorising their fraternal slogans.

One further point from Schramm's conversation with Harney: Harney emphasised that Schapper was a 'long-standing acquaintance' of his, and had been on the most intimate terms with him while we were in Brussels.

Apropos! Messrs L. Blanc & Co. had already sent a complete report of the meeting to a Paris paper the day before.[5]

Legal proceedings would ruin L. Blanc. You can imagine what a feast it would be for The Times, more especially as Barthélémy, the galérien, the meurtrier[6] etc., would appear as the accused and provocateur à l'assassinat.[7] For in the middle of the brawl, Barthélémy said pointing to Schramm: C'est un infâme, il faut l'écraser.[8]

Nothing but ill can come of litigation: Harney's and Jones' projected paper in the soup, Harney and the fraternals in the soup, The Times will be jubilant, Pieper will lose his job (he's magnanimous enough not to bother about it), and Schramm, etc., will end up by having to take on all the Chartists at once.

Que faire?[9] I shall discuss this tomorrow with Jones. Friend Harney, like Schapper, seems to count on the whole affair quietly blowing over. Hence he has thought it not worth his while to take the necessary steps with regard to us or to make the necessary concessions. In this way the jackass is aggravating the situation. One can't allow this dirty business to go unavenged.

If Harney writes to you, there's one thing you must guard against. In your letter[10] you dwell too much on Ledru's and Blanc's theoretical criticism. Harney now makes out that we demanded that he should form part of our queue.[11] Hence, what above all must be pointed out to him is that:

1. the one and only issue is his relationship with Schapper and Willich, in that he has constituted himself the supporter of our immediate, personal, rascally foes and, in the eyes of Germany, has thrown what weight he has into the scales for them against us. And did he not together with us break off all connections with Vidil, with Barthélémy and with Willich in writing?[12] How, then, could he resume them without us, behind our backs, and against our wishes! If that is fair it's beyond me.

2. He has disavowed us in that, after the incident with Schramm and Pieper, he failed to make immediate public amends at the meeting and then withdraw forthwith. Instead of which he did everything to make out to his friends that the thing was irrelevant.

Enclosed Dronke's letter. You must write and tell him in detail about the whole mummery, including the most recent affair. I have masses to write to Cologne, Hamburg, etc.

If today's letter hasn't been stamped, you must excuse me. It is too late to go out for stamps, and it is essential that the letter be posted this evening.

Your

K. Marx

  1. ↑ See this volume, pp. 282, 284.
  2. ↑ cowardice
  3. ↑ i.e. Fraternal Democrats
  4. ↑ Harney
  5. ↑ This may mean Le Constitutionnel, the issue No. 58 of which on 27 February 1851 carried a report of the so-called 'banquet of the equals' held on 24 February on the initiative of Louis Blanc, Willich, Schapper and other emigrants to mark the anniversary of the February 1848 revolution.
  6. ↑ convict sentenced to the galleys; murderer
  7. ↑ inciter to murder
  8. ↑ 'He's infamous, he must be crushed.'
  9. ↑ What's to be done?
  10. ↑ See this volume, pp. 287, 299.
  11. ↑ retinue
  12. ↑ Harney joined Marx and Engels in officially breaking with the Blanquists and the members of the Willich-Schapper separatist group who supported them. The result was the cancellation of the previously concluded agreement to establish a Universal Society of Revolutionary Communists (see Note 313).