Letter to Friedrich Engels, November 19, 1852

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 19 November 1852


First published in part in Die Neue Zeit, Ergänzungshefte, No. 12, 12 April, Stuttgart, 1922 and in full in: Karl Marx/Friedrich Engels, Briefwechsel, Bd. 1, Moskau-Leningrad, 1935
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 39


MARX TO ENGELS[1]

IN MANCHESTER

London, 19 November 1852 28 Dean Street, Soho

Dear Engels,

Last Wednesday,[2] at my suggestion, the League here[3] disbanded; similarly the continued existence of the League on the Continent was declared to be no longer expedient. In any case, since the arrest of Bürgers-Röser, it had to all intents and purposes already ceased to exist there. Enclosed a statement for the English papers,[4] to complement our first one.[5] You should, however, put it into better and CONCISER English. I no longer have the German original.[6] In addition I am writing for a lithographed article a detailed account of the dirty tricks played by the police,[7] and also an appeal to America for money for the prisoners and their families. Treasurer Freiligrath. Signed by all our people.[8]

The article for the Tribune,[9] however, is dependent on the time at your disposal. You must return the enclosed statement, or rather an amended version of the same, as soon as possible, since not a day longer is to be lost where the London press is concerned.

Regards to Weerth.

Your

K. Marx

  1. ↑ Only the author's copy of this letter has survived in Marx's notebook for 1860 among material relating to his work on Herr Vogt
  2. ↑ 17 November
  3. ↑ the London District of the Communist League
  4. ↑ K. Marx and F. Engels, 'A Final Declaration on the Late Cologne Trials'.
  5. ↑ K. Marx and F. Engels, 'Public Statement to the Editors of the English Press'.
  6. ↑ K. Marx and F. Engels, 'Erklärung', London, 18 November 1852, New-Yorker Criminal-Zeitung, No. 39, 10 December 1852.
  7. ↑ K. Marx, Revelations Concerning the Communist Trial in Cologne.
  8. ↑ German workers in America was written by Marx on behalf of a committee founded in London to organise aid to the communists accused in Cologne. It was signed by the members of the recently disbanded Communist League who were resident in London—Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Wilhelm Wolff, Ferdinand Freiligrath, Ernst Dronke, Wilhelm Liebknecht and other German refugees, and also by Ernest Jones. The appeal was sent to Cluss on 7 December 1852 and published in American German-language newspapers (see present edition, Vol. 11)
  9. ↑ F. Engels, 'The Late Trial at Cologne'.