Letter to Friedrich Engels, September 21, 1858

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 21 September 1858


First published abridged in Der Briefivechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 2, Stuttgart, 1913 and in full in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXII, Moscow, 1929
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 40


MARX TO ENGELS

IN MANCHESTER

[London,] 21 September 1858 9 Grafton Terrace, Maitland Park, Haverstock Hill

DEAR Frederick,

You must exercise your customary forbearance and excuse my long silence. The indisposition from which I was suffering even before leaving Manchester again became chronic—persisting throughout the entire summer—so that any kind of writing costs me a tremendous effort. For the same reason my manuscript[1] is only now about to go off (IN 2 WEEKS), but there will be 2 instalments AT ONCE. Even though I had nothing to do but correct the style of what had already been written, I might sometimes sit for hours before getting this or that phrase right. For ABOUT 8 DAYS, by the by, I have been much better and on the whole I find the cooler time of year more beneficial. Moreover, there is every prospect that, with my mother's help, I shall be able to put my domestic affairs entirely in order and also start to take HORSE EXERCISE again. The latter will be my prime concern, as soon as the BUSINESS has been attended to.

Meanwhile I have been writing very regularly for the Tribune, as 1 have no desire to make these chaps a gift of any money.

Find out from Lupus or (direcdy or indirecdy) from Borchardt whether they know a Mrs von Paula (might sign herself Paulaw) who once lived in Breslau.[2] If so, I have something curious to tell you.

Re Bangya, I had in my possession (but, alas, only for a few hours) some material relating to him—letters from Constantinople as well as cuttings from the Constantinople papers. T h e excerpts in The Free Press don't give such a clear idea of the thing.[3] It's the affaire of the 'CHIEF of the dynasty'[4] all over again. Kossuth would appear to be directly compromised. I have now SUMMONED him in the Tribune TO DECLARE HIMSELF![5] Apropos. I've h a d an amusing experience with the Tribune. By way of evaluating the 'REPORT of the COMMITTEE' o n the late crisis I sent the paper several articles specifically relating to banking, CURRENCY, etc., which they published as LEADERS.[6] Along comes a BANKER, a self-styled 'BULLIONIST', and writes a letter to the Tribune in which he says 1. that never has so COMPREHENSIVE A SUMMARY of the whole subject been PENNED, etc., but 2. raises all kinds of objections and challenges the editors to reply. So reply the POOR DEVILS must needs d o[7] and INDEED VERY SAD WORK they made of it. But such incidents can only d o m e good.

O u r friend Jones HAS DECIDEDLY SOLD HIMSELF (BUT AT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE) TO THE BRIGHT COTERIE. T h e idiot has ruined himself politically without rescuing himself commercially. I'll cut out the articles relating to him in Reynolds's and send them to you. But how litde his apostasy—the laddie is preaching UNION OF THE MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASSES—has availed him (he has sold The People's Paper to the Morning Star fellows, has retained a mere couple of columns in the sheet for himself a n d is, moreover, already at loggerheads with his new allies over the financial terms) will be evident to you from the fact that the day before yesterday he went to Freiligrath and handed him a letter in German in which h e asked for £ 4, failing which he would be 'locked up'. Freiligrath told him to address himself 'TO OUR FRIEND GILPIN'. T h a t Gilpin is MANAGING DIRECTOR of the SWITZERLAND BANK and of the paper with which Jones has incorporated himself. If you possibly have time, write ANYTHING for Friday. I wrote about the Chinese Treaty yesterday.[8]

Lina[9] is now STAYING with us, having lost h e r position again. Salut. Regards to Lupus.

Your K. M.

Come what may, you must arrange to spend a few days here over Christmas or the New Year.

According to the latest report in The Economist, French trade has got worse rather than better over recent months.[10] {Give the enclosed to Lupus.)

  1. ↑ A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy
  2. ↑ Wroclaw
  3. ↑ 'The Russian Agent in Circassia', The Free Press, No. 20,25 August 1858.
  4. ↑ See this volume, p. 109.
  5. ↑ K. Marx, 'Another Strange Chapter of Modern History'.
  6. ↑ Report from the Select Committee on Bank Acts...
  7. ↑ 'To the Editor of N. Y. Tribune', New York Daily Tribune, No. 5420, 4 September 1858. The editors' reply was published in the same issue as the Banker's letter.
  8. ↑ Marx refers to the unequal treaties signed in Tientsin in June 1858 by Britain and France with China during the second Opium War (1856-60). The treaties made new ports available to foreign trade; foreign diplomatic representatives were authorised in Peking; foreigners were allowed to travel freely in the country for commercial or other purposes; Britain and France received economic privileges through the introduction of new commercial rules legalising the opium trade, and were paid indemnities. Marx discussed these treaties in his articles written in August and early September for the New-York Daily Tribune: 'History of the Opium Trade' and 'The Anglo-Chinese Treaty' (see present edition, Vol. 16). However, the article mentioned in this letter was not published in the Tribune.—342, 347, 362, 387
  9. ↑ Caroline Schöler
  10. ↑ 'Accounts Relating to Trade and Navigation for the Seven Months Ended July 31, 1858', The Economist, No. 783 (supplement), 28 August 1858.