Letter to Friedrich Engels, March 3, 1862

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 3 March 1862


First published in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 3, Stuttgart, 1913
Printed according to the original
Published in English in full for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 41


MARX TO ENGELS[1]

IN MANCHESTER

[London,] 3 March 1862

Dear Engels,

I am sending my wife to a LOAN OFFICE today to see what can be done there, for I've had a disgustingly rude letter from my LANDLORD, and, if the fellow puts a BROKER into the house, I shall be sued by all and sundry.

The wine hasn't arrived yet. I should be grateful if you could let me have this week (by Friday morning[2] ) an article in English on the American war.[3] You can write it without the slightest misgiving. The Tribune will print it as the LETTER OF A FOREIGN OFFICER. Nota bene: The Tribune hates McClellan, who is in league with the Democratic Party and, throughout the period in which he was COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF ALL THE ARMIES, prevented any action by intervening directly not only on the Potomac (where this may have been justified), but in every theatre of war, especially in the west. (He was also at the bottom of the highly infamous intrigue against Fremont.[4] ) Moreover, out of esprit de corps and a hatred of CIVILIANS, this same Mac has sheltered all the army's traitors, e.g., Colonel Maynard and General Stone. The latter's arrest took place a day or 2 after Clellan had been dismissed as COMMANDER IN CHIEF of all the armies. Similarly, the New York Herald's impudent 'REPRESENTATIVE'[5] in Washington was arrested as a SPY against McClellan's wishes, having on the previous day entertained McC.'s entire STAFF to a champagne breakfast.

You will recall my having told you from the start that nothing would come of the expectations regarding the China trade. This is confirmed by the latest BOARD OF TRADE report:[6]

1860 1861 [£] [£] China 2,872,045 3,114,157 Hong Kong 2,445,991 1,733,967

Total 5,318,036 4,848,124

So, a decrease in total exports. More of them direct, fewer via Hong Kong. In the meantime, the Russians have seized another fine island off Korea.[7] Add to this their new 'OCCUPATIONS' in Java, and their supremacy of the NORTHERN PACIFIC is assured. The extent to which Pam's influence has russified the entire English press is borne out by its profound silence over Russia's PROGRESS in this area, ditto its passive attitude vis-à-vis Poland.

Apropos. Will you be so good as to let me know at long last what has become of the Lassalle[8] that was intended for my cousin Philips,[9] since, failing that knowledge, I am unable to write to the said cousin.

Salut.

Your

K. M.

  1. ↑ An extract from this letter was first published in English in: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Civil War in the United States, New York, 1937
  2. ↑ 7 March
  3. ↑ On 7 March Engels wrote the first part of the article requested by Marx, and on 18 March probably the second part (see p. 351). However, the Tribune did not publish this article. Engels made use of the first part for his article 'The War in America' (see present edition, Vol. 18) published in The Volunteer Journal, for Lancashire and Cheshire on 14 March 1862. Marx translated the text intended for the Tribune into German, added more recent data and sent the text to Die Presse, which published it on 26 and 27 March 1862 (see 'The American Civil War', present edition, Vol. 19).
  4. ↑ In October 1861 Fremont was dismissed from his post of commander of the army in Missouri for issuing a proclamation granting freedom to the slaves of rebels. For details see Marx's article 'The Dismissal of Fremont' (present edition, Vol. 19).
  5. ↑ Malcolm Ives
  6. ↑ 'Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation for the Manufactures', The Economist, No. 966, 1 March 1862. Should read 'Japan'. See this volume, p. 347.
  7. ↑ Tsushima
  8. ↑ F. Lassalle, Das System der erworbenen Rechte.
  9. ↑ See this volume, pp. 313, 315, 320, 322, 341, and this page (the next letter).