Letter to Karl Marx, March 21, 1870

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 21 March 1870


First published in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 4, Stuttgart, 1913
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 43


ENGELS TO MARX

IN LONDON

Manchester, 21 March 1870

Dear Moor,

Your letter of the day before yesterday[1] was only delivered to me today, and the state of the envelope (enclosed) leaves no further doubt that the scoundrel Bruce is keeping an eye on our correspondence. I am, therefore, not sending these lines by post and, at the same time, a few lines, in which Pigott's letter[2] is returned, are going off to you by post.[3]

Close your envelopes carefully, and seal them with sealing-wax over the glue so that the signet-print touches all four flaps of the envelope. Your present envelopes are not suitable; the 4 flaps have to come quite close together so that this can be done. This makes things more difficult, so that, in the short time the fellows have they are forced to leave visible evidence, and then one can denounce them publicly. In the meantime, write important things to me under the address: Schorlemmer, Owens College, Manchester, or 172 Brunswick Street, Manchester, or S. Moore, 25 Dover Street, Oxford Street, Manchester, and don't write the address yourself. For very secret things, the best way is some sort of packet per Globe Parcel Co. like this one. In this way you could also let me have another address; it must not be that of your house. It's a good thing that I am soon moving to London, then this will come to an end. I have just given notice on my house. In fact, the beastly government could wish for no better medium than our correspondence in order to keep informed of the activities of the entire proletarian party; the government will also find things in our correspondence that they can utilise with their continental colleagues. At least because of this we must take all precautions. We must not correspond for Stieber's sake.

Jenny can shout: victoire sur toute la ligne![4] If it were not for her, the honourable Gladstone would never have granted the new enquête[5] How Moore[6] allowed himself to be diddled again by Gladstone concerning this enquiry can be shown by comparing the hopeful NOTE on p. 608 of The Irishman, which obviously proceeds from Moore, with Gladstone's Thursday speech, in which he reserved for himself the composition, procedures, etc.[7]

An attempt was also made, probably in Cologne, to open the letter from Solingen[8] to me, but it was unsuccessful, owing to proper use of sealing-wax.

Hearty greetings.

Your

F. E.

In their haste, the fellows laid together the four flaps of the envelope incorrectly, the proof is therefore absolute.

  1. ↑ 19 March
  2. ↑ See this volume, p. 458.
  3. ↑ Engels' letter TO MARX posted on 21 March 1870 has not been found.
  4. ↑ victory along the whole line!
  5. ↑ enquiry
  6. ↑ George Henry Moore
  7. ↑ After three of Jenny Marx's articles on the treatment of the Irish political prisoners in English prisons were published in La Marseillaise (see present edition, Vol. 21), the Irish M. P. George Henry Moore demanded, on 17 March 1870, that the Government launch a 'full and free' public inquiry into the matter. Under pressure from public opinion, Gladstone was forced, when replying to Moore, to agree to such an inquiry, but made a significant stipulation as to the character of the commission, stating that he 'shall be responsible for the manner in which the inquiry is conducted'. Thus Gladstone secured the right to appoint not a Parliamentary but a Royal commission which would not be accountable to Parliament. Moore's inquiry and Gladstone's reply were published in The Times on 18 March; on 19 March, in the column 'Treatment of Political Prisoners' and under the heading 'Probable Inquiry', The Irishman featured the item (mentioned by Engels) which, contrary to what Gladstone had stated, said that a Parliamentary commission was to be appointed.
  8. ↑ See this volume, p. 455.