| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 7 September 1870 |
ENGELS TO MARX
IN LONDON
Manchester, 7 September 1870
Dear Moor,
(Continuation.)[1] Due to the unexpected victories chauvinism has gone horribly to the heads of the German philistines who have done nothing to bring them about, and it is high time to do something about this. If only the Volksstaat were not so contemptible! But nothing can be done about that. By the time my preface to The Peasant War[2] in pamphlet form appears in print, it will have been long since overtaken by events. All the more urgent, therefore, is the new proclamation of the International[3] (for which you must do the German as well this time).
If the telegraphed version of the Parisian International proclamation 101 is anything near accurate, it undoubtedly shows that these people are still entirely dominated by rhetoric. Having endured Badinguet[4] for 20 years, having been unable to prevent him from winning 6 million votes against 1½ only six months ago[5] and from stirring them up against Germany without any rhyme or reason, now that the German victories have made them a present of a republic—et laquelle![6] —these people demand that the Germans should leave the sacred soil of France without delay, for otherwise there will be guerre à outrance[7] ! It is the same old idea of the superiority of France, of a land consecrated by 1793 which no subsequent French indecencies can profane, of the sanctity of the word: the Republic. Such behaviour really does put me in mind of the Danes in 1864 105 who allowed the Prussians to approach to within 30 paces, fired a salvo at them and then laid down their arms in the hope that they would not be repaid in kind for the formality.
I hope that they will all reflect on the matter once more when the first intoxication is past, for if not, it will be damned difficult to have any truck with them at an International level.
The entire republic, like its pacific origin, has been a complete farce up to now. As I have expected for the past two weeks and even longer,[8] the Orleanists want an interim republic to conclude the shameful peace, so that the ONUS will not fall on the Orléans who are to be restored subsequently. The Orleanists have the real power: Trochu the military command and Kératry the police; the gentlemen of the gauche[9] have the hot-air portfolios. Since the Orléans are now the only possible dynasty, they can wait calmly for the right moment for the real avènement au pouvoir.[10]
Dupont has just left. He spent the evening here and was furious about this beautiful Paris proclamation. He was reassured to hear that Serraillier will go there having had prior discussions with you. His views on the case are perfectly clear and accurate: make use of the freedoms inevitably granted by the republic to organise the party in France; act when occasion presents itself, once organisation has been completed; the International to be held on a leash in France until after peace has been concluded.
The gentlemen of the Provisional Government and the bourgeois in Paris appear to know full well (to judge by the reports in The Daily News) that any ideas of continuing the war are just idle talk. The rain will hardly hold up the Germans at all; the men in the field are used to it by now and healthier for it than they would be in the heat. Of course there could be epidemics, especially with the capitulation of Metz, where they will probably have broken out already, though it is not certain. A guerrilla war which would force the Prussians to order mass shootings does not seem very likely either, but it could break out here and there under the initial impact of revolution. As soon as we know what effect the capitulation of Metz will have in Paris (and it must happen next week at the latest),[11] we shall be in a better position to predict the further development of the war. Up to now, the measures, i.e. phrases, of the new rulers seem to promise little but a forthcoming surrender.
Rochefort will probably not remain with that mob for long. When the Marseillaise reappears things will quickly come to a head between him and them.
Schorlemmer left today with Wehner to bring a mass of spirits, wine, woollen blankets, flannel shirts, etc. (for over £1,000 in all) from the local Aid-Committee[12] directly through Belgium to Sedan for the wounded. If he has time, he will call on you, but they still have a heap of things to attend to there; they did not start buying things and parcelling them up until yesterday morning. From there, they intend to go on to Metz, if possible, where each of them has a brother with the army.
It is typical of the lousy government in Paris that they do not venture to tell the public the true facts of the present situation. I fear that unless there is a miracle, there will have to be a phase of direct bourgeois rule under the Orleans to allow the struggle to proceed in its pure form. To sacrifice the workers now, would be strategy à la Bonaparte and MacMahon; before peace they cannot act under any circumstances, and after that they will first need time to organise.
The threat of the alliance[13] will doubtless bring pressure to bear on the Prussians. But they know that the Russian breech-loaders are good for nothing, that the English have no army and that the Austrians are very weak. In Italy Bismarck with the Pope[14] (since the Florentine government has officially announced it will go to Rome in September), and with the consent of Nice and Savoy, appears to have made any resistance by the ruling circles impossible; it was a brilliant coup. Incidentally, Bismarck seems only to be waiting for some pressure to declare himself satisfied with money and the town of Strasbourg and its environs. He can still use the French and may well imagine that they might see this as magnanimous.
Adjiis, best greetings,
Your
F. E.