| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 23 March 1889 |
ENGELS TO PAUL LAFARGUE
AT LE PERREUX
London, 23 March 1889
My dear Lafargue,
There is no denying that agreement was reached at The Hague[1] that, should the Possibilists fail to comply, the Belgians and the Swiss, the two neutral nations, should convene the congress; that a joint declaration against the Possibilists be issued; and that the congress be convened in Paris for the end of September.
According to what Bernstein tells me, he told you as much, besides which, it seems impossible that something so important could have happened without your knowing anything at all about it. And Bonnier, so Bernstein tells me, was present—even if you were not.
Well, now, if things are to be taken to a successful conclusion, it is absolutely essential that everyone abides by what has been resolved.
You can perfectly well leave the initiative of the convocation to the Belgians and Swiss; an international congress can perfectly well meet without its having been convened by the Socialists of the locality where it is to be held. What is certain is that the real business—organisation and preparation—will be in your hands, and this must suffice you. If you ask anything more, you will not have a congress at all and the Possibilists will emerge victorious from the fray. Before the eyes of all Europe they will hold their own congress, which will then be the only international working men's congress of the year.
If the matter were still open to discussion, I myself would be inclined to share your view that the congress should be held alongside that of the Possibilists, even at the risk of a fight with them. But it was thought fit to hold it in September and resolved accordingly. There is no going back on that and, should you insist, you will hold a congress all on your own, to the glee of Europe and the delight of the Possibilists.
On the other hand, I have written to Bebel telling him he has no right to present you with an ultimatum or to say: if the Belgians go back on their word, we shall be free and will not attend the congress. Also that they, the Germans, are too deeply committed to pull out in such a way, and that a Belgian withdrawal, should it take place—and this we cannot tell—would not relieve the others of their mutual obligations. Bebel is a man of great common sense and I have every reason to believe that he will think better of it, provided you do not raise fresh objections and attempt to go back on the resolutions taken once and for all at The Hague.
Things are going admirably and you are the only people who can put a spoke in the wheel.
But even supposing the Belgians were to withdraw—in that event the Swiss would convene the congress on their own and, as they would be acting on behalf of the other nationalities, success would be assured.
But there is only one way in which the Belgians can be relieved of their responsibility or given a pretext for breaking faith and that is for you, the French, to act in contravention of the Hague resolutions and to be the first to do so. If you abide by them, I am pretty sure the Belgians will also assent, in which case the Possibilists will be isolated, which is, after all, the main objective to be kept in view.
Our reply to the attacks in Justice[2] (essential, now that the Sozialdemokrat has set up in London) has appeared and, at the same time as this, but by book post, I am sending you six copies, of which 1 each for Laura, Longuet and Vaillant. On Monday the thing is going to be disseminated throughout London, handed out at all socialist meetings, and despatched into the provinces. It will, I hope, give the Possibilist gentry and Mr Hyndman something to think about.
You have doubtless seen the attack in Justice, which I believe I enclose in my last letter.
Now, let me repeat: Be reasonable, carry out faithfully what has been resolved, do not make it impossible for your best friends to lend you their support, give and take, use the position gained at The Hague for your point of departure, as the first position wrested from the enemy and as a base for future victories. But do not force down the throat of the other nationalities things which they certainly will not swallow. The battle's as good as won, I tell you, and if you were to lose it now, you and you only would be to blame.
Yours ever,
F. E.