| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 14 October 1893 |
ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE
AT LE PERREUX
London, 14 October 1893
My dear Löhr, I have received 3 copies of the French Origine de la famille etc. To my surprise the words entièrement revue par M-me Laura Lafargue'[1] which were on the proof of the title, do not appear there now. Is this, as I suppose, a little treachery of Rave? If so I shall protest.
Voilà Fortin of Beauvais who informs me that he intends translating.
1. The Kritik der Hegclsehen Rechtsphilosophie in the Deutsch- Französische Jahrbücher (by Mohr, 1844) and
2. the 3 Chapters Gewaltstheoriè'[2] of my Anti-Dühring. I have absolutely no time to revise his work—and No. 1 is immensely difficult. And rather than revise Fortin's work (which you know from experience) maybe you'd rather do the whole thing yourself. The first— Mohrs epigrammatic style—I consider him uncommonly unfit to render. Nobody but you could do that.
He intends publishing them in the Ere Nouvelle. What do you think I had better say to him? Glorious victory in Austria. Taaffe proposes an electoral law 270 which is tantamount to universal suffrage at least in towns and industrial districts—so says Adler. Taaffe's policy is to break the power of the German Liberal Party (representing the German and Jewish bourgeoisie) and probably, too, to let as many Socialists replace Liberal Bourgeois as may be necessary to drive the other parties to a closer union and thus to give to him a working majority. The Lower House in Austria is composed of 85 representatives of the large landed proprietors, 21 of the Chamber of Commerce (these 106 are not affected by the new bill), 97 of the towns and 150 of the country districts (both of these will be elected according to the new bill).
For the present the country districts will send about the same Catholic and Conservative members as hitherto, and the exclusion of analphabètes will here considerably restrict the suffrage; but in the industrial centres of the West and North (Vorarlberg, Austria proper, Bohemia, Moravia, perhaps Steiermark) the new bill will practically establish a very near approach to universal suffrage. It is calculated by bourgeois papers that the number of voters will be 5,200,000 instead of 1,770,000, and the number of socialist seats are estimated at from 20 to 60! Give us 20 to 24 (this is the number of signatures required for a motion to be discussed) and we shall upset the whole of this old-fashioned assembly. It is a complete revolution, our people in Vienna are jubilant, although', of course they insist upon full universal suffrage, direct elections, and abolition of the 106 privileged members.
Kind regards from Louise.
Ever yours RE.