London, 12 September 1882 
Dear Mr Kautsky, 

You really must forgive me for having kept you waiting so long for 
an answer. I have had so many interruptions of every kind that fi- 
nally, in order to get any work done at all, I had to give short shrift to 

* Lev Hartmann-» Lilian Rosher 

everything of lesser importance and put aside all such correspondence 
as was not absolutely necessary. And since, with your colonial ques- 
tion,?’’ you had set me a task that was by no means easy to tackle, 
your letters met with the same fate, and in the process the good 
Walter got overlooked. 

Should Walter and Dr Braun come over here, I shall be glad to see 
them and whatever can be done for them I will gladly do. As for the 
rest, it will no doubt turn out all right. But what is Walter actually ex- 
pected to study over here? That’s what needs clearing up first of all. 
Socialism as such? No need for him to come over here for that, since 
it’s to be had everywhere save in Austria and Germany; moreover, he 
will quickly exhaust that field, i. e. such literature as is worth reading. 
Economics? History? Of these he will find an embarras de richesses* at 
the British Museum — so much so, indeed, that a newcomer runs the 
risk of instantly losing his bearings. Natural science? That would 
mean lectures which are wildly expensive here. It seems to me that, 
before the chap is sent over here, a definite curriculum should be laid 
down for his studies—at least in outline——and if this were sent to 
me, it would be easier to judge whether it could best be carried out in 
this country or somewhere else. Without at least some knowledge of 
English, he would be completely at a loss here. It would, I think, be 
a good idea to get him to study French and English for 6 months be- 
forehand, so that he could at least read a modicum of both before he 
went abroad. He should, besides, have some previous knowledge of 
history, geography and, if possible, also mathematics and natural sci- 
ence if he wants to study profitably. What the situation is in this re- 
spect I cannot know; but ifit’s at all unsatisfactory, it would certainly 
be better if you first got him to come to Vienna, so that he might ac- 
quire these things under the guidance of his friends and generally 
learn exactly how one sets about learning something thoroughly off 
one’s own bat. Otherwise, here in London, it would, for the most 
part, be money down the drain. These are simply thoughts that have 
passed through my mind when pondering on the case and which may 
be completely irrelevant, but after all I know little or nothing about 
the young man’s level of education, and that is why I considered it 
necessary to raise these points. If you let me know more about this, 
you will not be kept waiting for an answer. All things being equal 
I am, as you know, always in favour of getting ambitious young peo- 

a 

too great a profusion 

ple to come abroad so that they may extend their horizons and rid 
themselves of the parochial prejudices which they must needs acquire 
at home. 

You should not, by the way, count too much on Marx so far as 
Walter is concerned. He is unlikely to come home before next May, 
and even then he will probably have to take great care of himself if he 
is to get his work completed. In particular he is now strictly forbidden 
to talk overmuch, on top of which he has to spend his evenings quietly 
if he is not to have bad nights. In the daytime, however, he will, of 
course, be working. If one is trying to get rid of chronic bronchitis of 
many years’ standing and ensure, after three serious bouts of pleurisy, 
not only that it disappears without trace, but also that it doesn’t 
recur, and to do all this in one’s sixty-fifth year, one has enough to 
contend with on that account alone. 

You ask me what the English workers think of colonial policy. Well, 
exactly what they think of any policy — the same as what the middle 
classes think. There is, after all, no labour party here, only conserva- 
tives and liberal radicals, and the workers cheerfully go snacks in 
England’s monopoly of the world market and colonies. As I see it, the 
actual colonies, i.e. the countries occupied by European settlers, such 
as Canada, the Cape, Australia, will all become independent; on the 
other hand, countries that are merely ruled and are inhabited by na- 
tives, such as India, Algeria and the Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish 
possessions, will have to be temporarily taken over by the proletariat 
and guided as rapidly as possible towards independence. How this 
process will develop is difficult to say. India may, indeed very prob- 
ably will, start a revolution and, since a proletariat that is effecting its 
own emancipation cannot wage a colonial war, it would have to be 
given its head, which would obviously entail a great deal of destruc- 
tion, but after all that sort of thing is inseparable from any revolution. 
The same thing could also happen elsewhere, say in Algeria or Egypt, 
and would certainly suit us best. We shall have enough on our hands 
at home. Once Europe has been reorganised, and North America, the 
resulting power will be so colossal and the example set will be such 
that the semi-civilised countries will follow suit quite of their own 
accord; their economic needs alone will see to that. What social and 
political phases those countries will then have to traverse before they 
likewise acquire a socialist organisation is something about which I do 
not believe we can profitably speculate at present. Only one thing is 
certain, namely that a victorious proletariat cannot forcibly confer 

any boon whatever on another country without undermining its own 
victory in the process. Which does not, of course, in any way preclude 
defensive wars of various kinds. 

This business in Egypt?°° has been contrived by Russian diplo- 
macy. Gladstone is to take Egypt (which he is far from having or from 
holding, even if he had it), so that Russia may take Armenia; which 
would, according to Gladstone, be the liberation of another Christian 
country from the Mohammedan yoke. Everything else to do with the 
affair is pretence, humbug, prevarication. Whether the little scheme 
will succeed will soon become apparent. 

With kindest regards. 

Yours, 
F. E. 

Dr Sax has just sent me his book on Thuringia.* Would you thank 
him for it on my behalf and tell him I shall reply as soon as I have 
read it. 

My forwarding address is: Mrs P. W. Rosher, 122 Regent’s Park 
Road; no inner envelope. It’s Pumps who, incidentally, has already 
got a baby girl.” She doesn’t actually live with me any more, but that 
doesn’t matter. 

Engels Archives, Vol. I (VI), Moscow, 1932 Piblatied an Pawlak in full forake 

first time 

180