London, 30 October 1869 

Dear FRrep, 

Please return to me after reading the enclosed letters from 
Bonhorst and the Goeggiana.**” 

That Serno should have expedited himself from life into death 
is only natural, but that Bakunin, with whom he stood on bad 

4 flank man, fleet, flanking - > Sigismund Borkheim - © it is only one step - 4 See 
this volume, p. 358. 

14* 

terms right to the end, should immediately have seized his papers, 
is an unnatural discovery.** 

Apropos. The secretary of our French Genevan committee? is 
utterly fed up with being saddled with Bakunin, and complains 
that he disorganises everything with his ‘tyranny’. In the Egalité, 
Monsieur Bakunin indicates that the German and English workers 
have no desire for individuality, so accept our communisme 
autoritaire. In opposition to this, Bakunin represents le collectivis- 
me anarchique. The anarchism is, however, in his head, which 
contains only one clear idea—that Bakunin should play first fiddle. 

For a complete understanding of Goegg’s and Bonhorst’s 
letters, you should know that the bumpkins’ (or rather their 
representatives’) party in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, are 
screaming blue murder about the resolution of the Basle Congress 
on propriété fonciére. 

The foolishness and weakness (exploited by the cleverer 
Schweitzer) with which Wilhelm and his consorts reply to the howls 
by Schwabenmayer and the rest of their anti-People’s Party 
supporters,’ make one’s hair stand on end. It has not even 
occurred to one of these jackasses to ask the liberal howlers if 
there does not, perhaps, exist in Germany, side by side with small 
peasant property, also large landed property, which forms the 
basis of the surviving feudal economy; whether it will not be 
necessary to put an end to this in the course of a revolution, if 
only to put an end to the present economy of the state; and 
whether this can be done in the antiquated manner of 1789 4°? 
Quod non.' The jackasses believe Schwabenmayer’s statement that 
the land question is only of direct practical interest for England! 

The creation of the Lanp anp Lasour League**’ (incidentally, 
directly inspired by the General Council) should be regarded as an 
outcome of the Basle Congress *”; here, the workers’ party makes 
a clean break with the bourgeoisie, NATIONALISATION OF LAND [being] 
the starting point. Eccarius has been appointed active secretary (in 
addition to Boon as Honorary one), and is being paid for it. 

I have been instructed by the Genera. Councu. to write a few 
words to the Encuisu workine class about the Irish prisoners’ DEMONSTRA- 
TION Last Sunpay. Being so busy, I have no inclination to do it, But 

a Henri Perret - > The Federal Council of Romance Switzerland - ¢ See ‘Nouvel- 
les de l’étranger. France, Lyon, le 1¢" octobre 1869; Paris, le 21 vendémiaire, an 
78 (12 octobre 1869), L’Egalité, No. 39, 16 October 1869. - 4 landed property - 
€ Karl Mayer - f But no. - 8 See [Resolution of the Basle Congress on landed 
property], Report of the Fourth Annual Congress..., p. 26. 

MUST BE DONE. The demonstration was quite incorrectly reported in 
the London papers. It was capital.” 
Best greetings to Mrs Lizzie and the Sunday guests. 

Your 
K. M. 

The Prussians closed my letter to you from Hanover* so badly 
partly out of shortage of time, and partly out of anger at finding 
nothing in it.