Karl Marx

[Letter to the Editorial Board of the Augsburg “Allgemeine Zeitung”]

21 February 1860

6, Thorncliffe Grove,

Oxford Road, Manchester

To the Editorial Board of the Augsburg “Allgemeine Zeitung”

Private

In one of the two letters dated 16 October 59, which I received from the editorial board of the Augsburg “Allgemeine Zeitung,” it says verbatim:

“Be assured of our
particular gratitude
wherever we have any opportunity to express our
thanks
to you, most highly honoured Sir.”

That I neither desired nor expected “thanks” or “particular gratitude” from the Augsburg “Allgemeine Zeitung” is shown sufficiently by my
reply of 19 October
. What I did expect, however, in this
specific matter
, was at least the common fairness <elementare Anständigkeit> which no English paper, of whatever colour, dares to refuse.

The “particular gratitude” and the “thanks” now manifested themselves as follows:

1. My
first declaration
was
not
printed. Instead, Blind’s impudent one, with two false testimonies obtained by conspiracy. The “Reform” in Hamburg printed the declaration immediately.

2. In my counter-declaration against Blind I already had to resort to douce violence <sanfte Gewaltanwendung>
in order to secure its acceptance. Even then it did not appear, as I had
rightly demanded, in the same place as Blind’s attack, namely in the main paper.

3. The Augsburg “Allgemeine Zeitung” accepts a second declaration by Blind, in which he has the impudence to speak of barefaced lies and again refers to the two criminally actionable testimonies of Wiehe and Hollinger. It thereby declares the matter closed and cuts off my reply.

4. On 6 February I send the Augsburg “Allgemeine Zeitung” my final declaration, together with the
English circular
.

The highly laudable editorial board pushes it aside and prints instead Blind’s declaration,
which only arose as a result of my circular
. It has naturally taken care not to print the billet doux <Liebesbriefchen>
enclosed by this great diplomat. It further prints Biscamp’s declaration, dated three days later (namely London, 9 February) than mine. Finally, after assuring itself that my declaration has long since been printed in the “Kölnische Zeitung,” the “Volks-Zeitung,” etc., it decides to print it, but – takes the amiable liberty of
censoring
me and making arbitrary alterations. In Cologne in 1842/1843 I stood under doubly royal Prussian censorship, but I never suspected that in the year 1860 I should still fall under the censorship of Herr Dr Kolb & Co.

I deem it entirely useless to characterise such conduct any further.

K. Marx