Declaration

Karl Marx/Friedrich Engels

Declaration

From the manuscript.

Abridged version published in: “Neue Deutsche Zeitung” No. 102, April 28, 1850.

The Berlin *Abend-Post* of April 14 contains the following, dated Stettin, April 11:

“With regard to the London refugees, arrangements have been made for the money to be sent to Bucher, who will get in touch with Schramm (Striegau), since the other two committees are in disunity and distribute the money in a partisan manner.”

In London there exists in fact only one refugee committee, the undersigned, which was founded in September of last year, at the beginning of the emigration to London. Since then attempts have been made to set up other refugee committees; they remained unsuccessful. The undersigned committee has hitherto been able to support the indigent refugees arriving here – who, with the exception of four or five, all applied to us. The masses of refugees now pouring in here as a result of the Swiss expulsions have, it is true, also finally almost exhausted the funds of this committee. These funds have been distributed completely equally to all who proved that they had taken part in the revolutionary movements in Germany and were in need, regardless of which party faction they belonged to. If the undersigned committee adopted the name “Social-Democratic”, this was not because it supported only refugees of that party, but because it appealed mainly to the financial resources of that party – as it already explained in its appeal of November last year.

The rumour that large amounts of money for the refugees were lying here in London – a rumour obviously aroused by the refugee lottery proposed in Switzerland – gave rise to claims upon our committee that could not be met. On the other hand, the rumours of discord between competing committees, deliberately spread in the newspapers at the same time, prevented the sending of sufficient money to London. In order to clarify the existence of other means and other committees for the support of the refugees, the undersigned committee requested the refugees to send deputations to Citizens Struve, Rudolf Schramm, and Louis Bauer (of Stolpe). This was done. The refugees brought back the following replies:

Citizen Schramm (Striegau) declared that he did not belong to any refugee committee, but had received a number of lottery tickets from Galeer of Geneva with the instruction to send the money to Geneva. The other committee was merely a fiction.

Citizen Struve declared that he had no money, only a number of lottery tickets that he had not yet disposed of.

Citizen Bauer gave the following written declaration:

“At the request of Refugee Kleiner, this is to certify that the refugee committee of the Democratic Association on this side is not in a position to support even a single political refugee, and that the society’s treasury, after having disbursed £2. 15s. for this purpose, can likewise bear no further such assistance. London, April 8, 1850. Dr. Bauer, President of the Support Committee of the Democratic Association.”

Messrs Struve and Schramm had advised the refugees to form a refugee committee among themselves or from politically neutral people. The undersigned committee left it to the refugees themselves to pass a resolution on this proposal. The reply was the following declaration by the refugees:

“To the Social-Democratic Refugee Committee.

London, April 7, 1850. – The undersigned refugees, following the preceding negotiations, feel prompted to leave the care for us to a committee perhaps to be formed among ourselves, and to express to the members of the presently existing committee, in the firm conviction both of the older and of the most recently arrived refugees, our most heartfelt thanks for their activity and their pains in this administration, since they have always distributed the funds to be administered to our satisfaction. There remains to us only the wish that these same members might continue to care for us until a speedy revolution, desired by all of us, relieves them of this care.

Greeting and Fraternity!”

(Signatures follow.)

This document, drawn up by the refugees themselves, is the best reply to the above article and other similar insinuations in the press.

Incidentally, we would not have replied had it not been necessary in the interest of the refugees in need of support themselves to enlighten the public about such assertions.

London, April 20, 1850

The Social-Democratic Refugee Committee:

Fr. Engels – H. Bauer – K. Pfänder – August Willich – K. Marx