Manchester, 9 December 1869 

Dear Moor, 

In the reports in the National Reformer*” a certain amount of 

nonsense is, however, attributed to you. They can’t get along 
without something like that. I see, the Bee-Hive is ignoring the 
whole debate. This is called publicity, just like the dear old 
Didaskalia ftir Geist, Gemüt und Publizitat 

1 half expected what happened with The Irishman. Ireland still 
remains the sacra insula whose aspirations may not be lumped 
together with the profane class struggle of the rest of the sinful 
world. Partly, this is certainly an honest madness of these people, 
but equally certainly it is partly a calculated policy on the part of 
the spokesmen in order to maintain their domination over the 
peasants. In addition, a nation of peasants is always forced to take 
its literary representatives from among the bourgeoisie of the 
towns and its ideologists, and here Dublin (J mean Catholic 
Dublin) is approximately to Ireland what Copenhagen is to 
Denmark. For these gentry, however, the whole labour movement 
is pure heresy, and the Irish peasant must not be allowed to find 
out that the socialist workers are his sole allies in Europe. 

In other respects, too, the Irishman is very scurvy this week. If it 
was ready to retreat in this way at the first threat of suspension of 
the Habeas Corpus Act,**° then the sabre-rattling was absolutely 
misplaced from the start. And now even the fear that still more 
political prisoners might be elected! On the one hand, the Irish 
are warned, quite rightly, not to let themselves be inveigled into 
any illegalities; on the other, they should be held back from doing 
the only lawful thing that is opportune and revolutionary in 
character, the only thing that might successfully break with the 
established practice of electing place-hunting lawyers and might 
impress the English liberals. Pigott is obviously afraid that others 
could outstrip him here. 

Of course you will remember how O’Connell, also, always 
incited the Irish against the Chartists, although—or just because— 
they had inscribed Repza.*”” on their banner. 

4 sacred isle 

The question put to Applegarth is delicious. One sees how these 
trumpery lords and M.P.s imagine that the whole labour movement 
is already in their pockets because Odger and Potter flirt with 
them and the Bee-Hive has been sold. The gentlemen are in for a 
surprise. In. the meantime, it’s a good thing that a new election is 
not, apparently, in the immediate offing; the gentlemen have to 
make fools of themselves first. Applegarth** and Bracke 
returned enclosed. 

From the enclosed query from Solingen you will see all the 
things I’m supposed to afford.*** What should be done in this 
case? If I send the people 50-100 thaler it will not help them, and 
I can’t risk more for them since, in the long run, it will certainly 
be throwing money away. What is your opinion? 

The worthy gentlemen from. tiers parti? believe they already 
occupy the ministerial chairs, and have already made wonderful 
fools of themselves. They vote gaily for the vindication of the 

‘prefects of Monsieur de Forcade Laroquette.“” In this way I 
cannot see why any sort of ministerial change is necessary, if 
everything the present ministers have done is Aut right. On the 
other hand, Louis” certainly believes that he has now once again 
so frightened the bourgeois with the red spectre that he can get 
away with phrases. The business is entangling itself quite nicely. 

What scurvy knaves the Prussians are. Scarcely has an apparent- 
ly constitutional wind begun to blow from Paris, when they 
immediately start making small concessions. Eulenberg takes over, 
in the state budget, the proxy costs of the deputies who are state 
officials, etc. And for this Camphausen diddles the Chamber out 
of 87/s million annually, which previously, by law, had to be 
devoted to eliminating debts, and on the other hand he now 
abolishes the amortissement, except where the Government and the 
Chamber decree that there should be redemption. The stupid 
Liberals themselves demanded this earlier and must now vote for it. 

China, with the steady expansion of her market, appears to wish 
to save the COTTON TRADE once again, at least for a while. The 
reports from there are considerably better, though much has been 
consigned there, and since then there has again been a veering- 
round here, and once again work is going swingingly. This will 
naturally drive up the cotton price again, and the whole profit will 
go into the pockets of the importer. But at least they are working 
here without losses. 

With Gottfried‘ I am now completely in the clear. Yesterday he 

a the third party - > Napoleon III - ¢ Gottfried Ermen 

paid me the last remainder of my money,* and we shall now 
probably more or less show each other our backsides. 
Best greetings. 

Your 
F. E. 

How anxious Bracke is not to give an opinion about people 
whom he should know very well. Also appears to have more good 
nature than resolution.