London, 5[-6] June 1872 

Dear Liebknecht, 

My condolences on confirmation [of your sentence].”? So much 
is certain: in no other country are our party comrades subject to 
such persecution as in the glorious Empire of Bismarck-Stieber, 
scarcely excepting even Austria. However, if there is any certainty 
in anything, it is that this sentence will never be carried out to the 
end. In France and Spain, persecution of the International (apart 
from reprisals against the Communarps) exists up to now only on 
paper, and in Italy it rarely involves more than 3 months, the rest 
being commuted to a fine, which admittedly often works out at a 
rate of 3 frs per day. 

Marx had taken Wuttke’s book* himself and kept it despite 
much pestering. Finally, I myself forgot to keep reminding him of 
it. Now I have got it from him, I read it through in a day and 
then sent it on to Borkheim with the request to look around for a 
publisher. Your memory is playing tricks on you if you believe 
that you wrote to me earlier on, asking me to look into it. I know 
only that you asked me for my opinion and that I wrote to you 
saying it would be extremely difficult to find a publisher here who 
would pay, since Wuttke is completely unknown here. I would 
otherwise have added that neither Marx nor I have those sorts of 
contacts here, otherwise we would long since have discovered one 
for Capital. 

I can now add only this: 

1. Because of its many technical expressions, the book is very 
difficult to translate, almost impossible for anyone who is not in 
daily contact with English people. 

2. The book would have to be significantly adapted for lo- 
cal consumption. All the waffle in the introduction and the exces- 
sively long chapter on Chinese literature would have to go 
and the arcane style would have to be transformed into plain 
English. 

I think then that Borkheim is the right man to discover a 

a H. Wuttke, Geschichte der Schrift und des Schrifttums... 

publisher, if this is at all possible. A businessman who seems totally 
unconnected with literature often has the best chance of succeed- 
ing with these things. It was Strohn after all who put us in touch 
with Meissner in Hamburg. At all events, do not count too much 
on Borkheim succeeding and do not waste time translating until 
he comes up with someone. 

6 June. Wrdblewski interrupted me yesterday and stayed the 
whole evening, so I can now answer your letter of the 4th as well, 
which I received this morning. I am sorry that you have to 
go inside so soon, but I hope you will not be in there for 
long. 

The proofs of the Manifesto together with a short preface* will 
go off as soon as possible, tomorrow, I hope. 

Best thanks for the information about individuals, but there is 
still no answer to my question about how your Party intends to put 
its relations with the General Council on a clear footing, without 
which it will be absolutely impossible for it to be represented at the 
Congress.” 

Your 
F. E. 

Nothing can be done in the matter of the inheritance, if the 
people are reluctant to risk money. These things have to be looked 
at by lawyers, and they do nothing on speculation. Anyway, the best 
the heirs could hope for would be the satisfaction of knowing that 
they had been swindled. They cannot reckon on salvaging any 
money after all these years—it is 100:1 acarnsr.