[Draft] 

London, 4 October 1864 
1 Modena Villas, Maitland Park, 
Haverstock Hill? 

Dear Friend, 

I was glad to receive further signs of life from the workers of 
the Rhine Province, as conveyed in your letter of 28 September.’ 

B. Becker or M. Hess? I know them both; both are old members 
of the movement. Both are honest. Neither of them is capable of 
leading a movement of any import. Becker is a weak man, in fact, 
and Hess a muddle-head. It is therefore difficult to decide 
between the two. I also think it scarcely signifies which of the two 
you elect, as there will be no difficulty in finding the right people 
at the decisive moment. 

Enquiries have reached me, e.g. from Berlin, as to whether I 
would accept the presidency?’ I replied that it was impossible, 
because for the present I am still forbidden to take up residence 
in Prussia.” However, I would certainly think it a good gesture by the 
party, vis-a-vis both the Prussian government and the bourgeoisie, 
if the workers’ congress were to elect me, to which I would make a 
public reply explaining why I cannot accept the election. Such a 
step would be important for the following reason in particular: a 
big public meetinc of workers took place here in London on 28 
September, with English, German, French and Italian workers 
participating. The Parisian workers had, moreover, sent over a 
special delegation, headed by Tolain, a worker, who was put up as 

* The Marx family lived here from March 1864 to March 1875. - » At this point, 
the following passage is deleted from the manuscript: ‘in any case, if I were to 
assume the leadership, the government would immediately suppress the whole 
thing.’ 

a candidate by the working class in Paris in the last elections for 
the Corps législatif.* 

At this meerinc, a Comité was elected—an international Comité to 
represent the workers’ interests, which is directly linked to the 
workers in Paris and includes the leaders of the London workers. 
I was elected as representative of the German workers (and my 
old friend Eccarius, the tailor, along with me).* If I were thus 
nominated by the German congress—although I would have to 
decline the election now—the Comité and with it the workers in 
London and Paris would regard this as a gesture on the part of 
the German workers. Next year, the Comité will be calling an 
international workers’ congress in Brussels.” Unfortunately, I shall 
not be able to attend in person, as I am still exiled from the model 
state of Belgium, just as I am from France and Germany. 

I shall send you some ‘ Manifestoes’? at the first safe opportunity. 

This letter will be brought to you by one of my friends‘ from 
Barmen. 

I have been sick throughout the past year (being afflicted with 
carbuncles and furuncles). Had it not been for that, my work on 
political economy, ‘Capital’, would already have come out. I hope I 
may now complete it finally in a couple of months and deal the 
bourgeoisie a theoretical blow from which it will never recover. 

Farewell; you may count on my remaining ever a_ loyal 
champion of the working class. 

Yours 
K. M.