ENGELS TO MARX” 

Manchester, 3 May 1865 

Dear Moor, 

A belated many happy returns to little Jenny on her—20th?— 
birthday. Tue other AFFAIR Looks just LIKE Laura att over.” But what else 

4 See this volume, p. 150. 

can one say except repeat the verdict of the Stalybridge jury: serves 
HIM RIGHT. 

I'll be sending all the things back to you in a few days time. I 
was very pleased to see in the Nordstern that something has at last 
been started against Becker* and Schweitzer in Solingen, too.” As 
all I have seen concerning this business since your departure has 
been the Social-Demokrat and two letters from Liebknecht, I am 
not at all clear as to what has come to pass on the Rhine in this 
connection; from the miserable silence maintained by the Social- 
Demokrat about developments in the General Association of 
German Workers, I could only deduce that things must be looking 
bad for these gentlemen. But it is understandable that I really do 
need to know how things stand on the Rhine, especially since in 
the beginning the scoundrels had some momentary success there. 
If you’ve got any material on it, please let me have it, I'll send 
everything back to you, and in general I will as a rule send all the 
documents back in future because now you need to have this stuff 
together. 

Have you taken out a subscription to the Nordstern? It would be 
a good thing if you did, because we’ve got to know what’s 
happening. 

It is vital for us to have some contacts with the workers on the 
Rhine so that in future we can counter intrigues of that kind from 
the outset. Apropos, peculiar things seem to have been happening 
to Klings. Some jackass gave him my address as 58 Dover Street. 
Klings goes there, does not find me, of course, and goes to see 
Rode in Liverpool, and the latter tells Eichhoff I’d pretended to 
be out when Klings called, did not wish to see him, what is this 
supposed to mean, etc., to a man like Klings who was after all 
going to ‘organise everything’ in America with Weydemeyer and 
the others (which others?), etc., etc. Monsieur Rode, whom I’ve 
never met, did thereby express his surprise that I had ‘not yet’ 
sent him a copy of my pamphlet. Can you understand that? 

The statement attacking the President of Mankind is very good.‘ 
Just what was needed and no more. 

The worst of it is that the people in Germany will now demand 
that someone assumes the leadership over them, and who can do 
it? Eccarius would be the man, but he won’t want to leave London. 

The International Association really has gained an enormous 
amount of ground in such a short time and with so little to-do. But 

a Bernhard Becker - > F. Engels, The Prussian Military Question and the German 
Workers’ Party. - © K. Marx, ‘The “President of Mankind”’. 

it is a good thing it is at present occupied in England, instead of 
eternally having to deal with the disorders in France. So, you have 
something to compensate you for the time it’s cost you. 

How’s the book* going? 

As far as the strategic situation is concerned, at Richmond Grant 
has achieved a precise replica of the battle of Jena,” and with the 
same result: the whole of the enemy army is trapped.*° Only he 
didn’t have so far to march to gather the fruits. 

Johnston has now surrendered, too, so I’ve won my wager of 2 
months ago: that by 1 May the Sournerners would have no army 
left. Whoever still offers resistance will be taken in as a sricanp, 
and rightly so. At any rate, Johnson will insist on confiscation of 
the great estates, which will make the pacification and _ re- 
organisation of the South rather more acute. Lincoln would 
scarcely have insisted on it. 

The southern sympathisers here are consoling themselves for the 
hypocritical wailing they were obliged to put on over the 
assassination,” by prophesying that it’ll be Grant I, Emperor of 
America, within 4 weeks. What jackasses they have made of 
themselves! 

Incidentally, their ‘Majesties’* must be absolutely furious that 
Lincoln’s assassination has made such a colossal impact throughout 
the world. None of them has yet had such an honour. 

Best wishes to your wife and the girls. 

Your 
F. E.