{Manchester,} Friday [28 February 1851] 

Dear Marx, 

Your letter of the day before yesterday didn’t arrive till this 
morning. Had I already had all these details yesterday I would 
have written to our pear Harney in quite a different vein. But 
sooner or later he’ll turn up and then [’ll let him have a piece of 
my mind. 

It would not, I believe, be a great deal of use to take serious 
legal proceedings over this business. Apart from Harney and 
Jones and the Chartists, the business would fizzle out in mutual 
recriminations and accusations. With the help of any advocate, the 
others would cause the most impudent questions to be put to 
Schramm and Pieper, e.g. whether Schramm had not stolen funds 
from Great Windmill Street,°*” etc., etc., which, however vigorously 
they were parried, would be enough to ruin the whole effect. The 
defendants’ witnesses would swear that Schramm had said such 
and such, they would recall certain of Schramm’s scenes in Great 
Windmill Street and inflate them out of all proportion so as to 
depict Schramm as a _ disturber OF PUBLIC MEETINGS, etc., and the 
MAGISTRATE, Only too happy to see the demagogues dubbing each 
other rascals, would allow anything that might throw a compromis- 
ing light on either party. Schramm, however, should use it as a 
threat. 

Besides, he is taken ror A CARE-THE-DEVIL, RECKLESS SORT OF CHARACTER, 
and they'll believe him capable of such excesses. He should give 
Landolphe a box on the ears and practise shooting; the chap’s 
always getting involved in such affairs*”? and, more than anyone 
else, he should know how to shoot. 

The case would after all end up with nothing more than the 
rudest of snubs for both parties from the magistrate— especially as 
it would be heard up in Islington, where heaven knows what sort 
of old jackasses the macistrates are. And if Landolphe, représentant 
du peuple? were to state that Schramm could only have come with 

a representative of the people 

the intention of making trouble, etc., don’t you think that 
ultimately this would impress the public more than Schramm’s and 
Pieper’s statement? A great scandal could be made of the business, 
but then Schramm would risk having part of the scandal rebound 
on him in the form of insinuations. 

And again, one sure consequence of such a scandal would 
be the introduction of a new Aliens Bill*° to protect the 
honest reactionaries coming over from the Continent for the 
Exhibition. 

But when given the cold shoulder by Landolphe, why the 
devil didn’t Schramm go straight to Harney pour le mettre en 
cause ?* 

Just time for the post. Adieu. 

Your 
F. E.