{Manchester,] 30 July 1851 

Dear Marx, 

I am surprised not to have heard from you for a fortnight. 

Our predictions in the last Revue of an enormous expansion in 
ocean-going steam shipping are already being borne out.* Apart 
from several small lines, there are now two new, large and highly 
important lines in operation: 1. the screw-vessels from Liverpool 
to Philadelphia—every fortnight—4 vessels in the line; 2. the 
steamers between Liverpool, Rio de Janeiro and Valparaiso, etc., 
every 7 weeks, 4 vessels in the line. Furthermore, in a month or 
two there will be regular overland journeys to California—New 
York, to San Juan, from there by steamer to Lake Nicaragua— 
overland to Léon, thence direct to San Francisco; the journey to 
California cut by a week at least. 

Next month a train will be running between London and 
Aberdeen—550 English miles, or 8 degrees of latitude, in one 
day. 

One can now travel from Leeds to London and back for five 
shillings with one railway company and four and sixpence with 
another. Next Saturday the fares are going to be reduced here as 
well. If they get as low as that, I shall come to London at least 
once a fortnight. 

Provided nothing untoward happens within the next 6 weeks, 
this year’s cotton crop will amount to 3,000,000 bales or 1,200 
million to 1,350 million Ibs in weight. Jamais on n’a vu la plante 
aussi florissante. At the same time symptoms of declining trade: 
East India is overstocked and is crying out for a stoprace of imports of 
cotton goods, in this country the market for yarn and cloth still upset 
by fluctuating cotton prices—if the crasu in the market coincides 
with such a gigantic crop, things will be cheery indeed. Peter Ermen 

a K. Marx and F. Engels, ‘Review, May to October 1850’. - » Never has the plant 
appeared more flourishing. 

is already fouling his breeches at the very thought of it, and the little 
tree-frog’s a pretty good barometer. 
Voila* the industrial potpourri for today. 

Your 
F. E.