{Manchester, 31 October 1852] 

Dear Marx, 

The way the case has been opened, it can hardly go wrong. The 
letter from Stieber’ is a discovery that’s worth more than all the 
gold-mines in Australia. What luck that the malheureux Nothjung 
kept these old N. Rh. Z. papers and sent them to London at the 
time! I only hope the thing arrives; for not even the Chief Public 
Prosecutor would consider it a crime to suppress stuff of that 
kind. You’d have done better not to send this letter by registered 
mail but in some other way. There’s still a possibility that 
something may go wrong between Frankfurt and Cologne and, 
even though the copy provides a fair amount of proof, the 
original is still all-important. Somebody should have taken it to 
Cologne, or else it should have gone by express delivery. However, 
I hope all will be well. 

The other documents are likewise admirable, and we shall now 
raise a really tremendous hullabaloo. 

Yesterday, for safety’s sake, I sent a letter to v. Hontheim,”” for 
posting in Amsterdam, in which I gave him a summary of what 
you had written in the letter intended for Schneider,‘ and told 
him about the non-arrival of Schneider’s letter addressed to 
Dronke. 4 copies, then, and one summary. 

Today I shall send another copy of Stieber’s letter to Cologne by 
a different route, likewise dispatch to the Rhine Province cuttings 
containing the article in Friday’s Advertiser,’ and the statement in 
Saturday’s,° and shall in general throw at the bourgeoisie items of 
information about the crimes of the police. 

Now for some suggestions: 

1. In view of the highly equivocal—and, as it now behoves us to 
show, in passages unequivocal—nature of the only incriminating 
pieces of evidence, your evidence and that of Lupus, Pieper, etc., 
etc., if given on oath and authenticated, is of great importance. It 

4 See this volume, pp. 225-26.-> unhappy -¢ See this volume, p. 217. - 
4 ‘Germany. From our own correspondent. Cologne, Oct. 27’, The Morning 
Advertiser, No. 19142, 29 October 1852.-© K. Marx and F. Engels, ‘Public 
Statement to the Editors of the English Press’. 

does not matter what the Public Prosecutor says, the jury regards 
ourselves and the accused as GENTLEMEN. Now nothing could be 
easier than for 2 or 3 of you to go to Wingham and there record 
on oath those matters relating to London which all of you know 
about. For example: 

a) that to the best of your knowledge there is no such person as 
H. Liebknecht, but only a W. Liebknecht, and that you people 
have never known any H. L.; 

b) that you yourself never received a letter from Mrs Daniels; 

c) that, aside from the Wednesday meetings, you did not hold 
any other meetings—on Thursdays in any other pub,—and 

d) that you declare the evidence, contained in Hirsch’s minutes 
as to speeches, lectures, etc., etc., allegedly given by yourselves, to 
be UTTERLY UNTRUE; 

e) that the scrap of paper found with the red catechism and 
regarded by the Public Prosecutor as being in your handwriting, 
did not emanate from you”™ 
and anything else in the latest proceedings and Stieber’s first 
statements which seems untrue and worth refuting. 

When all this has been recorded on oath before Wingham, he 
will draw up an ordinary affidavit—you might as well take a draft 
in English along with you—and you should ask him to hand it to 
a POLICEMAN, who will accompany you to Hebeler, the Prussian 
consul in the City; the latter must certify Wingham’s signature, 
otherwise he will forfeit his exequatur. 2 copies of this, drawn up as 
above, can then be dispatched to Cologne and cannot fail to have 
an effect. 1 regard this as extremely important, for it means that 
all the legal formalities have been complied with and that the 
thing is a legal document. Should Hebeler nonetheless refuse to 
sign, go to any NOTARY PUBLIC, who will certify it” (the latter 
procedure was indicated to my old man in a similar case by the 
Prussian authorities). 

2. Yesterday I received a lengthy dissertation from Dronke 
about Bangya.”’ I must confess that, in view of those wretched lies 
about our manuscript, * in view of Duncker’s letter sent you on 
Tuesday by Weerth,™ and assuming that it is true he addressed 
the last letter but one to Kothes, I find no reason to doubt that he 
is a Prussian spy. The fact that he keeps in with the Hungarians is 
no proof of the contrary; if he refers us to the Hungarians, he will 
likewise refer the Hungarians to us. This matter must be 

@ K. Marx and F. Engels, The Great Men of the Exile. 

investigated without fail and as expeditiously as possible. And if, 
within vingt-quatre heures, Mr Bangya fails to provide satisfactory 
information as to the whereabouts of the manuscript, the previous 
address of the alleged Eisermann, giving street and no., and about 
his highly questionable means of subsistence, I would strongly 
recommend that counsel in Cologne ask Stieber outright what he 
knows about a certain Colonel Bangya. After the revelations that 
have already been made, Mr Stieber will no longer dare to give 
false evidence, since he cannot know what will be coming next; at 
the same time Schneider should be informed about the business of 
the manuscript so that he can pass the story on to the court, after 
which no further statement need be made for the time being. 

3. A few people from Stechan’s workers’ society,” committee 
members, etc., might also go to the magistrate, not with little scraps 
of paper, but with whole pages, or as large samples as possible, of 
Hirsch’s handwriting, and declare on oath that these are in Hirsch’s 
hand. Cela vaut infiniment mieux? than mere unauthenticated 
cuttings. 

On Monday we shall see that some more money is sent to you, 
so that none of you will get into difficulties. Your own affidavit 
could be dispatched last of all—which would have certain 
advantages; but we must ensure that everything arrives before the 
cross-examination of the witnesses is over. 

Don’t forget to let me have a few safe addresses as soon as you 
can. 

Stechan’s statement about the forgery must also be sworn 
before a magistrate. Cela pourra avoir de brillants résultats“ 

Kinkel has today been sneaking round the Exchange here, in 
tow of a rabble of local German Jews. However, we have been 
putting a few ideas in our people’s heads and, here as in 
Bradford, Weerth will make things pretty hot for him. 

Could you not obtain direct evidence of Kinkel’s escroquerie* 
from Reichenbach through Imandt or someone, and send copies 
of it to the Examiner and Times, the Guardian, or the Courier here, 
and also to the Bradford papers? Such direct evidence, of course, 
that the fellows need have no fear of a libel action. You might also 
send it to Dr J. W. Hudson, secretary of the Manchester 
Athenaeum.” 

Strohn is back in Bradford, somewhat indisposed, and will be 
coming here on Wednesday or Thursday. I am writing to him 

4 twenty-four hours - » That is worth infinitely more. - © See this volume, p. 227. - 
4d That could have splendid results. - © Swindle 

today and will provide him with adequate instructions” so that, 

when you send him things, you can count on his attending to 
them efficiently and in such a way as not to clash with my 
arrangements. The main thing is that none of the commercial 
addresses should be used more than once. 

We must take things to such lengths that in future people will 
no longer talk about ‘stealing’ but ‘stiebering’* 

Then, too, there is the lawyer Schirmann, one of the defence 
counsel, whose address can be used for enclosures. Schneider is 
really too risky. 

There’s another reason why the Bangya affair is important: 
Granted that the original minute-book was not in Hirsch’s hand, 
but copied—what then? Stieber has sworn in any case that he 
doesn’t know Hirsch. 

Should the Cologne people be sentenced after all, which I 
regard as exceedingly unlikely if we go on doing everything in our 
power to send over all available information and documents, we 
must write something without fail. If they are acquitted, I believe 
that this would merely soften down the government’s defeat. 
Meanwhile we can only wait and see. Above all an exact copy must 
be taken of every document, affidavit, etc., all of them fully 
authenticated, etc., etc., for these things will provide a splendid 
series of piéces justificatives. 

Dronke has asked me for 10/- as he is ill and down on his luck. 
Let him have it, or perhaps a bit more, when the next lot of 
money arrives, 1.e. on Tuesday. 

You had best send me the addresses per Pickford or Carver. 

Regards to all and write soon. 

Your 
F. E. 

Up here we are keeping a careful register of all outgoing 
documents, with dates, how sent, etc.?%