London, 16 September 1892 

Dear Baron, 

Ede has asked me to send you a copy of a passage from the Deutsch- 
Franzdsische Jahrbiicher.°°’ He gives only the opening words, but 
doesn’t say how much is wanted, so you will find herewith a copy of the 
thing up to the end of the letter and you’ll have to see how much of it 
is usable. 

Kovalevsky, who is over here, says he would probably be prepared 
to let you have an article for the Neue Zeit on Lavrov’s great Russian 
work Ladati istoriji mysli, The Functions of the History of Thought; but he 
would have to write it in French. If you would like to have the article, 
please let me know.? 

There was high old confusion at the Tranes Union Congress **° in 
Glasgow.” The ‘old’ unions did everything in their power to achieve 
victory and, being organised and known to one another and of old 
repute, they were largely successful vis-a-vis the ‘new’ ones,°?° which 
didn’t yet know the ropes, fell foul of the rules of procedure, were 
known neither to one another nor to many of the more honest ele- 
ments amongst the ‘old’ unions, and hence possessed few personalities 

* F. Engels, Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England, Stuttgart, 1892.-° See this vol- 
ume, pp. 519-20 and 522-24. 

who, aside from their particular standing in the party, were person- 
ally respected by all concerned.* So it came about that the majority 
of those elected to the Parliamentary Committees °57 consisted of ‘old’ 
unionists, while Fenwick was re-elected secretary. The fact that the 
old unionists had given up as hopeless their opposition to the 8 hour 
day and continued to oppose the /ega/ 8 hour day only pro forma, for 
the sake of appearances, quite delighted the majority of new unionists 
who, in their glee over the victory of the tecar 8 HouRs, were prepared 
to surrender everything else. So it came about that they not only de- 
manded steps be taken to combat the immigration of ‘paupers’, but 
turned down with contumely, and in a manner directly insulting to us, 
the invitation to the Zurich Congress °*! (amongst other things, be- 
cause that Congress had not been convoked by the English Trapes Uy. 
1on Congress!!); and at the same time resolved that an international 
eight hours congress be convoked immediately. What happened dur- 
ing this debate you will see from the Scottish paper Tussy has sent 
you. 

It is now evident that our Continentals must take up the cudgels 
against this. It’s a good opportunity for them to show the snooty 
TRADES UNIONS What their standpoint is. A start will doubtless be made by 
the French at Marseilles.5°5 

Unfortunately I shall not be able to send you the Workman’s Times 
for some little while, at any rate. For a time Burgess sent copies to Be- 
bel and sundry other Continentals, but has suddenly ceased to do 
so —— since the jackass doesn’t want to have any truck with Continen- 
tals who ‘do not even possess a TRADES ORGANISATION’. Now I shall have 
to send Bebel the copy which in the past has been available for you, 
since the Executive has got to have one and I can’t very well alter be- 
fore November the number of copies on order; I have trouble enough 
as it is In getting the right number of copies ordered. In November 
I shall be renewing my subscription, on which occasion I shall be 
able to make other arrangements. 

At the last conference of the Social Democratic Federation Hynd- 
man was requested — unanimously, it is said-—to resign from the 
leadership of the Socra, Democratic Feperation and to confine his 
activities to writing. We shall see whether it lasts. But it’s hard 
on him. 

* Neither Hardie nor Tom Mann enjoy popularity in broader circles. Burns, who 
might have handled many things differently, wasn’t there. 

It’s a pity that Ede should also have missed the Trapes Union Con- 
gress, but it couldn’t be helped. So far as he himself is concerned, it’s 
all to the good that his holiday should have been prolonged. 

Though still housebound, I am slowly improving. 

Your 
F_E.