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Special pages :
Letter to Ferdinand Freiligrath, February 8, 1860
| Author(s) | Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 8 February 1860 |
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 41
MARX TO FERDINAND FREILIGRATH
IN LONDON
London, 8 February 1860 9 Grafton Terrace, Maitland Park, Haverstock Hill
Dear Freiligrath,
As an old party friend and an old personal friend, I consider it my duty to keep you informed of the steps I have taken in the furtherance of the Berlin lawsuit, by reason of which they must soon, though not immediately, become known to the public.
You will recall or have seen from the printed English circular[1] sent you that, besides Hollinger's written statement,[2] Blind cited that of certain compositor, Wiehe, in the Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung[3] (etc.) as evidence that I had been guilty of 'a plain falsehood' and that 'the imputation' that he, Blind, was the author of the pamphlet Zur Warnung, and that the latter had been printed for him by Hollinger or, indeed, had come off Hollinger's printing-press 'was a lie'. I am now sending you an exact copy of the sworn statement made by this man Wiehe before the magistrate in Bow Street. Of that statement I received an officially attested duplicate. One copy of the same is already on its way to Berlin for the Public Prosecutor's dossier.
It would, I think, be superfluous were I at this point to add a single word of comment to the document.
Your
K. M.
'One of the first days of November last—I do not recollect the exact date—in the evening between 9 and 10 o'clock I was taken out of bed by Mr F. Hollinger, in whose house (3, Litchfield Street, Soho) I was then living, and by whom I was employed as compositor. He presented to me a paper to the effect that I had been continuously employed by him during the preceding 11 months, and that during all that time a certain German flysheet "Zur Warnung" (A Warning) had not been composed and printed in Mr Hollinger's Office, 3, Litchfield Street, Soho. In my perplexed state,—and not aware of the importance of the transaction I complied with his wish, and copied and signed the document. He promised me money, but I never received anything. During that transaction Mr Charles Blind, as my wife told me at the time, was waiting in Mr Hollinger's room. A few days later Mrs Hollinger (Mr F. Hollinger's wife) called me down from dinner and led me into her husband's room, where I found Mr Charles Blind alone. He presented me the same paper which Mr Hollinger had presented me before, and entreated me to write and sign a second copy, as he wanted two, the one for himself, the other for publication in the Press. He added that he would show himself grateful to me. I copied and signed again the paper.
'I herewith declare the truth of the above statements and that:
'1. During the eleven months, mentioned in the document, I was for six weeks not employed by Mr Hollinger, but by a Mr Ermani.
'2. I did not work in Mr Hollinger's Office just at the time, when the flysheet "Zur Warnung" (A Warning) was published.
'3. 1 heard at the time from Mr Voegele, who then worked for Mr Hollinger, that he, Voegele, had together with Mr Hollinger himself composed the flysheet in question, and that the manuscript was in Mr Blind's handwriting.
'4. The types of the pamphlet were still standing, when I returned into Mr Hollinger's service. I myself broke them into columns for the reprint of the flysheet (or pamphlet) "Zur Warnung" (A Warning) in the German paper "Das Volk", published at London by Mr Fidelio Hollinger, 3 Litchfield Street, Soho. The flysheet appeared in No. 7, d. d. 18 June 1859 of "Das Volk".
'5. I saw Mr Hollinger give to Mr William Liebknecht, of 14, Church Street, Soho, London, the proofsheet of the pamphlet "Zur Warnung", on which proofsheet Mr Charles Blind with his own hand had corrected 4 or 5 mistakes. Mr Hollinger hesitated at first giving the proofsheet to Mr Liebknecht, and when Mr Liebknecht had withdrawn, he, F. Hollinger, expressed to me and my fellow workman Voegele his regret for having given the proofsheet out of his hands.
'Johann Friedrich Wiehe.
'Declared and signed by the said Johann Friedrich Police Court Wiehe at the Police Court Bow Street, London, this Royal Coat of Arms 8th day of February, 1860, before me Th. Henry. Bow Street
Magistrate of the said Court.'
I would beg you, for the time being, not to show this copy of the affidavit to anyone. What the consequences would be under English criminal law will not escape you.