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Special pages :
Letter to Friedrich Engels, November 26, 1860
| Author(s) | Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 26 November 1860 |
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 41
MARX TO ENGELS
IN MANCHESTER
[London,] 26 November [1860]
Dear Frederick,
My wife's condition has improved, in so far as this is possible under the circumstances. It is going to be a lengthy business. What might be called the paroxysm of the disease is now over.
Allen believes that the only explanation for the infection is the state of extreme nervous excitation in which she has been these many months.
Perhaps you would be kind enough to ask Heckscher to send the enclosed to the Reform without delay.
The day before yesterday, Petsch actually advertised Herr Vogt in the Hermann and the Athenaeum as due to appear this week.[1]
From its date you will see that I scribbled the piece for the Reform as long ago as Saturday. I had intended to send it to you with an accompanying letter, but suddenly felt so unwell that any kind of writing was OUT OF QUESTION. Allen gave me some medicine, and today I feel all right again. Regards to Lupus.
Your
K. M.[2]
Sir,
Your acceptance of the following declaration would much oblige me. You will be receiving a copy of my anti-Vogt pamphlet in the course of next week. I am, Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
Karl Marx
To the Editorial Board of the Reform
Declaration
At the beginning of February 1860 the editorial board of the Reform were kind enough to publish a declaration by myself[3] which began with these words:
'I hereby make it known that I have taken steps preparatory to instituting legal proceedings for libel against the Berlin National- Zeitung in connection with the leading articles in Nos. 37 and 41 regarding Vogt's pamphlet Mein Prozess gegen die Allgemeine Zeitung. I reserve the right to answer Vogt in writing at a later date.'
In the course of February 1860 I brought a libel suit in Berlin against F. Zabel, the responsible editor of the National-Zeitung. My lawyer, Legal Counsellor Weber, resolved at first on an official investigation. With a ruling of April 18, 1860 the Public Pros- ecutor3 refused to 'take action' against F. Zabel, on the grounds that there was no public interest involved. On April 26, 1860 his refusal was confirmed by the Chief Public Prosecutor.
My lawyer then began civil proceedings. The Royal Municipal Court in a ruling of June 8, 1860 prohibited me from proceeding with my lawsuit on the grounds that the genuinely defamatory 'utterances and statements' of F. Zabel's were merely quotations from other persons', and that 'the intention to insult' was not present. The Royal Court of Appeal for its part declared in a ruling of July 11, 1860 that the alleged use of quotation did not affect the culpability of the articles, but that the defamatory passages contained in them did not refer to my person'. Furthermore, 'in the present case' the intention to insult 'could not be assumed'. Thus, the Royal Court of Appeal confirmed the negative ruling of the Municipal Court. In a ruling of October 5, 1860, which I received on October 23 of this year, the Royal Supreme Tribunal found that 'in the present case' no 'legal error' on the part of the Royal Court of Appeal 'could be discerned'. The prohibition on suing F. Zabel was thus definitely sustained and my claim did not reach the stage of being accorded a public hearing.
My reply to Vogt will appear in a few days.
London, November 24, 1860
Karl Marx