Letter to Karl Marx, June 9, 1864

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To Marx in London

Manchester, 9 June 1864

Dear Moor,

Your telegram received; the other halves of the five banknotes follow herewith. I have cleaned up the glass photogram a bit and now find that it’s very good. I shall show it to Gumpert and his wife this evening.

Clearly it’s of the utmost importance to us that Liebknecht should be in Berlin to spring surprises on Izzy and also, at an appropriate moment, quietly to enlighten the workers at large about our attitude towards him. At all events, we must keep him there and support him to some extent. If you send him some money now, it will encourage him a great deal and, if you think any more is needed, let me know and I'll send you a five pound note for him.

Apropos obituary for Lupus. We must do a kind of biography; I think we ought to have it printed in Germany as a pamphlet, with the whole of the parliamentary debate as an appendix. Let’s not allow the thing to slide.

What do Borkheim’s reports say about progress on the Suez Canal? Have matters actually got to a stage that point to its early completion?

I'm very anxious to see how things go in Virginia. The sides still seem to be almost evenly matched and mere chance, the opportunity of scoring an isolated victory over just one of Grant’s corps, might restore Lee’s superiority. The battle before Richmond may be fought under quite different circumstances, for Butler is certainly weaker than Beauregard, otherwise he wouldn’t have let himself be forced on to the defensive and, even if one were as strong as the other, Lee, if he linked up with Beaur. at Richmond, would certainly be stronger than Grant and Butler combined. For Lee can debouch with his entire force from his fortified camp on each side of the James River, whereas Grant must detach part of his troops (to the south side of the river). But I am hoping that Grant will, nevertheless, go through with the affair; at all events, there can be no doubt that, after the first battle in the Wilderness, Lee has shown little further inclination to engage in decisive encounters in the open field, on the contrary, he has always kept his main force in fortified positions and only committed himself to brief attacks. I also like the methodical pace of Grant’s operations. On such terrain and with such an opponent it’s the only correct method.

A collection for the Solingen chaps won’t produce anything up here; however, it goes without saying that I shall send you something for them. Let me know, when you've reached that stage, how much they have got for the journey and how much it will cost.

Three days ago our old Hill finally handed in his cash box, but is, understandably enough, still quite incapable of tearing himself away from the office. He still haunts it every day, just as he has always done. It was not until today that he stayed away, at least for the morning, but after his dinner couldn’t stand it any longer.

Many regards.

Your
F. E.