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Special pages :
Proposal on the Transfer of the Seat and on the Composition of the General Council for 1872-1873
| Author(s) | First International Frederick Engels Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 6 September 1872 |
First published in [E. Vaillant,] Internationale et révolution. À propos du congrès de La Haye, London, 1872
Printed according to the manuscript written by Marx
Translated from the French
Source: Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 23
The European reaction prevented the General Council from having its seat anywhere but London. However, the growing activity of sectarian and reformist elements had led to a sharp struggle within the International, and a danger arose that the General Council might be seized either by the French Blanquist refugees, who sought to turn the International into the tool of their adventurist and voluntarist policy of immediate "arrangement of a revolution", or by the English reformists. Under these circumstances, it was expedient to temporarily transfer the seat of the General Council to the USA. Engels substantiated this motion in his speech on September 6, 1872. The Blanquist delegates, who voted on other points with Marx and Engels against the Bakuninists and reformists, tried to turn down this motion and, having failed to do so, walked out.
A copy of this proposal, certified by Theodor Cuno, is extant in the Congress documents. A facsimile of Marx’s manuscript in French was first published in H. Schlüter, Die Internationale in Amerika, Chicago, 1918. It was published in English for the first time in The Hague Congress of the First International. September 2-7, 1872. Minutes and Documents, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1976.
We propose that the General Council for 1872-1873 be transferred to New York and be composed of the following members of the North American Federal Council: Kavanagh, Saint Clair, Cetti, Levièle, Laurel, F. J. Bertrand, F. Boite, and C. Carl. It shall have the right to co-opt new members, but its total membership shall not exceed 15.
Karl Marx, F. Engels, Geo. Sexton, Walery
Wrôblewski, Ch. Longuet, A. Serraillier,
J. P. MacDonnell, Eugène Dupont, F. Lessner,
Le Moussu, M. Maltman Barry[1]
The Hague, September 6, 1872
- ↑ All the signatures are handwritten.— Ed.