| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 16 July 1858 |
ENGELS TO MARX
IN LONDON
Manchester, 16 July 1858
Dear Moor,
It is very decent of you to have laid your difficulties plainly before me. Obviously there is need for immediate action. By my
reckoning then, about £50 à £60 is urgent, and the rest can wait a while. I could at once raise £30 towards this amount by means of a fresh acceptance, provided the fellow agrees to make out the acceptance at 4 months minimum, otherwise I wouldn't be in a position to find the money. If he is willing it might also be possible to draw £20 at 4 months and another £20 at 6 months (plus interest) so that I should have to pay in November and January and you would at once get £40 clear. So go and see Freiligrath straight away and find out what can be done. It is, of course, absolutely essential that the discounter retains the acceptances in his own portfolio, otherwise I shall be ruined. The rascal ought not to ask more than the 20% I am calculating on, which already represents a loss of nearly £5.
In this way, or so it seems to me, you would be covered to the extent that you could, at a pinch, wait until it's time to draw your next bill. But in view of your wife's state of health even more will be needed, of course, and unfortunately I can't manage it. I can't even step across to Watts here in connection with his Provident Institution as I've fallen out with the fellow. However he only has a BRANCH-OFFICE up here; the head-oFFicE is in London and you can look it up in any DIRECTORY. The business is called the PEOPLES PROVIDENT ASSURANCE SOCIETY AND LIFE AND EQUITABLE INSTITUTION Freiligrath will easily get hold of a prospectus, TERMS, etc., for you and if there is anything to be done, which I doubt, he could also set the matter in train.
Though I've racked my brains I can think of no other method of raising money in England. It seems to me that the moment has come for you to have a go at your mater[1] or one or other of the Dutchmen.[2] Ultimately it is a question of wiping the slate clean and making A FRESH START; all this business of LOANS merely puts matters off and ultimately leads to an even worse crisis, quite apart from all the money—what with FEES, etc.—and time that is expended in attempts to raise the cash. Moreover, an acceptance on my part anticipates the money which I would otherwise have been able to send you over a period in small amounts and, although a lump sum is worth more to you than the ODD five-pound note now and again, this will certainly mean a corresponding loss of regular income.
You must really cast aside any reservations—s'il y en aurait[3] —in this case and attempt a coup. It's a question of finding a further
£50 or so and I can see absolutely no way of getting it other than through your relations.
Meanwhile I shall mull the thing over lor a couple of days and see if anything occurs to me. At all events it would be as well to burn this correspondence so that the matter remains between ourselves.
Your
F. E,
If absolutely necessary I would accept £20 at 3 months and £20 at 6; anything shorter wouldn't do. Interest on top of this, so you would have £40 net.