Letter to Bertalan Szemere, September 26, 1859

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 26 September 1859


First published in Revue d'histoire compareé, t. IV, Nos. 1-2, 1946
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 40


MARX TO BERTALAN SZEMERE[1]

IN PARIS

London, 26 September 1859

My dear Franck,

In reply to your letter d.d. Sept. 23 I beg to state: 1) On the arrival at London of the N. Y. T. containing P's declaration, which to sign with his name he had not dared,[2] I sent the N. Y. T. two letters with a full Statement of the case. Simultaneously, I addressed a private note to the Editor in which I insisted upon the necessity of exposing the manoeuvres and intrigues of the wide-mouthed charlatan.[3] We shall, by and by, ascertain, whether or not my letters were published by the N. Y. T.

As to the great London Daily Papers, it is quite out of the question to induce them to give publicity to a full exposure of Kossuth. The statement, in the first instance, would imply a libel case, which to stand the editors are, or at least affect to be, afraid of, considering the difficulty to prove such charges of bribery, and to summon the witnesses before a British tribunal. In the second instance, Kossuth is too unmitigated a humbug to not share the secret sympathies of the venal London press-gang. I have, however, put down a summary for the Free Press (the Urquhartite paper which appears on the last Wednesday of every month)[4] I have authorised them, if they think it necessary, 'to dress the salad' in their own style, and I think myself warranted in supposing that the 'thing' is to come out this very week. In that case I shall forward you a copy. Although circulated among a very exclusive public, the Free Press finds its way to all the cabinets and capitals of Europe. It is well known at Constantinople. Besides, the statement having once appeared in the Free Press, some London correspondents, connected with the German press, and more or less influenced by me, will find it easier to transplant the thing to the Teutonic soil.

I enclose Asboth's declaration from the N. Y. T.[5] The turn now given to K's proceedings is, that that 'illustrious' patriot attempted only to prevent 'a premature rising in Hungary', and that the clever 'statesman' altogether succeeded in this 'difficult' task.

Some time ago, Urquhart had his correspondence with Kossuth (which I alluded to, as you will recollect) translated into Italian, and copiously distributed throughout Italy.[6]

2) In regard to the wine-affair, I became informed, soon after your departure from London, that my brother-in-law[7] was not to return to Amsterdam before October. I have, therefore, not yet written to him on the business.

For England I have till now vacillated between two men, both of whom, though in different ways, appear fit for undertaking the task. The one is a German, without capital, but very energetical, speculative, and industrious. The other is an Englishman, who deals in French and German wines, a respectable merchant, although no large one. At all events, he has contrived to get on with his wine-business and to rise, in the short period of 6-7 years, from very small beginnings to comparative affluency. The former candidate would have been exclusively given to the business in question; the latter has the advantage of greater means, a settled concern, and established connexions. If, as will be decided in a few days, the German is, for the present, not yet ready to enter on the affair (and I have reason to think so), I shall make a conditional offer to the Englishman. You will then be informed of his conditions and may decide yourself.

Yours truly

A. Williams[8]

P.S. At this moment I receive your second letter. I think it is already answered by the preceding lines.

27. Sep. The proof-sheet of the 'thing' in the Free Press has been forwarded to me.

  1. ↑ Marx's letters of 26 September and 8 October 1859 to Bertalan Szemere, the former Prime Minister of the Hungarian revolutionary government, is evidence of his desire to strengthen contacts with refugee Hungarian revolutionary democrats. In the.se letters Marx criticises Kossuth's attitude in the years of emigration, in particular his tendency to take Napoleon Ill's demagogy in the nationalities question at face value, and his-illusions concerning the possibility of using the French Emperor as an ally in the struggle for Hungary's liberation. This criticism docs not extend to Kossuth's activity during the 1848-49 revolution, when he headed the revolutionary forces fighting for Hungary's national independence and, in the words of Engels, was 'a truly revolutionary figure, a man who in the name of his people dares to accept the challenge of a desperate struggle' (Vol. 8, p. 227).—493, 504
  2. ↑ [F. Pulszky,] 'From Our Own Correspondent. Monday, August 7, 1859', New York Daily Tribune, No. 5720, 23 August 1859.
  3. ↑ On 23 August 1859 the New-York Daily Tribune published an anonymous item marked 'From Our Own Correspondent' (written by the Hungarian emigrant Ferenc Pulszky) which was an attempt to justify Kossuth's ties with Napoleon III. Early in September Marx sent two articles to the paper exposing the ties of both Kossuth and his followers, including Pulszky, with Bonapartist circles. The facts testifying to Kossuth's dealings with Napoleon III, which Marx cited in the two articles were given to him by Bertalan Szemere on 1 September 1859 when the latter visited him in London. The Tribune published, on 24 September, one article by Marx on the subject, 'Kossuth and Louis Napoleon' (present edition, Vol. 16), possibly combining the two he had sent. Whether Marx's private letter to the Tribune editor, Charles Dana, was used in it is not known, for the letter has not been found. On 28 September the London Free Press published Marx's article 'Particulars of Kossuth's Transaction with Louis Napoleon', which was a condensed version of the Tribune article.—494, 497, 507, 525
  4. ↑ [K. Marx,] 'Particulars of Kossuth's Transaction with Louis Napoleon'.
  5. ↑ A. Asboth, 'The Peace of Villafranca and the Hungarian Cause', New York Daily Tribune, No. 5727, 31 August 1859.
  6. ↑ Letters of L. Kossuth and D. Urquhart published in The Free Press, No. 16, 12 May 1858.
  7. ↑ Johann Carl Juta
  8. ↑ conspiratorial pseudonym of Karl Marx