Letter to Regina and Eduard Bernstein, September 17, 1892

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 17 September 1892


First published, in Russian, in Marx-Engels Archives, Book I, Moscow, 1924
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 49


ENGELS TO REGINA AND EDUARD BERNSTEIN

IN ZURICH

London, 17 September 1892

Dear Gine,

From Louise, who came back here on Wednesday,[1] I have learned that you are still in Zurich and that Käte[2] is already in this country, and yesterday the letter from you and Ede at last enabled me to connect up the broken telegraph wires again. We are most sorry that you should still be so unwell but that is something that will eventually pass, and in the meantime Ede can continue to recuperate in the open air for a while longer, which will be most beneficial for him and do the party no harm, now that he has in any case missed the TRADES UNION Congress.[3] The latter was the scene of considerable confusion. The most interesting session from our point of view was the one on Thursday[4] on the question of the Congress.[5] If we had known your address, we'd have sent Ede a Scottish paper containing an account of it, but as it is, the few copies we had have been sent elsewhere.

When, despite continuous prodding from Thorne, the letter of invitation from Zurich 'to the TRADE UNION CONGRESS' in Glasgow had obstinately been withheld for 4 whole days, Matkin tabled a motion, clearly concocted in conjunction with the 'old' unionists with a view to preventing attendance at Zurich, in which he called for the convocation of an international 8 hours congress of their own. Parnell, on the other hand, proposed an AMENDMENT to the effect that it would be better to go to Zurich. According to Ed. Aveling, Parnell and Quelch spoke very well. At that, all the old unionists went mad. The continental workers, they said, were weak and badly organised, but if the English took them under their wing all might go well; in any case the Zurich Congress had not been convoked by the English TRADES UNIONS. Besides, who would want to associate himself with all the WILD THEORIES and the kind of SOCIALISM that throve on the Continent, etc.? (This latter anxiety, in particular, being voiced in rasping tones by a Lancashire weaver,[6] one of the new converts to the 8 hour day.)

In short, in their delight that there should now be almost no opposition to the 8 HOURS DAY, and by way of a sop to the weak in spirit — the Lancashire cotton operatives — they unceremoniously consigned the Continentals' invitation to the waste paper basket, and by 189 votes to 97, no less!

Now this, although most of them were probably unaware of what they were doing, was in fact a disgusting insult and a slap in the face for the entire continental Labour movement. We instantly broadcast the news here, there and everywhere and no doubt the first riposte will come from the French in a few days' time at Marseilles.[7] It's a heaven-sent opportunity — without making too much of the matter— for putting a damper on the self-conceit of the old TRADES unionists who are proving ever more reactionary.

Herewith a Pall-Mall containing an article of Aveling's about the Hamburg socialists and the cholera.[8]

In the Daily Chronicle there was a long review, which no doubt you will have seen, of SOCIALISM UTOPIAN, etc.[9] What a canny lot they are!

The French daily has not yet emerged from the embryonic stage; negotiations are still proceeding but this is better than if the chaps were again to rush headlong into some short-lived venture.[10]

Louise came back in a very cheerful mood, having found her mother and Ignaz very hale and hearty. She sends her warm regards.

Now for a note to Ede, so farewell for today. With warm regards,

Yours,

F. Engels

Dear Ede,

The relevant passage went off to K. Kautsky[11] yesterday — indeed the entire letter from the point at which you began to quote; I told K. Kautsky that he would know how much to use, whether the whole thing or only a part, and which part.

At the last conference of the SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION (BANK HOLIDAY,[12] the first Monday in August), Taylor, the unsuccessful candidate for Hackney,[13] proposed that Hyndman be thrown out. This met with great acclaim, particularly among the provincial delegates; however, Taylor was persuaded to tone down his motion in order that as large a majority as possible might be obtained. And thus it was resolved (unanimously, according to Taylor) that Hyndman be requested to resign from the leadership of the SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION and devote himself to written propaganda. How long this will continue remains to be seen. At all events it is a bitter blow for the megalomaniac. Cahan of New York, who called on him without knowing about this, found him in a very despondent, chastened frame of mind and remarkably conciliatory towards all those he had hitherto torn to shreds.

The Workman's Times, i. e. Burgess, now also wishes to become party leader. You will have seen that the £400, which he placed at the disposal of Burns, Keir Hardie, Taylor and Ben Ellis during the elections, emanated from Champion (or rather, through him, from Hudson's Soap).

In short, there have been a good many changes here during your absence and you will find the chaps engaged in a variety of interesting pursuits.

Many regards,

Your

F.E.

I haven't yet seen Käte.

  1. ↑ 14 September
  2. ↑ Käte Schattner
  3. ↑ The 1892 annual Trades Union Congress, held in Glasgow from 5 to 10 September, discussed labour representation in Parliament, co-operation, factory inspection and other questions and pronounced itself in favour of introducing the eight-hour working day. At the same time it turned down an invitation to the third International Socialist Workers' Congress in Zurich (1893) received from its preparatory committee, and decided to call another international congress — on the eight-hour day issue. This could interfere with the congress of the Second International being prepared by the Marxists and split the international working-class movement. Engels emphatically opposed these actions of the British union leaders. He sent letters to Germany, Austria, Spain and France recommending the socialist parties to publicly condemn them (see present edition, Vol. 27, and this volume, pp. 522-24, 528-29, 530-31, 533-35).
  4. ↑ 8 September
  5. ↑ See this volume, pp. 519-20, 522-24 and 528-29.
  6. ↑ David Holmes
  7. ↑ The tenth congress of the French Workers' Party was held in Marseilles from 24 to 28 September 1892. It discussed the party's position and activities, in particular its work in the countryside, the celebration of May Day, the party's participation in the International Socialist Workers' Congress in Zurich in 1893 (see Note 541) and in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, and other matters. The congress adopted an agrarian programme which contained a number of specific demands reflecting the interests of the farm labourers and small peasants. The congress decided against the party's participation in the international congress called by the British trades unions to discuss the eight-hour working day (see Note 540) and for inviting British trade unionists to the Zurich Congress.
  8. ↑ E. Aveling, 'The Cholera and the Hamburg Socialists', The Pall Mall Gazette, No. 8577, 16 September 1892.
  9. ↑ the English edition (1892) of F. Engels' Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
  10. ↑ This concerns the plan for turning Le Socialiste, the weekly newspaper of the French Workers' Party (see Note 146), into a daily. Engels had asked Laura and Paul Lafargue to keep him informed of the progress of the negotiations. The plan failed to materialise.
  11. ↑ See this volume, p. 528.
  12. ↑ Bank holidays, in the United Kingdom, are those days which by the Bank Holidays Act, 1871, and the Holidays Extension Act, 1875, are kept as close holidays in all banks in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, respectively.
  13. ↑ district of London