74. F. Engels. To the British Federal Council, International Working Men's Association Concerning Portuguese Strikes

74. F. Engels. To the British Federal Council, International Working Men's Association Concerning Portuguese Strikes[3]

122 Regent's Park Road. N.W. London, 16th October, 1872

Citizens,

I had the honour of submitting to you, by citizen Dupont, at your meeting of September 26, a communication addressed to me by the Lisbon Federal Council regarding some trade matters of International Sections there, which required immediate action here.[206] I have seen this communication published in The International Herald(1)

but have not had any intimation that the Federal Council has taken any further steps in the matter.

As I am bound to give an account to my Lisbon Correspondents of what I have done on behalf of the parties interested, I hope the Federal Council will be good enough to let me know whether anything, and what, has been done by the Council with regard to the subject in question.

I remain Citizens fraternally yours,

F. E.

First published in: Marx and Engels, Reproduced from the rough manu-Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXVI, script Moscow, 1935

[3] The rough manuscript has Engels' note: "London, 16 October 72. To Brit. Fed. Council wegen [on account of] Portug. Strikes." — Ed.

Endnotes

[206] The Portuguese Federal Council sent a letter to the British Federal Council c/o Engels, with the request to take urgent measures to prevent the importation of strike-breakers from Britain. The threat of importation arose because all the foundry workers of Lisbon went on strike on September 19, 1872. The strikers were joined by the workers of other trades and they demanded shorter working hours. The Portuguese Federation of the International supported the strike in Lisbon. Its letter was read out at the meeting of the British Federal Council on September 26 and published in The International Herald on October 5, 1872.

(1) E. Hill, "International Working Men's Association. Federal Council", The International Herald, No. 27, October 5, 1872.— Ed.

[3] Jules Gottraux, a Swiss-born subject of Great Britain and a member of the International, was detained by the French police on the French-Swiss frontier on September 30, 1866, when he was returning to London from Switzerland. The police confiscated letters, printed matter, and other material entrusted to him by the International's leaders in Geneva for delivery to the General Council. The seized documents included the preliminary report on the work of the Geneva Congress which had been drawn up by Council member Joseph Card and published in French in Geneva as a pamphlet. (Later, this gave rise to rumours that the French authorities had confiscated the Congress minutes, which in fact had bv that time been brought to London by Hermann Jung.) The General Council decided to lodge a complaint about this wanton act and to use the fact publicly to expose the regime of the Second Empire. At the beginning of December, the Council addressed the British Foreign Secretary, requesting him to make a corresponding démarche to the French government, which forced the French authorities to return, on December 21, the materials taken from Gottraux.