Karl Marx: A biography by David McLellan

LONDON (^225)
boat to Ostend, Willich being accompanied by Barthelemy. Liebknecht
has left an account of what followed:
In the evening of the following day the door of Marx's house was
opened - he was not at home, only Mrs Marx and Lenchen - and
Barthelemy entered bowing stiffly and replying with a sepulchral voice
to the anxious question 'What news?' 'Schramm a une balle dans la
tete!' - Schramm has a bullet in his head - whereupon bowing stiffly
once more he turned and withdrew. You may imagine the fright of the
half insensible lady; she knew now that her instinctive dislike had not
deceived her.
One hour later she related the sad news to us. Of course, we gave
up Schramm for lost. The next day, while we were just talking about
him sadly, the door was opened and in came with a bandaged head but
gaily laughing the sadly mourned one and related that he had received
a glancing shot which had stunned him - when he recovered conscious-
ness, he was alone on the sea coast with his second and his physician.
Willich and Barthelemy had returned from Ostend on the steamer
which they had just been able to reach. With the next boat Schramm
followed.^69
A split was unavoidable, particularly as Willich had, on his own author-
ity, summoned a general meeting of the London members of the League.
Marx therefore resigned from the refugee committee and opened the final
meeting of the Central Committee, held on 15 September, with a long
speech from the Chair containing three proposals. Firstly, he suggested
that the Central Committee be transferred to Cologne; he had opposed
the suggestion made previously by Schapper that Cologne be made res-
ponsible for Germany, but now the division in London was so great that
effective leadership could no longer be given from Britain. Secondly, the
new Central Committee should make new statutes since the original
statutes of 1847 and the weakened ones of 1848 were neither up to date
nor respected by large sections of the League. Thirdly, there should be
two completely separate groups in London, both linked directly to the
Central Committee in Cologne. This was necessary to preserve the unity
of the League, for the views recently expressed by the minority showed
that there were important differences of principle between the two groups.
Marx continued:
A German national approach pandering to the nationalism of the
German manual workers has replaced the universal approach of the
Manifesto. Will is put forward as the chief factor in revolution, instead
of real relationships. We say to the workers: 'You have 15 , 20 , 50
years of civil war to go through to change the circumstances and fit
yourselves for power!' You say instead: 'We must gain power immediately