MIA > Archive > Wilhelm Liebknecht
Speech Delivered: In English by Wilhelm Liebknecht on May 27th, 1896, as part of a speaking tour.
Source: The Kansas Agitator, July 10th, 1896. Vol. 7, No. 8, Page 2.
Public Domain: This work is free of any copyright restrictions.
Transcription and Markup: Bill Wright for marxists.org, June 2023.
MIA Editor’s Note: This is a newspaper report of a political lecture delivered in English by Wilhelm Liebknecht
in Edinburgh, Scotland, as one stop of an extended speaking tour. A longer report of a different lecture in the tour, which tries to capture
Liebknecht’s direct words, is available here.
An enthusiastic audience crowded the Odd Fellows’ Hall to welcome the grand old soldier of the International Labor movement, Wm. Liebknecht of Berlin, Germany. Dr. John Glasse presided, and welcomed Herr Liebknecht, who, he said, deserved the respect of everyone. He called upon them to take example from Liebknecht, and to vow that they would not rest from their labors until they had banished starvation and oppression from the land.
Comrades D. Blackburn and Paterson, ex-President and Vice President respectively of the Trades Council, moved and seconded a resolution extending a cordial welcome to Herr Wilhelm Liebknecht, testifying to the splendid service he has rendered on behalf of the workers, and trusting that his visit would be the means of strengthening the forces of the International Labor movement.
This was supported by S. D. Shallard in a spirited and eloquent speech.
Liebknecht, who was received with tremendous enthusiasm, the audience rising to their feet and cheering vociferously, then gave a masterly address on International Socialism. Referring to the vow of which the chairman spoke, be said that for his own part when he was very young he took a vow to fight for the liberty of the people. He had tried to keep that vow: he had done his duty as well as he could. The other day he had crossed the border between England and Scotland. For hundreds of years that frontier had disappeared. So would disappear the great frontiers that separated the countries of the world under Socialism. Socialism was the same every where: it was international as science was international. Its essence and aim was to change the present method of production; to put the instruments of labor out of the possession of a minority into the possession of the State, of the Commonwealth; to abolish the exploiting of men through men, and to abolish wage labor. Even such a powerful nation as Great Britain, which commanded the world’s market, could not become Socialist by itself. Socialism must be brought about internationally. It must be as international as Capitalism was, and the Capitalists of the world were united against the working classes. Every honest man who studied the principles of Socialism became a Socialist, and those who were not honest did not care to have them. [that is, have principles –MIA] Our comrade then gave a fascinating account of the history of Socialism in Germany, how oppression under the common law was first tried. Then in 1878, by the Socialist Laws, the whole working class of Germany were outlawed, and their press put out of existence in one week. The struggle with Bismarck continued for twelve years, till 1890, when the Socialists polled 1,540,000 votes, and the man of blood and iron was vanquished and forced to go. Since the Socialist law had been given up the party had grown as steadily as before, and he confidently predicted the ultimate triumph of Socialism. After speaking for an hour and a quarter Liebknecht sat down amid loud and prolonged applause.
Leo Melliet, another old veteran in the fight, and likely soon to be a member of the French Chamber of Deputies, followed Liebknecht. He said that that day twenty-five years ago the Communards made their last stand in the streets of Paris. But Socialism had risen from the tomb of the Commune, and Socialists were now fighting, as one of its heroic defenders had said, for the solidarity of humanity.
Dr. [Edward] Aveling, in a three minutes speech, spoke of the Transvaal business. He understood Dr. Jameson was born in Edinburgh and he had been warned not to speak against him, but he characterized Jameson and Rhodes as two infamous adventurers, a statement which was loudly applauded.[a] Then with three rousing cheers for International Social-Democracy the meeting, which will certainly mark an epoch in the history of the movement, came to a close.
[a] “Transvaal business” refers to the recent Jameson Raid carried out against the Dutch-speaking Transvaal Republic in what is now South Africa. The raid was launched by the colonial viceroy Leander Starr Jameson on behalf of the mining magnate Cecil Rhodes, with the aim of sparking an uprising of British emigrant workers against the government of the longer-established Boer Dutch settlers (the ultimate goal of course being to exploit the region’s gold mines). The raid failed miserably and the whole affair can be compared to the Bay of Pigs Invasion against Cuba in 1961.
Last updated on 3 September 2023