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Title: Engels to John B. Shipley, [London], 3 October 1893
Description: Draft of Engels's reply to Shipley, who had asked for his help in a money dispute with his family: a poor man has no chance in the English law courts, and Engels knows no such lawyer as he describes.
Author: Friedrich Engels
Date: 1893-10-03
URL: https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/cartas/originales/1893-10-03%20Engels%20to%20John%20B.%20Shipley
---


*Draft of a letter from Friedrich Engels to John B. Shipley, [London], 3 October 1893; the place, in square brackets, is supplied by us. Manuscript preserved at the IISG (Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Papers, inv. K 1506), transcribed from the digital facsimile by the Escuela de marxismo, 2026 (double reading and collation with the image). Written in English. Diplomatic transcription: spelling, capitals and punctuation as in the manuscript; underlining in italics; deletions as ~~text~~; interlinear and marginal additions inserted where marked, with a note; [?] after an uncertain reading. [Traducción al español](https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/cartas/1893-10-03%20Engels%20a%20John%20B.%20Shipley)*

3/10/93

Dr Sir

On my return from abroad I find your letter of Aug. 10th. I ~~regret~~ am afraid[^1] I cannot ~~assist you~~ be of any use to you in your dispute with your family. Even were your *legal* right to the money a good deal clearer to me than it is, I could only say that you, as a poor man, would hardly have the ghost of a chance, in English law courts, against wealthy[^2] people who moreover[^3] could fight you with your own money. ~~When I was[^4] in business, our firm had a lawsuit and[?] won[?] it, with this result that they had [ilegible] [ilegible] £ 600 out of the victory[?]~~. But[^5] Supposing ~~however~~ you had the money to fight,[^6] my advice would still be: keep it rather than waste[^7] ~~spend~~ it on law.

As to a lawyer such as you describe & who would be willing to undertake your lawsuit, you will not be astonished if I tell you I ~~[ilegible]~~ [ilegible] know such a one.

Regretting I cannot give you a more comforting reply I remain &c

[^1]: «am afraid» written above the line.

[^2]: «wealthy» written in the left margin.

[^3]: «moreover» written above the line.

[^4]: «I was» written above the line, within the deleted passage.

[^5]: «But» written above the line.

[^6]: «to fight» written above the line.

[^7]: «waste» written in the left margin.