I vaguely remember that it was May 2, 1848, when the content of The Times was like a clarion call that reignited the fighting spirit of us, the Charter Faction, whose drums had already ceased. For a moment, it seemed as if all of London would once again witness the grandeur of a year ago. However, it is regrettable that the initiator of all this was not a true proletarian, nor even a democrat or republican. All he did was merely a tool to realize his personal ambitions.
——"Polaris and Me" by Mr. Hani
On the morning of May 2, as the opinion headquarters of the Charter Faction and an advocate for the workers' movement, the newsroom of the Polar Star newspaper was gearing up to prepare the "ammunition" for the next round of offensives. The Charter Movement of 1847 brought all the Charter Faction members throughout Britain together. They formed a group and submitted a petition to the government this April. However, after a month, the joint government still had not taken any action, and Lord Palmerston, who had been elected into Parliament with their votes, had not responded to them either. [Note 1] (Lord Palmerston did not believe it was due to the voters' efforts.)
The Charter Faction can no longer tolerate the government's arrogant silence as a stance of opposition. They are preparing to give the government a "lesson" soon, making them aware of the workers' power.
At this moment, the editor-in-chief of the "Polar Star," Mr. Hani, was sitting in his office, holding a dip pen and contemplating the upcoming content. The white draft paper under his arm was densely filled with traces of revisions.
After pondering for a long time, editor-in-chief Hani frowned, looked down, and reviewed the content he had written earlier, only to find that most of it was already clichés that had been talked about repeatedly. Hoping that these hackneyed words would resonate with subscribers was nothing but a pipe dream.
The more Hani thought about it, the more irritable he became. The unfinished draft looked more and more unpleasing to him. Restless and unsettled, he crumpled the white draft paper under his arm into a ball and casually threw it to the ground. The dip pen returned to its original place, and he pressed his head tightly with his hands as if holding a basketball, stared intently at the rosewood desk, and ground his teeth with a sound of "creaking."
The writing had obviously caused editor-in-chief Hani great distress.
The frustration of not being able to finish the draft lasted quite a while, until a knock on the office door pulled editor-in-chief Hani out of his worries.
"Come in!" Hani adjusted his posture slightly, moved his hands from his head, and placed them on the desk, with his expression changing from anger to calm.
Not bringing his personal negative emotions to other members, especially subordinates, was a "truth" editor-in-chief Hani had learned after taking charge of the Polar Star.
The office door opened, and a reporter walked towards Hani with a newspaper in hand, saying as he walked: "Editor-in-chief Hani, take a look at this!"
When the reporter came up to Hani, Hani realized that the reporter was holding a copy of The Times, which emitted a faint scent of ink, indicating it had just been printed.
The reporter spread The Times newspaper on the table, pointing to the headline on the front page and breathlessly urged Hani, "Editor-in-chief, look at this article!"
"From Bonaparte to Bonaparte...? What kind of title is this!" At first glance, Hani read the headline word by word, with a hint of confusion in his eyes, as if asking the reporter what exactly had happened.
"Editor-in-chief, keep reading! Once you finish, you'll understand everything!" The anxious reporter urged Hani to continue reading.
Hani temporarily set aside his doubts and read line by line.
Due to the length and layout of the article, it took Hani less than 3 minutes to read through the entire piece.
After reading the article, Hani felt as if waves were surging in his heart. "Equality," "freedom," "democracy," "universal suffrage," this article articulated everything they wanted to say.
Ultimately, the Charter Faction of the 19th century was not a revolutionary party. Born with the mark of bourgeois reform, they didn't have the urgent desire to overthrow the government and achieve democratic dictatorship. Instead, they ran around for freedom and equality, but they had not realized that their so-called freedom and equality were just illusions that could be easily punctured.
Even though some comments on Louis Napoleon in the article were somewhat untimely, the so-called "Bonaparte Thought" succinctly pointed out what Britain needed.
[Hani had once met Louis Napoleon at a club and had some impression of him.]
"Who is the author of this article?" Hani was eager to find out the answer.
"I don't know!" The reporter pointed to the blank space in the byline of The Times and said to Hani, "It seems the writer doesn't want to reveal their name!"
"Cut out this newspaper article and give it to Mr. Karl Marx and Mr. Friedrich Engels. I suppose you know their address?" Hani said to the reporter with excitement.
[Back in the Charter Movement of 1847, the Charter Faction had already known Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. During the peak of the Charter Movement, Engels was even invited by the Polar Star to serve as a counterbalance to the bourgeois radicals.]
"Understood!" The reporter, filled with admiration and longing for Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, immediately complied with Hani's order.
After Hani gave a few trivial instructions to the reporter, the reporter left, and Hani, full of inspiration, picked up the pen to write again.
This time he wanted to write about "On Bonaparte Thought and Britain's Democratization Movement."
"Yesterday, a great fighter for freedom and equality left us. He brought us... The British Government should no longer ignore it. As Louis Napoleon said, a government needs to establish the equal right of choice for the people..."
This time, contrary to his usual approach, Hani did not base the narrative on false freedom and equality. Instead, using Louis Napoleon's perspective, he launched a fierce critique of Britain's existing system from the standpoint of universal suffrage and a responsible government.
The three thousand words poured out like a torrent, yet intensely poignant.
After writing all this, Hani reviewed the manuscript again and then sealed it.
PS: 1. In the 1847 election, the editor-in-chief of the Polar Star, Mr. Hani, was selected as a candidate for the Charter Faction in the Tivert District; this district also elected Lord Palmerston, Minister of Foreign Affairs, into Parliament. However, when Lord Palmerston called for a vote decision, the initially selected Mr. Hani abandoned his candidacy during the hand vote at the primary election.