The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-08-01 00:00:00

THE PRISONS OF NAPLES.

NAPLES, July 24.
A few days since I sent yeu a report of a visit to the
prisons of the Prefecture. Last Wednesday I went to
see those of the Vicaria, and, though some mealy-
mouthed people are fond of saying " Let bygones be
bygones," I must deal another deathblow to a sys-
tem which, for the sake of humanity and religion,
it is hoped has passed away, by giving you a few
details. I went, with four English friends, with
a special order from the Minister of the Interior.
Gates flew open so readily that the walls of the
Vicaria were astonished, grim gaolers smiled, . and
an old inspector plied us with his snuff. The first
apartments, assigned to those of condizione civile, are not
so bad—they have been recently white-washed ; 'but
as we got more into the depths of the prison-house we
began to discoTer its amiable peculiarities. Many of
the chambers were almost dark, and very damp, so
damp that a chill struck to the bones ; others were per-
fectly dark, and old Cerberus, who was rather anxious
for the honour of the house, endeavoured to give us the
idea that this chamber was merely a lumber-room ;
another was no longer used, and then a third—it was a
mere nothing—it was useless to open it. The Com-
missioners for closing the Criminali said, Don't dispute
it, they were all priSons, but speak of them as,
' depositories.' " Down, down many a staircase, past
many a gloomy cell, through the iron-plated doors of
which not a sigh could pass, we arrived at length at the
lowest part of the building. " Uselets to open those,
doors," said Cerberus. " But open that," said the Com-
missioner, and it grated upon its iron hinges. A small
chamber not three feet wide was visible, and then ano-
ther thick door with bolts, which opened into dark
vaulted passages, whiCh stretched away to Castel Oro,
said Cerberus, that is full two miles off ; " but they are
no longer used," he added, "see the rubbish !" I saw,
however, in the freshness of the paint, in the perfection
of the iron plates, of the bolts, and in the new lead with
which the sockets had been soldered, indications of a rea-
diness for use. The will and the intention evidently had.
existed very recently.

From the foul charnelhouses themselves, where, even
after all the cleanliness which has been introduced
within the last three weeks, orders had been given to
burn incense as we :passed, let me now turn to the
inmates. There were 500 in all. Some were in cells
by themselves, ae • Manetta, the celebrated spy, whose
oily, hypocritical manner explained to' me the reason of
his easy access to Ferdinand.ll. His son.was in another
close by, and another son not far off. Their mat-
tresses were on the damp stone ground, and one of
them complained of the awful stink—it must come
out, no other word 'will give it—in his cell. These,
men merited, however, little compassion, for they had.
been the cause of much greater suffering to hundreds.
We saw, too, Macario; the friend and spy of Campagna,
as villainous-looking a fellow as nature ever turned out,
and the executioner of Palermo, and others of the crew,
who have been the instruments of despotism. One felt
no sympathy for them, but only asked for justice. In
other rooms we saw twenty or more wretched-looking
men sweltering, half-dressed, in the 'heat of an oven.
" Excellenza," shouts one, " six years in prison under
the police, and no trial ! when shall I be liberated
"Twenty months" cries another; and "Fourteen months"
another. "We thought the Constitution would liberate
us !" And so we went through a variety of cells, where
surplice were thrust. into the Commissieneir, hands
and enforced by many 'a teat' and prayer. In out
chamber we came on an-old man, half idiot in manner,
who had been condemned to six years' reclusion for
blasphemy, and if he did not become ten times the'
blasphemer before his time was up he would be no man.
In the short time that knew sstate of things has been
introduced as much has been done as was possible; walls
have been whitewashed, offensive smells, or the worst,
removed, and many a victim has been released; biAjustice
is yet to be administered there, cleanliness yet to be intro-
duced, and those " depositories," as Cerberus called them,
must be closed. My friend with the snuffbox and the
Commissioner represented two different states of things,
the past and the present, andwhile the former-looked with
a species of tenderness cn his pet relics of antiquity, the
latter was full of hopes of better things. Leaving this
prison, we went to visit the Criminali of the Prefecture.
There were shouts and cries of •' Viva" as we entered,
and a rush of people. What was the matter ? The
National Guard just now on duty had brought in a
policeman. Pale and trembling,, the wretched caitiff
stood in the midst of them, and he -was delivered over
to the authorities as much -for protection as any-
thing else. But let us not strike a man who is
down. Onwards we go through „a herd. of ex-police-
men, all huddled up together and fearing an attack
from the mob, until we arrive at a- dark cell where those
said policeman had probably thrust many a poor devil.
" A light, a light !" and so we groped about this'dark,
damp, and filthy place, where stood in the corner a large
white vase, the common piece of relief for sii .or seven
persons, and which was removed once a day. Oh, the
vile stench Which was in this room ! We returned
through the corridor now occupied by.policeman; took
a breath 'of air, went dotal' sonic more-ateps, and, pre-
ceded by our light, stumbled over heaps of books which
had been '-seized in domiciliary visits, • There was a
dark room, and a stone bed in the corner and a stone
pillow ; all .was stone, and all was damp and dark,
and this room opened into another, where in one-
third part of it no human being could stand up-
right. Opening . there was none for either light
or air. God only helped those who have been confined
there, and some of my friends have 'been there. We
heaved a long and heavy breath as we came out, and
then went to visit another chamber Which I had not
yet seen, to which the others were palaces.. At the
very entrance was a conamodite, and the whole' of the
little cortile close to it was used for the several natural
necessities of all the subalterns of the offices. This
place was constantly damp, running with urine, and
so offensive, that breathing was difficult.. We paddle
through the filth, and pass by a, doorway into the
dungeon beyond, dark and damp like the others. There
is a stone seat erected here and there against thS
one foot square, on which the prisoners sat. I should
have been choked in half an hour had I remained there,
so horrible was the stench." In th emiddle was a loose
stone, and below it a holeinto which all the dirt of- the
room was emptied. Chilton was as dark, but not so
filthy. I could not have imagined the existence of such
foul places ;' for the respect I have for our 'common
nature I could not have believed it possible that man
would have so martyrised his brother.

I have two observations to make,—these dens are in
theocentre of the capital of the Two Sicilies, not a
n
throw from the Royal Palace, in a country
stone's
veryea
where priests congregate, in herds; secondly, they have,
been seen and the facts can be attested by four other
English gentlemen who accompanied me. Let no
Englishman,
.therefore, for very shame, henceforward
dare to defend, a!; they have defended, a state of things
which has been a curse to humanity and a reflection on
the civilisation and Christian spirit of the age. It is
against a system of which these prisons form a part that
I have been writing for Years, and the weak and super-
fiCial and the criminally interested have unceasingly
condemned as exaggerations my statements, because,
forsooth, they did not care to have their repose disturbed.

SHOCKING . FATE OF A LOST CHILD. - The
Newark Mercury publishes the following :
" Several notices have recently been published con-
cerning a child namcd Thomas Henry Finley, aged
four and a half years, who disappeared on July the sth,
having followed from home the band of the Turners,
who held a picnic that day. His dead body was found
on Saturday, near the Kossuth Woods on the Neck,' by
Mr. Wm. Stevens, who was gunning. The barking of
his dog in a marsh having attracted his attention, he
went to the spot and found the body almost imbed-
ded in mud. The child had evidently followed
the procession to the vicinity, and having started
to return to his home on the hill, over the meadows,
had become fastened in the mire, and perished from
exposure and hunger. During the night of the sth his
cries were heard, but nothing unusual was suspected,
and no search was undertaken. The eyes and nose of
the unfortunate lad had been eaten away, probably b 7
musk rats, and the body was otherwise mutilated. One
thumb was in his mouth, showing that in the agony of
starvation the lad had attempted to relieve himself. He
had perhaps lingered in this horrible condition for two
or three days, under a broiling sun by day, and exposed
to cold at night, and finally perishing. The case is one
of the most affecting that has occurred for a long time.
Coroner Craven announced the sad intelligence to the
bereaved parents, and the scene that followed was very
touching."—Nov York .7'inies.

Printed and Published by WALTER IiENILY PEAT, of No.
8, Wesley-street, in the Parish of Toxteth-park, at his
Printing Establishments-3, BRUXENVICK-STREET (corner of
Castle-street), and 40, LEIGH-STREHT, Liverpool.
AUGUST 1, 1860.