The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-13 00:00:00

NARRATIVE OF THE

REVOLUTION IN SICILY

(Continued.)
(PROM THE TIMES' SPECIAL CORRESPONDE4IO
PALERMO, June 4.
Yesterday, immediately after his interview with
General Garibaldi, the Neapolitan General Letizia left
again for Naples. He is expected to be back soon. As
I told you, he asked for Garibaldi's word of honour not
to tell any one of the communication he had brought
from Naples, so no one knows anything positive ; but,
from this going and coming to and from Naples, one
cannot but conclude that the Neapolitan general came
with proposals of negotiations, and went back with an
answer.

You will not be surprised to hear that the good faith
of the Neapolitans is in very bad odour here, and that,
therefore, the version which sees in all these interviews
but so many attempts to deceive Garibaldi and throw
him off his guard, finds most credit.
The transport of wounded from the Palace still con-
tinues ; there must be more than 800 who have passed
already. But the transport of provisions has consideraby
diminished. Either they are already sufficiently pro-
vided, or else there is no more to spare from the
Castello.
This morning, people who have stores of salt fish in
the parts occupied by the troops, came in complaining
that their stores had been broken open, and their con-
tents transported on board the men-of-war by boats
belonging to the latter.
The prospect of negotiations has by no means
diminished the activity shown in the defence. In the
beginning barricades were thrown up everywhere,
whether useful or not, and there was no time to regulate
and control this activity. Now a general plan of defence
has been drawn up ; all the barricades which were
useless have been levelled, others modified, others, again,
built up anew. By dint of exertion and goodwill as many
as a dozen guns, mostly naval, were made serviceable and
placed an carriages, men told off to serve them, cart-
ridges made, ball and grape-shot prepared. Orsini
shells are being manufactured on a large scale, and
powder and bullets got ready incessantly. The l;list
official bulletin at Naples tells people that Garibaldi is
surrounded in Palermo, and will be soon annihilated.
This morning a complaint came in from the column of
the enemy stationed at the Porta di Termini that the
squadre behind had fixed upon them. You have only to
look all round the mountain chain which encloses
Palermo, and you will see every night the fires of the
in,swgents outside blaze up in every direction. If any
one can be said to be surrounded, one would rather say
't is the Neapolitans.
The meu and stores landed at Marsala are on their

way hither. Two nights ago they were at Partenice,
and it is hoped that they will be here either this evening
or to-morrow morning.
Na reliable information has as yet oome in respecting
the second and much larger expedition which set off on
the 26th from Leghorn ; they must have landed farther
off. They canrnat have met with obstacles; for all that
Naples pAssess,es in ships is concentrated on three or
kw points, and never goes out.
Tht news that Messina has been bombarded is fahe,
but this morning a gunboat coming from Malta by
Catania brought the news that the insurgents had
attacked the troops in the town, aad caused great loss
among them-400 to 500, it is stated—but could not
dislodge them from their position in the Royal Castle
and the Cathedral, where they had intrenched them-
selves.
The troops which have quitted Girgenti are said by
some to be at Termini, and by others on the south coast
at Terranova.
I have had so many other things to Wette about that
I had no time to say anything about the prOvisional
organisation which is being introduced. The evil which
was most felt in this as well as every other Sicilian
movement was the ahsence of unity of action. As soon
as Garibaldi Waded and went a little way into the
interior, all the moat influential members of the aris-
totrapy, as well as the free communities, asked him to
assume the dictatorship in the name of Victor Emmanuel,
King of Italy, and the command in chief of all the
national ferees.
The first thing, of course, was to organise the military
forces. Until then it was, as you know, an affair of
volunteers, who collected round one or another influen-
tial man of their town or district, all independent of
each other, and remaining together or going home, as
they pleased.
A decree of the 19th of May, from Sarni, iktiitutes
a militia, to which all belong from 17 'z 60; those
from 17 to 30 for Wive, service in the field all over the
country; tttpso from 30 to 40 in their provinces; and
those. (rem, AO, to 6.0 in their communes.
The officers for the active army are named by the
Commander-in-Chief on the proposal of the commanders
of the battalions; those of the second and third cate-
gories, only liable to local service, are chosen by the
Men themselves.

But, as you may imagine, it is rather difficult to act
up to this .decree under the circumstances. Still, the
thing in and about Palermo has made progress. The
different spadn have been, according to their strength,
transformed into companies and battalions, and their
leaders invested with the rank the number of their men
confers on them. They have had their posts assigned
to them, and they are getting by degrees accustomed to
a more regular organisation about provisions and orders.
But it is an Herculean labour to introduce anything
resembling order into this chaos, and to get the men to
give up their individual fancies.

The squadre are now regularly paid, and I don't think
you could keep them together if they were not. They
are called " Cacciatori dell'Etna"—not a bad name for
people resembling- that smoking, but otherwise very
harmless, xolcano.

It is rather eurious that the Sicilian patriots receive
ray, while the enthusiastic North Italians, who came to
help, have not received a farthing, and do not expect to
receive anything.

Great activity prevails to get something resembling a
uniform. A number of red flannel shirts have been
made, and the greatest part of the Garibaldites are now
in uniform. The native militia are still in their brown
fustian suit, which is generally worn all over the country,
and is so, alike that it makes a very good uniform until
a better one can be got.

If one considers that it not two months since the last
' disarmament took place, it is astonishing what a quantity
of guns seem to be still in the country. They are for
the most part short guns, looking rather like old-
fashioned single-barrelled fowling-pieces than muskets.
Most of them are percussion, however, and only a few
with the. old flint lock. From their appearance,
most of them must date back to 1820 and earlier, only
the percussion-lock being of a more recent construction
—probably 1848-49. The longing for arms is something
extraordinary, The strictest orders have been given to
bring in all the muskets taken from the soldiers to head-
quarters. But few have ever arrived. The Picciotti
take hold of them, have the barrels cut off and the stock
a little altered, so as to make them difficult to recognise.
No miser can be more greedy of dollars than a Picciotti
is of ammunition. But he differs from the miser, as he
does not keep it when he has got it While the street
fight lasted, as soon as a troop had got some ammuni-
tion together, off they went, and occupied some houses
at safe distance, blazing away at walls and in the
air. They were, of course, soon at the end of their
ammunition, sad returned bragging how they had fought
the Royals. Still, I should not wonder if this mad
firing had really imposed on the soldiers, while there is
no doubt that the noise they make encourages the
squadre. Formerly, even in camp, it was difficult to
keep them from blazing away a minute after they had
been complaining of, their want of ammunition. This
now occurs very rarely. They have sobered down a
little, and have learnt the value of ammunition.
Besides the military organisation, the civil organisa-
tion has likewise begun. A Secretary of State has been
named for that purpose, who countersigns all the decrees
of the Dictator. In each province there is to be a
governor, with a council chosen by the people.
The town has assumed a rather more peaceful
appearance, shops are beginning to open, but Only
by degrees. I informed you that before Garibaldi
came to Palermo most of the shops and houses he#l
inscriptions describing them as foreign pscerty--
"Interessi Francesi," or "Inglesi," 441nericans;"
almost everywhere. It was against the soldiers plun-
dering. I don't think it would help much even
against this, for it 0:1;d not in the part which is 'in their
power, but it is utterly unavailing against bombshells
and fire, If you go up the Toledo, or one of the by-
streets, you will be astonished to see the guar-4k of
" English interests" gutted, and " FreuFh interests"
with huge shot-holes in them. If this Powers, as they
are obliged to do, ask for inl mplty for all this damage
done to their subjects, there will be a heavy bill against
King B°ll\llo it. This will be, at any rate, A satisfaq-
tion for the off-hand manner in which the protest of the
Creign naval Comniamders has been Keeeived.
• We have already two, pap,ers—the Giornale Qfficiale
of the Provision dwzninfot of Sipily, and the Unita
Italiand—which are hawked about in the street side by
aide vfith thethorr o horrible tunny-fish, A which every one
keems.

THE WINNER O THE DERRX.-A for days ago, the
labouring men and lads of the parish, of Bishopstoke,
nog Swindon, Wilts, to the number of 220, were bounti-
fully regaled. with an unlimited supply of old English
fare—beef and plum-paling, and ale and tobacco—mot
the expense of the owner of Thormanby. Since the
13.0.4 y ()ay,, Mr. Merry appears to have exerted himself
to the utmost to make those around, or in any way eon-
neeted with Aim, participators in his good fortune. To
the trainer, and all those who were in any way employed
in looking after the horse, to the farmers on whose lands
the horse was trained, to the inhabitants of the villages
near which these lands are situated, he has' shown
princely liberality. Iris prese* have varied from a
thousand pound note to lkfir. Dawson down to half-a-
crown to the head of each family who would receive it
in whole villagers.