The Press.
London, England, 1856-12-27 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

elated loudly that justi!.e had not been done to them.
But the interval which elapsed was so far improved
by the rev. chaplain to the prison, Mr. Foster Rogers,
and the Roman Catholic clergyman appointed to
attend the culprits, that before the wretched crimi-
nals suffered they not only confessed their guilt, but
admitted the justice of the sentence by Which their
lives had become forfeited.
Guiseppe Lagava was the first to break silence on
the subject of his crimes. About two o'clock on
Monday lie had been engaged in prayer with Signor
Salvatore Ferretti, an Italian Protestant gentleman,
who, with Mr. Rogers, the excellent chaplain of the
gaol, had completed an impressive penitential prayer
in the Italian language, and was about to leave the
cell, when Lagava suddenly seized him by the wrist,
and after an apparently painful inward struggle with
his feelings exclaimed, with the most tragic gesticu-
lations, " Sono colpevole ! Sono colpevole ! Sono
colpevole !" (I am guilty ! I am guilty ! I am guilty!)
Before Signor Ferretti could question the unhappy
man he added, " Ho sul' anima cinqua omicidii !" (I
have five murders on my soul.) Signor Ferretti now
asked Lagava what he wished him to understand by
the last observation, upon which the wretched man
exclaimed in Italian, "I am the chief sinner, and
upon my head will rest the murder of the two sailois
for whom we are condemned, as well as of my two
poor companions, whom I dragged into it by the hair
of their heads (strascinati per i capelli). I am
guilty, and deserve death. lam guilty, and deserve
death."

An intimation of the fact of this confession, exone-
rating the two other convicts, was at once conveyed
to Sir George Grey, as a ground for staying the
execution. Sir George Grey replied as follows :

Whitehall, Dec. 22.
Sir,—l am directed by Secretary Sir George Grey to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date, re•
porting that Giuseppe Lagava has confessed that he is
guilty of the crime for which he has been sentenced to
death, and has stated that his fellow convicts were drawn
into it by him.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,

H. WI

Rev. F. Rngers, Chaplain to the County
Gaol, Winchester.

Matteo Peetrisi, on learning that all hope of a
respite Was at an end, became greatly excited, and,
dropping on his knees, in the most impassioned
manner implored that his life might be saved, adding
that he would willingly be a slave for the remainder
of his existence. Failing to receive any encourage-
ment he gradually became more tranquil, and lis-
tened with attention to the exhortations of Mr.
Rogers, interpreted to him by Signor Ferretti; for,
although a professed Roman Catholic, this culprit
refused to receive spiritual consolation during the
last few days of his life from any other than the Pro-
testant chaplain. About seven o'clock in the evening
the wretched man partook of the Holy Communion,
and shortly before midnight he made the following
confession to Signor Ferretti, in the presence of the
chaplain :

I am not guilty of having conspired beforehand to
plunder the ship Globe. I do not know how the fight
began. I only know I was struck and defended myself.
I acknowledge it was by my hand the wounds were given
of which the sailor died in hospital at Therapia, but I did
not do it for plunder. I know I deserve to die, not for
piracy, hut for worse things I did on the Globe. I am a
bad man. I have a bad heart. I deserve to die.
And, after a short pause, he added
am a murderer. Two years ago I killed three persons
at Trieste—one a woman with whom I cohabited, and two
gendarmes who were sent to arrest me. I also attempted
to commit a murder in Constantinople, but the person I
attacked escaped by jumping into the water and swimming
away.

Giovanno Barbeelo, who was only eighteen years
of age, suffered greatly on learning he must die. For
some days he refused to see the Catholic priest, and
was regularly attended by Mr. Rogers, but on finding
that no hope existed of a reprieve he returned to
the ministrations of Mr. Stone, the missionary ap-
pointed by the Roman Catholio authorities, who
attended him to the end.

The execution presented some painful features.
During the act of pinioning Lagava and Barbeelo
repeated aloud the " Kyrie Eleison," and other
prayers. At one period Lagava directed the attention
of Peetrisi to the priest, but the latter replied, " The
priest did not die for me; Christ died for me." Pee-
trisi was the first to be led on the scaffold. As soon
as Calcraft had placed him under the fatal beam the
most painful excitement was occasioned among the
crowd assembled in front of the gaol by the culprits
exclaiming in a loud shrill voice, which resounded
across across the valley overlooked by the prison,
64 Gesb Cristo, piglia l'anima mia !" and other phrases
of a similar character, which were believed to be
priell Qt (*inn and Mtestationg of timooeuee,

1235

Lagava was brought up next, and no sooner had he
been placed near his fellow-culprit than his voice
was raised in protestations to the Virgin Mary and
all the saints of the calendar. Terrible as was the
scene up to this point, it was infinitely more painful
when Barbaalo appeared on the drop. This wretched
youth was greatly excited, and could not be induced
to submit himself quietly to the executioner. He
appealed to the priests, and these rev. men, in their
anxiety to give the dying men consolation, placed
themselves in positions which obliged Calcraft to
call upon them to remove, or it would be impossible
for him to perform his office. This was done in a
tone loud enough to be heard by the crowd below,
from whom a murmur of " Shame " arose, probably
as much from the length of time already occupied in
affixing the nooses and splicing the ropes round the
cross-beam—a clumsy operation which with the im-
proved example of the metropolitan prison of Newgate
open to them is a disgrace to all the country justices
who tolerate it—as from any other cause. At length,
after thirteen minutes had elapsed from the period
of Peetrisi appearing on the scaffold, during the
whole of' which time the culprits were exclaiming in
Italian at the top of their voices, and in tones which
created the most painful excitement among all who
heard them, the drop fell, and in a few moments the
bodies of the wretched men were hanging lifeless.

There were very few spectators present, probably
at no period more than a thousand, and as soon as
the drop fell most of them dispersed.

THE MURDERER REDANIES appears to be quite
unconcerned as to his fate. As a proof of the sin-
gular character of the man, we may mention that
he has given what he calls a little " memento" to
the turnkey appointed to watch over him, and which
consists in a pencil drawing of the murder. It is
done on a sheet of common note paper, and is
divided into two " scenes," representing respectively
the minder of each girl. On the one side is seen
the figure of a woman lying on the ground under
a tree, with blood issuing from two wounds on her
bosom ; while above is the representation of an
angel, who is supposed to be carrying away the
soul of the girl to heaven. The rising sun is de-
picted in the background, and, as the murder was
committed shortly before five o'clock, this is probably
a faithful representation of the facts. There is an
inscription underneath of "Farewell, my dear Maryia
—Dedea Redanies." On the other half of the sheet
of note•paper is the representation of the death of
Caroline, the murderer's sweetheart, and here the
girl is drawn as leaning upon a soldier—(himself)—
who has his left arm round her waist, and his right
hand in 'hers, " bidding her an eternal farewell," as
the prisoner himself expressed it. Blood is issuing
from the wounds in the bosom ; on the ground is
seen the knife covered with blood; while above is
the tree and angel, as in the other case. There is
also the Inscription, " Death of Caroline Back from
Dedea Redanies, of August 3, 1856 ;" and " Fare-
well, mi dear Caroline." Both drawings are ex•
trentely well done, considering the unfavorable
nature of the materials at the prisoner's command;
while there is quite a pre•Raphaelite minuteness of
detail. Of the prisoner himself, since his convic-
tion, there is little to report. Previous to his trial
he would frequently revert to the subject of his
crime and the consequences he ant'cipated ; and
once, when showing a ring he made of his own hair,
he exclaimed, "Of no use, no use. Me will hang in
September."

THE CONVICT JACKSON, found guilty of the murder
of his two children at Chester, was hanged in front
of the city gaol on Saturday last.

THE NEAPOLITAN CALCRAFT ris not expert at his
trade. The execution of the aspirant after Mr.
Walter Savage Landor's 51. note, Melano, was
accompanied with a great deal of unnecessary bar-
barity. A letter from Naples gives the following
account of the affair :

The scaffold was erected in the midst of the Piazza
Cavakatoje, which was lined with detachments of troops
from every corps in the garrison ; and outside as well as
upon the houses a vast crowd had assembled. Whilst he
was being taken round in a car, he continually prayed,
kissed the crucifix, and exclaimed, " Viva la Religione I"
"Viva la Liberia " Viva la Patria !" as he did even
whilst mounting to the scaffold. The particulars of the
execution are as disgusting as can well be conceived. A
ladder rested against the crossbeam, up which the crimi.
nal was compelled to mount. It took full five minutes or
more to adjust the rope; as soon as this was done the
body was turned off the ladder, and the executioner
mounted on the man's shoulders, worked up and down, as
if on horseback, and beat the head from aide to side with
his fists, whilst he looked around upon the officials as
though seeking for approbation. As soon as the execution
was over the troops defiled under the scaffold and returned
to their respective barracks. In the barracks where the
prisoner had been lodged, immediately on the return of
the troops, everything belonging to him was burnt, as 4
the ashes mattered to the winds.