The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-08 00:00:00

ITALY.

(MOM OUR OWN CORRISPONDINT.)
TURIN, Dec. b.
Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of shaking
hands with the gallant Venetian patriot Tolassi,
who, after having raised the flag of Italy on the
mountains of Friuli, was lucky enough to return
to this city, passing through an endless series of
dangers. He is a young man of five-and-twenty,
a native of a village near Treviso, very handsome,
and with a face which betrays a great amount of
determination. He came to Turin to take part in
a preparatory meeting of the Venetian emigration,
which, having disapproved the proclamation pub-
lished a month ago by the members of its com-
mittee, met yesterday to appoint a new one. The
meeting was rather stormy, and from the
election made of Deputy De Boni, as presi-
dent, it is natural to infer that the Ve-
netian refugees are more for the party of
action than for the conservative, to which the
members of the committee who have resigned be-
lo
The debates on the Transfer of the Capital Bill
are growing duller every day. All that can be said
either in favour or against the convention has been
said over and over again both in the Chamber of
Deputies and in the Senate, so that we have nothing
now but common-place arguments, not worth
listening to. To-day we had Senator Gioia, an
' eminent lawyer and native of Parma, who read al
long paper against the treaty. Signor Lanza,
General Menabrea, and Senator Farina afterwards
spoke.
The citizens of Turin have given another proof of
their devotion to the national cause by prepaying to
the national exchequer 153,000 francs, the amount
of the land tax not due until next year. This was
done without a murmur, and with that willingness
which the people of this much-abused city always
show in serving the country.
Brigand stories are always more or less interesting,
especially when a woman is the heroine. Amongst
the Neapolitan provinces which have to contend
with the dreadful scourge of brigandage there is
that of Cattanzaro, which possesses the advantage
of having a band which is led by Maria Oliviero, an
exceedingly handsome woman, not yet 30 years of
age. Barbarity is her chief characteristic, and the
sight of blood renders her as excited as a wild beast.
She was the wife of the famous brigand Monaco,
of the Albanian village of Spezzauo, who
was killed in an encounter with the Italian troops
near RONARTIO. In this very encounter Maria was
also wounded, but she continued to discharge her
musket, kneeling on the dead body of her husband,
with a firmness and a courage which eveu com-
manded the admiration of her opponents. Having
at last been struck in the right leg, she fell into the
hands of the troops, and, brought before a court-
martial at Cattanzaro, was condemned to be shot.
The sentence was, however, commuted to 30 years
of penal servitude. While she was expiating
her crimes in the prison of Cattanzaro the
gaoler fell desperately in love with her. The
cunning woman pretended to feel an equal affection
for him, and one day she told him that whilst she
was with her husband she had concealed in a cer-
tain place near Ronan° a large sum of money
which had been paid for the ransom of a rich
farmer. The gaoler went quickly to the spot,
and found the money. This fact had na-
turally the effect of making his love for
Maria still more ardent, so that she had
no difficulty in convincing him that tender affec-
tions are better manifested in freedom than within
the four walls of a dungeon. Before, however,
making their escape, Maria succeeded iu sending
word to her brothers, who are brigands, that on a
certain evening she would be at au appointed spot
not far from Cattanzaro, attired in man's clothes,
together with her deliverer. Maria was punctual
at the rendezvous, and her brothers also. The
unfaithful turnkey was killed out of hand, and the
money he had found replaced in Maria's pocket.
Once free, this woman organised a baud of brigands,
and began her operations in that tract of mountains
which lie between the river Crati and Cattanzaro.
The barbarities since perpetrated by Maria are
almost incredible. The villages of Spinelli,
Cotzenei, and Belvedere have been literally
sacked b 7 the band she commands. The
dread which the name of Maria Oliviero iu-
spires among the rural population of Cattanzaro is
so great that the Italian government has been
obliged to send two battalions of the line to pursue
the cruel fury. Whilst the band led by this woman
is desolating the country of Cattanzaro, we hear
from Rimier* that the bersaglieri have succeeded at
last in capturing the famous brigand Sacchitielio,
together with the two still more famous mistresses
of the brigands Crocco and Schiavone. The
strangest thing about the capture of Sacchitiello and
uf the two women is that they were taken in the
house of the captain of the national guard of the
'village, where they had been concealed since the
month of July ! This fact shows bow difficult it is
to get rid of the Neapolitan brigands, since iu cer-
tain cases the commanders of the National Guard
give them safe shelter in their very houses.

An appeal for fuuds to erect a monument cele-
brating the liberation of the duchies from Danish rule has
just been circulated at Flensburg. . .

•
Sorrnampros, DEC. 7.—A telegram Las been
received here from Cherbourg station, that the creamer
lowa is aahore there. She left London last Friday for
Ham and New York, and hes a large cargo awl a number
of passengers on board. The Royal Mail Company's new
Istereolonial steamer Eder has arrived in Southampton.

OCT,/ ARD E6ICAN MAILS.—TO-day the
Allan Company's steamer North American will sail from
the Mosey for Portland. Maine, with the Cscadian and
United States mails. Letters, &a, will be received at the
Post-0150e until one o'clock p.m, mad rid Derry amid
8.30, p.m. The Cunard Company's steamer Africa will
leave Liverpool on Saturday next for Halifax and Boston
with mails for the United States and British North
America, the box at the Liverpool wend post closing at
7 o'clock a.m., and for despatch too Queenstown at
8.30 p.m.

BLOCKADE RVNNING. CAPITRE 07 FOI-R PRIZES.
—By an arrival at Liverpool yesterday we have dotes from
Nunn to November 21. being four days later than those
already received. We learn that the blockade runners
Coquette, Druid, and Gemini Clinch, from Charlestown ;
and the Beatrice and Little Hattie, from Wilmington, had
all arrived safely at Nassau, with valuablecargrea of cotton,
turpentine, sad tobacco. The Will.o'-the.Wisp. Wild
Rover, Owl, and Stormy Petrel, bad returned to Nassau,
after several fruitless attempts to run the blockade of the
Southern ports. The Bertha, Julia Armstrong, Little Hat-
tie, and Beatrice had again left Nameau for Wilmington, to
run the blockade. A Washington despatch mates that
Admiral Porter announcer, the arrival at Fortress Monroe of
the United States steamer Joao°. She captured in the Gulf
Stream the Sybil, bound to Nassau with 307 bales of cotton.
Admiral Stribling, of the East Golf squadroe, reports the
following captures :—The schooner Lucy, on the lith ; the
ac.boooer Sea Bird and soother (Dame unknown) on the 24th,
by the United Siete' stemma. Nita, with assorted oargoee ;
also the schwas: Badger, from St. Mark's, oa the 6th ult.,
laden with ratio% by the steamer Adele.
011211YAL PALLOR. ONE SHILLIIM DAT.
WEDNESDAY. Dec. 7.—Admisrions ow payment, 1,29 7; ditto
by lemon Sake* 916 ; total, 2,243.