The Express.
London, England, 1851-02-19 00:00:00

ITALY.

NAPLES, FIR. 8.
I have constantly had occasion to call your atten-
tion to the pm..., dings of the t celesiastical jesuitical party
in Italy, and feel permaded that they cannot be watched
with too much vizilance, too insidious and unremitting are

their effort,. to neromplish their allied., and so withering is
their touch to any thing they approach. Who would have
believed that Lad teen them driven with ignominy from
Naples, as I dial. some three years since, that in SO short a
time these Jesuits would have again become the lords of the
nseendant—paramount in all affairs, civil as well as eccle-
siastical—reverenced, dreaded, and hated. As I before
hinted. one great fell of their operations in amongst the
fort beaters who now throng the capital, and it is not unwor-
thy of mention that in the American fleet they have been
particularly active ; at all events, if my information he cor-
rect, Padre Costa scarcely ever omits to pay his three visits
it week to the American frigate the Constitution, and dis-
tributes tracts amongst the sailor.. What the nature of
these tracts is I do not know, but I should imagine that if
they contain such matter a. I lately quoted from other of
their publicatinne, defending the divine right of kings, and
sanctioning the violation of solemn .oaths, they will not
meet with a flattering reception front the honest republican
Yankee. On necasion of one of thew recent visits, lam
informed that Padre read, or quoted, it letter from Lord
Shrewsbury, conuratailating them on the honours which
had barn paid to the Cardinal Didion of Naples last year, am
hi• paving a visit to this vessel. A salute of 17 Moos wan
then fired, as a compliment to his eminence, and the yards
were manned, almost equalling the hnnoun which ace pabl
to royalty. The letter exprawal a hope from the same au-
thority, that the time would come when on mull occasions
similar honours would be paid by the British fleet. !low-
ever wild may appear to he the wish or the hope, he amured
that it is eherinheal by a large, and indefatigable, and sleep-
-1,. party, who are moving heaven and earth to subjugate
the English mind. One of the evident rons•apaciwes of
Jesuitical influence in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilia, is
the cheek which has been given to, nay, the fearful paralysis
with which public institutions have Jaen afflicted. From
students I now hear that the leeture-rooms of the university
are deserted ; that whereas a few years since, so crowded
were the schools that it wan difficult to obtain a seat, now
there is solitude ; anal that, where at the same time there
might have been 10,000 etudentn colleen al from the province.,
then. isnot now more than one fourth that number—if even
• that. Such ore the effects of principle, which I daily hear
r nnnerterl. that the march of mind has not been fol.
lowed by virtue or happitnwe ; that the revolu-
, lions have been promoted by the favour of knowledge; that
• the Bourbon dynasty in Naples has been saved by the mob
, that when ignorance is bins 'tin folly to he wine. Q.E.D.
As to the spirit which now direct• public huitructiaan, it
, will be sufficient to say Alt in many of the schools the
"Divina Cornelia" of Dante has been prohibited, a. also

many classical, both Latin and Italian, storks.
In the interval within which I have been writing the
above, the last act of the tragedy of the political condemna-
tions has been completed, anti from 21) to 30 mcu, some of
noble rank, sonic formerly ministers of state, same priests,
and most men of education, have tern paraded through the
streets of Naples, and shipped off fur their several destina-
tions. Great ss-mpathy was awakened amongst all classes
for the fate of those unhappy men, whose lives will now he
dragged out in mitten/rowel dangeous, or in company of
the vilest criminals. The judges, it appears, after having
enndemned the three to he executed, were in great fright at
their own act, and the procurator-general cited a former
act, which said that when several mesons were condemned
ta be executed for capital offences only one-half should suf-
fer, and it was then derided that two should be saved.
Faueitano was left as the scape-goat. Whether in appear-
,
once or reality mercy was awarded with great difficulty,
and the Archbishop of Capuu was with the king, it is said,
during a long time on !dander, and never left him till the
royal pardon had been yielded. The intelligence was com-
municated to the prisoner almost at the last moment, and,
after an interview with his friends, which, fur its painful
character, must have equalled the agonies of death. Of
She heroic and noble conduct of all the prisoners it
is impossible to speak in too high terms. From what 1
hear they seem to regard themselves in the light of martyrs,
a feeling shared by those political prisoners vet in conhae-
meat, and hence they are little discouraged.or cast down.
To Pocrio, I hear that a note from one of the ministers
suggested that an humble petition from him to his Majesty
fur pardon might possibly be received with fustier. But
the suggestion was not only disregarded—it was rejected by
note—the baron declaring that he would not separate hts
fate from those who were condemned with him. Such men
as these a government may punish, but cannot crush, and
may yet lice, to sac the least, to regret the impolicy of its
seventy. As to the judges, I believe they were pretty
clearly told what sentences were desired. Much to their
honour be it said, these resisted to the last, and entered
their protest against the condemnation of the three to death.
Themes, however, who have just been moved off the poli-
tical stage, form but a very small portion of thole who have
suffered or who yet sutler; and 1 have a document of value
before me which enables me to give u correct statement of
the persecutions which have taken place since the re-action.
Of 110 deputies, al are in various ways victims ; 24 have
been shut up in prison, unheard, for two years; and of
the character of their prisons I refer to the work of Baillie
Cochrane. who surely Is not too partial a testimony-51 arc
refugees, dying, not from a conseiousuese of crime, but fear of
injustice. Three are hiding in the country ; one, a man
whose scientific fame is known in all peruke( the world, the
father of four eons who have died for independenee, is re-
duced almost to a state of want: I allude to Capoeci.
Finally, one has been assassinated, and his assassin is a
priest—nay, a cavalicre. To continue my analysis of the
sufferers. Of the twenty-four whom I reported in prison,
there are the Marchese Dragonetti. ex-minister of state;
Baron Carlo Porno, just cowl...and to the galleys fur Si
years; Antonio scialoja, ex-minister of state, and (unfortu-
nately fur himself, iu this benighted land), is man of great
literary and scientific attainments; Pietro Leopardi, once
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the
court of Turin, &e, Of the exiles there arc Saliceti, ex-
ministerof state ; lmbriani, the stuns'; Confurti, the same;
Dr. Vincenzo Lantos. a physician of the highest eminence.
whose name and writings are well known to the profession.
and who is now wearing out the last remains of lite in
00:1103, in comparative poverty; Oyu. Gustlichno Pepe;
and Francesco Carlo Ruggiero, who organised the bar-
ricades on the 15th of Mae, 184 S, and was made minister
of state on the ltbb, el.e. Of those who have been
deprived of office, tomes& the most distinguished are &avatar
TOtill/14Si; PrOrt.MlOr of Mating Medics in the University of
Naples; and Capoeci, es-director of the Royal Observatory
of Naples. From every profeseion. however, I might swell
this list. Suffice it, therefore, to say, that every one distin-
guished for high literary and scientific attainments has
been removed from positions of influence, as though the
plague spot were on him. The unfortunate deputy who
was assassinated was Costabile Carducc, and his assassin a
priest, a cavalier, who now walks the streets of Naples in
the enjoyment of 100 ducats a mouth, a pension conferred
on him, it is true, in a former reign. In the above list I
have given only the name, of the most distinguished men of
their party, but of persons of all ranks who have been
thrown into the prisons of the capital for political offences
since the 15th of May. lfalte there are 500; and of those
who have been accused in the provineee of capital offence*,
the number amounts to not less than 1,500. Last
Tuesday, as the Reverend Mr. Pugh, the British
chaplain, was riding iu company with the Countess
l'alatiano, on the Strada Nuova, a military waggon
was driven right between their horses. Mr. Pugh.
attempting to turn the heads of the waggon horses,
was assailed by a volley of oaths and abuse. On his return
from his ride four soldiers met him and attempted
to stun, hint off his horse, beating and insult-
ilia him. A repsrt of the affair h. :s been drawn
up bny Mr. Tc.api: and sent to the authot. bat as yet I
have nit heard the an-wee. The senaatioia c:cated amongst
the Eudtlish is the greater that not leave since the Misses
Fitaherbert were likewise insulted by the soldiery. lam
informed that on some person remonstrating with the men