The Express.
London, England, 1857-05-25 00:00:00

place during the last month, since the change of the
authorities, the position is still what it is, what must
it have been before publicity was given to facts
which will be asserted and reasserted though the
world were to deny them
Only two of the murderers of Mr. Blandford have ,
as yet been discovered, the third is latitante, lying
hid, a term well understood in Naples.

OF THE

vmDINT rH rtsnmoirv.)
TURIN, /Ler 20.
Fort Urban is built upon a small hill in the centre
of a marshy moor. It is entirely surrounded with
ditches and deep wells of stagnant water, from which
issue during the summer the most pestilential vapour
and smells, besides breeding myriads of all sorts of in.
sects, with which the air round the castle is loaded. It
has been used by the government is a sort of peniten.
tiary, but has always been looked upon as the most
unwholesome in the Pope's dominions. It was con-
sidered so bad that to this fortress all the worst.
behaved convicts in other prisons were sent as
punishment. At present there are SOO prisoners
here, of whom 200 are detained without having been
tried, and on the mere suspicion that if they were at
liberty they might commit some political crime.
Many of three poor creatures have been in con.
Moment for years; and although being seer
petted is their only crime, they are subjected to
the same treatment as condemned convicts,
although the greater proportion of them West
to the best families of Bologna. It may be to ME
sufferers that Lord John Russell, in the last par*.
meat, said he would call the public attention. ele
course the number of each prisoners varies every
day, but there are at this moment at least 70. One
part of the fortress called the Collometa has gene.
rally been set aside for the political prisoners. It la
a long corridor, with 32 square little rooms. Bet
this has not been attended to, as the worst of the
onviets in other prisons were removed to the Collo.
meta after having been severely cudgelled. Bow.
over, this was in some manure altered by putting a
esgeseseim wall in this long narrow corridor. Ines*
edit squire rooms is a port of skylight, and u they
see way ventilated above from this narrow corridor,
sM can imagine what a suffocating temperature
two met to, which is not improved by German
imeleise galmia
* through the whole night. These
nubile pending past the doors of course prevent
the erissiesra sleeping. Spielberg was very bed, bog
it is eon this prison of the Pope's is far worse. It
was in lb pal= that the cholera made such fearfid
ravages. I>rs MU acted properly and pointed
out how dee t sitlttesail7 be mitigated ; bat*.
stead of thies Ile.peaor of the prison actually
deprived poll** primers of light and air. They
wear the some drowse the convicts, and are chained
in a similar mama* They have chains on each leg,
and in the centre is a ring; and when they go te
bed, through the dog is put a chain, and then this
chain is locked to the bed. Such is the system per.~
witted by his Holiness the Pope. If any of deo
political prisoners offend the governor, they are
chained to the ground, on which they can creep
about three or four paces. Although many have
cash, they are not allowed to buy any little luxuries
or comforts, not even coffee; in short, they seem to
suffer all the miseries of the middle passage as*
board a slaver, and this under the potentate wke
pretends to be the vicegerent of the Almighty ea
earth. Although the Pope and Cardinal AntoneM
are well aware of these atrocities,the prison is nevi
inspected, the governor being allowed to act as be
thinks right. He is a man destitute of all humane
feelings, who flatters the priests, knowing that he
may commit any crime whilst he pays deference to
them.
No prisoner has a power of making a complaint di
the government, because all complaints must go
through the governor. Every prisoner's letter to
his family is read by the jailers, and very often they
eat all the letter away except the address and the
signature. Visits of the prisoners' relations me
sometimes allowed in the presence of the govern*
and his jailers, but only for a few minute&
When a prisoner is ill, no medical man as
order his chains to bo taken off. This mast
be by order of, and in presence of, the governor. It
appears the medical men arc anxious to mitigate the
sufferings of the prisoners, but they not only have
no power, but themselves are looked upon as inept.
does characters. The poor prisoners are so ob.
tered that even their own relations do not
know them. The mortality is very great
among them. The healthy prisoners and
those with the most offensive and disgusting
diseases are all huddled together ; but the air of due
noisome prison is so bad that not the strongest con.
stitution can bear up against it, and to this meat be
added that there is no provision for the common
necessities of nature. The governor's deputy is •
convict, who has great influence, and has the power
of administering punishment to anyone. Formerly
the prisoners were allowed to attend the church, but
this is now prevented, it is supposed, for fear of
conspiracy. So here is the head of the churchtri
venting his unfortunate prisoners from atten •
divine services. In short, the atrocities commit
there under the Pope's authority are far beyond my
power of description ; and Lord John Russell would
confer inestimable benefit in the cause of humanity
if he would do what he lately promised and call
the attention of parliament and the government to
these things. The Pope's temporary abode at Bo-
logna is about two hours' ride from this horrible and
pestilential prison.

(now ova