The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

ITALY.

NAPLES, Dec. 15.

There are circumstances connected with the
horrible attempt on the life of the King which
seem almost to have suspended the passions of
parties, and for the moment to have united them
in one common feeling. The long and secret
manner in which the design was conceived and
the open and daring mode in which it was
attempted to carry it into execution; the fearful
consequences of success, on the order of the capital,
the reckless disregard of self on the part of the
assassin, and the great self-command of his Majesty,
have all united to throw around the event of the last
week no common interest. Many details have been
already communicated to you, still something new
is continually repotted to me, confirming upon the
whole the general accuracy of my former state-
ments. Withdrawn frpin the Italian Greek College
of St. Demetrius, not expelled as was reported in
the official journal, and withdrawn, as were many
other young men by their families, in consequence
of political complications; Agesilao Melano threw
himself into the arms of revolutionists in 1848.
General Ribotti was the Coinmander-in-chief, while
his own immediate superior was Mosciari. He
fought first in the Angitola, and lastly at Spez4ano-
Albanese. Of five companions who entered on this
career Ile was the last; his father, too, was taken
prisoner, and condemned to the galleys, while a
brother was shot. Of these latter facts, however, I
am not quite so clear. Agesilao Melano remained
full of grief on personal grounds, and of indignation
at what he conceived to be the ruin of the liberties of

his country. His principal amusement seems to
have been in writing poetry, of which he has left
many not indifferent specimens, and he appears to
have read much Grecian history and the works of
St. Thomas Aquinas, who somewhere, I am in-
formed, defends the crime of regicide. How he
was enrolled in the army will be hcreafter related.
On the morning of the attempt he refused to take
any food, in order, as he afterwards said, to keep
his head perfectly cool. When he left the ranks
to make his dreadful attempt it was with a regular
military pace, and uttering the usual words, " one,
two—one, two." until he arrived almost close to
his Majesty, when, sinking his bayonet, he rushed
upon him. The incidents which followed have been
already recounted. From the moment of his arrest
down to that of his death his courage and tran-
quillity seem never to have deserted the prisoner.
On the first night he made his depositions in
writing, and in Greek, as he was a descendant of

the Greek colonists who fled a long time since from
Turkish persecution, and settled in a part of
Calabria. From that deposition he has not swerved
—a deposition occupying, I am told, three sheets
of paper, and written 4,ff without pause or hesita-
tion. It is important to observe that he protested
that ho belonged to no sect. On the Thursday morn-
uu the Court sat for the first time in the Barracks
of Ferrandini, opposite the Palazzo Policastro,
the late residence of the British Minister.
The members of the Court were—Captain Pianelli
Adjutant-Major, President ; Lieutenants Sabbatini
and Fiori, a sergeant, and two soldiers. On
being taken down from his prison to the court, the
officer commanded the soldiers who accompanied
him to close up, on which he said, " I shall not
attempt to escape. I might have destroyed myself
had I chosen to do so, but I was not so vile." On
the trial he was asked by the President how long
he had contemplated this atrocious act. " Ever
since the King perjured himself," was the reply.
" You have committed a great crime," observed the
President. " You say so," replied the prisoner;
" but if you have read your Bible you will find that
not a leaf moves without the will of God. I had
resolved to kill the King, but God would not per-
mit it, and, in his stead, I shall die. The will of
God be done" This fact may, however, be pro-
ductive of good to the country, and induce the
King to govern better. The following statement is
a very correct report, I believe, of the proceedings
of the last day's trial

On the morning of Saturday, 13th of December,
the prisoner was taken from the barracks of Fer-
rantina to the prison of Castel Capuano, and thence
escorted by a detachment of the Cacciatori and the
congregation of the Bianchi to the Church of the
Refuge ; after which he was led to the Porta
Capnana, where the troops were stationed and the
scaffold was erected. On arriving in front of his
battalion the prisoner, who wore his uniform, was
stripped of his dress, and clothed in the black shirt,
according to the terms of his sentence, with a
large placard upon his chest, bearing the inscrip-
tion, L'uonzo empio. Placed upon a cart he was
taken the round of the troops, and then brought up
to the scaffold, which he mounted talking and
maintaining the same firm character and fixing
his eyes on the crucifix. The last words of
Nlelano were " Viva la Patria 1 e la Liberta
Another report adds, " That from the Vicaria to
the Church of Refuge his eyes were not bandaged,
and in the church he answered. with a loud and
clear voice, to the prayers of the Padri Assistenti.
Then his eyes were blinded, in spite of his entrea-
ties to the contrary, that he might look upon the
people. He walked with a firm step, and rather too
quick to please the Padri. He then stopped a little,
and begged again to be unblinded, but in vain. To
those who assisted him he said "Padri, it is
glorious to die for our country and for liberty ;''
and even on the very steps ,of the scaffold he
repeated the same expressions. To the last prayer
he uttered the responses with the same firm
voice, the people joining with him, and weeping.
Evea the soldiers of his battalion were deeply
moved, and some of the officers wept, In fasten-
ing the rope the executioner maltreated the crimi-
nal, so as to excite one of tho fathers so much, as
to strike him twice. The execution was long and
painful, either through the inexperience of the
executioner, or the irritation created by the blows
which he bad received from the Padre Assistente.
During the last night the prisoner desired those
who assisted him to read a book entitled The Life
and Death of the Good Christian • Lieutenant
Fiori, one of the judges of the council of war has
been put under a rigorous arrest-for having uttered
various insolent remarks to the criminal and the
advocate in the public discussion _
_ _

A soldier of the 3,1 battalion had been imprisoned
in consequence of his great intimacy with the
accused. Having been brought before the Council
of War, he was asked by the President why he had
been so intimate with Melano. He answered—

You and other 6fficers have attested that IVlelanB
was the model of the battalion ; for this reason I
became his friend. In my circumstances you
would have done the same thing." The President
ordered him to be set at liberty.

'TURIN, DEC. I S.

I understand from Bologna that some modifica-
tions—more of form than of substance—had taken
place in the division of power both there and at
Ancona. In the first place, the Austrian Generals
have renounced the title of " Civil and Military
Governors of his Imperial Royal and Apostolic
Majesty," and meekly style themselves now
" General commanding Army of Occupation-" In
the second, the power of granting passports and
shooting licenses has been restored by the Aus-
trian Generals to the Papal police; and in the
third, the military courts are only to be used for
the trial of political offences, and all ordinary.
crimes are to be brought before ordinary
tribunals. The Papal authorities ray these
mighty reforms have been -effected at the in-
tercession of the French Government, and a
rumour prevailed at Rome itself that the French
Government was really about to insist on some
reforms, compatible with the principles enunciated
in the letter of the Prince President to Colonel
Ney. It appears that the new French General
Goyon is determined on carrying out some military
reforms at all events, and being a man of active
habits he had been giving the Papal authorities a
good deal of uneasiness by his untimely parades
and inspections. He seems indeed to have a great
deal too much of the early Christian about him to
please at Rome, for one of the principal complaints
made by the autherities is, that instead of giving
proper notice of, and choosing a proper time for, his
inspections, as his predecessor did, he turns
people out at all sorts of unseasonable hours of the
morning.
Queen Christina and the Duke of Rianzares had
arrived at Rome, and taken up their abode at the
Palace Vidoni.