The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-29 00:00:00

_REACTIONARY RIOTS IN NAPLES.

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In the Nazione of Florence we find the following
detailed account of the serious reactionary riots of
which Naples was the scene on the 15th instant.
These riots appear to have begun at the instigation
of the priests, and have led to a sharp collision
between the lower classes of the Neapolitans and
the students of the university. They are• thus
described :

Very serious events disturbed the city of Naples
on the day of Saturday, the 15th March, on which
day it appearA the Reactionaries intended, by a pre-
meditated conspiracy, to renew scenes of a painful
nature and of wicked memory. Fortunately, thanks
to the energy of the National Guards, of the autho-
rities, and of the deserving portions of the citizens,
everything has ended with little damage; and in
other cities of the provinces, such as Salerno, Mad-
daloni, Cannosa, and in several others, where like-
the clerical party had been actively engaged in
attempting to create disorders, it would appear that
the firm and decisive attitude of the National Guards
and of the Liberal party had terrified the conspira-
tors, and prevented every species of outbreak. In
Naples itself, early in the morning of that day,
there were circulated, in the quarters of the Ques-
tura, of the law courts, and in others, placards,
in which it was chiefly said that France had now
openly avowed her intention of protecting the Pope
king, and the church, and that the Bourbons would
speedily be restored. Foreign newspapers were
circulated, containing correspondence from Naples,
in which an early day was fixed for great events.
The day thus fixed was the 15th, as results from
the facts. As San Severino, a church close to the
university, the great blow was planned which
should lead to a riot. The notorious Monsignore
Musto, who is there preaching the Lent sermons,
would seem to have avoided any great responsibility
because he pretended to be unwell, and appointed
as his substitute a fiery priest known by the desig-
nation of Nepote della Atammana Nephew of the
Midwife, his real name being Cocozza. There was
a regular congregation, consisting of several hun-
dreds of bigoted old women, of a few priests headed
by the curate of the parish, of some of the common
people, and of not a few Cammoriste, sold to the
reaction, because these creatures sell themselves to
whoever will buy them, and serve all parties.
Cocozza chose for the subject of his sermon heresy.
It would be a long story to repeat all ' the violent
words which he uttered, and which may easily be
imagined, His chief conclusion was, of course, in
behalf of the temporal power of the Pope. He
taxed with atheism the professors and students of
the university, alleging that they wished to intro-
duce Protestantism to the boys' school; he therefore
urged on all faithful Catholics the duty of not send-
ing their sons to the public schools. He finished
his diatribe with virulent abuse of the Liberals.• By
chance, there were in the church several students,
who, on hearing this furious priest, were moved,
partly by anger, partly by contempt, and gave ut•
terance to words of indignation. This was precisely
the moment looked for ; these young men were
pointed out as the enemies of religion, and at once
surrounded. They endeavoured to get away,having
discovered the ambush, and being few and disarmed.
On leaving the church they took to their heels, and
sought shelter in the university. Hither they were
pursued by the armed Cammoriste, hounded on and
directed by some priests, so that one of the students,
thus overtaken, was
_wounded by the blow of a
stiletto.

" Then followed a time of extreme confusion.
Many of the lecture-rooms were full of students,
then attending the lectures in the different stories
of the vast building of the university. The alarm
was given, and, at first, no one knew what the
matter really was. The greater number believed
that there was a fight amongst the students them-
selves ; some thought that a college mutiny had
broken out; in short, the wildest ideas were cur-
rent. But, when the students who were in the
lecture-rooms on the ground-floor found themselves
thus suddenly attacked by the mob, they at once
armed themselves, for want of better weapons,
with broken chairs, with bricks torn up from the
floor, and with workmen's tools. Thus a fight
began. Luckily there arrived a picket of seven
National Guards, who fired in the air, and stopped
the advance of the common people and of the low
women who were invading the university. Next
there arrived the carabineers and the patrols of
the eighth and ninth battalions of the National
Guard. Thus several of the Cammoriste were ar-
rested, others were kept in check by being shut up
in the alleys, and at the same time the students
were reduced to calmness ; for by this time, find-
ing what was the cause of the contest, and seeing
that several young students were wounded, they
had become excited, and wished to attack themob.
The National Guards remained firm at their post,
and prevented a greater outbreak. Then there
arrived the guards of public safety, and Paneraji,
with a company of the 3d battalion of the National
Guards, and thanks to the opportune counsels
given, and to other arrests of the worst Cammoriste
and the most fanatical amongst the mob, as well as
to the hindering of the students to go out alone, or
a few at a time, the fight was ended. By this time
it was about four p.m. At that hour several of the
students went to the Pelegriai Hospital to visit one
of four amongst their comrades more seriously
wounded than the others. On their return, and as
they were passing by the Pigna Secea-square, close
to the hospital, a certain Garofano, a shoemaker,
and a notorious Cammorista, ventured to deride
them, to insult them, and to threaten them, even
with firearms. The students attacked his shop, and
a fight took place between them and the workmen
of Garofano, who took up their master's defence.
The fight ended by four other students being
wounded, one with a shot from a revolver in the
arm, another by a sabre cut on the hand, and two
by blows on the head. Garofano himself was
wounded, and several of his workmen. The people,
the National Guards, and the carabineers ran to the
spot. The wounded students were carried to the
Pellegrini, the workmen to the San Francesco
Hospital ; none of the wounds, however, are serious.
" Whilst this disturbance was spreading alarm in
the Toledo, another hubbub occurred in the distant
quarter of the market. It was caused by a sudden
explosion of gunpowder, though no one can tell
precisely how. The National Guards of that quar-
ter, by their energetic conduct, • appeased every-
thing, and prevented the designs of the evil-dis-
posed. Contemporaneously, at Foria, tumultuous
scenes took place, and the usual scampering in all
directions. And it was curious to see the old women
clustering in groups, crying out against the ‘sciam •
merie,' or gentlefolks,' accusing them of seeking
to destroy religion, and recounting the facts which
bad occurred in the morning in the most exagge-
rated way, going so far as to pretend that the stu-
dents had fired upon the priest who was preaching
Ge'd's holy word,
and had killed him ! And they
sent' holy
other cries against the Government, as
they vei., taught by the priests. Later, towards
evening, at asahop at the Pouts di Tappia, near the
Toledo, a musket shot was fired, and another bomb
came to crown the
exploded abo-ntwork of this day. This bomb
eight o'clock on the Piazze del Cas-
tello, near to the i
el de Malta, and did no further
harm than to knocki_ vet. the box of the porter of
the hotel. But immediate ?5- on the explosion cer-
tain ill-looking vagabonds
with bankers to make
a demon‘e their appearance
stro.tien • 1,114 orcir—p
had been given, and these fellows
at once
arres:cd by the National Goard3
en
duty.
"T he chronicle of the 15(11 is (liereZ,Y.
one, and the only Rolation }
con• t tat e a gloeray
it has shown
the excellent bearing of the National Guards
and
of the Liberals, and measured the strength
of
the Reactionaries. At the same time, a certain de-
s naturally arisen because these
gree of discontent he .
events had not been foreseen and prevented,though
certain hints of their probable occurrence
had been given. The students, too, are enraged,
because the, prefect, IA Marmora, did not wish to
receive a deputation of the young men who wished
to narrate the facts and to ask for justice, and who
sent to say by an aid-de-camp that he did
not re-
ceive sludenti. At the extraordinary meeting of
the University Association as hich was held, and
which deriv •ed its importance from the events which
had Occurred, Atrong words were used, by no means
likely to calm, down the passions of enthusiastic