The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-31 00:00:00

THE INSURRECTION IN SICILY.

Whatever may be the fortune of Garibaldi, there
:s one thing beyond a doubt—that the insurrection
in Sicily is as fierce and obstinate as any rising
which has been seen in this century of revolutions.
We do not think that the struggle of, Poland 30
years ago, or of Hungary in 1849, gave proofs of
greater energy of purpose than the struggle which
has'now lasted for two months on Sicilian ground.
The causes of this indomitable resistance it is worth
while to examine. One can conceive how a nation
oppressed by foreign rulers or threatened by foreign
invaders should rise in rebellion, how patriotism
should overcome every consideration of private ease
and private advantage, how Spaniards should wage
war to the death against King Joseph, Russians
burn their capital to oust the Grand Army, and Ger-
mans rouse themselves from their habitual lethargy
to overthrow the Dictator of Europe. But in Sicily
Italians are fighting against Italians • the whole
people is in arms merely to subvert a dynasty, and
to transfer their government from one native Sove-
reign to another. This is strange, inasmuch as the
history of domestic revolts shows that they are
generally shortlived. Political agitation may cause
a " three days," as in Paris, or humble the timid
Sovereign of Prussia; but, if firmly checked, it soon
burns out; it must succeed by a coup de main, or
not at all. Now isa Sicily they are fighting week
after week with a desperation which surpasses
belief, and all against a native Prince belonging to
a family which sixty years ago found a refuge in
Sicily, and for fifteen years afterwards was cherished
by the Sicilians as the representative of nationality
against a foreign oppressor. What can have taken
place to change attachment into hatred so bitter,
and to inspirc an indolent antaliern people with
the unconquerable stubbornness of martyrs ?
Garibaldi is with them, but they fought for
weeks before he came. Even with the General's
assistance they aro dreadfully overmatched by
their enemies. They are undisciplined ; the Royal
troops have an efficient organisation. They want
arms ; powder they have in very insufficient
quantities, and it is only by smuggling it on shore
from sympathising merchantmen that they can
obtain it. But the most important of all their wants
is cannon. Garibaldi has, we believe, none, except
a few field-pieces which he captured near Marsala.
The King's army, on the other hand, is well sup-
plied, and as the Neapolitans have the command of
the sea, they can reinforce their troops not only
with men, but with every munition of war. Yet
such is the courage and devotion of the people, such
the intensity of their hatred towards the King's
Government, that they are very likely to succeed,
and even defeat would only subject them for a short
time longer to Neapolitan rule. From all that we
can learn from the island, it is plain that the rule
of King Francis is doomed, and that no reconcilia-
tion can take place between him and his subjects.
The cause of this state of things has been often al-
luded to, but it involves details so revolting and so
incredible that, though vouched for by Italians of
the highest note, though the subject of indignant
dentruciation by Mr. Gladstone, though corrobo-
rated by the official despatches of the English Mini-
ster at Naples, though made a reason four years ago
for breaking off diplomatic relations with the Court
of the Two Sicilies, yet we hardly know how to
speak of them. Statements have, however, been
published in Paris which, if true, leave no doubt
that the horrors enacted in Naples have been fait
surpassed by the crimes which have driven the Sici-
lians into rebellion. The capital and the adjoining
territory are chastised with whips, but Sicily with
scorpions. We may express our conviction that the
facts we are about to narrate are essentially trite.
Certain details may be highly coloured, and a melo-
dramatic air given to deeds which are only stupidly
horrible ; but the evidence from so many quarters
is concurrent, and the names and dates are too fully
particularised and the charges have been too long
ancontradieted for us to doubt their accuracy. The
Government of the King of Naples must be con-
Ivicted of crimes compared with which the bratalities
of Ferdinand VII. or the insanities of the Grand
Duke Constantine are insignificant.
On the Ist of February in the presentorear the
Minister of Police at Naples, Ajossa, sent a circular
to the Intendants, or Prefects, stating that the
King, his master, had deigned to continue during
the whole of the year the commissions instituted
for applying the bastonnade to the disturbers of the
public peace. This open announcement prepares
us for anything that may follow. It is evident that
when such directions are officially given from the '
centre of authority, the subalterns in a remote pro-
vince will not be very scrupulous as to their pro-
ceedings. So has it been with Sicily. This island
is, or was till the breaking out of the insurrection,
under the power of a certain Maniscalco, Director
of Police. The police is entirely independent of the
regular judicial administration, so that it may be
that a man is "the prisoner of the police, and not
of justice "—a phrase not meant at all to be satiri-
cal, but of most serious import, as many unhappy
wretches have found, since an imprisonment in this
case cannot be interfered with by any constituted
authority, except Maniscalco and his myrmidons.
Monreale, near Palermo, is the head-quarters of
this tyrant, and hunger, darkness, and torture,
chieflyby flogging, are used to extract avowals of
complicity in political plots. Recently an old man
erished
uundder
In January of this year ' a certain Giovanni
Vienna, of Messina,far was arrested for carrying a
letter in cipher. As he could not or would not
state to whom it was addressed, he was placed in
a boat belonging to the police and conveyed to the
desert shore of Cape Zafferana. There his hands
and feet were tied, he was put in to a sack, plunged
into the water, and held until he moved no longer.
He was then restored and exhorted to confess, but,
as he had nothing to tell, he was put again for
a time in the water, and when taken back to
Palermo was a nearly lifeless body. He is sup-
posed to have since died. In 1848 it is said that
the people, making themselves masters of the police
buildings, rooms which bore traces of the
enormities there perpetrated. The use of a sort of
thumbscrew, and of a tourniquet applied to the
head, which makes the eyes start forth and almost
drop, is attested by many witnesses. If the follow-
ing histories are correct, as we have no reason to
doubt, the diabolical instruments must be brought
into rather frequent use. One Casimir Arsimano
was Awed liberal principled. Q took WO;