The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-27 00:00:00

While reading the brief extracts from the Royal
laws of this torture-land, and the narrative of what

their police can do and delight to do, a practical
thought struck us. It may be worth Mr. MILSER

GIBSON'S consideration. It might form the sub-
ject of a very good motion, or serve as an amend-

ment to any motion, for altering our laws on the
demand of a foreign country. Our notion, em-
bodied in House of Commons phraseology, would
take somewhat of this form, that "whereas certain

refugees, who had found an asylum in this coun-
try, were charged with having plotted against the

life of a foreign and friendly sovereign, and whereas
the said refugees belonged to a country diverse

:rom that of the sovereign against whom they are

alleged to have conspired ; and whereas that
sovereign has required us to alter our laws for
the prevention of conspiracy ; that a committee

be appointed to obtain full information respecting
the laws and police and criminal administration of

:he countries referred to. And that the corn

mittee be instructed to report to the House re-

specting such laws and governmental usages ; and
also, respecting such political actions as may be the
cause of refugees fleeing to this country; and that

her MAJESTY'S Foreign Secretary be requested to
forward the report to the foreign and friendly
sovereigns, respectfully asking their immediate

consideration thereof."

Surely such a proposal would be eminently rea-
sonable. If a neighbour complained that my
cattle came over his fences, and begged me in
saucy language to prevent it, it would be fair to
ask him why he did not keep his fences in repair,
or why he allowed his dog to come over them
and frighten my cattle into his fields. Now, it
is impossible to look into these pages and not to

see that Italians have pretty good reason to flee
into this country. The wonder is that any man

of public spirit, any man with a soul above his
ledger, or his till, can continue in his native land.

So outrageous are the powers given to the police,
and so outrageously do they abuse, if that be pos-
sible, those powers, that no man's liberty, who
attends to anything beyond his shop, confession,
and mass, is safe for an hour.

The merits of the written law of the land—the
Code NAPOLEON—are well enough known, and
were its provisions honestly carried out half the

villanies of the police would be put an end to a.
once ; but there is a whole book of police instruc
tious, the special 'work of the Monarch, by which
the police are enabled to over-ride the plainest
dictates of justice. They are authorised to
seize a person, to imprison him, to keep him
even for months ignorant of what he is
suspected or accused, to dismiss him without
trial, or to try and condemn him themselves
without bringing him before a regular Court
of Justice ; they can even detain a citizen in
prison although absolved by the judicial autho-
rities ! It seems scarcely credible, but the trans-
lator of the documents, when in Naples, know of
a case of flogging before trial I an iniquity, it
seems, both permitted and practised. His only
offence was that, while sitting at dinner with his
family, a police officer called, and he sent word re-
questing him to wait till his meal was over, and
he would fellow him. This was declared to be an
outrage on the dignity of the office. He was bound,
and flogged till ke vomited blood. The surgeon in
attendance remonstrated, but was told, "If you say
one word you shall have the like yourself !"
WATT and PARE. may well be thankful that they
have suffered nothing worse at the hands of such
incarnate fiends, than a dungeon with its filth and
company, for eight months on a fictitious charge.
These police regulations teach us the source of
PERSIGNY'S notion of arresting men on
"notoriety," since "a mere public rumour of a
man's culpability is a sufficient title for his arrest."
We must refer our readers to pp. 36 to 40 for
such a string of legal abominations—all vouched
for by reference to the Royal police instructions
—as Englishmen could hardly conceive of. The
wonder is not that we have refugees, but that half
the nation do not flee their country.
The infernal trial and punishment of CARLO
POERIO most readers will remember from the letter
of Mr. GLADSTONZ, so highly honourable to himself,
addressed to Lord ABERDEEN, which he published
at the time. There can be no question, therefore,
on the testimony of so competent and trustworthy
a witness that POERIO is a man of whom a Con-
servative could justly write thus :
"I have had the means of ascertaining in some degree
his political position. He is strictly a Conetitutionaliit.
His pattern is England rather than America or France.
I have never heard him charged with errors of politics,
other than such as can generally be alleged with truth
against the most high-minded and loyal, the most intel-
ligent and constitutional, of our own statesmen. I must
say, after a pretty full enamination of his case, that the
condemnation of such a man for treason is a proceeding
just as much conformable to the laws of truth, justice,
decency, and fair play, and to the common sense of Ow
community —in fact, just as great and gross an outrage
of them all as would be a like condemnation in this coun-
try of any of our best known public men—Lord John
Russell, or Lord Lansdowne, or Sir James Graham, or
yourself. I will not say it is precisely the same as re-
spects his rank and position, but they have scarcely any
public man who stands higher ; nor is there any one
of the names I have mentioned dearer to the Engli:,h
nation—perhaps none so dear—as is that of Poerio to
his Neapolitan fellow-countrymen."
In this pamphlet we have the authentic report
of POERIO'S defence before his judges—the defence
itself carrying with it intrinsic evidence of the
truth of all its statements ; but what statements !
The footsteps of this noble-minded man, he being at
the time, too, a member of Parliament, and hav-
ing a seat in the Royal Council, were dogged daily
and hourly by the police ; he was accused if he
went into the country, accused if he stayed
at home ; false charges, of which they were
obliged to confess the falsity, were trumped up
against him ; once a forged letter was thrust upon
him, but the forgery too clumsy to stand investi-
gation. At last he was seized and imprisoned for
months, and then, without a tittle of credible
evidence, he was coavieted of belonging to a secret
society—a thing abhorrent to his nature, and not
required by his position and ever since
then he has been undergoing a brutal punish-
ment, devised to torture a man of refined taste
and habits—that of imprisonment in heavy
irons, and chained to another prisoner, a low
felon, the chains being literally never taken oil !
In this state POBRIO still lingers. The EMPEROn
of the French through his occupation of Rome,
the POP; whom that EMPEROR restored, the
EMPEROR of Austria, as the chief upholder of
Neapolitan despotism are the parties guilty, with
FERDINAND, Of POERIO'S dungeon and irons.
Heartily is it to be wished that the day may come
when FERDIDAND and the head of his police may
be ironed together with POERIO'S irons in POERIO'S
'dungeon. Nothing less will satisfy Divine or
human justice.

have unanimously
council of Aberdeen
of union of the Univer-
t in favour a
petition Parliament
but against a union of the col-
leges in Arts.
sit,es of Aberdeen,
UNION OF THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITrE3.
TeTsoillevetdowtno
—This great event, whichOXFOßD27Bthitake place over the
utmost possible intsrest, is fixed to
Saturday, the
old course from Putney to Mortlake, on
e:
March. ANDsti :ref
islt lookedE EIGHT-OARED T -
forwardoA RED BtooewTißthAtChEe.
SPRCIAL SERVICES AT WESMINSTIR ABBEY.
Dr. 'Wordsworth: 28th,1—The
following is a list of the preachers at the evening
services in Westminster Abbey for March :-7tb,
4 t
Dr.h, D
.r.wWoorrdd.sww,orrtht Wordsworth ; 2TI shte,
preachers during the same period at St. Margaret's
r will be-7th, Rev. Canon Stanley • 14th, the Dean of
Westminster ; 21st, the Rector of St. Martiu'e-in-the•
\
fields; 28th, Rev. Canon Dale,