The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-31 00:00:00

de Duchi di Santo Vito came to him, and told him
the Government knew all,but that if he would con-
fess, his life would be spared. He demanded of his
judges on his trial that Santo Vito should be exa-
mined as to this statement ; of course it was not
done. But more than this, Signor Peccheneda
himself, the director of the police, and holding the
station of a Cabinet Minister of the king, went re-
peatedly to the prison, summoned divers prisoners,
and with a flagrant illegality examined them him-
self, without witnesses, and without record. One
of these was Carafa. By one deposition of this
Carafa, who was a man of noble family, it was de-
clared that Peccheneda himself assured him his
matter should be very easily arranged, if he would
only testify to Poerio's acquaintance with certain
revolutionary handbills. It could not be ; and the
Cabinet Minister took leave of Carafa with the
words, Very well, sir ; you wish to destroy your-
self ; I leave you to your fate.'
" Such was the conduct of Peccheneda, as Poerio
did not fear to state it before his judges. I must
add that I have heard upon indubitable authority
of other proceedings of that minister of the King
of Naples, which fully support the credibility of
the charge.
" Besides the denunzia, or accusation, of Jervo-
lino, on which- the trial ultimately turned, there
was against Poerio the evidence given by Romeo,
a printer, and co-accused, to the effect that he had
heard another person mention Poerio as one of the
heads of the sect. The value of this evidence may
be estimated from the fact that it included along
with Poerio two of the persons then ministers, the
Cavaliere Bozzelli and the Principe di Torella. It
was in fact abandoned as worthless, for it spoke of
Poerio as a chief in the sect ; but this was in con-
tradiction with Jervolino, and the charge of mem-
bership only was prosecuted against him. But
again, you will remark, the prisoner in no way took
'benefit from the explosion or failure of any charge;
all proceedings went on the principle that the duty
of government was to prove guilt, by means true or
false, and that public justice has no interest in the
acquittal of the innocent.
" There was also the testimony of Margherita,
another of the co-accused. He declared, upon an
after-thought, that Poerio attended a meeting of
the high council of the sect. He declared also that,
as a member of this republican and revolutionary
sect, Poerio Poeo was one of three who contended for
maintaining the monarchical constitution, and that
he was accordingly expelled. On this ground, not
to mention others, the evidence of Margherita was
unavailable.

"It is too easy to understand why these efforts
were made by the co-accused as inculpating Poerio
and other men of consideration. But they did not
issue in relief to the parties who made them, per-
haps, because their work was so ill executed, or
even their treachery not thought genuine. Mar-
gherita was confined at Niaida, in February last,
in the same room with those he had denounced.
Nay, he had actually been chained to one of them.
I shall hereafter describe what this joint chaining is.
" The accusation, then, of Jervolino formed the
sole real basis of the trial and condemnation of
Poerio. Poerio was named in the evidence of Ca-
rafa, but in a manner tending positively to prove
his innocence.

" Upon this evidence of a man without character or
station, and who was a disappointed suitor for office
that he thought he should have had by Poerio's
means, a gentleman of the highest character, re-
cently a confidential and favoured servant of the
King, was put upon trial for his life.
" The matter of accusation was this—Jervolino
stated that, having failed to obtain an office through
Poerio, he asked him to enrol him in the sect of the
Unita Italiana—that Poeric put him in charge of a
person named Attanasio, who was to take him to
another of the prisoners, lamed Nisco, that he
might be admitted; that Nisco sent him to a third
person named Ambrosio, wbo initiated him. He
could not recollect any of theforms, nor the oath of
the sect Of the certificate or diploma, or of the
meetings, which the rules of the sect when pub-
lished (as the Government professed to have found
them) proved to be indispensable for all its mem-
bers, he knew nothing whatever !
" How did he know, said Poerio, that I was of the
sect when he asked me to admit him ? No answer.
Why could not Nisco, who is represented in the
accusation as a leader, admit him ? No answer.
If I, being a Minister of the Crown at the time, was
also a member of the sect, could it be necessary for
me to have him thus referred to one person, and
another, and a third, for admission ? No answer.
Why has not Ambrosio, who admitted him, been
molested by the Government ? -No answer. Could
I be a sectarian, when, as a minister, I was decried
and reviled by the exalted party in all their jour-
nals for holding fast to the constitutional monarchy P
No answer. Nay, such was the impudent stupidity
of tho informer, that, in detailing the confidences
which Poerio, as he said, had made to him, he fixed
the last of them in May 29, 1849 ; upon which
Poerio showed that in May 22, or seven days be-
fore, he was in possession of a written report or
accusation made by Jervolino, as the appointed spy
upon him, to the police ; and yet, with this in his
hand, he still continued to make him a political
confidant.

" Such was a specimen of the tissue of Jervolino's
evidence ; such its contradictions and absurdities.
Jervolino had shortly before been a beggar; he now
appeared well dressed and in good condition, and
he stated that the multitudes of witnesses called by
the accused in exculpation were in no case but one
allowed to be called. That one, as I have learned
it, was this. Poerio alleged that a certain arch-
priest declared Jervolino had told him he received
a pension of 12 ducats a month from the Govern-
ment for the accusations he was making against
Poerio, and the arch-priest on the prisoner's demand
was examined. The arch-priest confirmed the
statement, and mentioned two more of his relatives
who could do the same. In another case I have
heard that six persons to whom a prisoner appealed
as witnesses in exculpation, were thereupon them-
selves arrested. Nothing more likely.
"I myself heard Jervolino's evidence discussed
for many hours in court ; and it appeared to me that
the tenth part of what I heard should not only
have ended the case, but have secured his condign
punishment for perjury.
" I must, however, return to the point and say,
even had his evidence been self-consistent and free
from the grosser presumptions of untruth, the very
fact of his character, as compared with Poerio's,
was enough to have secured the acquittal of the
accused with any man who had justice for his object.
Nor do I believe there is one man in Naples, of
average intelligence, who believes one word of the
accusation of Jervolino.

" Two exceptions were taken in the course of these
proceedings. It was argued by the counsel for
Poerio that the Grand Court Extraordinary, before
which the trial took place, was incompetent to deal
with the case, because the charge referred to his
conduct while a Minister and a member of the
Chamber of Deputies ; and by the 48th article of
the Constitutional Statute all such charges were to
tried by the Chamber of Peers. The exception was
rejected, and the rejection confirmed upon appeal.
" The second exception was this. It was distinctly
charged against the prisoners that their supposed
sect had conspired against the life of some of the
ministers, and of the Judge Domenic Antonio Na-
varro, the President of the co lit ; first, by means
of the bottle that exploded in the pocket of Fauci-
tano ; secondly, by means of a body of pugnalatori,
or assassins, who were to do the work if the bottle
failed. Their intention purported to be founded
on the cruelty of the judgments he had pronounced
upon innocent persons. The prisoners protested
against being tried by him, and he himself pre-
sented a note to the court stating he felt scruples
about proceeding with the case, and desired to be
guided by the rest of the court. The court unani-
mously decided that he ought to sit and judge these
men upon a charge inclueing the allegation of their
intent to murder him ; aad fined the prisoners and
their counsel 100 ducats for taking the objection !
This decision, too, was confirmed upon appeal ; and
the courts both sagely observed, that the scruple
felt by Navarro was suesa proof of the impartial,
delicate, and generous rature of his mind, as ought
to show that he could lot possibly be under any
bias ; while they admited that under the law of
Naples: if he had even within five years been en-
gaged in any criminal suit as a party against them,
he could not have sat. So this delicate, impartial,
and generous-minded man, accordingly, sat and
tried the prisoners.. In tie case where I have heard
the detail of the voting of the judges, Navarro
voted for condemnation, and for the severest form
of punishment. I have been told, and I believe, he
makes no secret of his opinion that all persons
charged by the King's ;overnment ought to be
found guilty. I have been told, and I fully believe,
that Poerio, whose case was certainly a pretty
strong one, even for the Neapolitan judges, wouldhave been acquitted by a division of four to four
(such is the humane provision of the law in case
of equality) had not Navarro, by the distinct
use of intimidation, that is of threat of dismissal
to a judge whose name has been told me,
procured the number necessary for a sentence.
But I need not go iito these foul recesses.
I stand upon the fact that Navarro, whose life,
according to the evidencefor the charge, was aimed
at by the prisoners, sat is president of the court
that tried them for their lives ; and I ask whether
language can exaggerate the state of things in a
country where such enormities are perpetrated
under the sanction of the Government.

"So much for the exceptions. I must observe
on another curious point with reference to the court
of justice. It did :lot sit as an ordinary, but as a
special court. When a court sits specially, it is
with a view to despatch. On these occasions the