New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-08-19
JUSTICE AT ROME.

The following artice. whose dreadful details only
confirmed by other al noes from Rome. translated
for The Ne'r- York Tribune from the French Of ENLE
GIRARDIN Editor Of La Prose- a; PARIS
Can the name of justice be applied to
what you are about 10 read
Can you believe wha, you are about 70 read,
supported as il is by the best authority
No. II would indeed be incredible If We did
not know that cruelty and arbitrary power, de-
scondng from the vertex TO the base, increase
as the pyramid enlarges.
Justice is administered al Rome with closed
doors, and after simple method. The accused
is permitted TO choose his defender, but if the
defender is not TO the taste OF the Judges, the
prisoner must choose another, or accept the one
whom the President of the Tribunal may please
to designate Then the grounds OF complaint
are communicated to the defender, bat neither
he nor the accused Is allowed TO confront the
compliments or their witnesses, who are never
made known TO the defense.
With this obscure method OF administering
Justice II Is evident that no one can easily prove
his innocence, and that. on the contrary, hatred,
revenge. and anonymous charges hold iheHpower
over every man who has enemies.
STILL IN spite of the power Of condemnlng At
pleasure every person with whom they are dis
pleased, these petty inqustors are afraid obraye
the force OF public opinion, which shudders al
human sacrifices hence they rarely sentence to
capital punishment. But though the prisoners
escape the ak Of the eXecutl0ner. and the auto
dale in the public square, they do not escape the
III. 1T and dim.
geons, where gloomy authority, under the pre-
text of hearing more OF the case, has the right OF
OBTAINING them for an indefinite period, and OF
booming them to taste drop by drop, all the ago
MES OF painful death. All these acts OF barbar-
lily are performed, a. the fanatics say, for the
glory of God and the good Of the Church.
The prisoners at Rome have a common apart
ment, where the " vie multitude OF prisoners
as the honorable NJ Theirs would say are
confned-that Is, all who have no money to pay
for admission into other rooms, where each prs
oner Is allowed pallet OF poor mattress, IN
place of the rotten straw which Is thrown TO
them In the StgrettG piano This Is the name OF
the common apartment-that hldeous den OF IN
lection, OF misery, OF desolation-where men are
plltO together, III l.t ulOSL Ol AAh'
fou animals and If an unfortunate dares to ex-
press his despair too strongly, heavy iron
weight Is attached TO his feet after he has been
tied to pos, and been beaten wiki a club on his
shoulders or his back.
This last punishment, called the cGraleto.
which Is no less humilia,mg than cruel, was for
nery inflicted for certain offenSes in the most
A. l. 81 1 %
state of entire nudity.
Ii they no longer dare 20 make public eXhl-
biton OF this revolving punishment the modest
governors OF Rome maze ample amends TO them
selves by daily nflctlng II on unhappy prisoners
Nothing better has been found to alleviate the tate
Of the latter than TO restore this punishment or TO
put the feet in lrcns-bo,h OF which infections
were suppressed by the late Republican Gov
eminent OF Rome AZ the same time with the
death penalty.
Only before this republican regime, the weight
OF iron placed upon the feet OF a prisoner was
but 81 lbs. while now II Is increased to 1865
Nothing can give lust idea OF this horrible
spectacle, which exhibits al the suffering OF
humanity. when reduced 10 despair, Inundated,
degraded. debased by the most Ignominiou. treat
meni and IN the midst Of tins room OF rather cave
Of mephiuc and sufocatng vaPors If from this
apartment We proceed 10 the cells, W. md TWO
prisoners IN each OF them
These cells are two metres - ceniimetres IL
length, ,abou, t feet. I'm. 33c IN width, ana IN
60c. IN hight No, more than T. cubic metres of
air can penetrate! these cells Now, II IS well
l.. = - -
ar are required for the respiration OF single
person, and TWO uIioT;uates are buried alive m
each Of these dungeons where they lie deprived
81 air aac devoueed ~ lever and The mos, de-
i,>;at.e yermin many. indeed. have ,heir fee,
g crutAy ton - the icns, that the worms