Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-04-20
Massacre of Protestants by Catholic BiSots In IT.
aly-Strange 0ccuren &c for the Nineteenth Cen
correspondence of the London Herald.l

Massacre of Protestants by Catholic Bigots In It.
aIy-Stramge Occuren &c for the Nineteenth Gen.
fury.
Correspondence of the London Herald.]
FLORENCE, March 81.
We have bad news from the South The pleasant,
thriving city of Barletta famous in history for the
brilliant feat of Italian arms, so graphically record
ed in NJ. DAZzeggiO's romance OF " EttGre Fterd-
mOScG has lust been the scene of q most ferocious
outburst of Christian Thuggsm. That religious
fanaticism should have produced such deplOrable
results in the heart of the nineteenth century appears
absolutely incredible. Unhappily there is no doubt
about the facts, which are as follows For abOut
two years q small Protestant society has existed in
Barletta Beginning with two or three individuals,
this body had little by little swelled to forty men,
bers who managed to support a little school and
chapel, in which officiated pastor named Gaetano
gtg 81 nafE 5 oeeye 81 t99msmGnty was
thorn in the flesh to the priests of the ROmsh faith
who naturally traced this alarming spread of heresy
to the introduction Of the pestential Sandman
statute. So far nothing can be said. Prayers were
offered up in the churches for the conversion of these
benighted brethren who probably returned the COM
pliment at their own Sunday services Even this
was polite attention for which both parties might
be reciprOcaly grateful. But so idyllic state Of
things was doomed to be abruptly terminated by the
arrival of three gHGreSimaSti or Lenten preachers,
despatched TO the rescue of the faith which appear
ed to be somewhat on the wane in Baretta. These
ecclesiastical trebrands the names of two of them
in denOuncing the hideous wickedness of which the
folks of Baretta had been guilty in tolerating the
presence of these GOd-forsaken heretics And
hinted that as the benign influence of prayer had
proved Intellectual in the present case, good Oaken
cudgel might be advantageOusly substituted a
means of orthodox persuasion. Nay, in case OF
need, the Church had often found that bundle or
two of faggots would admirably serve her purpose.
In this way it had been her privilege, by Gods bless
ing, TO save many millions of erring souls Mt the
he he
bodies to which they were temporarily attached
This pous eXhortation was renewed with additional
JUNCTION on st. Joseph's Day. and the congregations
brmful of Divine zeal, rushed out of the churches
with iiendisb yells of death to the PTOtestants
Death to the damned Hurrah for Jesus Christ
Down with the heretics, Long live the Church
Long live Victor Emmanuel ~ &C. In fact all kinds
of cries were raised, any shout and any weapon be-
ing good for the occasion. The houses of the Pro-
testants were sacked, the occupants thrown out OF
the windows or hacked to pieces, and the mutilated
victims-s0me dead, some dying-burned in the
street, an immense fire having been kindled for the
purpose The women were reused to pitch of in
describabe fury, stabbing and stoning many of the
round the flames of their GutOdd;fe.
For two hours the rioters had it all their own way
and, as the Protestant minister had taken refuge in
the house of the Project the place was besieged by
the mob the officials put to fight, and all the
furniture was thrown out of the windows. The I'M
der Project received blow on the head from stone,
and delegate of police, who by some mistake was
supposed to be the Pastor Giannini, received such
ill usage that he died on the following day. In the
course of time order restored and four hundred
soldiers are now quartered in the city, AS many as
seventy-fve persons have been arrested including
four priests, a Capuchn and six or seven women
Tie prisoners have been removed to TRAM, not
without a vigorous attempt to rescue them. But the
rioters were kept under, and fortunately without
boodshed. .
The clerical press is unmOved in the presence Of
these terrible facts According to the URitG Cato
licG, the whole blame is to be imputed to the her
tics, who presume to scandalize the faithful by
their perverse spirit of proseytism, and to the Gov
ernment for encouraging schism.
Thirteen lives have been lost in this lamentable
affair which appears to have been no accidental cir.
cumstance but to have had its origin in certain gen.
eral measures concerted at Rome for the purpose
of maintaining an agitation among the ignorant
classes the ultimate object being evidently to pro-
duce state of things by which the Emperor of the
French may be induced to postpone the withdraw
al of his troops from Rome Small disturbances,
also provoked by the clergy are reported from vari
Gus parts of Sicily.