New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-09-11
2gtlr Orleans gepltbliea,t,
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF.THE UNITED STATES
-%-S-o
DFEIClAL JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
a POOR PLACE TO LIVE.
siciIian Crime.

sS1e1f1GH SFlDes
A letter in the London Times gives ter
Iible account Of the insecurity u H4e ~
Sicily: ,--
~0n the sixth of August the newspapers
If Palermo related the following incident
The incident occurred toward the end OF
fhe previous month, but was first reported
on that day: In the neighborhOod OF Calta-
vuturo, in the province Of Palermo, twelve
men combined to 'sequestrate in the
phrase 0t the country-an unfortunate
priest. To 'seque6trate' here is generally
understood in the sense Of kidnapping for
the sake Of ext0rting ransom. The priest
was sequestrated accordingly and l2UO
francs obtained from his family. But,
whether because the sum was insufficient,
or because the robbers had some particular
prudge at the priest in question, or, which
is the most probable supp0sitlon, be-
cause he had recognized and could
have denounced them, they then
proceeded to murder the man and
burn his body. The calcined bones and
some Of his clothes were found in cave
The same days paper related another incl
dent also, which was more recent. FIVE
men seguestrated boy, whom they forced
to accompany them to the house OF his aunt,
and to request admittance. She recognized
her nephew's voice, and opened her door,
the men entered, murdered her, robbed and
set fire to the house, and, as they thought,
murdered the boy, too. But he was not
dead, though morUally wounded. He con-
trived TO crawl to neighbours, where he
wrote down The could not speak, for his
throat was cut the names Of the muir
derers He died two hours after. The
next story has fine Irish favor about
it. Some years ago proprietor leS
on the system Of perpetual lease,
common to this country, an estate Of some
extent, but, from its uncultivated condition.
of little value. 1t was taken in small lots
by considerable number of peasants. The
estate, however, had been settled on the
owners wife, but this had been overlooked,
and her signature not having been affixed,
the leases were of course invalid. At their
fathers death his two sons, tempted by
the great increase in the value of the pro
perty through the labor bestowed upon it.,
determined to avail themselves of the flaw.
The tenants offered to pay double the rent
agreed on and a large sum down, but the
brothers refused the offer, went before the
court, and Of course gained their case. The
other day they went down with a legal
official to take possession, protected
by strong escort, for they had re-
ceived threatening letters. Nineteen
of the tenents met them, and the legal for
malities were completed. Then discharge
of firearms proceeded from q short distance
of, and the legal officer and one Of the
brothers fell-the former dead, the latter
MORALLY wounded. The tenants all ran
away. The locality where this occurred
was also within the province Of Palermo
The next case | shall mention appeared in
the papers of the tenth. A peasant was
loading his cart with tomatoes in his own
garden at Favara, a small hamlet-if it de-
serves the name-some three or four miles
from the city. Some armed men entered
the ground and demanded his money. He
cried out, and his wife fred q gun from the
house to call aid. The men ran away, but left
the peasant dead. He had received several
stabs. The last case / shall mention occurred
q day or two later, also within three miles
of the city. A man was sitting in the bal |
cony of his house when he was fired at. He
was wounded in the leg, but fortunately |
not killed. Now this is a country where, |
to all practical purposes, the penalty of |
death is abolished. / am told that there |
have been only two executions here in the |
last ten years, two persons suffering at
each. l believe the last was seven years
ago, and the crop of murder lit is true it is |
August, and assassination il always ex- |
pected to be most plentiful in that MONTH |
is what have indicated. OF course this is |
the practical abolition of the penalty"
The writer adds that so great is the ter |
ror in which men 60 that the journals |
never publish the names of persons accused |
Of crime.