The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-12-22
ITALIAN COMMUNISM.
A PORTION OF ITALY WHERE COW
MUNIsM AND BRIGANDAGE
PREVAIL.
The Uncertain Tenure Of Property There
The Threats Of the NeapOllian
IUternatIOnnltsts,


When the exiled King Francis ii, of Naples
| was told of the attempt on his cousin King
Humbert's life he remarked "That man is
| from the Basilicate: it Is province of dirid
| ers'' Humbert, in his desire to court popu-
| larity, was less frank and declined to make
| the entire district responsible for the misdeeds
| Of an individual. In reality the greater part
OF the ancient Kingdom Of the Two Sicilies is
In social and financial condition sngularly
| favorable to those revolts which from time
| to time have marked In history the revengee
| OF disinherited races, for whose misery the
| future oilers not one ray of hope. Rich al
most beyond conception, its destiny has
not shared the wealth of Southern Italy
| In normal proportions not placed
1t under the safeguard Of regular insttu-
tons. For more than 1000 years conquest has
| followed conquest and invasion invasion.
without ever creating any definite situation,
| or forming q condition Of real civilization
Romans and barbarians, Normans and Sara
Gems, Angevlns and Spaniards have ruled by
turns, and then the Boilrbons encamped
there, until they, too, were driven out to make
room for the HoHse of Savoy But. through
all these political commissions, the rights and
duties OF the proprietor and the peasant have
never been determined by any legal regime
Might made right; he who was strongest
seized and kept, so that rarely does the soil
belong to those who till it. There are no
small landowners, no middle class Twenty
and more square leagues are often in the pos
session OF single individual, while over this
immense territory the wretched population
herd together Ike cattle In agglomerations of
novels.
Twice q year, at seed time and at harvest
the overseer brings from Potenza or Foggia
or Castrovillari a drove of a few hundred
laborers, who, during couple of months re-
ceive six cents per month and are beaten. and
then these helots go back to liberty and starv-
alton, and the land once more belongs to the
bandits, against whom the dwelers In the
mdsserid defend themselves as best they can
Such was the situation when Justinan pub
lished his edicts against the prrdones equea-
tres-"the mounted highwaymen'' and such
is the situation now. How, then, Is it possible
to hope that an epidemic Of agraran Social
ism will not be engendered by so detestabIe q
social hygiene?
In Calabria the peasants of the valleys have
often seized by force the highlands Of the Sla
and held them by right of conquest until they
had gathered in the harvest for themselves,
and although the Italian government has par
TALLY stopped these aggressons the result
has always been that the starving wretches
have taken to the macchja to become brigapds.
and revenge, alike on the innocent and the
guilty, their real or fancfed wrongs. All this
region Is ripe Tor instruction in any interest,
Tor any cause, provided that it sees an outlet
from the miseries caused by territorial mo-
nopoly.
Upon the shores of the Adriatic stands an
enormous promontory, Mount Gargano The
landscape Is magnificent; toward the sum
NIT, thick forest of oak and ash: below
rich plains Of wheat and Indian corn: along
the horizon, the dark blue sea with its edge
of silver light, and close to the mountains
base the town of Viestri, with population
of some 5000 inhabitants. It was In 1864 NOT
long Mount
anted by band Of robbers, led by one pie
rinO, an outlaw OF the Bourbon DAYS. who
pretended to have taken up arms for the
royal cause, although its representative had
love the exiled family but it was a flag to
fight under. and 50 he declared war to the
death against all who were known as LIB
erals'-that Is to say, against all in
favor OF Italian unilication. One day
Plerino sent in word that he intended to pay a
visit to the town for the purpose of killing all
the Liberals, who incontinently left for the
neighboring cities of Foggia. Trani and Bar
letta, with the exception of one unfortunate
apothecary, whose shop remained open when
The band, true to the promise, made their ap- |
pearance. There were only seventeen Of
these in all, but the population closed their
1oorS and windows and remained quietly in |
side their houses, while the bandits built |
ire In the public square, where they roasted |
he apothecary and then eat him. If any one |
doubts my statement let him consult the |
prison record Of Foggia, where, year later,
saw Pierino himself, and from him had |
of the recital Nor is this |
'ase isolated. Petrovacchio, Gaspa- |
zone, and q host Of others have
furnished instances Of almost equal barbarity, |
md perusal Of Italian papers of the last
week will give the lie to those Republican |
journals OF France which declare so auda- |
'iously that the late crimes attempted in |
spain, in Germany and in Italy had no CON |
lection with Republication. The editor Of |
he Naples Iccoto has received letter tell |
ng him that 'the Republicans do not dread |
us vain criticism of those who, nourishing |
he true sentiments OF liberty, are capable Of |
tabbing sovereign and Of EXTERN mating |
wretch like you" The Journal de Pddoue an |
LOUNGES the receipt of seditious proclama- |
ion which demands a civil war, and ends |
With the phrase, "Vird FInternationale." The |
,omnat DC Vienna states that letters from
lalo and Scio complain of threatening com
nunications to the wealthy proprietors of |
hese localities, whose children will be |
laughtered il they refuse to contribute funds |
0 the good cause"
- q |