New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-26

being pillaged. At Messina the Mayor reports that
people dying Of hunger, and indeed it is calcu-
lated that there at the present moment Mt least
300, 600 aborers without work. and desperate for
want Of food in Sicily alone
When 1T is remembered that the main portion
Of the national revenue is derived from onerous
taxes on land, houses and income, it will readily
be perceived to what extent the Government Is
compromised and endangered by the state OF affairs
described above. 1t has become almost Impossible
to collect the inland revenue and being in terrible
financial straits the Government is forced TO pro-
coed on all sides to seizures and forced sales for
unpaid taxes Indeed the word seizure has be-
come SYNONYMOUS with that OF tax. Nor Is there
any prospect of q remedy. For the policy OF the
Prime Minister is a costly one. The alliance OF
Italy with Germany and Austria involves rum
Gus outlay for military and naval prep
aration, and in face OF the eNer-'n
creasing deficit, the Cabinet has been lorced
lust At this moment of all others 10 augment the
number Of direct taxes. At no time SINCE 'he
capture of Rome in 1870 have the affairs Doth
Of the dynasty and of the Government been IN 50
critical O state as at the present moment
Maladministration and corruption exist IN all
DEPARTMENTS of the Government to perfectly
incredible extent. AS an illustration Ihereoi
il may be mentioned that the warden ana three
Of the principal jaers Of the great CONVICT prison
of Livorno-the most extensive ana IMPORTANT
of it's kind in the Kingdom-are on trial TOT nav
ing murdered by stranguhtion two coh'ic's Ill
the subterranean punishment cell OF lhe prsoh
Tho manner in which these crimes were otouGhI
TO light was peculiarly dramatic. one day Ming
Hum bert discovered among his correspondents
at the Quirinal an anonymous leller Htit,ou IA
human blood in lieu Of ink, IN WHICH IL M"S
related how two convicts miu oSen nnI ~
tba ,rdp N
the great Jail at Livorno. Inc leuer puilo ; Wv
to have been written by inmates OF ue Pr'Snh'
and asserted that the only offence OF WhiIh ihc
murdered men had been guilty was Oh Imt M
attem pied to ward of the inhuman blows Which
the warden had inflicted upon them IN a NJ OF
rage. Deeply moved both by the contents VI
the letter and by the means employed III wrltlhS
il, the King Immediately summoned tle Minister
of Justice and Of the Interior to the iaiace, ana
COMMUNICATIONS written like his own with human
blood a most searching inquiry was ~ once
instituted. At first the convlctA OF 'he LN"ino
Jail refused to answer any questions eApi'lhln-
That they had no wish be subjected To IN" same
fate as that Of the murdered men. On RECEIVING
an assurance that all those who gave testimony
would be transferred to other Ialls So As TO escape
any attempt Of revenge on the iTrt on !ic l.,n'i"
prison authorities they gave all thr information
required Not only did they relate no." lhr'L
two fellow prisoners had been tightly cmih"i
Land and foot and confined III straltlh"kr,H
before being put to death after the most ncruihi'
fortunes, but they also stated that II thc S'-,i'
remains Of two other COnvicts who had befi kin"
in a similar manner by the prison authorities
would be discovered. The commission OF Inquiry
having caused the flooring OF the cell TO n'
taken IN. the bodies Of two men then hiuhlN
destroyed by qucklime were found flmILY 'he
prison surgeon persuaded 10 turn hhH r
evidence and a true bill Of murder has no" been
brought against the warden and four OF Ills
principal warders
As to the charges Of c9Eruption it NAV be stotfd
that General Brin, the Minister Of War, recently
brought an action for libel against three OF the
principal newspapers Of the kngd'H, namely the
Italia, Of Milan, the Gazette. OF Venice;
and the influential Progresso. for having alleged
in the most unequvocal terms that rlnS-rnle
reiened supreme at the War Department, ana mar
corruption and fraud Of the most outrageous klnd
were the order Of the day there. The IAPrN
declared that tilere was not single purchase
made either Of ammunition or OF any klhd OF
military equipments without both the Minister,
his Under-Secretary OF State AMI the other heads
OF the Department, realizing large sums OF money
thereby. The newspapers in question m! hI'"r
all but put into print statements which nave nov
only been alluded to in the Chamber Of D"puil|N,
but which moreover have long formed d suhJr"
of public gossip in all the clubs and cafes her"
The tribunal, after hearing what III" editors
of the three indicted newspaper had To say IN
their defence and in confirmation OF the state
ments which they had published, dismissed the
case and nonsuited the Minister Of War, con
demnng hin TO pay the costs.