Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-03-19
government together with letter on the


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PROTEST FROM ITALY.
ROME, March 15-The Italian gov
eminent has instructed Baron de Fava,
the Italian minister at Washington, to
present vehement protest to the United
States government against the action of
the mob in New Orleans yesterday, and
the United States government has prom
ised to make an investigation.
Baron de Faya, in dispatch to Mar
quis di Rudini, the Italian premier and
foreign minister, states that he has pro-
tested against the inaction of the local
officials in New Orleans and that Mr..
Blaine, the American Secretary of State,
expressed horror at the action of the
New Orleans mob, promising that he
would Immediately take the orders of
the President in the matter and the de-
cision would be communicated to the
Italian government.
ITALIAN CITIZENS INDIGNANT.
Italian residents Of Chicago, New
York, Philadelphia and other cities are
arranging for meetings TO protest against
the lynchins of their w-country-
men in New Orleans. They profess
great indignation
The victims of the lynching were
buried ON Sunday.
| THE CRIME THAT LED TO LYNCH LAW.
For some years back New Orleans has
been afflicted with organized Italian
murder societies. No other city in this
country has suffered to such an extent
| from the Malta. When this banded as
ISOLATION of assassins was doing its
worst in Sicily, the place Of its nativity,
there was scarcely a more startling sue
cession of outrages against human life
than has recently aroused the people of
| New Orleans. There were rival gangs
in the city's Italian population, which
carried on their vendettas, and shot and
carved up each other at pleasure. AS
they operat I'd chiefly on each other
without drawing on more valuable ma
terial, there was not the deep and deter
mined effort made to break up the dam
gerous practice that there might other
wise have been. Ii was almost impos-
sible to get any evidence against them.
None of the witnesses could talk English
with any degree Of ease or intelligence.
The Matrango-Pr ovenzano vendetta,
in which a number of lives were lost,
aroused Chief of Police David @. Hen
messy, who had collected together much
evidence for the trial, billed to take
place on October 22d. He discovered
that large number of Sicilian brigands
and criminals had established them
selves in the city, and were continual
menace to the quiet and peaceable
Italians. He made investigations in
Italy of the previous career of some of
these villains, and had large amount
of evidence on this subject, sworn to be-
fore Italian magistrates and United
States consuls. The testimony secured
by Chief Hennessy, and especially the
evidence which he had from Italy,
created panic among the dangerous
classes. The old feud between them
was patched up, and Hennessy's death
was resolved on at a secret meeting as
absolutely necessary for their safety.
The crime was carefully planned.
Two gangs of men were detailed for it.
They were armed with reyolvers and
blunderbusses, and concealed them
selves in alleyways at each corner of
the block on which Hennessy lived, so
that he could not escape. This was in
one OF the most populous portions of
the city, but it was u rainy night, and
few persons were abroad. 1t was near
midnight, October 18th last, when Hem
the day. He turned the corner, and as
he came nnders the glare of the electric
light in front of his home, the assassins
opened on him with volley from the
alleyways in which they had hidden.
He was taken by surprise, and must
have been wounded at the first fire, but
he stood his ground, drew his revolver
and fired at his assailants. They replied
tFuf ttrf ,lx
A police officer heard them and ran to
Hennessy's aid, to be himself shot in the
ear.
When Hennessy fell the men who
We're concealed in the alleyway ran out
and down the street, one of them throw
ing away his gun. -Four other men
armed with blunderbusses, the party
waiting at the other corner for Hen
messy, Joined the fugitives, and the
entire gang ran up the street and disap-
peared in the darkness. When relief
reached Hennessy he was found lying
on his own door steps. His body was
riddled with bullets. Both his lungs
were penetrated. There was another
wound very near his heart, one in his
stomach, one in his side, and still
another in his leg. Besides his coat was
cut by no less than nine other bullets
which had not penetrated the flesh. The
doctors pronounced the wounds mortal,
and Hennessy died at o'clock the next
morning. He was rational to the last,
and declared that the murder was com
mitted by Italians. OF this there was
no doubt, as several persons saw the
men who committed the murder, both
before it occurred and when they were
flying up the street with their guns.
Hennessy was only 80 years old, but
had won a high reputation as perhaps
the best chief of police New Orleans
ever had. 1t was he who some years ago
captured the famous Italian brigand and
bandit, Giuseppe opposite, and delivered
him to the Italian authorities. The Malta
had good reason to fear him.
CHICAGO, March 16.-A Denver dis
patch to morning paper says: j. II. |
Moore, ex-lieutenant of the New
Orleans police, gives statement of the |
causes leading to the killing of Chief
of Police Hennessey which throws
an entirely new light on the matter.
He says that while the Malta |
may have had something to do with the
murder he has strong reason to believe
that they were nothing more than hired |
assassins. He ascribes the trouble to an
old feud between the detectives of the
city which had its foundation in the
times of the famous whisky ring and
sugar ring excitement 90 years ago when
several men lost their lives.
The same bitter feeling, he says, was
the cause of the killing of the elder
Hennessey by Guerin in 1872. Guerin,
according to Moore, was not supposed
to be member of the Malta, and such
charge was not made against him until
/