The Press. — 1854-09-23 (London, England)

GREECE.  Further particulars respecting the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Leeves in Eubma have been received and will be read with interest. The Government had appointed commissioners to inquire into the circumstances of the crime, through whose agency the murderers have been arrested and confessed their guilt. The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Leeves had been buried twenty•four hours before the arrival of the commissioners, at which ceremony it is a positive fact that Anagnosti Papa Efstathio, the instigator and chief perpetrator oi the murders, assisted, and, according to the Greek custom, gave the corpses the last salutation, called the " kiss of peace !" This person is only about twenty years of age, is the son of the Greek village priest, and himself a candidate for deacon's orders. He had been brought up from his youth by the Leeves family, and frequently dined at their table, out of respect to the sacred calling of his father, although himself nothing more than a peasant. This wretch, with two accomplices, climbed into a low balcony, leaving two others to guard against surprise. The bedroom window of Mr. and Mrs. Leeves opened on this balcony, and was not secured by the outside shutter; the glass only was closed, and that not securely. There was, therefore, no difficulty in obtaining access to their room. One of them, Souras, rushed to the bed and held down Mrs. Leeves, not, however, without alarming her husband, who had time to reach the door, and seize one of two loaded muskets which he kept in the passage, and which he fired at Souras, but unfortunately the ball merely grazed his shoulder. Taking up the other gun, which it appears was merely loaded with very small shot, he attempted to re-enter the bedroom, but the light having been extinguished by the first discharge, it is supposed he must have slipped and fallen, discharging the gun without doing any injury to the assassins. He was then immediately overpowered, and, after receiving several wounds from a knife, he was conducted into the other apartments, and was compelled to open the drawers and cupboards, the keys of which were found in his hand. Having thus obtained about twenty dollars, some silver spoons and forks, two watches, and other small articles, to the value altogether of about 401., they brought Mr. Leeves back to his bedroom, and there, finding that Anagnosti was recognised, they murdered them both. They then took to flight, being alarmed by the noise and firing outside, the alarm having been given to the villagers. The steward, who slept in a rcom in the court-yard, was too terrified to render his master any assistance beyond firing his gun from the window. The female servants took refuge with him. It is some slight consolation to know that this act was not caused by any motives of private dislike or revenge, Mr. Leeves and his wife being universally respected and beloved by his villagers, who were so exasperated against the mur• derers that they would have torn them in pieces if they could have got at them. Two of these wretches, Souras and Arvanitis, were returned patriots, men who had escaped from the prison of Chalcis, where they had been confined for robbery, had joined the insurgents in Thessaly, and had afterwards been amnestied. Mr. Leeves's house is on the aide of a mountain, quite unprotected, and any of the doors and windows could be easily forced open with the hand. Mrs. Leeves was a Miss Fletcher, of Manchester, a very superior and pious woman, and it is  895  understood she brought her husband 4,0001. for the purpose of improving this Eubcea estate. There is no doubt but that the whole of the island of Eubcea (Negropont) is in a very unsettled condition, and that if the Greek Government really wishes to put a stop to such crimes some very energetic steps must be taken. It is to be hoped that the whole of the perpetrators of these truly shocking murders will be tried, condemed, and executed in such a public manner as to deter others from such atrocities, and to prove that the new executive Greek Government under Mavrocordato will enforce the laws, and, as far as in them lies, rescue Greece from the deserved odium which has been attached to her name for so many years past. A private despatch from Athens, dated tho 15th, says that:— " The French commander asked leave to send 2,000 troops to Athens, but it is said the King refused, and that he even declared he would quit his residence should the Government grant the request. The Ministry remained in deliberation ; nothing has as yet been decided. M. Mavrocordato has intimated that he would follow the King."