Glasgow Courier. — 1858-07-06 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

MUTINY AT GENOA.  The Genoa papers contain details of the recent daring mutiny among the galley slaves. It appears that at about 7 on Thursday evening 50 of the most desperate and insubordinate of these convicts, who were confined in what is known as the punishment ward, rose upon their keepers. Their plan was to kill these and to release their companions in the other apartments of the bagnio, when they hoped to find themselves strong enough to overcome all resistance and escape. With bars and rails they killed the man who was on guard in their room, and would have killed another who came to his assistance had he not fortunately been rescued by two of those convicts who, by reason of good conduct, are allowed to assist the turnkeys in some of their duties. At the cry of alarm one of the officers of the bagnio hurried to the spot with such of the keepers as he had hastily got together, but they found themselves in presence of such overwhelming numbers that they were in danger of being overpowered, had not the chief of the establishment ordered them to retire. A stronger force soon mustered, the usual three summonses to yield were made, and then, those proving ineffectual, a volley was fired, quickly followed by another from a party of sailors from the Tripoli man of war, which was moored near the Arsenal. Three of the mutineers were killed on the spot (among them one of the men who had murdered the keeper), two oilers have since died, and it is said that others will not survive. The alarm excited was, as may be supposed, very great. One paper says that cannon and troops of the garrison were brought up to the bagnio. Certainly, when one sees these wretched galley slaves toiling in gangs, in their livery of infamy, up and down the steep and narrow lanes of Genoa, and doing the work of beasts of draught or burden, he cannot wonder at their risking death for a chance of escape from bondage; but when one observes their chianti= countenances, he may well think with a shudder of the consequences should an attempt such as that of Thursday night succeed. The affair has attracted serious attention here, and people say that, since It is necessary to have these nests of fettered despera does and assassin, it is indispensable te take greater precautions against their escape. To day's Opinions has an article on the subject, and declares that escapes, fights, murders, and disturbances of all kinds are frequent in the Genoa bagnio. These are doubtless in a great measure the result of the laxity, the drowsy, easy-going nonchalance, which is too apt to creep into all branches of Italian administration—prisons, post-offices, or whatever they may be. It is the perf, ction of the take-it-easy system. I have no personal knowledge of the internal regulations and arrangements of the bagnio at Genoa, but it appears quite certain that escapes at least are unduly frequent. Last year all Piedmont was in • state of terror in consequence of the escape of half-a-dozen desperate foreats. Of course when I such ruffians, maddened by imprisonment, get loose they immediately commence robbery and murder, and no atrocity is too great for them to commit, There is nothing for it but to hunt them down like wild beasts, for they generally prefer &Itch to a surrender, and when they get into mountainous di, tricts it is not easy to catch tin m. The Nice papers mentioned a day or two ago that in that neighbourhood, on the road to San Pancrazio, some escaped galley slaves front Genoa were lurking, and had molested the inhabitants. The Carabineers were in daily pursuit, bat hitherto in vain, the numerous crossroads fermatas the impunity of the malefactore.—Times.