THE BLACK DREAD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 46, 23 February 1901, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE BLACK DREAD.

HOW THE MAFIA OF SICILY GO TO

WORK,

If I live I will kill thee; If I die I forgive thee!

A weird type is that described in that wonderfully vivid 'and picturesque account of twenty centuries of life and progress in Sicily, Calabria and Malta, which Mr F. Marion Crawford has just published through Messrs Macmillan under the title of "The Rulers of the South," says the "Daily Express." As a matter of fact, the reference is to that black-hatted, long-cloaked figure which used to be a familiar bogie in transpontine drama, and was known then, as now, as "The Mafia."

How the Mafia vfiist arose historians seem to differ. Mr Marion Crawford holds that its present development is due to the great corruption which existed under the Bourbons, and especially in the police of that time, the consequence of which was a general tendency on the part of the Sicilians to do justice among themselves. "One of the principal functions of the Mafia is indeed to decide differences and dispense justice without appealing or submitting to the decision of a tribunal.

"Another principal' element is the Sicilian character itself, which is bold but extremely reticent, and is deeply imbued with a peculiar sense of honour. According to this code a man who appeals to the law against a fellow-man is not only a fool but a coward, and he who" cannot take care of himself without the protection of the police la both.

ODD SENSE OF HONOUR.

"It is therefore logical that every Sicilian should do his utmost to hamper and Impede the actions of both, and it i« reckoned as cowardly to betray an offender to justice, even though the offence be against oneself, as it would be not to avenge- an Injury by violence. It is even regarded as dastardly and contemptible In a wounded man to betray the name of his assailant, because if he recovers he must naturally expect to take vengeance himself. "The obligation to conceal the name of the assassin or other offender extends to all those who chunce to be witnesses of the crime, and it is even considered their duty to hide the criminal from the police if he is pursued. The code requires an innocent man to go to penal servitude for another rather than betray the culprit, and cases are not rare in which Sicilians, though innocent, have undergone long .terms of imprisonment, and have even died in prison rather than give Information to the police. "The men who., have distinguished themselves in questions of 'honour' and shown themselves on many occasions to be thorough- Mafiusi become the CapiMafla of the district." The Capi-Malia in country districts ure subordinate to the chiefs in the cities, from whose decision there is no appeal. Anyone, whether n MafHiHo or not, who refuses to obey that verdict is killed.

HOW THE MAFIA PUNISH.

"The shot is fired from behind a wall or in a shady grove at dusk, and In the total absence of witnesses the moat scrupulous Inquiry very rarely even leads to an arrest, and never to a conviction. It is not a. light, but an execution approved by all. It may be that the Capo-Mafia's decision was perfectly fair; in any case the man knew what he risked In disobeying' it, and his friends are not surprised at his death, nor do they seek to avenge it. , "On the rare Occasions when a Mafiuso is arrested, his friends and relations appeal to their Capo-Mafia in Palermo, and he at once institutes a most scrupulous inquiry into the man's antecedents. If it is found that the: prisoner has throughout his life strictly obeyed the principles and the commands of the society, its vast machinery Is instantly set in motion to secure his release or acquittal, money is spent unsparingly, though the accused be penniless, scores, and sometimes Hundreds, of witnesses are secured for the defence, and the strongest arguments appear in the man's favour in the most accredited newspapers. The man v id, of course, proved innocent. -w

"If, on the other hand, the inquiry shows that the man has once failed in his duties as a Mafiuso, the Capo-Mafla refuses all help, not v witness will dare to appear in his favour, and he is dealt with by the law without opposition. A stranger might think that the law has triumphed in such; a case, but it has not; it has executed a. verdict; already given by the Mafia. FILLING THE. MAFIA COFFERS.

"It is the business of the country Capo-Mafla to make "demands upon rich land-holders for sums of money when funds are needed by 'the society. A Mafiuso, great or small, pays at once. But there .are many large land-holders who try to resist.

"Two hundred and nineteen letters demanding money have fallen into the hands of the police cf Palermo within seven years. Several are dated, and most of them begin, 'Dear Sir,' or 'Dear Friend,' while, they- ail conclude by threatening the life of the person addressed, and often the lives of all his family. The place to which the money, sometimes as much as 10,000fr., is to be taken is always indicated with extreme clearness, and in several cases the name of the person who is to bring: it is given, and that person is generally someone in the victim's employment.

"From threatening- letters to highway robbery there is but a step. Upon the road that leads from Palermo to Misllmerl there is a hamlet called fortella dl Mare, which is famous for the number of attacks made upon travellers.' In the whole province of Palermo there were 1032 highway robberies between the years 1893 and 1899 inclusive."

Besides the Mafln there are the ordinary brigands of Sicily, so that what law and order do manage to exist there obviously exist only on sufferance.