THE MALA VITA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7182, 5 June 1891, Page 4

THE MALA VITA.

AN ITALIAN CRIMINAL ORGANISATION. A cable message to the Melbourne Argus giveß fuller details of the arrest and conviction of a great number of criminals in Italy. The message, dated London, May 25, is as follows : — At the town of Bari, in Italy, a serieß of trials in the Criminal Courtß have been proceeding for a considerable time past, in which much interest has been taken. The offenders were members of a secret Society known as the Mala Vita (Evil Life), a gang of malefactors, who were banded together to rob, assassinate, and exact tribute from those whom they could intimidate. Altogether one hundred and seventynine men were put upon their trial, of whom some ten were accused of additional crimes committed in the Society, such as theft, rebellion, wounding of police, pronouncing and carrying out sentences against individuals, stabbing, violation and abduction. Most of the accused had previously been sentenced, one of them for two homicides. The result of the trials has been the conviction of one hundred and sixty-five of the accused, upon whom sentences have been passed ranging from six months to fifteen years' imprisonment. AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORGANISATION. An account of the organisation of the Society is given in the London Daily News, of which the following iB a portion : — " The title of the Society, 'Mala Vita,' which signifies 'Evil Life,' is taken from a novel by Degia Como, which, at the time of its publication, was tremendously popular in Italy. A person wishing to become a member had to be introduced by a member to the chief of, the Society, who would then instruct another associate to institute a rigorous inquiry as to whether or not the applicant waa worthy of admission. All these negotiations were conducted in a speoies of thieves' Blang. There were three grades of members, each possessing a separate head, and to a certain extent keeping separate acoounts. The chief of the Camorristes held the title of ' Wise Master,' and the Camorristeß were the senior or superior branch of the organisation. When the admission of a new associate had been resolved upon, a meeting of the Beet in which he was to be enrolled waa convened, and, the formality of taking a vote upon the question having been gone through, the candidate waa led into the place of meeting. An interrogatory and interchange of declarations, conducted in the secret dialeut of the body, next ensued. The novice was finally sworn in with great mystery. After the ceremony of initiation, the chief delivered a fantastic harangue, intended to intimidate the new member by impressing him with a due sense of the fearful pains and penalties which would certainly attend any betrayal of the Society's secrets or interests. No one was allowed to join the organisation who had been a gendarme, a policeman or a customhouse officer. The principal object of the Society appears to have been brigandage. In the event of any person selected to carry out the Society's decrees failing to do so, he was visited with the same penalty that he had been deputed to give effect to in the case of another. When a member was promoted to the superior grade, and became a Camorriste, he had to undergo a ceremony similar to that which accompanied his first admission to the Society, with certain additions, such as a mock combat with daggers. He was also obliged to have certain designs or ".hieroglyphics tatooed upon his body by which he would at any future time be identified. The oath of membership was as follows :— ' I swear to abandon father, mother, wife, and children with one foot in the grave and the other in chains, to act against infamy and Bupport humility.' Their principle was that he who has nothing has a right to live at the expense of him who possesses. The chiefs had to correspond with all the members in prison, or in penal colonies and establishments; The profits of theft were given to a cashier, who divided them within the week, the chiefs receiving the largest share. The discovery of the conspiracy and the consequent trial were due to the disclosures of nine members of the Society, who became informers."