BRUTAL EXECUTION OF A JEW.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 531, 5 December 1857, Page 4

BRUTAL EXECUTION OF A JEW.

A letter fr-om Tunis, of the 30th June, gives details of the extraordinary execution of a Jew for alleged blasphemy of the Mahometan religion, which has been men- : tioned by telegraph;-—" A Jew carter was,: a few days ago, driving his vehicle along ■ a faubourgh of Tunis, when, on arriving i at one of the gates, his horse stumbled, and, in so doing, threw the cart on one side in such a way as nearly to touch a young Mussulman, who happened to be The Mussulman immediately Reaped invectives on the Jew, and the fatter, who was heated with drink, replied -ang*riiyv What the Jew actually said is not iknown, "but the young Mussulman crieti-out. that he had been guilty of blasphemy bj: cursing, the lavv- of the Prophet. This'declaration was heard by several per,sons,- ; anjS iiimediately the news, that an Israelite had Vblasphemed Mahomet, spread like wildfire aioiongst the fanatical populates of the ..jie^?hbourhood. A crowd insta'atly assemble^ and began ill-treating the ••unfortunate JUW> anc*two men °f *aw who were present'\ immediately drew up a written record .-of \tue* act, which eighty persons.-=at;leaskaign^*>d> alleging that they heard the blasphenrA witil their own ears--TVith great difficulty t\ 'ie Jew was rescued from the mob, md before the douleki (justice of the p\ 9ace)- The func" WPSWrv, after hearing ,tht- : ; 'charge,.osdergdhirai;to:&ee.ast into; prison,. and he made a report!*® the' Bey. The referred the raatterto the charra, a tribti, aal composed rf alHhe sliiefs of the MussuL man religion. That fcodj heard the eighty 'witnesses, and,-without paying- any ©tten\ *. lon to tne denial .of the Jew, or to 'his t\ eclaration that Tie was intoxicated, unanim^usly declare'd'him :gmlty of blasphemy, i\ my- condemned 3nm to death! In appeaA 'xr*g before "the tribunal, the poor wrett\ * heavily chained hand and foot, anc:: - "a"> besides, chains round his neck and \ body, graced in such .a way that he could not move without pain. He had, indeed, \°f en thus chained ever since his arrest. '.\The news of the condemnation caused *■$"■$ greatest consternation amongst the SSurO. 1" ■pean and Jewish communities, and th \9 Tvife and children of" the unfortunate ,xaan\ ran to and fro in the: Frank part of the \ town, imploring intervention in fhis-behalf. ; M. Rousseau, interpreter of **tb.e Frenek i consulate, in the absence- .of the consulgeneral, went to the tribunal, which was still sitting, to, obtain a delay in the execu■tipn of the sentence, in order that the; rcpnsulrgenexal.of France might have time -\® appeal to,.the Bey On the matter. With some reluctance the tribunal consented to; uostpone execution from that day, which' -vas Thursday^ the 25th, to the following" Sunday- The French consul-general, .M.J., Hocb.es, on being informed ot -what had!., taken r place, went on Frjdaiy to^the Bey,; \yha was at I<a Marsa, apd "insisted on" "being- instantly received. He found the Bey surrounded by all.,his great function-' aries, and he,entreated him to accord .the pardon ; .of the Jew, or at least to commute. his sentence^ but, in-spite of all he urged,, the Bey decided that the sentence of the cliaiTa must be .executed. Such, he said; was the.law.of the Prophet, as set forth in the Koran; and" be added that he considered himself guilty of impiety for having permitted tbe execution to be ,de-; kyed even for ..a few hours. "The consul' ■made an energetic protest,'but it produced \ no effect, and he then left. No sooner: liad he done so than ;the Jew, who had .been'brought to JSia^Marsa, and placed In' ..a dungeonTwhich is. set apart to persons; .condemued to 4ea : %.-was Ibrbught in,arid. ■the sentence was read to him. The -exeeu-; ti oners immediately dragged the man io> tlie place of execution, aud'there a scene^

of a most horrible kind took place. The condemned was beaten in different parts of his person with the flat of a sword, stabbed in seventeen places, and otherwise. brutally ill-treated; then his head was severed from his bodyj and when this was , done, the populace, who had been yelling ' roung the victim like tigers, seized the head, dragged out the eyes, and with poignards hacked off the ears and nose, which they threw to the dogs. They then barbarously mutilated the body, and loaded it with stones. It was not until some hours after that the Jews of Tunis were able to obtain the remains of the victim to bury them. On arriving at the town, they found a furious mob assembled at the gates, with the intention, as it is supposed, of dragging the remains through the gutters, but by a stratagem of the Jews, the mob were baulked of their horrible design. It should be stated that the consuls of the European Powers represented at Tunis joined their efforts to those of the French consul to save the man. The Jewish community have presented an address to the French consul, imploring the French Government to take measures to prevent a repetition of such an outrage."