The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-28 00:00:00

T.IIE LAST SCOTCH .HANGUAN.

John Murdoch, who, until disabled by age and infir•
mity about four years ago, had officiated for a length.
ened period as the finisher of the law in Glasgow, and
who was the last hangman who is ever likely to be in
the ordinary pay of the corporation, has himself at
length " shuffled off this mortal coil." For a period of
about 20 years his stalwart form and grim visage (par-
tially concealed by an old high-necked waterproof) were
seen as the presiding genius at every scaffold which was
erected throughout Scotland, and at not a few in the
north of England. Murdoch, who was a baker, carve
to G:asgow from the north upwards of 20 years since,
and was even then in advanced life. He was in poor
circumstances, and contrived to get some hum'ile em-
ployment about the corporation property. It hap-
pened that, about this time; Tam Young—the last func-
tionary who had a formal appointment and a regular
salary, and who wore the executioner's official cos-
tume—was getting rather shaky, and, accordingly,
Murdoch was retained as a sort of assistant, or
stand-by. Oa Young's death he got a monopoly of
the trade, such as it is ; but, as he had neither the
official appointment nor the regular pay, he was remu-
nerated by the job. He took to the work quite genially,
and, as he regarded his own functions as perfectly ne-
cessary to good government, he did not fail to he on
perfectly comYortable terms with himself. As his person
became known in Glasgow, however, he found it con-
venient for his comfort to remove from the city, and took
up his residence sometimes in Paisley, sometimes in
Kilmarnock, sometimes in the adjacent villages—such
as Motherwell—and he has even been recognized offi-
ciating as a pastrybaker's assistant at one of our fashion-
able Clyde watering-places. The tidings of a murder case
at a Glasgow circuit always drew him forth. As soon
as the judges eat down he reported his presence to the
authorities, and then waited patiently, in the hope that
the man would be hanged. After sentence was pro-
nounced he felt all right. That the mind of the magi- I
strates might be kept perfectly easy as to no accident
taking place at the eleventh hour--for in this case, ac-
cording to the old notion, the yeungest Baillie must do
the work—old Murdoch always lodged himself in prison
a week or ten days before the event, where he had bed
and board at the public expense, and thus be was certain
to be forthcoming when needed on the morning of the
execution. But, unfortunately for Murdoch, Glasgow
alone did not afford employment enough to support a
man of this trade when "paid by the piece," and accord-
ingly be laid himself out as a peripateti6 finisher of the
law in general ; and we suppose he referred to the ma-
gistrates of Glasgow for his character and qualifications.
In this way it was his lot to string unfortunates up at
Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, Ayr, Perth, Dundee,
Stirling, and in various towns in the north of Engladd,
such AR Newcastle, Carlisle, &c. Taking a pleasure in
his work, he held anything in the shape of a reprieve or
commutatien in mortal detestation, and used to say that
the ridiculous weakness of the Government did him out
of the best job he was ever likely to have—viz., the
hanging ,if Frost, Williams, and Jones, ftr which em-
ployment he was the favoured candidate. We have said
he took a pleasure in his revolting work. He officiated,
for instance, upon the two murderers Doolan and Red-
ding, who slaughtered a railway gauger while the Edin-
burgh and Glasgow line was being constructed, 16 years
years ago, and who were executed in a field close to the
scene of the crime. As Murdoch stood at the bottom of
the scaffold immediately after the men had been thrown
off, one of the authorities remarked that Doolan had
not been properly handled, as ho struggled, and suffered
much. "It's hie am fau't," said Murdoch, "aocht wad ser'
him but he wad tak' a jump when the drag geed doon ;
but see, sir, hoo kindly Redding's slippin' awa" (dying).
The last occasion on which Murdoch officiated in Glas-
gow, or anywhere else, we presume, was at the execu-
tion, in Oct. 1851, of a man named Hare for a murder
committed in Blantyre. He was then 84 years of age,
and was so lame with rheumatism that he had to hirple
after the criminal to the gallows by the aid of a staff ;
but, once there, the old fellow did his duty with nerves
of steel. Although there have been, unhappily, other
occasions of the same kind since, the magistrates of Glas-
gow could not trust Murdoch again, and accordingly
they culled in the help of Calcraft, who, we trust, will
be found perfectly able to do all the work of this kind
which is required over the United Kingdom. Murdoch,
being thus laid aside, went. to the charming village of
B Ahwell, where, happily, his " antecedents" were un-
known, excepting to one or two, who generously kept
the secret ; and here he died on Saturday, the 15th inst.
He was maintained for the last few years by a monthly
dole from the Corporation of Glasgow, which was dis-
guised, to the public, under the head of " criminal ex-
penditure," and he will be the last official of the kind,
we trust, who will permanently have a place on the Cham-
berlain's books. He was not a native, and had no claim
on Glasgow excepting that which abject destitution gave
him, and that he had been useful in performing neces-
sary, but very vile functions. Had Glasgow left him to
starve, it would not have been an easy matter to fix the
Orish liable for the support of a wandering hangman
approaching 90 years of age.

TEIN CONSIMVATIVE LAND Soomr.—The 14th quar-
terly general meeting took place at Exeter-hall, on
Thursday ; Viscount Ranelagh in the chair. The noble,
lord submitted a very satisfactory statement of the so-
ciety's affairs during the quarter, observing that the
executive committee bad deemed it expedient to exercise
great caution at the present period, before they resumed
active operations in the sale of the unallotted land, and
in the acquisition of new properties. The total cash
receipts to March 25, 1856, amounted to 224,0061.85. ld.
The quarterly returns showed an increase of about 1,2001.
on the previous quarter. The return of rights showed
5,233, of which 2,300 were unexercised. The total sale
of laud amounted to 135,3711. 12s. ; for the present
quarter to 2,3211. 10s. 6d. The committee announced
that the following estates would be allotted on the 3d of
April : —Maldon, South Essex; St. Catherine's Close,
Liacoln • Roundhill. Brighton, third portion • and
Brocklyl'
ill, Forest-hill, Kent, reserved lots; to be fol-
lowed, at an early date, by the Woodbury-park estate,
Tunbridge-wells. The Earl of Bective, M.P., has been
elected a member of the executive. A drawing took
place for 100 rights of choice, and 50 were added by
seniority.