The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-10 00:00:00

. -
- -
NEWSPAPER
• ,
, rt.
"14 •5 •dr • 11%, . 111;:c
gp
le I 7l • - T 712 T A Ritry.
'
I - .41 -A At
- •
N._ ‘kt \
83-Ir " ' ,y art - 11 S
.•••••
..,... 411"....a. '
/I' tn .eins
117,1",
0.

The whole of the 5,000 rt foreements of cox.
and infantry selected by the Government to pro-
ceed to India have now been despatched, the last of
. the detachments having embarked at Gravesend
yesterday, on board the Blervie -Castle, 600 tons,
Capt. G. 314-lardy. They consisted of reinforce-
ments--for the 7th Dragoon Guards, 27th EnrtiskW,:
lens, 61st, 70th, 81st, 87th Royal Irish Fitsiliers, -,
94th, and 98th Regts., to the number of 200- men of ,
all ranks, with 6 officers ; they proceed to 'Kurra-
dice. On the previous day the' last' of 'tilt troops
Bfiiiotnhi
iCteogleth.,efsit.oerm;
Winchester
Capt. D. Morriee; they. consisted of detachments of
Gravesend'und e r or de
or
isi to
board 1)1 oteleiec alvtaolill, _Madras embarked
t 6 o6tant:4,t
the Ist Dragoon Guards and I.lflrLaiiF6r-STE-O-fli
Canterbury and Maidstdne ; 44th and. 06th Regtk.,
enechbe
from Aberdeen ; 68th Light Infantry and 69th Re-
giment, from Fermoy ; and the Royal Artillery
from Woolwich, to the number of 240 men of all
asttetarl;ion74sti6loth
ranks. ]During the present summer reinforcements
of upwards of 10,000 men have been despatched to
unless any un-
foreseenßifles Highlanders, and
India,
case there are
with the Enfield rifle, and are in other respects fit
to take the field immediately after landing. With
the exception of the two regiments of the line or-
dered to embark on the 18th inst., the war autho-
aforriseths,eipnrewsehnicth,
rities do not intend forwarding; any additional rein.-
f o t•
at, the present moment at least 5,060 troops imme-
diately available.
c e
m enemergencysto India

PRICE 4D. STAMPED, SD.

T*,E ALLEGED 31-UldiEl AND SUICIDE
AT POLIIION2:

The Edinburgh Daily Express furnishes the fol-
lowing further particulars of the very'distressing
case at Polmont, an outline of which we Published
yesterday
Ann 1 aylor, a domestic servant in the house of
Mrs. Reid, Smallburn, near Polmont, was taken
violently ill on Sunday afternoon, and gradually
beeoming worse during the rest of that day, was
visited by Dr. Myrtle, who had been .sent for on
Monday forenoon. From what she could be got to
tell as to what was the matter with her,Dr. Myrtle
concluded it was an ordinary case of bodily derange-
ment, and treated it accordingly. The girl, how-
ever, appeared to get gradually worse, and would
in all probability have died without disclosing the
real cause of her illness, had it not been for one of
those extraordinary incidents Which, occurring as
they do in circumstances like the present, almost
stagger -belief, and make truth seem • stranger and
less credible than fiction. The girl's mother, a
widow woman living in the suburbs of Linlithgow,
was disturbed on Stinday night by a dream that
her daughter was at times suffering intense agony
from some cause or other. So deep an impression
did this dream make upon her mind, that though
entirely ignorant of the condition in which the
poor girl `vas, she started • off for Smallburn
the next forenoon, and arrived there to find
her fears only too completely confirmed—for
her daughter was by this time racked by ex-
cruciating pains, and fast sinking beyond the hope
of recovery. The doctor was at a loss to account
for the aggravated symptoms of the ease,- and little
information could be elicited from the girl herself.
At one time she spoke to a young woman who wasl
attending her in a way that led her to believe she
had something of importance to communicate.; butt I
William Reid, her mistress's. son, entering the room
at that moment,. she remained silent. When her
mother came, however,- she made, according to the
old woman's story, a clean breast of the whole:
affair ; confessed that she was enceinte by Reid,
and described the treatment she had been subjected
to in order to procure abortion. Dr. Myrtle having
been immediately informed of these disclosures;
found that she had been operated upon as she had
stated, and delivered her. After this the unfortu-
nate woman sank rapidly, and another medical man,
Dr. Girdwood, sen., was sent for; before he arrived
she was dead. On the following day a post mor-
tem examination of the body was made by Dr.
Forrest, Stirling ; Dr. Hamilton, Falkirk.; and Dr.
Myrtle, Pohnont. The report made by these gen-
tlemen, and which is in the hands of the authori-
ties, has of course been kept private ; but we under-
stand that it is to the effect that the uterus was
found to have been pierced in two places, one on
each side, by some instrument, and that death had
been caused by the excessive hemorrhage produced
by these wounds. The deceased was about 23
years of age.
We now come to the second part of this shocking
case—the suicide of Dr. Girdwood, jun., the son I
of the Dr. Girdwood who was called in to attend
the woman at the last. The news of Ann Taylor's I
death, it was observed, threw young Girdwood
into a state of great excitement. He was seen on
the Monday evening going about apparently much
agitated ; and about nine o'clock at night went to a
public-house in the High-street, kept by a man
named M‘Naughton, where he called for writing
Imaterials, wrote a letter, and having put it in an
I envelope, said it was not to be posted before ten
o'clock next morning. At the same time he sent to
Mr. Cochrane, the druggist, for 4oz. of laudanum,
which having been got for him, he told
M'Naughton he wanted to go to Linlithgow that
night and despatched him to hire a cab. One was
procured at the Railway Hotel (lutton's), and
Girdwood, along with M‘Naughton, whose company
he insisted upon having, set off for Linlithgow. The
label on the laudanum bottle must have been torn
off by Girdwood at the Railway Hotel, for it was
afterwards found on the floor; and it is supposed
that he swallowed the poison upon getting into the
cab. Soon after they had left Falkirk he fell into a
sort of uneasy sleep, and was heard moaning and
muttering to himself. When they got to Linlithgow
Free Church, M'Naughton thinking it proper to
awaken him before they came to their destination
—which was the house of a family in that town
with whom Girdwood was acquainted, and to one
of the members of which he was engaged to be mar-.
ried—got him lifted out of the carriage with the
help of the driver. This roused him from his slum-
ber, and all at once he became violently excited,
Shouting and creating such a disturbance, that they
were glad to put him back into the cab again. They
then drove to the house where Girdwood said he
wished to call; but as it was by this time 12 o'clock
at night, and as he continued to conduct himself in
the same disorderly and excited manner, the people
in the house would not admit him ; and turning the
horses' heads, the panty drove back to Falkirk,
where, as he had by this time shown unmistakeable
signs of being really ill, he was taken to M'lNaugh-
! ton's and laid upon a sofa in one of the rooms. The
cab was at once 'sent for his father, who hastened
to the house, but only to find that his son was dead.
The letter which the deceased had written was on
his person when he died, and is now in his father's
possession. It is understood to be addressed to the
young lady to whom he was engaged to be married,
but we cannot tell its purport. The unfortunate
young man was about 28 years of ago, had the repu-
tation of being a very skilful practitioner, especi-
ally cases, and although of somewhat
irregular habits, was very popular in Falkirk and
its vicinity. As may be supposed, his death, con-
nected as it is surmised to be with the death of the
young woman, has made a deep sensation.
Immediately on discovering what had been done
to Ann Taylor, Dr. Myrtle gave notice to the police
authorities, and suspicion falling on Reid as being
concerned in the affair, a warrant was at once issued
for his apprehension. As our readers will remem-
ber, this young man, along with a fellow-clerk, was
convicted last autumn of having abetted the late
Mr. Salmon in his embezzlements from the Falkirk
Commercial Bank, but was set at large before the
expiry of the term of imprisonment to which he was
sentenced, on a strong representation having been
made to the Secretary of State by a large number
of the inhabitants of Falkirk. Since his liberation
he has been residing with his mother at Smallburn,
and it is supposed he had taken advantage of Mrs.
Reid's absence from home on Sunday forenoon to
perform the operation on the poor girl which re-
sulted in her death. What share in the deed is to
be attributed to him, and what to Girdwood—by
which of the two the instruments were used—is, of
course, shrouded in a mystery, which maypossibly,
however, be dispelled by the evidence of the girl's ,
mother. From the ragged nature of the wounds,
it is inferred that they were the work of an un-
skilled hand ; and hence rumour seems to attribute
them to Reid himself, and to limit Girdwood's guilt
to supplying the instruments. Be that as it may,
however, a warrant was, as we have mentioned,
issued on Monday night for Reid's apprehension.
This was placed in the hands of Superintendent
Shaw and Sergeant Crawford, of the Falkirk police,
who immediately went to Polmont, and found that
Reid, who had spent the day in Falkirk, had gone
home towards evening, packed up a few clothes,
and started by the 9.33 p.m. train for Glasgow. In
.s
order to lose no time in putting themselves 01-1111 A
midnight, track, they stopped by a signal the good s train
passes Polmont towards and proceededw
by
it to Glasgow. Arrived there, Inspector Shaw,think-
ing it not improbable that Reid NN:ould pass the night
at some station outside the city, in order to go On by
morning train to England, went along
_ t h
Cale-
donian line as far as Carlisle, but without finding
any trace of the fugitive._ _
.He then returned to.
Glasgow, where he placed himself at the terminus
of the Caledonian Railway. He had not waited
there long when he saw Reid coming up the street
towards the station, and at once apprehended him.
It appears to have. been Reid's intention to proceed
to Liverpool by train, and probably to escape thence
to Australia or America. The prisoner's luggage
was found at Mr. Josez's Hotel, Queen-street, where
he had taken a bed the previous evening, and where
he had passed under the name of Hardy—the same
name being,.gn his portmanteau. He was conveyed
back to Falkirk by the afternoon train ; and after
undergoing an examination before Sheriff-Substi-
tute Liston, and emitting a " declaration"—which,
it is said, was simply that he declined to state any-
thinq—he was lodged in Stirling Gaol the same
evening. We understand that Mr. Hedderwick,
writer, to whom his defence was entrusted at the
Bank trial, has been engaged to act for him on this
I occasion also.

rtheuy
areed
An order has arrived at Chatham from the War-
office prohibiting the discharge of any non-commis-
sioned officer or man who may have completed 11
years' are
wmhei de ihc ae lal etrn
to be discharged with the pension to which they
may be entitled:
ae
unfitrs ' service, efroNii. c
further
u r
tuhnel
re unless
service, t
The whole of the troops in garrison were yester-
day paraded on Woolwich-common for the mspec-
tion of Col. Bloomfield, acting commandant, and
marched past in slow and quick time. The bat-
talions of Royal Artillery were commanded by
Lieut.-Colonel and Brevet-Colonel.Benn, 11th bat-
talion ; the Royal Horse Artillery, bv Lieut.-Coton
Maude the field batteries, by Col. Teesdale ;. the
battalions of. Royal Marines, by Lieut.-Cononel
Fleming. ; the Royal Antrim Rides, by Colonel the
Marquis of Donegan; and the Riding House troop,
by. Lieut.-Colonel Henry.
The following changes in the stations of the
cavalry will take place during the latter part of
this month :-Ist Dragoons, from Dublin to Cahir;
2d, Dublin to Edinburgh and Hamilton ; 3d, New-
bridge to Dublin ; 4th Light Dragoons, Aldershott
to Exeter ; sth Lancers, Newbridge to Dublin ; 10th •
Hussars, Sheffield to Newbridge ; 13th Light Dra-
goons, Dublin to Aldershott, to relieve 4th Light
Dragoons ; 16th Lancers, from Edinburgh to Nor-
wich and Ipswich.
Owing to the increased strength of cavalry regi-
ments not more than two will in future remain in
Dublin. Island-bridge barracks will, in future, be
the head-quarters of the Military Train in Ireland.

MILITIA.
The Limerick Militia, from Aldershott, arrived
yesterday at Portsmouth (the head-quarters), and
about 500 men proceeded to Parkhurst Barracks.
The remaining companies will be quartered in the
Anglesea Barracks, Portsca.

Vv
Report says, that on the Monday a friend met
Reid in Falkirk, and told him of the girl's death,
upon whiCh he seemed desirous to treat it lightly,
saying,Oh, Tom (meaning young Girdwood) Id
it ;" and that his friend at once urged him to -make
his escape while lie could. From the highly
respectable nature of the family connections of both
Reid and Girdwood, and their wide circle of
acquaintance, the greatest excitement prevails in
Fidlurk and-the neighbourhood in regard to this
case, which is truly one of the most, shocking and
painful that ?quid be imagined.