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

THE DINNER.

The dinter took place at the Victoria Hotel.
Nearly 100 persons were present. They consisted
chiefly of the gentlemen of the locality, though
there were also present gentlemen from Hull, Man-
chester, and other places, as well as some of the
passengers by the Prince Alfred. Viscount Emlyn,
M.P„ who is connected by large possessions with
the locality, presided ; and on his right and left sat
the guests of the evening—Messrs. Pearson and
Coleman. Col. Greville occupied the vice-chair.
After the usual loyal toasts, the CHAIRMAN pro-
posed the " Navy and Army;" which was responded
to by Lieut. Hornby on the part of the navy, and
by Lieut. Gladstone on the part of the army.
The CHAIRMAN, in proposing the toast of the
evening, said he felt grateful to those who attended
on that occasion, and who filled the room so wall.
He hesitated at first to occupy his present post for
fear he should not discharge its duties properly ;
but still the interest he felt in the subject, and in
joining with other gentlemen who resided in the
neighbourhood were such that, however inefficiently
he might discharge his duties, he trusted they
would not allow their interest and sympathy in the
question to be on that account diminished. (Hear,
hear.) Many of those here present recollected
when there was not a house built within half a
mile of the place where he then stood, so that any
person might have asked, like Imogene—

" How far is it
To this blessed Milford ?"
Would, like Imogene, have been obliged to do with-
out an answer. (Laughter.) But things were
changed now, and Imogene would not remain long
unanswered, because persons were now coming to
Milford from all parts of England. (Hear.) He
rejoiced that not only those gentlemen whom they
met to honour on that occasion—he meant those
gentlemen who were connected with the Inter-
colonial Royal Mail Steam-packet Service—were
present, but that others from various parts of Eng-
land were present also. (Hear, hear.) He was
glad that they surveyed with their own eyes the
shores of Milford Haven, for they could then judge
for themselves of its capabilities and merits, and he
trusted they would return to their various homes
with no unfavourable account of what they had
seen. (Cheers.) He was reminded on the present
occasion of the lines of the distinguished poet
Lives of great men oft remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."

He hoped when the pioneers of the commercial in-
terests of these shores had run their course that the
spirit-they kindled would still live on the shores of
the Haven. (Hear, hear.) If he were to speak for
ever he did not know that • he could say more.
frsaotinsfaction and with every desire
Milford, who did not regard
i
(Hear, hear.) There was no man, whether he came
He was sure they were
and would feel that, how-
wfroitmh ktheeygrlaneadteosrt
for its success the commercial enterprise of these
gewveeenlrtelememmueeednh
h.
tyh
eay(Cl
lheer (Cheers.)
alike,. )
might desire to see the success of
their own particular views, all present must see
that the prosperity of any one part would conduce
to the prosperity of all. (Applause.) It was,
therefore,
proposed
with
to thedr greatest heart and confidence,
hh
lbk " Success to the Enterprise
e
honoured with every mark
of
of Messrs. Pearson and Coleman," coupling there-
with the name of Mr. Pearson and Mr. Cave.
. Teahtehutosaiasstmh,aving been
Mr. PEARSON said the manner in which the toast
had been proposed and received made so deep an
impression on him that he scarcely knew how to
express the sentiments he felt. He could assure
them that though he had paid but one visit before
_to this noble harbour, he was glad to have the op-
portunity of meeting again so many of the friends
he then made. (Cheers.) On that occasion he re-
solved to visit Milford Haven, and thought that as
they had been so handsomely treated and, received,
they could not do otherwise than bring their friends
with them. (Cheers.) They did bring their friends
with them, and grateful indeed they felt at the way
in whicby the people of
Milford
day been down to
He been
had recetihvaetd
the mouth of the harbour, and witnessed with lively
h tHhaevyen h.ad
satisfaction its splendid capacities, and• only felt
astonished that the great advantages which nature
endeavoured to bestow on it had not been turned to
account by men of commercial enterprise. He felt
satisfied that Milford only required to be known to
be:appreciated. *(Cheers.-
,He at least gave the

best practical proof of his appreciation of it, because
he brought his steamers there and made it the point
of departure for the mails and for those who were
about to emigrate to Australia. (Cheers.) He felt
satisfied that if the railway company, which had
the trade of the port in their hands, to a consider-
able extent, and if the gentlemen in the neighbour-
hood who were: interested in the matter joined
heart and soul, they might make Milford what it
ought, to be; for it only required to be known to
induce men of commercial importance to come here
so as to make your hitherto comparatively unknown
harbour one of the most important shipping ports
in the country. (Hear.) Mr, Cave who was an
active director in the company would propose " Suc-
cess to Milford Haven." For himself, he begged to
thank them for the handsome manner in which his
health and that of Mr. Coleman had been proposed
and received. (Cheers.)
Mr. CAVE, in a lively speech, proposed " The
Prosperity of Milford Haven," and connected with
the toast the name of Mr. A. F. Ridgway, London.
Mr. RIDGWAY, who has taken a most lively in-
terest in promoting the prosperity of Milford Haven,
and was most warmly received, said that he had
always taken a deep interest in the prosperity of
Milford Haven. He had heard that statements dis-
paraging to Milford Haven had been made, and
that doubts respecting its capacity to receive ships
of large draught of water had been circulated. The
sufficient answer to those statements and doubts
was that it received the Duke of Wellington, the
Terrible, the Windsor Castle, and the largest ships
of her ajesty's navy. (Hear.) Neither the statement of the hon. member for the Tower Hamlets,
who, it would seem, went to and. 'came from India
without much knowledge of tile navigation of his
own country, might say that • Milford Haven was
" an insignificant spot," and the deputy-chairman
of the South Wales line might designate its shores
as barren and desolate, but he defied anyone to dis-
pute the fact that the largest ships in the navy
floated in Milford Haven, or to contradict him when
he stated that the lands about Milford Haven were
not surpassed by any in the county, and he was
borne out in that opinion by an experienced York-
shire farmer, who sat beside him, Mr. Richardson,
who was goinn. to New Zealand to better his for-
tunes, and who told him that he never saw a better
or richer country in his life than around Milford
Haven. (Cheers,) He should recommend them all
to follow the example of Mr, Richardson by emi-
grating with their families when there was not
room enough at home for them. (Hear.) He himself
emigrated from that, his native place, and he was
not the worse for it. (Hear.) They ought not to
consider the land in :which they were born and
bound as their own land, butrather that land which
they could possess free and unencumbered, which
they could do what they likedwith, and which they
could really call their own. (Hear.) He could pre-
sent any proper and suitable man who emigrated to
New Zealand with 40 acres of land for himself, 40
for his wife, and 20 each for two children, free of
all expense, on the single condition that thepassage
out was paid by the emigrant himself. (Hear, hear.)
He believed this was the way to check poor rates
and crimes. But he insisted that the first vessel
which took out the emigrants shouktstart from Mil-
ford Haven, and it was only when the Lord Ashley
sailed from this port that the eyes of Messrs. Pear-
son and Coleman were awakened to the of
this noble harbour, which Lord Nelson declared to be
capable of holding all the navies of the world. (Hear,
hear.) His duty now was to propose the toast of
the entertainers on the present occasion. He would
ask them, as one who wished them well, to bury
all animosities, to discard all jealous feeling on
one side or the other, and to recollect that unless
they first put seed into the ground they could not
expect to reap any fruit. (Hear, hear.) With the
toast of the entertainers he would couple the name
of Mr. M'Lean, a member of the town council of
Pembroke, and a gentleman whotook an active part
in promoting the welfare of Milfoid Haven.
(Cheers.)
_ _

Mr. M'LEAN returned thanks, and expressed his
satisfaction and pleasure at the opportunity which
presented itself of paying a mark of respect totheir
excellent guests on that occasion. He had looked
forward to this evening with anxious anticipation,
and it was his ample reward if any labour of his
had contributed to bring together so splendid and
influential a gathering. (Cheers.) To Milford
Haven he would only apply the idea of Burns, that
nature, after having tried her 'prentice hand on
other places,had formed thisharbour as her master-
piece. (Hear, hear.) In conclusion, he proposed
" The health of the friends who accompanied
Messrs. Pearson and Coleman."

Mr. Justice BLAKENET, who is proceeding in the-
Prince Alfred to the Australian colonies, returned
thanks. 'He was happy to say that whilst there
were hot ten saloon passengers in the four last
vessels that sailed for Australia from the Thames,
the number proceeding in the Prince Alfred from
Milford Haven amounted to nearly thirty. (Cheers.)
Mr. LOCKE proposed the health of the chairman,
who briefly acknowledged the compliment.
Captain JACKSON proposed the next toast, which
was the health of Colonel Grenville, than whom no
man had done more to promote - the welfare o 4
Milford Haven. (Cheers:)
Colonel GRENVILLE returned thanks, and recom-
mended unity amongst themselves as the best mode
of obtaining the object they had in view. As for
himself, he promised that he should be ready with
all the assistance he could afford whenever it was
wanted. (Cheers.)
The next toast was that of Mr. Merrick, a large
landed proprietor in the neighbourhood, which was
proposed by Dr. THOMAS.
Mr. MERRICK having brieily replied,
Colonel GREVILLE proposed the health of the
Captain Superintendent of the Dockyard, who.,e
good wishes were with them, but who was unavoid-
ably absent in consequence of a previous engage-
ment.

At this point of the proceedings Viscount Fmlyn
left the chair and retired. Mr. Ridgway was then
called thereto.

Mr. ROBERTSON proposed the next toast, which
was that of " Ships, Colonies, and Commerce." He
had considerable experience as a merchant and
agent for Lloyd's, in Milford Haven. He had been
in communication with merchants in Liverpool and
London, and from his own experience, as well as
from the testimony of so many mercantile men, he
could speak most highly.of the capabilities of Mil-
ford Haven as a shipping port. Its merits were
even acknowledged by the press of Bristol and Liver-
pool, which might be considered as having an
adverse interest to that of Milford Haven.

Some other toasts were proposed and duly
acknowledged, after which the guests retired.

It ought to be mentioned that the Prince Alfred
is a vessel of 2,000 tons burthen and 400-horse
power. She takes out about 150 passengers,
amongst whom are officers of the army and navy
and others who are otherwise connected with the
imperial government. This is the third vessel
which Messrs. Pearson and Coleman have despatched
in the same service. The engines are on the
angular-trunk principle ; and on her voyage from
London to Milford, her consumption of coal did not
exceed 41b. per horse-power per hour. The
managing engineer of the company, Mr. Topham,
accompanied the vessel to Milford.—Dally .Aretes.

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These Telescopes possess such extraordinary power that
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e
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Glasses, with wonderful powers.
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Albemarle-greet,' Piccadilly, opposito the York Hotel, W.

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
becoming 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 Sunday 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 was, 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 case, and little
information could be elicited from the girl herself.
At one time she spoke to a young woman who was
attending her in a way that led her to believe she
had something of importance to communicate ; but
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, Polmont. 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 haie 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
of the Dr. Girdwood who was called in to attend
the woman at the last. The news of Ann Taylor's
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
materials, wrote a letter, and having put it in an
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 (Hutton'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 tohimself. When they got to Linlithgow
Free ..1-:.;:-.11.glIton 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 thecab 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 party drove back to Falkirk,
where, as he had by this time shown unmistakeable
signs of being really ill, he was taken to M'Naugh-
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 lie was engaged to be married,
but we cannot tell its purport. The unfortunate
young man was about 28 years of age, had the repu-
tation of being a very skilful practitioner, especi-
ally in midwifery cases, and although of somewhat i
irregular habits, was very popular n 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 fromthe 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 may possibly,
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
order to lose no time in putting themselves on his
track, they stopped by a signal the goods train Which
Polmont towards midnight, and proceeded- by
it to Glasgow. Arrived there, Inspector Sii v,
think-
ing it not improbable that Reid
would_ to
pass the night
at some station outside the city, in order go on by
morning train to England,. went along the 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 on 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-
thing—he was lodged in Stirling Gaol the same
evening. We understand that Mr. Hedderwiek,
writer, to whom his defence was entrusted at the
Bank trial, has been engaged to act for him on this
occasion also.
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) did
it ; and that his friend at once urged him to make
his escape while he 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
Falkirk and the!, neighbourhood in regard to this
case, which is truly one of- the most shocking and
painful that could be imagined.