The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-17

I
| HAM. NJ. p
| Prior to the general election of 1Si7 John
Needham had been known by his felow-towns
met as respectable and stanch Roman
Catholic. Nobody suspected him of the great
capacity for figures and politics which he
eventually developed The clerical authorities,
who had then, as now, good deal OF political
power in Ireland, selected him to uphold the
interest Of the Pope and oppose the spirit and
influence of Lord John Russelrs famous letter
to Lord Durham. He was elected a member of
Parliament on these simple lines at the general
election of 1847.
| A TALL silent man, John Needham was of pale
complexion, closely shaver, had thin brown
hair, dark blue eyes, hesitating manner.
and was fond of dress, even to womanish-
ness. His Irish friends called him the
| fop" He invariably wore an orchid in his but
| ton hole, diamond on the little finger of his
left hand. a frill in his shirtfront, and he drove
| the best horses in town. At home, in Ireland
he had been transformations in his ostentatious-
ness, if one may be allowed to be paradoxical;
for though he dressed better than his neighbors,
he never pretended that he could very well af-
ford it, and he would associate with the humblest
| of them on equal terms.
| But from the moment John Needham arrived
in London he put on, with his parliamentary
| honors, the air OF a man of wealth. And he
| was accepted at his own professed valuation. He
| had the special faculty of impressiyeness, the
capacity to inspire trust, the power of influence;
| and whatever natural gifts he possessed he had
| the art to exhibit them without appearing to do
| so. He was essentially clever man, vain, poll
| tic, man with ever-active ambition that gave
spirit to his natural audacity.
| Although in Ireland he affected not to be rich,
It's shrewdy believed tina. he had amassed fair
share of money; for through the influence of his
| late fathers banking house, and his own ability
as solicitor, he obtained the agency of several
Irish properties, and when the act for the estab-
| l'shment of the encountered estates commission
came into operation, his knowledge enabled him
| to make very advantageous purchases. The
railway mania was also turned to some account
and it was understood by the party which nom-
mated him for Parliament that he could we'll af
| ford to maintain IN town position of dignity
| and independence. In his address at the close Of
| the poll in his favor, he said,
| MY old friends, if my descent is not pure
Irish as some, believe me my heart is true to the
| cause, and / promise you am not going across
the channel to the great Saxon city yonder with
| out making your wants known without
big effort to hand down to posterity the fame of
our dear old borough: and it is also my intention
to give them cause to remember the name of
John Needham"
And by the powers, he did! But when he
entered the modern Babylon, the one interest,
the one person whom he represented and meant
| to epresent, was his own Interest," the one per
son, himself.
For such character as John Needham,"
| says the historian, 1.-THE period was peculiarly
favorable especially when backed by the quiet,
|
Roman Catholic party inevitably extends to
those of its proteges whose active exertons it
requires for the enhancement and extension of
its own authority"
1t was time when financial acumen, and
reputation for it, was of especial value. Mr..
Needham knew how to advertise himself without
been waiting for him, quickly were his
ices in request among the great financial corpo-
rations of the day The name of John Needham,
Esq., NJ p, a name to conjure with. AT
the head of new board banking railway, it
gave new value to the companys scrip. He
pervaded the atmosphere of any Institution
which he patronized, with sense of security
In all his engagements he was punctuaity
itself His house in Portland place model
: of luxurious simplicity. He gave dinners that
were the talk of epicures. not for the elaborate
character of the menu but for the perfection of
the cooking and service, and the excellence of
the wines Within year of his coming to Lon
don he was chairman of great foreign railway,
!, director of two lines running out of London,
managing editor of the Civic Credit Company,
director of the Valley-road Iron and Colery
| Company chairman of the Steam Shipping
, Corporation. and the financial adviser of many
other equally notable undertakings Not alone
did his Irish friends consult him in their affairs,
but English lords and bishops, and great city
financiers invested moneys in any direction that
his judgment favored
But perhaps" says the historian, 'the most
extraordinary circumstance in his metropolitan
career was his appointment to the very
! hla nf ahnip nff hla
National English and County Bank. That
he had some little banking experience was
true enough. The Needham Joint Stock
!, bank of Ireland was creation Of his own
His grandfather had established bank at Sligo
which had carried on for many years a very
limited and as far as is known, very safe
business. When John Needham first put up for
| u financier, he changed the character of this
little bank in which he had acquired suf-
ficient influence for the purpose, into joint
stock company placing his brother Henry at its
head as manager and sole director Still the in
fatuation which led the National, English and
county board to appoint him as their chairman,
when he had not been known in London hardly
a year, and the Endorsement of it by the share
holders is almost unaccountable.' lie was faith
| ful to his great trust, nevertheless; and it is
worth the while of some close student of human
nature to analyZe the character of John Needham
with view to discover how far his career was
influenced by naturally vicious nature, to what
extent an inordinate vanity may have moulded
it; or whether. he was the victim of misdi-
rected and unfortunate ambition.
If he did well by the famous London Ebank, it
also did we'll by him. 1t gave him prestige it
Endorsed to the full all the favorable reports that
had been circulated in regard to his frst-class
business qualifications; it gave color to the pre-
diction of journalistic gossip that ne would one
day DE elevated to the position of her Majestys
Chancellor of the Exchequer. There was, how
ever, one great barrier to his political advance
ment Not alone his religion, but his known
pledges TO the Catholic party his championship
of what was then known as The Irish Brigade"
But Mr.. John Needham not the man to
allow any trfe of this kind to stand in his way
When certain parliamentary whip asked him
if the distinctly Protestant government of the
day could count upon his undivided support and
service as Junior Lord of the Treasury. Mr.