Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-12-04
CHAPTER I.
THE RAPID RISE OF JOHN NEEDHAM.


to the genuine history of the body found at
Hampstead In the summer OF 1885, and
registered as case Of felo-de-se by the
coroner for Middlesex and sworn jury of
responsible citizens and rate payers.
When John Needham's dead body was
found on hamps lead heath the reasons for
his suicide were discussed and considered
sufficient to account for his death. Having,
however, regard to the fact that no COM
plete explanation could be arrived at as to
the disposal of the vast sums of money
known to have been in his possession, it was
reported both in Ireland and America that
the tody was not his, ''but one procured to
personate him, while he, during the excite
ment of the supposed self-murder, effected
his escape
The newspapers of the time q have file
of them before me) were full of the tragic
story, and a deceased journalist has in
cluded the history of the case In record Of
1.-THE Commercial Crisis of 1872 l shall
taie the liberty Of borrowing from his
pages the facts of Mr.. Needhams rise and
fal, supplying from my own note books the
solution of the mystery with which the
famous fnanc.er's death has hitherto been
surrounded
Prior to the general election of 1947 John
NeeunaD uau Doen known Dy LIS lo1OW-
townsmen in ireland as respectable man.
Nobody suspected him Of the great capacity
for figures and politics which he eventually
developed. His constituents selected him
to oppose the spirit and influence of Lord
John RusseiPs famous letter to Lord Dur
ham, He was elected a member of parlia-
ment on these simple lines at the general
election of 1S47
A tall, silenj man, John Needham was of
pale complexion, closely shaven, had thin
brown hair, dark blue eyes. hesitating
manner, and was fond of dress, even to
womanishness. His Irish friends called him
'.the fop" He Invariably wore an orchid
in his buttonhole, diamond on the little
finger of his left hand, frill in his shirt
front, and he drove the best horses in
town. At home in Ireland he had been I'M
ostentatious in his ostentatiousness, if one
may be allowed to be paradoxical; for
though be dressed better than his neighbors
he never pretended that he could very welt
afford its and he would associate with the
humblest of them on equal terms.
Bu5 from the moment John Needham ar
rived III London he put on, with his parlia-
mentary honors, the air of the man of
wealth. And he was accepted at his own
protested valuation. He had the special
faculty of impressiveness, 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, polite, a man with an ever-active am
biuion that gave spirit to his natural au-
dacity.
Although in Ireland he affected not to be
rich it is shrewdly believed that he had
60; oh 81 e.,
the influence of his late fathers banking
house, and his own ability as a solicitor, he
obtained the agency CT several Irish proper
ties, and when the act for the establishment
OF the encumbere1 estate commission came
into operation, his knowledge enabled him
to make very advantageous purchases. The
railway mania was also turned to some &C.
count, and it was understood by the party
which nominated him for parliament that
he could well afford to maintain in town a
position of dignity and independence In
his address, at the close IF the poll in his
favor, he sail:
my old friends, if my 1scent is not as
pure Irish as some, believe me my heart is
true to the cause and promise you I am
not going across the Channel to the great.
Saxon city yonder without making your
wants known, nor without big effort to
hani down to posterlty the fame of our
dear old borough; and it is also my inten-
ton to give them cause to remember the
name of John NeedhamP'
And by the powers be did! But when he
entered the modern Babylon, the one in
terest, the one person whom he represented
and meant to represent, was his own in
te.est; the one person, himself.
For such character as John Neelham."
says the historian, ''ths period was pecu-
liarly favorable 1t was a time when fiaan-
Gal acumen, and reputation for it, was of
especial value Mr. Needham knew how to
advertise himself without appearing to do
so. 1t seemed as if London had been wait
ing for him, so quickly were his services in
request am ng the great financial corpora
lions Of the day. The name of John Need
ham, Esq, M. P, was name to coniure
with. A. the head of a new board. BANKING
or railway, it gave a new value to the com-
peny's scrip He pervaded the atmosphere
of any institution which he patronized with
sense of security
In all his engagements he was punctuality
itself. His house in Portland place was
model Of luxurious simplicity He gave
dinners that were the talk of epicures, not
for the elai orate character of the menu, but
for the perfection of the cooking and SER
vice and the excelien CO of the wines. Within
a year of his coming to London be was
chairman Of a great foreign railway.