Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-06-29

anu .ney lalKeo over q great many bust.
ness matters in relation both to the London
and tine Dublin banks, and to some ques-
lions OF mortgages and other Sc curitisa
Heleft Mr.. Neeiham about half past threein
the afternoon, and that was tie Last time
be saw him alive
Henry Nee lham, brother Of the deceased,
next gave evidence of an unimportant char
acter, with the exception of the reproduc.
ton Of the letter with which the reader il
already acquainted. The witness was very
much affected during the reading Of tho
letter, and once or twice was so much over.
cctne that he paused and turnei away his
head to wipe the tears from his eyes. The
dead silence In the court was ample evi.
dance OF the deep sympathy that was felt
fcir the witness and other members of his
family.
Horace Byles. Of the arm of Byles, Grant
q Byles, solicitors, Lombard street. deposed
that on the morning of Friday preceding
his death, the deceased, John Needham.
called upon him and asked for financial as
siGtance in the interests Of the Need ham
Joint Stock bank, showing him Soma tele.
graphic messages he had received from
Dublin on the subject Of their wants pro
pissed several schemes for witness consid-
GRAFTON in regard to raising money, and
after he Horace Byles) told him they were,
not such schemes As he could recommend or
adopt, Needham grew very excited and ex-
claimed, Great Godi II the hank fails it
will be my fault and the ruin of thousands"
He walked about the Office with his hand to
his head, and urged witness to help him.
He hal not been on very friendly terms
WITH Needham for some time previously to
this in terview, On account chiefly Of dis.
appointment in money matters About q
nonth before his death he remembered that
a. security Needham had given him, upon
whichhe had found money for the Irish bank.
had not been registered, and after Need.
ham left on Friday he deter mined to nave
ii registered. There was something so de-
spairing in Needham's manner that he felt
the bank was Oh the eve of collapse During
tine conversation he (witnes) ment oned
this security to Needham, and there was
something SO strange in his manner he
(witness) had sudden sus picioa that there
was something wrong about it, He til ere
fore sent his partner with tne deed to Dub
lin. On arriving there he was not long in
discovering that it was forgery. The
security purported to be a deed given on
the purchase of an estate in the encum-
of tho commissioners and two attestine
witnesses, and not single signature was
genuine. Sensation in court) 1t had a
real seal of the encountered estates court
attached to it, but there was no doub5 it
had been transferred from some other
genuine deed. He twiSness) attributed
,Needham's death to MS excitement about
the Needham bank and 10 his knowledge
that he (witness) was about to send this
deed over to Dublin for registration.
There were rumors of other for ,erias, but
he knew of no other forget deed than his
own Several of Mr.. Naednam's deeds
had from time to time passed through his
hands to persons who had advanced money
upon Them, but he iwitness) had no reason
to believe that any one OF them was not
genuine He did not think anybody en-
toyed the deceased confidence Mr. Need.
ham was very reticent man; it was diff
cult to get any information from him b.
yond what he chose to impar6 He should
think Mr.. Sadler had written the letters
produced under great excitement, and he
believed that some of ths stat ements in
them were not correct
There was then long discussion between
the coroner AMI the witness as to what il
was proper to disclose in regard to the de.
ceased's affairs what might be known and
what migh5 not; and the witness men
tions several circumstances indie ting tho
serious financial difficulties in which Mr.
Nesdham was involved
The inquest was then adjourned until
Thursday, when fresh evjd,nce Of n
long and voluminous character was given.
and other private letters were pro-
duced and the correspondence N The
Times was mentioned in terms anv.
thing but complimentary to MIR. Green.
The coroner also deprecated the fact
that several public journals had discussed
Mr. Green's remarkable statement that he
hal seen ne deceased and ha spoken to
him at Liverpool on the Sunda,, wnen it
was fact beyond all manner of doubt
that the unfortunate gentleman was lying
dead at Hampstead worShouse 1t was not
his business to reply to these things, but he
Thought IT a pity that member OF parlia-
ment should give his countenance to the
new so-cailed spiritualis5ic craz,, which
was the revival of an old delns on much
more worthy of the dark age, than the
present As for the journal which threw
out thu sugses zion that the unfortunate de-
cease1 had procured the corpse Ct some
other person to represent his own, and thus
complete his villanleS by carving off a
large sum OF money and getting away to
some other country, he thought il a mistake
for the writer of that article to waste his
imaginative mowers upon a mere 1e W paper.
instead OF wri6ing stories for The London
journal, or compiling dramas for the trans
pontins sage. No man, he believed. more
than himself appreciated and valued the
freedom of the press but in this matter no
confessed he thought both ed tors and cor
respondents had outstripped the line which
divides Liberty from license.