John Cash Neild (4 January 1846 – 8 March 1911) was an Australian politician who served as the member for the Paddington electorate in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for three intermittent periods between January 1885 and June 1901. After Federation Neild was elected as a senator representing New South Wales in the federal parliament, where he served until June 1910.
Although he spent his political career as a back-bencher, Neild had a prominent public profile due to his tenacious advocacy for causes he had taken up. In 1886 Neild, a supporter of free trade, delivered a tactical speech in the New South Wales parliament opposing customs duties of nearly nine hours duration, a feat for which he was dubbed 'Jawbone' Neild. In 1896 he published a book of verse, which became a source of satire due to Neild's liberal usage of archaic language. His dogged determination and financial problems led to the downfall of the George Reid's government in 1899, when it was revealed that Reid had been persuaded to advance an expenses payment to Neild, for a report into old-age pensions, without previous parliamentary consent. In 1896 Neild was one of the founders of a volunteer military corps called St. George's English Rifles, serving as its commanding officer from its inception until 1905. His dual roles of military officer and politician led to disputes with those in the higher chain of command (including an incident in 1899 when Neild was placed under 'open arrest' for insubordination). Neild was a frequent subject of satire by writers, cartoonists and his political opponents.
Biography
Early life
John Cash Neild was born on 4 January 1846 in Bristol, England, the second son of John Cash Neild and Maria (née Greenwood). His father was a surgeon and his mother was the daughter of a banker.Craig Wilcox (2000), Neild, John Cash (1846-1911), The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate Online Edition, Parliament of Australia (accessed 7 January 2025); originally published in: The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, Vol. 1: 1901-1929, Carlton South, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 2000, pages 22-26.
In 1853 the family emigrated to New Zealand. They settled in the Taranaki region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. During the early stage of the Maori War at Taranaki, Dr. Neild was in charge of medical services to the troops at headquarters and the military hospital.John Cash Neild, British Medical Journal, 21 January 1893, page 151. Dr. Neild and his family left New Zealand for Australia to escape the violence, travelling to Sydney aboard the steamer Lord Worsley in July 1860.Mr John Cash Neild (1846-1911), Former Members website, Parliament of New South Wales; accessed 7 January 2025.Shipping Intelligence, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 8 August 1860, page 2.
John Neild (junior) was educated privately, by a tutor and attending private schools.Martha Rutledge (1986), John Cash Neild (1846–1911), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 7 January 2025.
Business and local government
Neild was first employed at Montefiore, Joseph & Co., an importing firm. In October 1865 Neild commenced business as a broker and commission agent, located in the Lyons Buildings in George Street, Sydney. He was the sole agent in the Australian colonies for J. S. Fry and Sons of Bristol and London, manufacturers of chocolates and cocoas.Advertisement, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 October 1865, page 4.
As a young man Neild was active in the Free Church of England (FCE). The FCE had separated from the established Church of England in the mid-1840s by evangelical low church clergy and congregations, in response to what were perceived as attempts to re-introduce traditional Catholic practices into Anglican liturgy and theology.John Fenwick (2004), The Free Church of England: Introduction to an Anglican Tradition, London: Continuum, pages 9–33. In November 1866 Neild successfully applied to the Municipality of Cook at Camperdown, an inner western suburb of Sydney, for the use of a room in the council chambers for the purpose of holding divine worship by the FCE.Municipality of Cook, Camperdown, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 November 1866, page 2. In May 1867 he delivered a lecture at the Free Church of England premises in Woolloomooloo "on the subject of the Taranaki Volunteers, and the New Zealand War". The event was chaired by Captain R. Peel Raymond of the Sydney Volunteer Rifles.Lecture on New Zealand, Sydney Mail, 11 May 1867, page 4.
On 29 October 1868 Neild married Clara Agnew, the eldest daughter of Rev. Philip Agnew, founder of the Free Church of England in New South Wales, and his wife Matilda. The marriage took place at the residence of the bride's father in Paddington.Marriages, Sydney Mail, 14 November 1868, page 2.
In October 1869 Neild was listed as a member of the Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment in New South Wales.Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment in New South Wales, Empire (Sydney), 8 October 1869, page 1. By April 1870, working from his business premises in the Lyons Buildings, Neild became an agent for the Queen Insurance Company of England.Queen Insurance Company, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 April 1870, page 2; Central Police Court, Sydney Mail, 14 January 1871, page 14. He was also recorded as carrying on business as an actuary and accountant.Mr. J. C. Neild, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 23 April 1887, page 842. During the 1870s Neild was the music and drama critic for the Catholic newspaper, the Evening Post.
John and Clara Neild initially lived at a residence named 'Caylus', in Ocean Street, Woollahra. The couple had one child, a boy named Philip, born in April 1872. Their son died on 19 June 1876 at their residence, "after a few hours' illness, of croup".Deaths, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 June 1876, page 1.
In September 1875 Neild was one of a group of "influential residents of Woollahra" who signed a requisition calling for the establishment of a volunteer fire brigade in the Borough of Woollahra.Woolahra Volunteer Fire Brigade, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 September 1875, page 5. In January 1876 Neild was nominated to stand as an alderman in Piper Ward of the Borough of Woollahra.Piper Ward, Borough of Woollahra, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 January 1876, page 2. He was elected to the municipal council in 1876. In January 1878 Alderman Neild was appointed to act as the Council returning officer for elections to be held in the following month.Borough of Woollahra, New South Wales Government Gazette, 5 February 1878 (Issue No. 41), page 539.
Clara Neild died on 16 September 1879 at her residence, 'Greycairn' in Edgcliff Road, Woollahra, "after a long illness".Deaths, Sydney Daily Telegraph, 1 October 1879, page 8.
Neild remarried on 19 February 1880 at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Redfern, to Georgine Uhr, the daughter of the late George Uhr, a former Sheriff of New South Wales.Marriages, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 28 February 1880, page 389. The couple had two children who survived to adulthood, a daughter born in May 1882 and a son born in December 1884.Births, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 25 December 1880, page 1189.Births, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 May 1882, page 1.Births, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 5 January 1884, page 42.
Colonial politics
At the colonial election of December 1882 Neild stood as an independent candidate for the electorate of Paddington in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. However, he failed a gain a seat in the two-member electorate, finishing in third place.Polling for Paddington, The Sydney Daily Telegraph, 4 December 1882, page 3. Neild stood for a seat in the Paddington electorate again in the New South Wales general election of November 1885, this time a three-member electorate. On this occasion he was successful, finishing on top of the poll and elected to serve in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly alongside William J. Trickett and Robert Butcher, who had been the members for Paddington in the previous parliament.Paddington (3 Members), Sydney Morning Herald, 17 October 1885, page 9. Neild made his first speech in the Legislative Assembly on 20 November 1885, delivering "a general condemnation" of the protectionist Dibbs government.Mr. Buchanan and the Government and Parliament, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 21 November 1885, pages 5-6.
For his first few years in parliament Neild was a member of the opposition, supporting free trade for the colony. In June 1886 he delivered a speech, during a debate in the Legislative Assembly on the Customs Duties Bill, that extended for nearly nine hours. On 18 June 1886 the leader of the opposition in the New South Wales parliament, Sir John Robertson, retired from public life on medical advice, in the process resigning from his seat for the Mudgee electorate. At a meeting of opposition members Sir Henry Parkes was unanimously chosen to replace him as leader.Resignation of Sir John Robertson, The Age (Melbourne), 19 June 1886, page 10. During the week preceding Robertson's resignation the parliament had been debating the Customs Duties Bill, after the Premier Patrick Jennings had moved for the second reading of the legislation proposing the introduction of ad valorem duties.The Customs Duties Bill, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 19 June 1886, page 1281. Soon after being elected as leader of the free trade opposition, Parkes left Sydney to fulfill an existing commitment to visit the Manning River district. The parliamentary agenda had set aside 24 hours, beginning on the afternoon of Wednesday 23 June, for debate of the Customs Duties Bill, after which other parliamentary business was to take precedence. The opposition suspected Jennings' government were planning a division during this period to take advantage of Parkes' absence.Late Colonel Neild, Australian Town and Country (Sydney), 15 March 1911, page 37.News of the Day, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 1886, page 7.
It had been an open secret that the opposition was planning to make a prolonged speech to prevent a vote on the bill when Neild rose to begin his speech soon after nine o'clock in the evening of 23 June.Stonewalling Scene in the N.S.W. Assembly, The Herald (Melbourne), 24 June 1886, page 3. He continued throughout the night until ten minutes to seven the following morning (excluding an forty-five minute adjournment commencing at four in the morning). His speech was confined to the question of custom duties and was delivered "from an ultra free-trade point of view". For the duration of his speech Neild was called to order by the Speaker on only two occasions, "once for irrelevancy, and once for repeating himself". During his address Neild was "loudly cheered and encouraged by his colleagues on the Opposition side... and received an ovation from them at the conclusion". When the New South Wales Hansard for the week was published, Neild's speech took up 29 of the 165 pages.Political Points, The Bulletin, 3 July 1886, page 22.