Constituency : Lisburn 1863
John chalked up a short-lived gain at Lisburn in 1863 after the resignation of the Tory MP.
John was an Irish linen manufacturer. He pursued a policy of co-operation with his competitors and by 1898 got them all to combine in the Linen Thread Co Ltd.
A petition was brought against John victory and by June he was unseated for corrupt practices including locking some voters in his house under armed guard for the duration of the poll . The Tories won the new by-election with John receiving only two votes. He did a little better in 1865 but his opponent had double his total of votes
John moved to England and he was elected mayor of Leamington Spa in 1891.
He died in 1901 aged 77. His daughter Helen married Thomas Andrews, the designer of the Titanic but did not accompany him on the voyage.
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