The New York Herald Newspaper, July 25, 1874, Page 3

BROOKLINS SCANDAL Continued Excitement in the City of Churches. INTERVIEWED. TILTON 4 Strong Denial of the Cross- Examination Statement. A Desire to Bring the Matter to the Courts. MR. MOULTON’S MEDIATION. What Other Witnesses Say Under Oath. Might The Press of the Country on the Question. ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH TIL- TON. The following interview with Theodore Tilton @ppears in last night’s Brooklyn Argus, which | #eems to be in the confidence of Mr, Tilton:— A gentleman called on Mr, Tilton this morning ‘at his residence, in Livingston street, and asked him if bis examination before the committee had been concluded. Mr. Tilton replied that he did Rot know. He had promised to go before the committee as often as they sent for him. He had been before them already four times. Whether they would want him any more be could not but he said he had never failed to respond to the summons, and if they shouid ask for him forty times in succession he would be certain to appear. Upon being asked whether reports which have ap- peared pretending to give accounts of his Pxaiminations before the committee were correct | Mr. Titon said:— “Ihave Dever yet seen one that was correct. They ail bear evidence of being one-sided and half Malicious pre: tions of my examination IY. | nished to the reporters by the counsel to the com- | mittee, The committee themselves are not respon- sibie for these misreprescntauons. I am a jour- galist and Know the reporters. ‘The reporters | themselves have informed me that these travesties | of the truth come to them by design irom Mr, Tracy and Mr. Hiil. ‘These two gentiemen would Geny this fact, but @ number o/ my friends on the press have communicated to me in confidence that ‘acy and Mr. Hill are directly responsible tor Ubese misrepresentations of my eXamination. Please do not understand that | object, at this juncture, to be misrepresented eitner by the press or by Mr. eecher’s counsel. ‘The more I am misrepreseated the more right I have to defend myself, Mr. Tracy and Mr. Hill, | the counsel for Mr. Beecher, already have as little influence with the committee as they nave with | the public. ka ground of accusation against Mr. Tracy, and have been advised by Jar more eminent counsel than himself that his course would not be sustained if submitted to the Bar. do not wish to press it, because the committee themselves—or, at least, a iew of them—are men of too much dignity of character and moral integ- rity to be tossed up and down like a ball on a fountain by the gushing leakages of Mr. Tracy and Mr. Hill. The committee themselves have a grave case ou their hands, and they are men wise enough to acknowledge its gravity; but the com- mittee’s counsel are full of tricks and strat- agems to belittie it, to distort it, and | to play upon the public with it. so far_ as the committee themselyes are con- cerned—I mean the aix men who compose it—they beeen sad and grieved willingness to listen to e \. e substance of the examination up to the epee time, so far as 1 am concerned, 1s briefly ‘his:—General ‘racy asked me if I committed adui- | tery. I asked General ‘tracy if he committed | adultery, But neither General Tracy nor Mr. Hull, | oor anybody in the committee has yet asked me whether Mr. Beecber committed adultery, Mr. Tilton’s visitor remarked :—*These reports, then, seem to misrepresent you ¥? Mr. TILTON—Yes, but do not misunderstand me. There are certain gentlemen on this committee who would not willingly misrepresent any one; but the counsel are playing a mad frolic with the | tacts, and will in the end be the two worst beaten ttorneys who ever conducted a case. ‘ 77 think, then, that they have made blun- ers Mr. TILTON—Yes; and they have made one hide- | bus blunder. “What is it 9? Mr, TILTON—They have diverted their examina- tion from the facts at issue into an inquiry into the Dames and characters of my female acquaintance— particularly those who, as Writers or speakers on various reforms, have attained eminence in public on e animus of this inquiry was obvious; design was to associate me with the extreme and radical sentiment against which the conservative class in the community are arrayed in large mw jority. 1, myself, did not pet to this inquiry, though I, myself would not have begun any such | line ol policy in this case. General Tra-y’s supreme | blunder has been that in tnstituting an inquiry into the standing of the ladies of my acquaiutance he gives me the right to instutute acounter inquiry into the starding o1 the ladies of Mr, Beecher’s acquaintance. I informed the Committee yesver- day that | deprecated such a plan of battle; but that i it was forced upon me by the Committee's counsel, I could draw a sword with two eages to their one. li this new aspect which General Tracy flings upun the case like a shadow is to character- ize the remainder of the controversy it will be | the better tor Generai Tracy's chiet client that he | bad never been born. Reporrer—I perceive that Mr. Tracy questioned | iu concerning your acquaintance with Mrs. Woodhull? Mr. ‘TILTON—Yes; but Mr. Tracy was careful not to elicit the lact that Mr. Beecher’s apology, ad- dressed to me through Mr. Moulton, was written | half a year betore I ever saw the face of Mrs. Wood- | bull, He was cureiul also not to elicit the tact | that Mr. Beecher himsel! had had private inter- | views with Mrs. Woodnull, and that that jady had | taken lar more pains to associate herself with him and he with her than evec I had done, RerorTeR—In what otuer respects have the re- ports of your examjnation m presented you? Mr. TILTON—Weil, on the day alter I presented | my sworn statement I met the committee and held an interview with them, which was described. in the next day’s journals as a pitiful spectacle-— my having broken down under ¢ examination, The truth is there was No cross-cXamination whit- | ever on that day by the counsel, and nothing but a kindly interchange of talk between the commit- tee and mysel!. | have my faults, many of them, but IT have never used tue sentimental, deciamatory and ungrammatical English which General Tracy and Mr. Hill have emitted to their teportorial friends as coming trom me. ‘The report | Which | am criticising says that L admitted that 1 the author of the Woodhull scandal—whicn was a {aisehood. Have ygu a knife in your pocket ? REPORTER—Yes. Mr, TILTON—Please cut out the following extract. ‘rhe reporver then took his penknife and cut out the following paragraphs :— i following question was put to Tilton by Mr, ers have you any evidemce of Mr. Beecher's tery. except What you say your wife told yout LTOX—I have uote Whatever, 1 wish you would do me the favor to say, through | the columing of the Argus, that, though [ ¢ Bitherto declined being interviewed concerning Biy appearance before the committee, and have jeadfastly remained silent concerning the pro- ceedings iu the committee, yet the above report coming as it does from the committee's cou An absolute favrication. 1 toi the con Mistinetly that Mr. Beecher had adultery tomne; that he had Moultou; that he had conies to ot pe sons Whom | named, and, iurthermore, I gave the pames Of several persons, who, tor the just four years, have been poriectir well aware that Mr. Moulton'’s entire connection with this tase, from begiuning to cud, bas been based ou tee one and oniy cornerst Mr. Beecher's crimuinaltsy, Lask tual Jaced before the committe lor the priviiee ol deine p: Mr. Beecher and the other witnesses, Luer suggested thatthe case sad come to euch magnitude that it would be better for vommittee to dismiss this informal examination iw which no one but mysell hae thus far spoken under oath, and adjoura to meet ia court, Tex. pressed @ WiilingDpess to be sucd for libel, or to be | put tu any other way before a tribunal whien vould compel witnesses to testily under oath, and Which could punish perjury with the State Prise | If tis case, With all the facts which ite behind tt, revened and unrevealed, were now belore uo crtiningi court mstead of a yoiuntary committe and ut Mr, Beecher's printed statement bad been made tinder oath, subject to cross questioning and overthrow, he would indeed be compelled to “step Nown aud ont.” J icel at liberty 10 speak freely, besuuse Mr, Beecher’s counsel have falsified me to the World, and I lave uo recuurse but to smite ‘emi in the face. ANOTHER CARD FROM MR, MAVE- RICK. cowuineianensi Mr, Augustus Maverick, an intimate friend of Tilton, publisued the other day a letter to the public, OXplaining that the sole responsivility for | conless! | the views of the committee upon the impropriety | of either until | would as soon trust my great grandmother with a ' itis the voice of a god, and not ot the publication of Tilton'’s long statement to the | investigating committee rested upon him; that | ‘Tilton had nothing to do with it and Knew nothing | about tt until it appeared in print, This explana- | von was generally regarded as a mere dodge to | protect Tiiton from the consequences of a prema- ture pubication of his statement; but now Mr. Maverick comes to the resene again in another card, as follows :— CARD TO THE PUBLIC. I have defended Theodore Tilton against one attac| 1 now propose to defend lim against another, which is worse than the first. | some of bis enemies have printed a story to the effect that his sworn statement found its way into | print through collusion, and that he received o sum of money in compensation, This is utterly false. He Knew nothing of the pubucation. He received no pecuniary consideration belore or atter that publication. His note to me, under date of July 22, Was an honest expression of his feeling in regard to this matter, 1 printed Theodore Tilton’s document for two reasons:— | One of those reasons was that I thought his , story onght to be told, promptly and fully. ‘The other reason was that | meant there should | be light. And light there has been. i Having helped seta iriend on his way to a clear feld, in wh @ asks no favor, my duty is done. Further personal attacks upon me will be a siniul waste of newspaper space which will be needed for matters much more interesting to the public. AUGUSTUS MAVERICK. BROOKLYN, July 24, 1 THE TOWN TALK. ‘The all-absorbing topic of conversation in Brook- lyn yesterday was the great scandal. “Well, what do you think of the Keecher-Tilton case now !*’ was the galutation that met the ear upon every side. Conversations commenced upon subjects foreign to the train of thought dominant invari- ably lapsed into the channel which empties into Plymouth church and attracts all minds to the towering form of the much maligned pastor of that influential fold in his awiul tilt with Tilton, About the bulletins of the local newspapers in the afternoon crowded hun- | dreds of people, eagerly devouring the brief head- lines and awaiting the eariiest sheets from the press, which in vain attempted to satiate the rapacious maw of a prurient public, whose appe- tite is now sharpened to the highest degree, and eagerly devours each ‘resh morsel of evil and smacks its lips with relisn, ‘fhe } principal titpits elicited were contained in the assertion of Mr. Tiitun that he had been pur- posely misrepresented throughout aa to what he said and did during his examination before the Investigating Committee. The counsel, Mr. Tracy, | he claimed, had done so designedly, but he was of the opinion that the counsel had as iittic influence with the committee as they had with the public. Mr, Tilton, ina statement which will be found be- low, made to a Iriend and published in the Argus yesterday, asserted that Mr, Beecher had CONFESSED HIS ADULTERY to him and to several other persons whose names he gave the committee, If that be the e (and Mr. Tilton has so trequently prevaricated through- out upon this subject that it is dificult to enter- tain it as the truth) the committee will be able to find that corroboration which Is justiy deemed as highly essential to establish proof, “The visit of | the senior member of the Committee of Investiga- | tion, Mr. Henry W. to the resi- dence of Mr, Tilton, . 174 Livingston | street, was regarded by many as significant ‘of a desire to cultivate u better teeling, to coucthate Mr. Tilton as it were, as the latter gentleman has been rather annoyed witn their precedure and | bearing toward lim. The fact that the ereat Massachuseits statesman, B. F. Butler, is re- ported as having told Frank Moulton, the quondam friend of Beecher and Tilton, that he | thought the latter had a case, was made a topic of | conversation by the friends of the late editor of the Golden Age, Who argued to make capital in his behalf. The denial that Mr. Tilton received pecuniary compensation for the publication of his sworn statement before the committee was vari- | ously received, There were many who said it he | was not paid, but was betrayed through mis- taken iriendship, he was all the more to be pitied, | as Tilton 1s a poor man now, having settied his | house and furniture upon his wife. The residences or all the parties known to be concerned in “the scandal case of the age’? were besieged by scores of newspaper men, whose persistent endeavors to | sage, INTERVIEW RELUCTANT CITIZENS supposed to be familiar with Peri 4 facts bearing on the case, was only equalled by the mail- cious reticence o! the individuals approached, The foliowing letter from Mr. Sage expresses of publishing the proceedings of the committee :— sw Yorx, July 24, 1874. To te Enron oF tix Arar: ow the reports to which you refer got before the public or the committee Ido not know. Many of them are pure fiction—some true enough to resemble in some degree the facts, i Teannot authorize the presence of reporters, nor is it in my judgment proper that the proecedings of the com- mittee should be made public before uncir investiga- tions ay closed. Very truly yours, H, W. SAGE, ‘there was a report current that a private jetter had been received yesterday in Brooklyn trom Mrs. Woodbull, iu which she states that she had re- eated conversations with Mr. Beecher at Mr. Tou's house, when the former projessed his belief in iree love. There remains but little doubt but that, though the woman Woodhall ts not overcon- scientious in her respect Jor the character of others, she will be summoned before the committee to aiye her testimony im this case. any INTERESTING DISCLOSURES are expected from Mr. Frank Mouiton, who is un- derstood to be & mutual friend of Messrs. Tilton and Beecher, and to possess certain papers which would definitely fix the great wrong where | it belongs. is gentiemen, however, has not been invited to appear belore tne committee of investigation; nor 1s he preparing @ statement, as has been alleged, to give to the public, While representing both par- | thes as a friend and counsellor, it 1s impracticable jor him to come to the iront in the cause forced to do so by a court of iaw. Hence, whatever may be the result of the pending investigation, it 1s more than probabie . that the case Will finally be carried before a jury, where every incident of the scandal will be fully | developed and examined, and alt parties tncident thereto be sudjected to an examination as search- | ing as it may prove satisiactory. itis understood that General B. F. Butler favors alegalexamtination into the merits of the question ; firstly, because the scandal has become public property; secondly, because the parties to it are publbe men, and finally, because the public will not be satistied with apy decision that may be made by the picked representatives of either one side or the other. General Butler is of the opinion that the sentl- ment of the community will not be satisfied with anything less than a thorough investigation o1 the entire subject, and, Whether one contestant or the other goes down in the struggle, that the only | legitimate settlement that can be reached will be through the decision of a regularly organized court of justice. Public sympathy being by no means evenly atvi- ded, it is Strongly hinted that whatever may be the action of Plymouth church m= the matter, somebody will press a@ further investigation in such a public way as will develop ali the lights and shadows of this strange domestic picture. It is understood that some of the citizens of Brooklyn are already taking steps to have Mr. Tilton in- dicted for publishing a libel. ACTORS VS. CLERGYMEN. db seicnenpedtihsn seen New Yorg, July 22, 1874, To THE EDITOR OF THB HERALD. I notice in your issue of to-day (which Idevoured with the appetite of a thousand Brooklynites) a letter from an actor. [t Is not a singular but it is a notable fact that when a mintsier gets mixed up with a family, or tangled a little, the profession ot which your correspondent seems to be a member takes especial delight in holding his profession up in comparison to their own pure and immac niate spotiessness, Mr, sardine, or whit- ever his name is, comes in for his share oi fame, aud honest old Mr. Holland 1s dragged before the public times without number When his pewceiml sleep should remain inviolate, If Mr. Beecher is guilty, “ot with his head,” but we can afford to await a patient investigation , beiore we form opinions and condemn the man, We are all aware that there are black sheep in every Hock; but let us have the evidence o! color | before we root them out, The ministerial proies- sion is a noble one. The stage has also its Nius- irious eXampies; but, take {5 all im ail, [think I minister as with an actor, Yours, truly, . W, CRANE, No, 5 Beekman street. VIEWS OF CORRESPONDENTS. Is lt a Historical Parallel? To rae Epivo0r or THE HERALDi— “And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat Upon hits throne, and made an oration | unto them, And the peopie gave a shout, saying, 4 a man. And immediately the augel of the Lord smote him, be- cause he ga not God the glory: and he was | eated Of Worms and guve up the ghost."'=-Acts ai 21-25, The Opinion of « Family Man, STATEN ISLAND, July 23, 1 To tne Eprror or tar HeraLp:— L have read what has transpired of the Beecher- Tilton scandal, but! have suspended judgment in the case until the investigation has been | concluded, There are, however, in connec: | tion with it certain side issues of great | public importance which should uot for a moment | NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, | pandering to the natural desire for a good time | should be kept for the master of the THE PRESS ON TILTON’S STATE- | ings. | righteous judgment by a silly woman's desperate | would allow us to omit it altogether. | vhe origina! documents from which he quotes and ' ant of the facts, it remain unnoti Freelovism—the pest of our century—peeps Out from almost every phase of the dirty business, The last decade has produced characters whose religion is simply self seeking and self worship, both bere aad hereaiter, while now and no such thing as future perdition. This dangerous class, both male and female, have adopted the nasal twang of the Covenante | roll up the Whites of (heir eyes, like a dying duck, and, what with common sense people should be intensely disgusting, tuey have introduced into their language and sickly literature an ever- recurring set of phrases fit only for certain poetry, ImMonomaniacs, silly jovers or half crazy religious enthustasis, who are ever shouting, as other people lun a popular ditty. “Jesus, Jesus, come to me, an r The phrases are such as’ “oye ving spiritual love,” “my heart goes out to him,” “pure and uncarnal afMni- ties,” and the like seli-deceptive rubbish. Believe me, | have little sympathy for Mr, Tilton, for his course and mine under the circumstances detailed in his statement would have been very duferent; but! think it time the public should Jook alter the acts of their pastors, and cease to take it for granted that their = wi und daughters are “oversbadowea” by icebergs When tue ‘dear, good pastor” is’ in. their private apartmenis, This “absorping spiritual wfection”’ be none the worse tor | keeping tt in Its place, aud “overmastering logic’? ehouse. Ali ents tor six publicly de. i | | \ | | | | the cant abou feet of soltd pure spiritual attach: ar inmanity sig poor, fujured chil: a snivelling over the stretching out of the heart, and calling one’s | husband one with the Redeemer—ali ths highstrung, ecstatic, boiling over, yearning aiter something, Gol Knows what, hysterical, pastor- loving, “highialuiin’ religion, however popularly put, however insidiously conve, |, however clev- erly and plausibly supported, should be kicked into the mire which ts ever waiting to receive it. This is not specially directed against Mr. Beecher, tor | pr that, ifimuocent, his path to vindication and triumph may be made easy for him, but against principles which he in some sort, | as he states, aiced and abetted, however well meaning his intentions. Every thinking man has noticed the follies of which I speak, and in Tiiton’s place, if he tells the truth, would settle the case of “supernatural love’? by kicking the “dear, pious spiryt lover? whe kicking was good for him, and sending his “con- genial” to keep him company in the little game of “nest hiding” or rather pest hiding. Yours, A HUSBAND. } set forth will go for much; but his abject MENT. pA EE The Revelations Simply Awfal. {From the Portland Argus.) Although we bad heard touch from sources that pretended to be well informed, we really gave no | heed to the charges against Mr. Beecher, and did noteven believe him guilty of a serious impro- | priety until the extract from his letter of con es- | sion was published and remained uncontradiet ‘Then we did believe him guiity of an offence, but only o: cne susceptible of excuse, and which it would have been a thousand times better to have confessed in the first place, The revelations are simply awful, and we are in no mood to make fur- ther comment at tls time. Tilton’s Bellowings. {From the Boston News,] Mr. Tilton had no complaint to make public, even though he alleges all along he knew the greatest preacher of the age to be aseducer and a hypocrite; but when to the seduction of his wife Mr. Be echer added a fancied blow at Tilton’s self- love the land is made resonant with his bellow- A Southern View. {From the Knoxville Press and Herald.) We cannot help thinking that Tilton could not be ignorant all this time of what he charges now, all the circumstances and the evidence pointing to the contrary. If he was not and has held his peace until this time, there will be out lew that will re- tain any regard or respect for him or care which one is the most criminal. Let Us Re Just. [From the Titusville (Pa.) Herald.) * * * But let us be just, nor diverted from a protestations, or by a great man's ingenious and eloquent sophistry. For Beecher, however, no plea will save him if he be guilty, He is a damned villain, and the Inquisition ought to be revived for nis special retribution. The Letters Must Carry Conviction. | {From the Cleveland Leader.) ‘Throwing out every word Mr. Tilton writes the letters alone must carry conviction. Even the affidavit of Mr. Carpenter, unsupported by other evidence, would, i! believed, establish the act of a great wrong done Mr. Tilton by Mr. Beecher. A Shot for Mr. Halladay. {From the Buffalo Courier.) When Rey. Mr. Hallaaay, assistant pastor of Plymouth chureh, says he “would not believe any- | thing against Mr. Beecher if fifty Tiltons said it, and nothing coming from Mr. Tilton will shake the confidence of the church in Mr. Beecher,” as he is quoted in the despatches of yesterday after- noon, he simply indicates his suolime superiority eo om | to any paltry consideration ot justice and nis im- measurable scorn of anything so flimsy ana unim- portant as evidence, and leaves us to inter that in his opinion a committee of inquiry is a mere theo- logical device to shield the accused and discomfit the accuser, In other words, he regards tnves- Ugation a8 predesunated whitewash, to be used ima process of preordained “vindication.” Not for the Perusal of Young Girls. | {From the St. Louis Republican.) The story we print this morning from the pen and lips of Theodore Tilton is not for the perusal of young girls, We wish our duty to the public It forms an episode in domestic life which it were better to | hide entirely from contemplation could that be done. [t destroys faith in great reputations, It tears of masks Of sham and deceit, and discovers # hideous mass of foumess and corruption, It shows the most eminent ciergyman, perhaps, im America, to be certainly the most arrant hypocrite. It exhibits Henry Ward Beecher as being. instead ofa pious teacher of God’s rehgion and a man whose example should be a shining light, a be- trayer of his friend’s confidence and a systematic seducer of woman's honor. ‘tne story speaks for itself, Its proofs are apparently irretragabie, | There is nothing further to be said. Produce the Original Documents. (From the St. Louis Democrat.) 1c will be said at once such accusations against such a man require the most conclusive evidence that can be imagined, And if Mr. Tilton produces is susi other ined by the evidence of Mr. Moulton and ends of both parties who became cogniz- must be admitted that the e dence 1s irresistiole. It 1s but’ just, however, to wait until it appears what auswer Mr, Beecher can make to this most extraordinary statement, and | how iar either the accusation or the delence is supported by evidence, It Tilton Tells the Truth, Then= {From the Pittsburg Gazette.) if Theodore Tilton tells the truth, then is Henry Ward Beecher one of the very worst of men; tf, as we are very strongly inclined to believe, Tilton has | gotien bimself into a position where falsehood seemed to hitn the only door of escape, then has he torieited every claim to confidence. In any event he has proved himselt to be acully or a liar neither horn of which dilemma can be a very pleas- ant one to hang to. A Severe Criticism from Senator Carpen- ter’s Organ, {From the Milwaukee Sentinel.) ‘The blow is the shattering of an idol that nas | been Worshipped 4s it is never safe io worship a human ido), Beecher is proved to be a wily, | heartiess profligate. When the exposure had come, When the injured husband bad learned of his wrong, dnd was covering Beecher with a for- bearance that Was rather more than could be de- manded of a buman being, Beecher expressed reat contriion, it is true, and used language | \ 8 which Was mantiestly intended to convey the idea that he contemplated suicide; but all the while he seemed Wilimg that everybody should suffer rather than himself, An ingrate, a vertidions friend, a selfish inan of the World, @ cool and calenlatiug lib- ertine and an adulterer—it is in no other igi than ths that the man who has been regarded as the exemplar and most eloquent advocate of mod- ern Chrisiianity stands betore the world, Beccher Compared to King David. | {From the Chicago Post.) | The morning papers jump at couciusions when | they assert that Tilton's statement would convict | Beecher of aduitery before a jury. It would do | nothing of the kind. The most it could do would | be to afford a sirong presumption that Beecuer | loved Mrs. Tilton, and that tue latter reciprocated the affection; that both afterwards repented their imprudeuce and were Jorgiven, and that aiter the matter was coudoved the relations oi the parties Were beyond criticism irom a moral standpoint | | of course this | than is here made to appe , witness, Mouiton ! | His long lie of eminent sery JULY 25, 1874--WITH 8S hypothesis, even, leaves Beec in view of his position and profe-sion, in a very bad shape, but not nearly so bad as David was in when he sent the husband of Bathsheba to the forefront of the battie; and yet even David Was forgiven upon confession and repentance, Lacking the Pluck of a Mouse. {From the Trenton True American.) If Mr. ‘Mlton had been @ man with the pluck of a mouse, if his statement is to be believed, he would have taken that “Dear Pastor’? in nis arms and pitched him down stairs, or thrown him out of the window. ‘The elder Weller, whom Dickens in- mortulized, was braver than ‘Tilton, After he bad told his woes to iis son Sammy, and when Stiggius came, as usual, to the rum bottle, after tue Iuneral of Mrs, Weller, the venerable parent. sayy, can’t stand it any longer, Sammy,’’ took out th Rev. Mr. Stiggins and dipped his head in the horse trough. Al) the worid has honored the elder We jer Jor the vindication of his honor, and the dead novelist was a@ trite teacher to the New York celenrities, Moulton Can Clear Up the Mystery. {From the St. Alban’s Messenger.) ‘The letters are the only damaging thing, but, | when reag in the light of the theory that Mr. ‘Tilton had become degraded and Mr, Beecher has sided with Mrs. Tilton, they open a large room for explanation. edouot not that the forthcoming statements of Mr. Beecher and Mra, Tilton will make the mystery clear. and certainly Mr. Moulton can do It. | Conviction Would Be a Terrible Blow. rom the Trenton Gazette.) The conviction of Mr. Beecher of the foul and outrageous crime of which he is accused would be one of the most terrible and injurious blows at the cause Of morality and at our faith in all human proiessions and evidences of goodness that has ever shocked the moral sense o/ the world. Beecher Must Show that the Documents &e., Ave Forgeries. {From the Utica Herald.| The churitabie hopes and belief of the peopie are not justified thus far. If Mr. Beecher cannot re- tute the case made against him he stands con- demned. It will not heip him to say that Mr. ‘Til tou {is of a peculiar temperament, that in his hands no one is sate, He must show that the document. ‘ontessions, pl or Were written with anal are forgeries, iterent onject His denial ol the . Tilton so. explicit; apolo- gies! ‘Che allusions to something dark scattered through so many letters! ‘The muiuat iriend and Can he turn aside all these’ es Weighs in his Lemons erimimatity with Mr lavor, “A Terribly Damaging Case.” {from the Newark Journal.) But while waiting and earnestly hoping for the best, it is impossible to stifle the sad, sorrowful apd painfal conclusion which every intelli persoh must inevitably réach upon a car perusal of Mr. Tiltou’s statement, and that he has made out a terribly damaging case against the pastor of Plymouth, wilich must be met prompt- ly, lully, unequivocally, If the Statement is True Beecher. [From the New Bedford Standard.} If this statement is true of course it ruins Mr. Beecher forever, 30 far as this world is concerned. | But fairness requires a suspense of judgment till all sides are heard, True or not true it reveais a state of things which hardly has a parallel in any drama that was ever enacted. It 1s almost like the old story of Abelard and Heloise revived, with additional incidents, which must fully redeem ours from the charge of being a prosaic age. A Reputation Tarnished. {From the Boston Traveller.] A reputation that has been achieved by the pub- lic work of years is tarnished by this accusation; | but all may be, and all good men trust, will be, | made clear by nim, when he will be loved and hon- ored the more, as the present dimness gives place to the old lustre, If he is guilty, and that iact 1s made apparent, many will be made saa, but it will be only another proof that it is vain to look tor periection in man, or to trust for guidance to any human counsellor. Beecher in a Desperate Situation. {From the Clevelana Herald.) To say that the document is much more formid+ able and convincing than the public had been led 1o expect from Mr, Tiiton’s vague and indefinite utterances heretofore is stating the case very mildly, and there are not a few who will agree with Mr. Tilton that itis “unanswerable.” Never theless, mm that charitable spirit which has from the beginning marked the attitude of the punlic toward Mr. Beecher, popular judgment will still be held in suspense until both sides of the case are heard in full. Mr, Tilton’s statement 1s the begin- ning of the end, and the final sommes up must be reached in a very short time. . Beecher ts tna Pd desperate situation, and should have every an ce. Mr. Beecher Must Now Answer for His Life. {From the Boston Transcript.) It matters little as to the fate of the accuser in | this case. His own admissions in the document, which he has rushed into print with such improper haste, will prepare the place he Is to hereafter oc. cupy in the public estimation. But the eminent and beloved personage whom he has dragged be- Jore the tribunal of popular opinion must now answer for his life, or, What should be dearer to him, his good name. If he cannot relieve that from the suspicions, aspersions and ailegations | reating upon it by # justification and defence of his acts, Which shall leave no shred of the indict- ment aimed at his character, then he should sor- rowfully withdraw from the public ken, and, be- taking himself to exclusively private deavor to atone, by an exemplary walk and fitting deeds in the future, for the unfortunate, if not criminal, past. Difficult to See Any Escape for the Ac- , cused. {From the Hartford Times.) The threatened disclosure by Theodore Tilton has at leugth appeared, and it is a terrible indict- ment ot Henry Ward Beecher. Until Mr. Beecher brings forth his promised counter statement it would not be just to pronounce judgment against him; yet it 1s difficult to see or imagine any possi- ble escape for him. ‘The difficulty is that be him- self jurnishes the repeated proofs of his own mis- conduct, in his own handwriting. His verbal proposition, testified to by Mr. Carpenter, is aiso a damaging circumstance. Bat no proposition to pay the expenses of the wronged man and wile, if they would go to Europe and live, can be hall so damaging to the good name of this world-famous | preacher as his own written admissions of his re- lations with Mrs, Tilton and of his continued schemes and falsehoods to hide his sin, Beecher's conduct, unless it can be satisfactorily explained, has been such as should forever end his minis- terial career, The Pulpit God of Piymouth Church. (From the Bridgeport Farmer.} Theodore Tiiton has fiually made his words good, and the “pulptt compelied to defend himself publicly and openly, or herea(ter cease that subtle persecution of Mr. ‘yilton in which he has so long allowed his friends to engage, with the vain hope that to blacken Til- ton’s motives was to whiten his own sadly soiled character, Like the Ravings of a Madman. (From the Bangor Whig.; Without discussing this remarkable assault bya husband apon tie honor of his wife and the mother of his children we are tmpelled to remark that the whole frightful story seems more like the ravings of madman than the deliberate utter- an fasane person, and that such abhorrent accusations Wil! have to be sustained by stronger proot than plausible circumstantial evidence, be- fore they can be credited by the pudlic. And now Mr. Beecher is entitied to be heard in reply to the shocking charges which have thus been hurled upon him with such accumutation of detalt. There Is No Middle Ground. {Hrom the Utica Observer.) bither the letters which Tilton publishes are forgeries or Beecher is guilty of an offeace which destroys, absolutely and forever, his position as a teacher of morals, There is no middle ground on which to stand, Either the exposure is a stupen- dous le or Beecher is @ monumental hypocrite, All efforts to harmonize his alleged utterances with the theory of his innocence are worse than absurd, No innocent man “humbled himself Veiure Theodore Thiton as he did before his God." No innocent man “even wished that he were dead.” No innocent ian contemplated suicide and “found great peace in thinking that he was spendiug his last Sunday and preaching his last sermon,” No innocent man penned those lines A Th ad submitted in the handwriting of echer. Tilton an Image Breaker. (From.the Cincinnati Enquire: J If this story be the truth the Christian religion, | which, like every other religion or party or cause, must be judged by its leaders and representatives, does not stand to-day among unbelieving men ex- actly as it stood yesterday, In the downiall 0) a great man, a representative of o greater cause, hove should and few will rejoice. it wi Were gazing at the idol the image breaker ca it Ruins | pursuits, en- | od’? of Plymouth chureh will be | PPLEMENT. THE PRESS ON THE DENIAL. | A Doubt. {From the Utica Heraid.) Mr. Beecher admits that the letters publisned over his signature by Tilton were written by bim (Beecher), but that there are two elements tn them—the expression of his grief and lls shield the honor of an innocent woman honor should be injured by Mr. Tilton’s disio! und henee the necessity of any shielding, is stated. ire vo iT Beecher’s Dish-Watery Answer Is Weak. {From the Bridgeport (Conn.) Parmer.) The explanation of the letters contained in Til- ton’s statement is weak, Beecher was uot the | man to descend into such depths of woe as are | portrayed in those letters tor the puerile reasons assigned m bis counter statement, Should Mrs. Tilton’s statement, said to be forthcoming, be as | dish-watery as Mr. Beecher’s, the popular jury will be compelled to @ quick verdict. Beecher Opens Gallantly. (From the Boston Transcript.) Mr. Beecher’a defence opens gallantly, The rickety statement of Theodore ‘Tilton is fatally punctured by the calm, maniy and convincing de- nial of two important points in his accusation. ‘These, Mr. Beecher affirms, are without the suadow | of toundation, no “semblance’’ of any such ovcur- | renves as those alleged having transpired, | A Demand for Mr. Beecher to C Instant Arrest of Tilton for Perjury. {From the New Haven Register.) Uf Mr. Beecher has any legai advi: in his church worth consulting, and is an innocent map, he will banter no charges with Mr. Tilton, but have him arrested for perjury at once—before another hour passes over his head—for swearing to the afi- davit he bas made. He can personally answer back to no such Villanous charges. If the allega- tions ave false their author is a perjured vil- | lain, with whom no gentieman or’ memper of Piymouth church can hold a moment's mter- course, with one iota ol sell-respect leit. We isist | that no amount of denial is any answer to these spectic, circumstantial and sworn statements. Ali the letters ol Mr. Beecher to M letter to Mra. Tilton of February 7, 1 sent co Mr. Tilton, whether in hatof? Mr. Moutton; Mrs. TH husband, written from > all tell one story, and but one: of the ‘sin’? over which she and Mr. Beecher were agonizing. We care not to 9 the substance of these communications, There 1s bat one crime, in ail the damning category of human sin, to which they can possibiy re- late, and that none but iw 100! would ask Us to name, We reject © statement of Mr. Tilton uot covered by these written confessions of guilt, in making up’ this conditional judgment in the case, and are jorced to say that, whatever the action of the Plymoutn church committee may be to the contr: the world will hold M eh and Mrs. riminally guilty of the rg written létters, memorand. buse and uttamous for | plained away on no pri munistic love, nor can the, | refinements of purity ing at ali from that which ordinarit of it. Christtanity is offered. to mankind as an in- centive to purity and holiness of lite, not as a cloak to cover up sin and make hoiivess, or the affectation of it, the shabbiest and most thoroughly Unreadbare outward babiliment worn, Exploded at Last. [From the Buffaio Express.] Well, Mr. Theodore Tilton has emptied himself at | | last, The mountain has been in lavor, and a more | | than twenty-headed monster has been brought | | forth. {tis impossible to read the statement of | | Tilton in relation to the Beecher scandal without | afeeling ot ineffable disgust lor the drivelling | apology of a man who could bring himself to the task of such utter seli-degradation, Mr. Beecher’s Reply. {From the Syracuse Journal.) | The sworn statement of Theodore Tilton, the | publication of which created profound sensation | and sadness yesterday, has elicited a reply irom | Mr. Beecher, which, although not intended to | | cover all the counts in Tilton’s imdictment, will | nevertheless do very much to allay the apprehen- | sions that were awakened in the minds of Mr. | Beecher’g friends when the specific charges made | by Tilton were first made public. | | ‘Will Frank Mouiton Speak ¢ {From the Troy Whig) ‘There 1s a possibility that Mr. Tilton may be the | victim of jealousy; for “trifies light as air,” the poet says, ‘are to the jealous confirmation strong | | as proof trom holy writ.’ Thus far the case is not | proved, What one man asserts the other post- | tively denies, We are told that Frank Moulton will make a statement. His position was one of mutual friendsmp and confidence with both parties, What he shal! that should attach to the testimony of a man | whom Mr. Beecher and Mr. Tilton equally trusted, Mr. Geecher’s Reply. {From the Boston Journal.) Mr. Beecher has taken the right course in re- | serving a detailed answerto Mr. Tilton’s state- | | ment till it can be given in completeness, while he | immediately meets its main charges before the public, It willbe seen that, so far as this first | duty is concerned, he discharges it thorough becomingly and with every appearance of entire truthiuiness. In everything that relates to iis conduct toward the only person involved in Mr. | Tilton’s charges bis denial is as explicit. and ample | as his best friends could desire. The only accusa- | tions of tmpropriety which rest upon Mr. Tilton’s direct evidence he pronounces to be absolutely | talse. This ts all he needed to do at present, and it is perhaps that in which he made a mistake by not doing oetore. Mr, Beecher’s reputation has | not yet been so beclouded—that nobie reputation Which has been the pride of all his right-minded countrymen und which has reached throug Christendom—that his plam word in defence of his ewn houor will not suffice with the community until, at least, itis overvorne by evide’ of the Most irresistible strength, The investigation, therefore, can now go forward to conclusion amid tho generai teeling that Mr. Beecher has put him- self in the right position, and one that pots to , | bis ultimate vindication. | A Plea of Nolo Contendere. {From the Taunton (Mass.) Gazette.] Mr. Beecher’s reply to the charges of Theodore | Tilton, as published to-day, reads rather like a | plea of nolo contendere than an explicit, manly | denial. He apparently wishes his committee to | carry out the matter and settle the affair to suit themselves as to his guilt. The Denial Is Not Enough. (From the Washington Star.) Elsewhere in to-day’s paper will be found Mr. | Mr. Tilton. It is in the nature of a general Genial, and it 1s Worth as much, perhaps, a8 an answer of that sort could be from any man living. But it does not meet the case. | Beecher’s Answer Everything That | Could Be Desired. | {From the Philadelphia Telegrapt.) So tar as it goes Mr. Beecher's answer is every- thing that could be desired, Itis perfect in tone. There is a decision, a heartiness, a candor, and, above all, a manliness, causing the document to presenta most marked contrast to that which called it forth, faa word, it 18 characteristic of the autbor; ‘thy of him. To those who have made a study o/ the man it will be conclusive of his Innocence of the gross charges that have been preferred against him, and it will sappiy a very compiete explanation ol those letters and otner utterances Which have been so confounding to most people. In the Position of a Condemned Man. {From the Rochester Union.) | Yesterday Mr. Beecher filed with the same com- | mittee, not an answer to the charge, nor anything that may be called a defence of himself, but merely | a denial of Micit intercourse with Mrs. Tilton on | the score of vindicating the far reputation of that | vejoved Christian woman, to whose purity he certifies. We do not infer from a reading of Mr. Beecher's statement that | he purposes making any delence. For he says at the outset, “Ido not prepare at this time A detailed examination of the remarkable state- ment of Theodore Tilton, made be.ore the Com- mittee of Investigation, and which ap red in the Brooklyn agus ot July a1, 1874 1 recognize the many reasous which make {t ol transcendent importance to myself, tne Churca, and the cause of e the | | a consistent lie 10 | Tilton will be y Will be received with the credit | | Too Early to Form an Opinion. i {from the Hartford Courant—General Hawley’s | paper]. | It is still too early to form an opinion, but it is not too much to say that the public confidence in | Mr. Beecher has not yet been destroyed. His full statement Is yet to come, and he has only to far- nish asufficient explanation of the strange letters to Mr. Moulton to regain his old piace and more. | He 1s too good a judge of human nature not to know that any lack of frankness, any attempt at | deceit or subterfuge will be infinitely worse than atull contession, As the case now stands there can be but one of two issues. Either Tilton is a most malicious liat, coward and fiend, or Mr. Beecher in unprecedented scoundrel and hypo- crite. Until the latter proposition shall be proved | | beyond question the public will believe the former, | | pablic morality, that I shall give @ inll answer to the charges against me; but, having requested tt committee Of vestigation to sear nh Tnts i mus to the bottom, it is to them | loox my vingk And again:—"{ do not propo: to analyze é Miest at this time the extraore diuary paper of Mr. Tilton.” If Mr. Beecher does not ‘propose “at tis time’ to proofs, embracing documentary — evi adduced by Mr. ‘Tilton, . af, while recognizing the reasons Which Inake tof tran- te seendent ANCE tum to do se, leaves impor his “vindication” to a bh’ of the Commice of Investigation, the rational conclusion 1s tat he will let the case go by detauit, in other words, that he resumes his former position of 4 enee beyond a naked redental. ‘This changes position he pie erday before the puts in the position of a condemned vofs, under oath, are upon iieir to permit of rebuttal py any simple dental, Will Wonder. deiphia Evening Chroul wonder why Mr. Beeche: i he were dead the P. From the Phy rhe on” public so, and wi “Wook af this “even wish perhaps that is Mr, Beecher’s way. We Wish to have done with the w Is nol a At inatter tor public dis W that We lave a square issie of men- the two nen, Why should we nog them to tt without ‘assistance irons outside? ‘There his been chough said to overtorow half a dozen popular idols, und we do not know What more anybody wants, Tilton vs. Beecher, (From the Newark advertiser.) There is uo reason why we should not be cone tentto rest upon Mr. Beecher's word as against that of Tilton. In this stage of the controversy we | are competied to take one or the other. there 1s nothing else that can be calied evidence, We piace no estimate of value w that Tilton may say. He conte xX or eight vever on anything s to having acted. Millions Bow Prom the Rochester Ex, It is unnecessary Jor us to reier at length to the profound impression produced by the statemeut of Tilton throughout the country yesterday, Mill- tons were bowed down in spirit by the intel gence, while many others—too many Jor the credit o1 our Kind —eXxuited over it. We lope that what is to come will come speedily, and that 16 will be so. concinsive that Wheu the case is closed it shall be closed forever. Let Us Wail. [From the Wimington (bel.) Commercial} i We hope, on the other hand, that ihe e not true: and, besides the charges it contams force of Mr. Bi her's denial, many of the features and internal evidences of the MeL #re care rying public opinion to sucha belief, Meanwuile let us await the verdict of the investigation, Moulton te th: Amo: Rescue—Beccher Singing # the Angels. [Prom the Providence Press.) Mr, Tilton a Mr. Beecher and Alvs, Tilton deny. Now, the man who holds the Key of the whole matter is the mutual and coutided-tn fviend of all the parties, Mr. Frank D. Moulton, aad pos+ sibly also Mr. Carpen When these gentiemen give their testimony to the committee and the public the wil! be closed, and the judgment entered up for ali time, Both ar. Beecher and Mr. ssigned thei true positiuns. I am imsane jealously hus moved Mr. ‘Tiiton le will reure from the contest with the eXecrations of the whole civilized world, If Mr. Beecher has acted a living lie for all these years he had far better be singing among the angels than meeting the storm which Will fall upon nim. A Very Non-Committal Boston Opiniop- {Prom the Boston Traveller.} Those who wish to learn the truth concerning the Beecher scandal should read his denial of the accusations of Theodore Tilton, which is given oa the first page of to-day’s Zravelier. Something Wrong. {from the Albany Journal.) * * * They reveal a prolonged and agonizing effort to prevent this cloud from bursting which looks out of all proportion to the character now assigned it. Il the wrong were as venial and ag comparatively mnocent as the pure though fervid regard now described, why such floods of grief, and why such an extraordinary attempt to suppress we disclosure? The Humiliating Apologies. {From the Hartiord Times.] Had it been true that Mr. Tilton knew of als wite’s crime of adultery with Mr. Beecher, it does not seem probable that he would have continued to live with her as lis wile, and sv readily sign aa agreement of friendship with Mr. Beecher, On the other hand, it does not seem probable that Mr. Beecher would have signed such humiliating apologies, and made declarations that he desired to die, and had probably preached his jast sermon, on account of the inconsiderate advice to one of his parishioners to procure a divorce from @ hus- band who was running loose with impure women, New England Legal Opinions. (From the New Haven Palladium.) Mr. Tilton’s statement and Mr. Beecher’s partial reply to it continue to jurnish the principal topia of conversation. As regards the first, it is the opinion of several eminent iawyers from different sections of the State who are in attendance on the session of the Legislature, that it isa document of remarkable power, which requires to be met by the strongest and clearest evidence nm rebuttal. In the words of one of them—*If [had to detend a client against such charges as are there presented Lshould feel that 1 had a very aiMcuit, thougn by no Means an impossible, task."’ it is not thought that Mr. Beecher's answer throws very much lgnt on the case. The World Waits Patiently. {From the Brooklyn (E. D.) Times.) Mrs. Tilton’s statement adds nothing to Mr. Beecner’s, only so Jar as she gives a clearer insight into her own domestic troubles. ‘The case stands as it did yesterday, and the world waits patiently tor Mr. Beecher and Frank Moulton to speak, The Effort to Explain Away Beecher’s Letter of Confession and Apology Is Too Thin. {From the Cincinnati Commercial.) The effort to explain away Beecher’s lecier or coniession and apology to Tilton is too thin, Do Mr. Beecher’s friends expect the world to believe that he is such a fool as to have dictated a letter, Mr. Mouiton being the amanuensis, in the twilight, and that he permitted so importance a document to . Rd gato without himself being t with the contents and the mean. ing and si nee of every Word in it? In all the negotiations having reference to a compromise Mr. Beecher, upon lis own evidence have had the keenest anxiety, and to have more apprehension that Tilton was nos “strong nindea” enough to keep the skeleton closely in’ his closet than he had of anything ese but the Zeal of zealous Mriends Who threatened to defeat an auucable ad- justment by rushing, as Dr. Bacon did, to ‘a ruin appears to ‘ous defence.’ “Audi Alteram Partem.”” (From the Cincinnati Gazette.) We say again, as we said yesterday, now is the time to remember the old Latin proverb—andi ateram partem, Let the jury In this ease, which is now the great public, bear in mind that the evidence 1s not yet allin. Until it is justice to all parties requires that the verdict should not ve de- cided upon, Beecher’s preiiminary reply to the statement of | It Reads Like the Work of a Timid Lawyer. {From the Ciucinnati Enquirer.) AS a sequel to Tilton’s terrible story, polished yesterday, we have this morning a comprehensive statement from Brother Beecher. It is a mild and carefully worded document, It reads like the | work of a timid lawyer, and is simply & general 1 of the charges made against him. ner is preparing an extensive defencs fore his select board of whitewashers, i tor the present contents himself with calling ty accuser a liar, He has a dig job before him, and we are willing to grant him reasonable time. Mrs. ‘Tiiton will be along to-morrow with @ ‘full and complete deniar” of her husband's remarkable story, and the public is likely to be furmished with “good ading” jor some time, Mr, Beecher and Mrs. Tilton have @ jury of their own selecting, and if they don’t succeed in securing a favoravie ver dict then our faith in human nature will be shaken. “Will It Be Whitewash? (from the Lockport Daily Union.) Mr. Beecher’s statement was pected, His only mode of escape lay in a flat denial He lias the pressing motive of self-defence in making it. Mr. Tilton was in no such straits. He could lave ho motive prompting alicgations against nis wio's chastity. ‘The probabiliies as to the truth are it Mr. Tilton’s favor, Mr. Beecher makes an error when he says:—'I shall give full answer to the charges against me, but having requested the com- mittee of Investigation to search the matter to ine bottom, it Is to them that I must took for my vin- dication.’? Mr, Beecher is mistakeu, The commit. tee was selected by hunsel!, ani ti they are not iis jtiends before sitting and they do not Whitewasi Tis Case, itis no jault of his; and, under the cir- cumstances, he must Jook to the public for his vin- ication, if he ever expects to regain position and Confidence by it. deni Bee laid |