The New York Herald Newspaper, December 17, 1875, Page 3

PLYMOUTH CHURCH Scenes in Mr, Beecher’s Tabernacle Last Night. TROUBLES TO BE ——— It Is Resolved to Call an Advigory Council. SETTLED. DEACON WEST’S LETTER. The Great Preacher Challenges Comparison with His Enemies, Plymouth lecture room was well filled last evening with ladies and gentlemen, the former especially, who were anxious to hear the reading of the report of the Ex" amining Committee in response to Mrs, Moulton’s last letter. It was fully fifteen minutes to elght o’clock be- Jore Moderator Edgerton took his chair on the platform, and as he was not followed by any one and seemed to be waiting, Brother Hill asked for the singing of a hymn, The Moderator then explained that Brother Bhearman would be in attendance presently, and a hymn was sung, In the meantime Mrs, Beecher, Mrs. Colonel Beecher, Colonel Beecher and some friends of the family arrived and occupied seats in front of the platform, As |the hymn was concluded Mr. Shearman arrived, and the meeting was opened by prayer and the reading of the minutes of the last meet- ing by Brother Talmadge, during which Mr, Beecher himself entered, He soon, however, left the platform, and was followed by Dr. Edward Beecher, with whom’ after a short absence, he returned, carrying in bis hand large envelope. All this gave rise to anxious expec- tation of something very exciting to come off. Some routine business having been disposed of Mr. Shear- man announced that the report of the Examining Com- mittee, to present which this meeting had been called, was now ready, and he forthwith read it, a8 follows:— REPLY TO MRS. MOULTON, Brooktyy, Dec. 16, 1875. Mrs, Emma C. Movuron;— Mavam—Your letter to Plymouth church, dated De- vember 3, was received on the evening of that day and referred to the Examining Committee, which, as you are aware, was placed in charge of the whole subject; but, as you have addressed yourself to the church, the committee have desired the church to reply. Your whole letter is based on an assumption of the truth of statements concerning our pastor contained in your first communication to the church, This assump- tion we meet at the outset by reiterating our conviction that these statements are an entire perversion of the truth. But as they are not material to the tssue— which relates to your conduct and position and not to the conduct of any one else—we pass them by for the present to answer those points in your letter which seem to have a bearing on the subject Ps mea before us. These points appear to us to be as follows :— First—You claim that your absence from communion and your irregular attendance at this church began in the year 1871, and not before, Second—You, consequently, assume that this church, Ddeing well aware of such achange in your habits, be- ginning in 1871, neglected to lavor or remonsteate with you for the purpose of bringing you back. Third—Y ou allege that we have complained that you aid not ask fora trial. . Fourth—You suggest that you had in your own tes- timony in court accused yourself of having privately slandered our pastor, and that a might bave been tried on this charge by the churel Fifth—You claim that the Moderator of the church meeting ruled that questions to you were out of order. Sizth—You claim that your protest against the ap- lication of our rule concerning the dropping of mem rs made your case an exception and required that you should be dealt with in some other manner, Seventh—You appear to insist that we ought to have ‘ou upon trial for false swearing in a court of against the pastor of this church, th—You propose a series of questions to submit Council in addition to those which naturally arose out of your first letter. The statements and meso uous thus made we will briefly review in this order :— 1. Your letter assumes it as a conceded fact that your absence {rom communion, and your irregular attend- ance at public worship both dated from the year 1871; that prior to that time you were a regular worshipper and communicant with us, and that then your practice changea Thus you say concerning your relations to Piymouth church, “I do not believe stiere was any one more faithful to it or more fond of it than I was up to the beginuing of 1871, when I became acquainted with the great wickedness which Mr. Beecher had com- mitted.” You also say, ‘‘After that it did not seem possible for me to go to ‘church and hear him preach aad take the sacrament from his hands and I stopped joing 80.” Now your own public testimony before the civil fourt showed that the real period of 9 change in your habit of attending public worship was in 1800, eleven years before ee profess to have received any informa- tion against Mr. Beccber. You testified in effect that from the day of your marriage, in 1860, you ceased to attend any church whatever ‘fortwo years; and for the nine years next afterward you were un- able to state definitely a single instance of your presence at communion with the church, or to receive with certainty any year in which you com- muned with ug more then once. It is true that daring the two years immediately following your marriage you lived in the city of New York and might, therefore, excusable for not attending at Plymouth church, although many of our members meet us with unfailing regularity, notwithstanding they bave resided in New York for yeara) But your neglect to join in public worship anywhere from 1860 until 1862, demonstrates as we think, conclusively that the change in your réligious habits, which you now assign to the year 1871, and account for by reasons personal to our pastor, did in tact occur in the year 1860, and is to be accounted for by reasons personal to yourself, It is quite possible that these reasons were adequate and even honorable to you. But it te clear that they were reasons which bad no ronnection whatever with the case of our pastor. Bince you take, as we think, an ungenerous advantage of our past forbearance in proceeding upon the assump- tion of the truth of your testimony in court, so far as it was made, THE BASIS OF ACTION on our part, we are compelled to say that in making that assumption we were not actuated by any belief that your testimony was correct when you asserted that your attendance was more infrequent after the be- ginning of 1871 than it had been betore. On the con- trary, we have reason to believe that your attendance wag quite as frequent after tbat period as it was before, und as late as January, 1874, application was made on your behalf to the officers for regular sittings in the Church. So far as we could see, you appeared (to use your own language) “faithful and more fond’? of the church and its services after the spring of 1871 than | you were before. Upon the fallacious assumption of your sudden and marked change of demeanor in 1871 you now complain that this church was not faithful to its covenant with you because it did not labor to bring you back. No such suggestion was made by you when you ap- | ared before the church; but this may be passed over lor the present, because the assumption being entirely Dntrue, the complaint is necessarily unfounded. No member of this church, so far as we are aware, ever no- ticed any change in your habits in 1871, nor time down to the suinmer of 1874; and it, therefore, ever occurred to any of us that there was any necessity for labor with you. When the real change in your habits occurred, in 1860, you were in the city of New York, and wo supposed that you were attending public worship there. It was oniy Uy your own public test! mony, in the spring of 1575, that we learned the con- trary 'to be the fact; and while, after you returned to Brooklyn, you were alw gular in attendanee, Tt ‘was generally understood, down to the summer of 1874, that your frequent absences caused by suificient domestic reasous, Why should we Temonstrate, when those of us who noticed your absence believed that you were struggling to atiend divine service with Us Under difficulties surrounding the management of a household wuen the Sabbath was made (not by your fault) aday of general bospital) and the house of public worship wos swallowed up by household cares. We bad no suspicion then and we bave no beltef now that your attendance was. more irregular from 1871 to 1874 than it had been oa the | average for the ten years previous. It cannot be possible that you complain of our failure to labor with you on account of your absence after August, 1874. in that month your husband assumed publicly an attitude of the bitterest enmity toyard this thurch and its pastor. He professed to speak in your ame as indorsing bis accusations, and it was every- where announced that you were to be a witness against | Mr, Beecher in the then approaching trial, It would be absurd to suggest that the pastor of this charch or an} tall of whom had just united in pronouncing ‘THR CHARGES OF YOUR HUSBAND fo be false) ought to have gone, individually or ina body, to your husband's house to exhort his wife to attend public services with us. of the church who should have called upon this errand must necessarily have striven to convince you thar the party whose preaching you were desired to attend was tn innocent man; and who would have been louder in rondemnation of such an effort ag an attempt to tam- per with a witness than those who now sympathize with your complaints of our neglect? From the moment at whieh the action was commenced in which you tinally appeared as a witness the officers of this church con- scientiously abstained from every attempt to influence you and left you absolutely free to decide your own tourse. For them to havo done otherwise would have seen dishonorable, and for you or your advisers com- viain of their action would be monstrous. 3 You say that we complain that you did not ask for ‘trial, This church hag never made any such com- plaint, It was you that complained that you did not ea trial, and we simply reminded you that you bad sever asked for one. . You appear to claim that we ought to have tried fou for slander, apon the ground that you had in your sublished testimony charged yoursolf with tho ulter from that | of bis associates upon the Examining Committee | Of course any officer | / / NEW YURKK HERALD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1875.—TRIPLE SHEET. ance of a slander apon your pastor by making 1 pri vate the same statemenis which you have since made im your protest to us, Butwe were not bound to take your word for this, and as the Examining Committee, after due inquiry, became satisfed that your sel sation was uptrue, jl did + ad our way clear to ing with you upon this groun € “You are raistaken t supposing that the Moderator of the meeting at which you appeared ruled that ques- tions to you were oat of order. He only ruled that a motion to compel you to answer was out of order. You were simply left free to answer or pot as you chose— and you chose not to answer. It is alsoa mistake to suppose that you expressed a willingness to answer questions at time while your case should) be under ibvestigation All that your counsel offered was to answer questions when your supposed charges against the pastor should be tried, You were not obliged to answer questions, but since you preferred to be silent you cannot blame us for not imagining excuses for your conduct which you did not disctose, 6. Your chief complaint, after all, is that we were not harsh enough with you. We agree with you that your protest was itself a horrible wickedness if it was not justified by the facts, and we are quite clear that it was not thus justified. But since a disregard of that offence led to @ termination of your connection with the church under such unexpressed censure as was im- plied in the reasons for our action, while a trial upon that ground could only have been followed by the same practical result (with the addition of more formal cen- sure), we did as courts of justice do—we disposed of the ease on hand first, leaving offences committed in the course of the hearing to be dealt with afterward if they could be, 7. Your letter says that you ‘never knew before that false swearing in a court of Lost 18 an offence which the Church of Christ is unwilling or unable to panish.”” Fortunately for the Church of Christ instances in which it has had to try charges of false swearing by its members #re very rare; yet we suppose that precedents can be found without recurring to the case of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, And if your advisers can fur- nish you with any recorded’ instance in which a church, after assuming the expenses of a party to a trial, has been sustained in PUNISHING AN ADVERSE WITNESS for perjury in that trial while the action was stil] pend- ing, this church will patiently submit to the admoni- tions of its sister churches for its failure to give you that severe censure which we fully believed you de- served, but which we did not feel at liberty to adminis- ter, We have thought it meet to point out the errors into which you have fallen in your last letter, not be- cause these had any direct relation to the question of a council, but because it is right that such public mis- statements should be publicly exposed. In our former communication we set forth six points upon which we were willing to meet you before the mu- tual council. You speak of these six points as ours. By recurring to the context of our letter you will see that these were not points proposed or suggested by us, but were simply a definite statement of what appeared to us to be all the grounds of complaint includea in ‘our first letter tothe church. The addition in your jatest letter of fou new points seems to us needless and obstructive, We are still tly of opinion that all the points raised by your former letter are included in the statement made by us, Therefore we have gone ag oy as by any possible degree of consideration for fairness We could be called to go; and, although we perceive in the four additional ig which you now propose a certain quality of subtle {ngonulty we think that on that very account they would. tend to obscure what is plain, and that the form in which they are put is open to grave snepicion of an intention to be need- lessly offensive to this church, and thus to provoke it into withdrawal ef its former, consent. It seems to us ‘that you seek to evade the mutual council, which you professed a desire to call, and that you wish to make it impossible for us to take part in it, We cannot, therefore, assent to the additional questions which yon propose. If you are content to proceed with the call of a council upon the six points raised by your first letter we are ready vo unite in the call, That these points cover all and more than all the topics which could properly be eudmitted to a council will clearly appear by reference to the single question at issue between yourself and Plymouth church. The whole case seems to us briefly this:—If at any period you had become convinced that the scandalous stories concerning your pastor were true, there were open be- fore you three, and only three, proper courses, First—You should have laid your difficulties before the proper officers of the church (other than the pastor) and asked advice, or Second—You should have taken a letter of dismission and removed your connection with this church to some other one, or ‘Third—¥ on should have quietly gone on fulfilling your covenant duties as a member of this church; but you chose another course—namely, that of absenting yourself from the church and all its services, and neglecting all the obligations which you had solemnly assumed in public covenant with as, Even if we should admit that you were honestly convinced of the truth of THE CHARGRS AGAINST YOUR PASTOR, you were not thereby justified in violating your solemn covenants with the church. Stripped of all refinements and accessories, there is one and only one issue between us, and that is:— Whether in view of the conceded fact that you had wholly absented yourself from the church fora year and a half and bad taken none of the courses properly | open to you, either to fulfil your covenant with the church or to relieve yourself from the obligations, Plymouth church, baving given you a full hearing, was justified in dropping your name from its roll. ‘On this simple and Single issue, which involves the only act of the church by which, as you allege, your prong have been violated, the case should be de- ci In offersig o#* Fvite. sm calling @ council upon the issues propounded by your former letter we made a | concession which the ordinary practice of Congrega- tional churches would not authorize you to demand. It must be distinctly understood that we don’t agree to a council as a step which you have a right to require, but because this church, from considerations of the public good, deems it wise to concede it to you as a courtesy, and having added to this concession the further indul- gence of admitting questions raised by you, for the first time, after the church had acted upon your case, we must dechne to go any further or to change the basis of the council to which we have assented. Inasmuch as nothing remains to be settled between us and you, except the details of arrangements for the time at which the council shall be held, and the number and names of the churches of which it shall consist, all of which matters can be settled by the examining committee on our be- hglf, we request yon to inform that committee as speedily as possible whether you consent to the call of @ mutual council to advise us and you upon the issues which we have agreed to accept, These matters of de- tail can but be settled by a personal conference between you or your representative on the one hand and the ex- amining committee on the other; and we therefore refer the whole matter on our part to that committee. At the conclusion of the report it was put before the meeting for acceptance, and unanimously adopted. Mr. Beecher then addressed the meeting as follows:. MR. BEECHER’S MOTION. Mr. Moprrator—I have some resolutions which I shall move and which I shall accompany with a word or two, I will read them, sir:— Whereas this church bas been recently called, in the provi~ den f God, to meet peculiar trials and embarrassments, under which It has endeavored while pursning its Christian work to maintain internal discipline and internal fellowship in all kindness and fidelity and in accordance with the usage of Congregational churches, yet, for various reasons aud in various wi its action has been misunderstood and misrep- | resented; and whereas itis the desire of this church to re- ceive, concerning its whole course and spirit, its rules and practice, the advice of wise and experienced brethren from ‘other churches that it may be able to act in accordance with Christian principles laid down in deduced from the experience of church therefore, Resolved, That a committee of seven be appointed by the Moderator of this meeting, whose duty it shall be, fn the of this churel gregutioual cha held at the earliest practicable day, tor the purp vising this church whether there is anything tn its order | and discipline which requires correction, ot which could con- stitute any just ground of complaint or Femonstrance on the | part of sinter chifrehes, |. Resoive ps | missive for the convening of such # counei, together with | list of eburches and ministers which, in their opinion, it is expedient thas this church should invite. esolved, That the committee be further instructed, in the preparation of such letter missive, and in all its proceea- ings to take no step which ean supersede or interfere with the calling of a mutual council to which the church bas as- sented, and they are further instructed not to insert in the letter tuissive to be prepared oy them, the questions which the chureb agreed to submit to # matnal council, but, on the contrary, to except from the spliere of the advisory council | the matters which are to be submitted to the advisory coun- cil. | After two years of impertinent harrassing, which has not ceased, and in the prospect in the future of a deliberate, concerted and continuous interference by others than the members of this church with our domestic affairs, it seems to me that it becomes neces- | sary that this church should take the initiative and affirmative in respect to its own affairs from this time forward. (Applause.) There is scarcely anything that could be insinuated that has been left unspoken. ‘here is scarcely any epithet which characterises shrinking, evasion and timidity which has not been applied to the action of this church, It bas moved on calmly, conscious of its strength and of its integrity, without faltering and without division, and has presented to the world—I_ speak not now of own admiring judgment, but I repeat the 10,000 utterances, many of which are brought tome personally and by letter of those who look on from the Outside—1t has presented to the world a spectacle per- haps never paralleled in the history of a local church, Ifachurch stands aM@liated as one part of a national cburch, as an Episcopal church, is only one part of the Episcopal Church of America, and as one Presbyterian church is only one element in the national church, the Presbyterian chureb is the same with all local churches of the Presbyterian faith and order in the whole United States, But iv is not so with Congregationa churches, | Bach church is & church, abso- lutely competent to own § concerns (and having alone all its spiritual jurisdiction | over its own affairs, and it depends for fellowship upon the good will of the churehes round about it on the | general ground that confidence and cordial affection ai ® better organization for fellowship than ecclesiastical | forms and rules could be. And this is go in ti peace and ‘mony, but when by reason of th ter- Tuption of such concord a single local church stands alone, Separated by a cold barrier from its neighbors, we must own it is in a very peculiar and trying situa ation. And If it had not been for the stock and sub- stance that goes to constitute this church it could not have undergone the wasting influences whieh have been exerted upon it by those that should have been mem- bers, but have made themselves its bitter enemies, Lee cowl en, some weeks Or more ago, I said that never had one person called upon me or upon this church and ex- pressed sympathy or good fellowship or faitniul advice, I ‘was misunderstood, and [ received in consequence many ardent protests bysletter against my utterance, as say- ing that there had been shown ho sympathy trom omer | Congregational churches or ministers or minfaters of | any denomination, Far,from it! The siream of sym- pathy has flowed like ‘the River Jordan. (Applause) | jut not like that into a TF Sea, but into loving | hearts, But those from whom we had a right to ex ‘That thi ormmittee is hereby instructed to ‘re- un early day, the form of a letter i | amply justified me in publishing my’second letter. | before ) that this council pect sympathy, and who accordingly have been shown it by us whenever they meddled with this church, have never done it with the soft side of their hand in one single instance, It has never been the palm that was extended tous, but always the knuckles, (Laughter and applause.) And under such circumstances, stand- ing with us, we’ have been obliged to submit to be pelted with flery ice. This eypression was received with loud laughter by the assemblage, but Mr. Beecher proserved his gravity and, looking around him, said, impressively, I repeat it, ‘They bave pelted us with fiery ice—with a coldness that has burned like fire. I say that the spectacie of the quietness, the cohesion and the internal activity, the genial ongoing of this chureh is a spectacle that will not be omitted from the writings of any future his- torian of the ecclesiastical affairs of the times. (Applause.) And now, while we have suffered so long and so patiently, believing that pa- tience would at last bring persecution to an end, and that by patient continuance in well doing we could put to shame those who falsely accused. us, hoping that by reticence and by refusing to strike back and by refusing all bellicose spirit and action we might be spared the misery of seeing a spiritual con- flagration carried into the Congregational churches here and in the large cities round about us. But we have come to that point in which it is very plain that the campaign is to go on and that it is the intention of those that never meant well and those who sought by trick and indirectly to do that which they never dared to take the respon- sibility of doing in their own proper person—it is evident that the campaign is meant to go on, and since it must go on, it is time that we should take things into our own hands and have something to do with the tactics of the battle fleld. (Applause. ) We call, then, the advisory council, not because we think in ourselves that our affairs are disjointed or are ont of harmony with the affairs of Congregational churches. I declare my firm faith and belief that not only Plymouth ehburch regular, but 1 will defy’ any church of the Congregational faith and order in these United States to compare back its history with us. 1 especially will defy those that stand now as our chief accusers to open the history of the Roman Church in the mat- ter of discipline and order and compare them with tbe history of the discipline and order of this church in the management of our affairs, (Loud applause.) Leball show under such circumstances that, with packed committees, with the ignorance of the whole Church, ministers have man- aged the affairs and hoodwinked the churches as to the nature of the steps which were taken and which were so important as to involve the very life of thoso churches, (Sengation.) It has been done by the minis- ters alone and given forth as the act of the members of the church themgelves, whereas it has never been cone in this church, Notone single subject that has not been broached before the whole church with foregoing notice of such business. And this church has had the frankest, clearest and most continuous administration of its own affairs from beginning to end. This chureh was born in the spirit of liberty, and we believe with the doctrine of the church law im the proper church, and there never has been, for there has been but one husband here, but one pastor in this bride of Christ, and I know its history from beginning to end. And there has never been a thing done in this church that has not been aided in by a council of the members. And when you come to say that we are not Congrega- onal I throw that charge out and gay they are uot that accuse us. (Applause. ) What will be the influences of this advisory council? What is an adyisory council ag distinguished from a mutual council? It ig & @Oihet! of churches—of churches are fivice from their tellow churches, yhile & council is acounct! called by two par ies not able to settle between them a given matter, An ez parte council is a council called by one party to hear &@ matter in altercation between them and any other church. Now we ask an advisory council to consider this case, and we mean to have {i large enough, and we mean to have it soon enough. (Loud and prolonged applause.) It is proposed to have it on the second Tuesday of January—on the llth day oft January, (Applause) We mean to have this advi- sory council made up of in experience and in the usage of the Congregationa’ Charch; and them’not to those that have never shown anything but enmity, but to those that are impartial, that have stood apart and can act in gome part as judi- cial brethren, we mean to open our bosoms and hearts, and they can question us and try us and say whether there is any evil in us And they may satisfy themselves; for there never has been an hour or a ‘moment in which any man coming to me ina Christian spirit and treating me like a Christian man who could not have found out anything in the whole history of our affairs that he de- sired to ask, And I say that no-body of ministers in council can come to this brotherhood and go iy without knowing anything that can be known in re- apt to the order, discipline and practice of this church. We say in advance that their advice will be most respectfully beeded and that any changes in our rules or any additions to them which may be sug- gested by them, if they do not conflict with the funda- mental liberties of the church, will be accepted and will be adopted, We don’t ask them to come here, of course, and ratify what we have done. We say to them :—“Come here, and if there is anything that can make us better nobody wants so much to do it as wo do.” One effect of this advisory couneil will be this—that hereafter every person that has had the disci- pline of the church laid upon him for misconduct or the non-performance of covenant obligation—every man that shall be disciplined by this church for these acts—cannot run to the call for a mutual council (Laughter and applause.) I think that we may ban & that, after an advisory coun- cilshall bave been held here, Plymouth church can hope to afford hereafter to weil, atleast nine teen out of the pit as of the councils that have been expected to be called. With these remarks I resume my motion that the preamble and resolutions be adopted. The motion was put by the Moderator and carried by arising vote, As quite a number of persons remarked, ey, “There were a good many who did not rise, ut Lhey weren’t members of the church.” Mr, Shearman then read the following letter from Mr, West:— DEACON WEST'S LETTER, New York, Dec. 10, 1875, To tue Members oF Piymourn Cuvuncn, Brooklyn, N.Y. Deak Breteren—Your action in passing the resolu- tions which were presented to you last Friday evening both shocked and grieved me. Although from the outset Thave believed the policy of silence and suppression ‘was radically wrong, yet, after my ineffectual attempt to secure the trial of Mr. Tilton, I re- mained silent for the sake of peace until your unexpected and hasty action in dropping my name from the roll compelled me to speak in self-defence. ‘Afterward I wrote you a lettor, frank and kind in tone, suggesting a plan by which all’ our differences could be settied, and asking you to join me in putting this plan into operation. Without having my letter read before the church you passed a series of resolutions which seemed to me to be unjust and inconsistent 1 am, therefore, compelled to make the following reply :— ‘First—You charge me with insulting you by pablish- ing my letter betore it was presented to the church. ‘This is tho first time I had ever heard that the sending of an open letter was an insult to the body to which it was addressed. I certainly did not intend it as an insult, as the reasons I gave for it in the letter itself will 'shoav. did not think that you i tended to insult Mrs, Moulton when your letter to her was published some days before it was delivered to her. I did not consider it an insult when you dropped my name from the roll of membership, and I received no notification of it except through the mo- dium ef the pabhe press. I will also mention in this connection that I delivered my first letter to the clerk of the church on November 24 and did not publish It. Two days afterward, while that letter was in the hands of the clerk, you reconsidered your former vote drop- ping my name, My letter not being presented to you till after such action had been taken, could you with consistency have received me again into membership after having heard that letter, in which 1 stated that 1 could not conscientiously consent to attend the ser- vices and sacraments of the church until a regular and impartial investigation of the charges against the character of the pastor bad been made by @ properly constituted council? Or would you consistently have censured me for repeating jn the second letter what I had glready stated in the first? Ithink that the facts which I have = n fact, when the letter was brought before the church it was not read, and Mrs. Moulton’s letter, which had not boen published. was also referred, without reading, to the examining committee. Second—You state that I demanded the call- ing of a council to consider matters ‘which I had never laid betore the church or any of its committees, and demanded be called to investigate charges which had never been made by me and which had not im the first place been submitted the church, and you afterward stigmatized this action as being “so plain a violation of Congregational usage and Christian decency af to excite grave doubts of the sincerity and good faith of such a request” Ifyou had referred to my letter you would have seen at once that I made no demand for the calling of a council. I simply requested it and you had a perfect bs to refuse that request but that refusal might have been given courteously an without the accompaniment of such insinua- tions as were expressed by you. As re- gards the statement that I bave made no charges against the pastor, that statement is true; but is it not right for me when charges have been made by others and have become a mattcr of common faine to ask you to unite with me in calling a council to in- vestigate them? As you eay that this course is a plain violation of Congregational usage and Christian de- conoy, let mo refer you to page No. 6 of the Congregational Platform of 1867, where the following language’ is used:—“When pastor 1s charged with offences which would render it prop at be be deposed from the ministry then Wl charch should invite a council to examine the charges. I cannot conceive that I have committed an offence in asking the church to do what our ecclesiastical polity requires them to do; but if [have misinterpreted my rights and duties in this respect it is from want of in- formation, and when a more orderly course of pro- cedure is made known to me I will gladly follow it You also blame mo for not submitting this matter to the church before requesting the calling of a council. Butdo you not say elsewhere im your resolutions that the im question involved in these charges was inves- ‘ated by this church over twelve months ago, and as the result of such investigation the principal charge ro- ferred te was pronounced by # ananimous vote of the church to be false and malicio Does not the fact that you har ready given a verdict of acquittal constitute @ sufficient reason for not institut Ing a new investigation before the church? I think that I have now covered all the points with regard to which you desired an explanation, and 1 trust that be- fore proceeding further in this matter you will receives and consider this communication, I pray that God wihguide you to take such action as shall maintain the discipline of the charch and the honor of religion. Yours respectfully, WILLIAM F, WEST, The reading of the foregoing letter was frequently in ferrunted by dermove javelter from different nerrens ar parlor and get up a | | city enumerators will bo paid by the City Comptroller | visor. present, At its close one member moved to throw it in the wastepaper basket, and another that it should be ignored. Teall such proposals Mr. Shearman was opposed. He said they were uncharitable, that we are commanded to bear with the infirmities of the weak, and not strive to please ourselves. He had no doubt, he said, that the member had acted up to his conscience according to the best light God had given him, and he hoped the motion would be withdrawn. His request was complied with. He then said that since the letter of Mr. West was to be pub- lished 1 should not go forth to the world entirely uncontradicted, He proceeded to say that Mr. West assumed that Plymouth church had published Mrs, Moulton’s letter some days before it was delivered to him, Now, said he, persons in this church know very well that after trying to hold a private meeting, in which Mrs. Moulton’s case was to be discu: we found that the matter got INTO THE NEWSPAPERS IN A GARBLED PORM, and the next time we had to deal with her case in the ordinary way we could not help reporters being present, Then she complains that the last answer of the church to her appeared in the papers, but was not delivered to her, We thought it unnecessary to deliver it to her after it had been pub- lished 1p the papers, But we took especial pains this evening so that a copy could be served upon Mrs. Moul- ton about the same time that it was read here and before it could sibly appear in the newspapers, Brother West was dropped at a meeting from which reporters were excludea, and the report of it wasonly obtained by eavesdropping, and that very same evening, before wo had time to invite him to ar before the committee, he came and said that be fnew his name was dropped, and he told the world that he thought it was very wrong, and we thought it unnec- essary to invite him after that, He says that his letter was not presented to the church until after recousider- ation had been had of the vote on which he was dropped. Now, those present will bear me out when I say that I baa presented that letter to the church before the action was taken, In the next place, his letter was read and in that very same mecting and July as the time and Philadelphia as the place for hold- POLITICAL NOTES. _———— COMING POLITICAL CONVENTIONS, 4¢., FOR 1876. January 5—New Hampshire Republican State Con- vention, Concord, January 5—Texas Democratic State Convention, Gal- veston, nd January 12—Texas Republican State Convention, Houston, _ January 13—Republican National Committee, Wash- ington, to select time and place for holding the Na- tional Convention, February 22—Iudiana Republican State Convention, Indianapolia March 15—Indiana Democratic State Convention, In- dianapolis, May 6—National Convention of Prohibitionists, to nominate @ Presidential ticket, &c., Cleveland. May 17—National Independent Convention, to nom- inate a Presidential ticket, Indianapolis, THE NEXT REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION. The Washington Republican favors the Fourth of ing the next Republican National Convention. The Utica Herald and the Reading (Pa) Zimes also favor the same time and place. Likewise the Phila- dolphia Item, independent. ‘The following table shows the dates and places where the republican and whig national conventions have been held for the past forty years and upward, begin- ning with the convention last held:— REPUBLICANS, read in full. What can he mean? Every- | 1872—June 5. thing that he said has been published | 1868—May 19. one time og another, before church had | 1804—June 7, received it. Hs letters’ were always at least in type | 1860—May 16. before we got them, and we did not think it necessary | 1596—June 17, | to read them, and’ now this man comes before the church and says at once, “I want you to join with mo | 1852—June 16. in calling @ mutual council to try the pastor, against | 1848—June 1, whom I make no charge, and with whom the church is | 1844—May 1. lay. perfectly satisfied, and I want you to let me select one- | 1839—Dea 4, Harrisburg Harrison, half the members of that council.’ I think that Mr. West is convinced by this time of the folly of that course, Brother R. W. Raymond thought that all communt- cations from Mr. West should be sent to the Examin- ing Committee. Brother McKay made a hit at some of the old | backgders, whom it took a long time to | brin’\ round to Mr Beecher’s side, and final® a resolution was adopted to the effec’ ‘hat in future all communications sent to the churea should come under the supervision of the Ex- amiaing Committee, by whom it should be determined whether or not they should be presented to the church farthermore than merely to announce the nature of them, After the appointment of the following named as an Advisory Committee of the church:—Dr. Edward Beecher, H. W. Sage, Rossiter R. Raymona, Deacon Hatcherson, Augustus Storrs, Brother McCabe and R. N, White—the meeting adjourned, AMUSEMENTS. a LYCEUM THEATRE. It is to bo regretted that the unusual combination of good artists at this establishment has not attracted more general attention. The season, so far, at the Lyceum has been, from an artistic point of view, unsurpassed. ‘La Maitresse Legitime”? was repro- duced last evening under auspices that could not fail to win the enthusiastic plaudits of the critical assemblage present, The piece proved to be a great at- | traction in Paris, and, by the way, is still on the boards there; but however brilliant and successful its produc- tion may have been abroad, it certainly could not have been placed on the stage to better advantage than it was last night, when, with talented and cultivated artists and graceful surroundings, it was played betore a somewhat limited audience It is replete with sparkling dialogue, just such as M. Davyl the author, knows how to originate, and its situations throughout are interesting, natural and noteworthy. Mr. Meziéres, in the role of Jean Dulac, had a splendid opportunity of adding to the laurels he has already won atthe Lyceum. He is a finished artist, and uch was cordially indorsed last evening. Mme. Juliette Clar- ence assumed with consummate skill the arduous part of Marthe and displayed at times histrionic powers of a high order, But the great feature of the production was the completeness of all the details, to say nothing of the more than average excellence of every performer who took part in the play. M, Meziéres ts to be ten- dered a complimentary benefit next Thursday evening, when he will appear in “Les Chevaliers du Pince-Nez,”’ in which he has made a European reputation. MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC NOTES. At the Brooklyn Theatre Mr. Lester Wallack appeared last evening in the fine comedy of Ours,’ in which he fas Oie ef his most effective comedy characters, The house was large and enthusiastic. An amateur dramatic performance of Sheridan's “School for Scandal’’ will be given atthe Lyceum Theatre on Saturday evening, the 18th, for the benefit of the Free Medical College for Women. Many of the best known amateurs in the city will take part in the entertainment A concert for the benefit of Mile. Leonora Rita will be | given at Chickering Hall on Wednesday, the 22d inst ‘This lady, a prima donna of celebrity in Europe, ar- rived in this country in February, but through mis fortune and illness has lost upward of $4,000. The ob- ject of the concert is to enable her to return to Europe, and a number of prominent artists have volunteered to appear, While “Bosom Friends’”’ was being played at Wal- lack’s Theatre Wednesday night Miss Ada Dyas canght her foot in her dress during the third act, and falling heavily on one arm hart her wrist and fainted. The curtain was dropped and Mr. John Gilbert made an ex- planation to the audience, We are glad that Miss Dyas is much better and was able to play last night with her usual spirit, ; The benefit of the French Benevolent Society at the Academy of Musio on Saturday evening should be re- membered by all who like to see the highest charity united with the most cultured art. The objects of the benefit aro worthy of general support. This alone should attract a full house, but when Mr. Fechter plays for the first timo here in “On Demande un Gouverneur,” and Mile. Clarence in a charming comedy réle, the suc- cess of the enterprise should be assured. SPEEDY PAYMENT. WHO IS TO PAY THE CENSUS ENUMERATORS? The work of the census enumerators was done last July, and it was stipulated that payment for the work done was to be made in November. There were about 570 men engaged in the task, all appointed by Tammany Hall, with the exception of about six. The work occu- pied from thirty to fifty days. The pleasunt vista of payment in November turned out to be a mirage, as the | 570 men are still unpaid. One of the great unpaid, Mr, James Dwyer, had the curiosity to inquire from the Secretary of State whethér the non-payment of the money due was attributable to any negligence in the | department of the Secretary of State. He received in | reply the following letter :— Orvick oF Tne SECRETARY oF STATE ov THE Stare or New York, Aunayy, Dec. 13, 1875. Dear Sir—Your letter of the 13th inst. is received. Census enumerators are paid by the county upon audit of Board of Supervisors, und not by the Stato, In most of the counties of the State these claims | have been audited by Supervisors at the annual ses- sion in November, and the tax to pay the same is in process of levy and collection. The Secretary of State has no power to enforce the audit of claims of census enumerators. The certificate | of acceptance at this office of your census returns, with all other census returns of New York city, was for- warded to the clerk of your Board of Supervisors nearly three months ago, 80 that no charge of neglect can be laid to this office, and the matter rests now entirely with your Board of Supervisors, COMMON COUNCIL, In reply to an inquiry from this office, directed to an oflicial source, I have been informed that New York after January 1, if the claims are audited by the Super- | Yours respectfully, D. WILLERS, Jr., | Secretary of State, James Dwren, Esq., New York city. The lucky recipient of this epistle straigntway | waited upon Mr. bil d Clerk to the Board ot Super- visors. The latter gentleman said they might possibly pay by the 15th of January, in order to make the ap- propriation fail into 1876, but could not account for the three months’ ae in payment since the approving of the rolls, The clerk imparted the further consolation that, first of all, the Supervisor would have to pass on them and ask the Board of Audit to appropriate; then the Board of Supervisors would have to ip oe and the Comptroller pay at his convenienca Dsus enumerators aro likely to discover what the Greek Kalends mean. THE MAYOR AGAIN A WANDERER, Mayor Wickbam Is again absent from the City Hall, having yosterday, at two o'clock, turned over bis port tolio to President Lewis, who spent the afternoon in signing Warrants, EXCISE LAW YIOLATORS. The Pittsburg Gaseite favors that city as the place for holding the next Republican National Convention, it being only within a day’s travel of the Centennial City, &e, The Davenport (Iowa) Gazette, touching on the ap- proaching meeting of the Republican National Commit- tee, remarks that discussion with regard to the sele tion of the best republican candidate for the Presi- dency should be opened at once, as “such consideration will best and most effectively banish the third term ebimera,”” THE NEXT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVEN- | ‘TION. ‘ Both the Nashville American and the Augusta (Ga) the new Chamber of Commerce in that city being better adapted for the purpose than any other building in the whole country. ORGANS AND PLATFORM. The Chicago Tribune (republican) avers that the clearest sign of the political times, since the elections of last fall, 1s the formation of a third party, which is destined to enter into the Presidential campaign of next year with a regular organization and a complete ticket, It would be premature as yet, continues the Tribune, to forecast tho candidates of the third party, but its leaders and its rank and file can already be seen without spectacles, Prominent among the leaders of the rag-baby party will be Fog-Horn Allen, Wendell Phillips, Ben Butler, Pig-Iron Kelley, Wash rest, Ignatius Donnelly, Buchanan and other nurses of the baby, who have been nourishing and feeding it since its sickness of last fall. It will have two organs in the West—the Cincinnati Enquirer, which has already repudiated Tilden, Kerr and Thurman, and the Chicago Inter-Ocean, which has steadil¥ opposed the pathy with the enunciations of the rag baby indepen- dents at their recent meeting in this city. ‘The National Convention of this third party, it will have been already seen, is callod to be held in Indian- apolis on the 17th May next. The platform of this third. or independent, or rag- baby party, as it is differently called, has been enunci- ated as follows :— The establishment of a monetary system based upon | the faith and resources of the nation, in harmony with | Curtis, Deputy Second Comptroller of the Treasury ; H. the genius of the government and adapted to the de- mands of legitimate business. To this cnd the circulat- ing notes of all national and State banks, as well as all local currency, should be withdrawn from circulation, and a paper money issued by the government directly to the people, without the intervention of any system of banking corporation, which money shall be a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, duties on imports included (except that portion of the interest and principal of the present public debt that 1s, by express terms of the law creating it, made payable be interchangeable, at the option of the holders, with registered government bonds bearing a rate of interest not exceeding 8.65 per cent per annum. SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE. ELECTION OF ASSOCIATE JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT AND EIGHT CIROUIT JUDGES—RE- SPECTABLE REPUBLICANS DISSATISFIED. Convanta, Dec. 16, 1875. associate justice of the Supreme Court and eight cir cuit judges, Wright, the negro, was elected to the Supreme bench. The Circuit jadges elected are Mes: Whipper, Wiggins, Moses, Townsend, Mackey, penter, Northrup and Cook. Mr. Whipper is a negro member of the House; Judge Charleston Moses is ex-Governor. elected on strict party vote. The result creates dis- satisfaction among the better class of republicans gen- erally. THE VIRGINIA SENATORSHIP. Ricnuonp, Dec. 16, 1875. The third ballot in the General Assembly for United States Senator was taken at noon to-day, and resulted in the re-election of Senator Johnson by a strict party vote. The républicans cast thetr full vote—twenty-two in the House and six in the Senate—for General W. C. Wickham, late Vice President of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroa . RIGHTS OF FOREIGNERS, InpranaPouis, Ind., Dec, 16, 1875, In the United States Circuit Court to-day, Judge it wag competent for a foreign corporation to loan money on mortgage of real estate in Indiana, the laws of the State not having expressly prohibited such cor. porations from taking real security. The demurrer ‘was overruled and the defendant required to answer, SIGNS OF PEACE. ‘ Portsmoutn, N. H., Dec, 16, 1875. A discharge of 200 men took place in the construction department of the Navy Yard last evening, leaving about forty in that division, most of whom are em, ployed on the Marion, A reduction took place in the pay of foremen, and the orders are to discharge all foro- men and other employés as fast as their services caa be dispensed with, FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER. Pirrapora, Pa, Dec. 16, 1875. ‘The jury in the case of William Green (colored), in- dicted for the murder of his step-brother, Semuel Mar. shall, at Mansfield, Pa., in September last, to-day r dered a verdict of murder in the first degree, The pri oner was remanded for sentence, A CREDITORS’ COMPROMISE. Boston, Mass., Dec, 16, 1875, The creditors of J. B. Palmer & Co,, wholesale dealer, and manufacturers of clothing, accepted ® settlement on the basis of eighty cents on the dollar, aenpeencommanteleemerese COLUMBIA JOCKEY OLUB RACES. Craruestox, 8. C., Dec. 16, 1875, ‘Thi was the second day of the meeting of the Co lumbia Jockey Club, ‘The first race, three-quarter mile heats, was won by Johnny B. im two straight beats, Time, 19 ts ga The second race, half-mile heats, was won by First Chance, 4 Time, 51% —52. James B. Powers, of No, $17 East Frty-ninth street, and James Donohue, of No, 829 Bast Filty-ninth street, were arrested last nfght for selling Hquor without a hee They were jocked up in the Nineveenth Pre- an house. YACHTING NOTE. ‘THe steam yacht Garcia, from the east to New York, passed the Mrnavo telegraph office yes- terday forenoon. Chromle favor the selection of St, Louis as the place | for holding the next Democratic National Convention, | —_—_ | A THIRD PARTY—ITS PROBABLE CANDIDATES, | McLean, Campbell, S$. M. Smith, Trovellick, Joe For- | financial policy of the republican party, and is in sym- | in metallic money, shall be so paid). This money is to | The Legislature in joint assembiy to-day elected one | All are repablicans, | Drummond decided on the demarror of the bill of the | ‘Thames Loan and Trust Company against Maloney, that | 3 WASHINGTON. An Effort to Reconstruct the Recent Election in Mississippi. SENATOR MORTON ON INTIMIDATION. Democratic Senators on Con: stitutional Law. CONFIRMATIONS BY THE SENATE. FROM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT. I Wasuixatox, Dec, 16, 1875. THE DEBATE IN THE SENATE ON THE Lari ELECTION IN MISSISSIPPI. The principal feature of the Senate proceedings to- day was the discussion of Senater Morton’s bill ta appoint a committee of five to investigate the alleged frauds in the Mississippi election, The debate was cons fined to Senators Thurman, Morton and Bayard, and for an,hour and a half the gladiatorial exhibition wad quite interesting, compared with the dull’ routine of | ordinary business sessions, Nothing new was pre sented, and the old hackneyed arguments that \ have been heard so often were repeated and | emphasized. The people in the galleries listened to | Mr. Morton's vivid descriptions of Southern democrats marching through the country, with loaded cannons and Winchester ,rifles, and tntimidating the blaclt voters, and they wondered how a Union man had the courage to stay there, much less to vote. Then Mr. Bayard talked about constitutional law and Senatorial interference with the courts in direct violation with the spirit of the constitution until bis opponent seemed to have no case at all, But the latter listened un- moved, and at the proper time retorted by saying that when the democrats wanted to investigate the Louisi- ana election frauds Mr. Bayard was the first to declare that the Senate would go back of such legisiation and courts and decisions and investigate the frauds com- mitted by the republicans, and now, when the republi+ cans wished to exercise the same righi, Mr. Bayard thought to silence them by declamation on constitue tional law. The Louisiana investigation of 1873 was ordered before the Senatorial credentials had been pre- sented. He did not propose revolutionary measures, | but to prevent revolution and to prevent voters from being trampled down and robbed of their mghts, Hera | q whisper ran around the gallery that Morton could not be silenced so easily. Mr. Thurmam had a good deal to say and his voice rolled through the chamber with a volubility that reminded one of John Logan at a political camp meeting. Mr. Morton paid little atten- | tion to it, however. He bung his spectacles on his nose and continued ransacking his papers as though only | the clerk were reading the journal, GENERAL WASHINGTON DESPATCHES. eR a ie Wasuinatos, Dec. 16, 1875. CONFIRMATIONS BY THE SENATE. ‘The Senate, in executive session, this afternoon con- firmed the following nom:nations:— Wm. McKee Duna, to be Judge Advocate General of the United States Army; Curtis F, Burnbam, of Ken- | tucky, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; | Horatle G. Sickel, Invalid Pension Agent at Philas | delphia; Robert 'M. Kelly, Invalid Pension Agent | as Louisville; David P. Dyer, United States At- torney for the Eastern district of Missouri; Charles D, Bradley, United St: ritory;” William Sweezy, | Marshal for Wyoming; SB. Astell, fornia, Governor -of New Mexico;’ David P. | Thompson, of Oregon, Governor" of Idaho; Charles E.'French, of California, Chief Justice of the | Supreme Court of Arizona; J. Madison Wells, Surveyor | ef Customs at New Orleans; John R. Ciark, Surveyor | Genoral of Nebraska; B. F, Chambers, Register Land | Ofice, Niobrara, Nebraska; John W. Babson, Deputy | Commissioner of Pensions,’ William Hemphill Jones, Deputy First Comptroller of the Treasury; Edmund B. | K. Leaner, Deputy First Auditor of the Treasury; | Charles F. Herring, Deputy Second Auditor of the | Treasury; Allan M. Gangewar, Deputy Third Auditor of | the Treasury; William B. Moore, Deputy Fourth Aud-| itor of the Treasury: J. B, Mann, Deputy Fifth Auditor! of the Treasury; William P. Titcomb, Deputy Register| } ofthe Treasury; Otis H. Rusgell, Collector of Internal. Revenue Third District, Virginia, | Postmasters—O, H. V. Kenney, at Waverley, N. Y. 5 | ROM. Orrell, Fayetteville, N.C. Si | bury, N. C.; Elliott Kelley, Paris, Ky.; H.S. Park, Henderson, Ky.; Jno. T. Ogden, Wellington, Ohio: P. Ballbridge, Jackson, Ohio: F. A. Shumway, West Killingly, Conn; E. A. Hough, Collinsville, Conn. ; Jno. H. Burnham, Hartford, Conh.; William F. Hall Meriden, Coun.; A ©. Green, Greenville, Conn. ; B | ward A! Brooxs, Camden, S C.; John Leo, Chester Court House, S. C.; J. T. Gibson, Huntingdon, W. Va ; | SG. Wing, Owensborough, Ky. ‘THE CONFIRMATION OF J. MADISON WELLS 4@ SURVEYOR OF THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS. There was a debate of several hours’ duration over the nomination of J. Madison Wells to be Surveyor of the Port of New Orleans, It was at length confirmed by @ strict party vote, except that Mr. Christiancy, | (rep.) of Mich., voted “No; Mr, Booth, (ind.) of | Cal, voted “Aye,” and Mr, Paddock, (rep.) of Neb., refrained from voting. | THE NEED OF A CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN ALASKA, Senator Mitchell made an argument before the Sen- | ate Committee on Territories to-day in support of him | bill to provide a civil government for Alaska by attach- ing it to Washington Territory as acounty. He argued | that military rule had proved oppressive. Persons ar- rested for trial by the California and Oregon courts had, | for want of transportation and otner reasons, been | kept in prison for months, instead of five days, | as authorized by law, and the requirements ‘ot the treaty that all Russian-Américan citizens should enjoy all the rights of other citizens are still unfulfilled. He said there had been considerable immigration of late for mining purposes, and showed that his bill would afford civil government at a very | small expense, and stated that itis recommended by General Howard, commanding the department, | THE WILSON EULOGIES IN SENATE AND HOUSE. The Massachusetts delegation in Congress held @ | meeting this morning to make arrangements for tho formal announcement cf the death of the Vice Presi- dent. Senators Boutwell and Dawes and Representa- | tives Hoar, Warren and Pieres were appointed a sub- committee to fix the day, &c. It is probable that the announcement will be “made tn both houses about a woek after the holiday recess, Eulogies will be de- livered by both Senators and by Messrs. Hoar ana | Warren and also by others not yet designated. | THE SUGAR DBAWBACK—THE FORTHCOMING RE- | PORT OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. | The report of the Treasury Agent on the subject of the sugar drawback has been completed and is now in the hands of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Burn- ham, who is giving to {t close attention with a ¥iew of | framing the conclusions of the department. Many tel, | egrams have been received by the Secretary making inquiries on the subject. The department will, as soon as practicable, issue regulations for the guidance of col- lectors of customs and all others interested, MOODY AND SANKEY. PuiLapetrata, Dec. 16, 1875. ‘There w: very large crowd at the Depot Taber. nacle to-day. The meeting was especi@™ly for “back- | sliders,” After the hymn, Josns like » shepherd lead us, Rev. Dr. Newton read the requests for prayer, a great many of which came from *‘backsliders.’” Mr. Moody then began his discourse. He said @ great many people who call themselves backsliders never were converts. He then read from Jeremiah, chap, t1., 5th verse—‘* What iniquity have your fathers found in me?’? The speaker further quoted the ninth vorse, whore God says, “I will plead with you,” and concluded with an appeal to those who had goue away, from God to return, Mr. Sankey then sang ‘Ninety and Nine,” and tha | services ended with a benediction. * ‘There was a large party of excursionists present from Alleatot ™ who visited this city wattend the minis« trations of the evangelists. THE REVIVAL As the time is drawing near for Messrs, Moody and Sankey to begin their work tn this city a special meeting for prayer will be held in Association Hall, Fourth avenue and Twenty-third street, this afters noon at four oelook |