Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-07-04

Bttchtr and BONtn-
From a New York Letter to the Baltimore Ameri-

From a New York Letter 10 the Baltimore ATeri-
can
Many here believe that the tremendous
competition of Beecher : paper with the
IGdepcHd0twas the bottom cause of Bowen :
belief in Mr.. Beechor' alleged iniamy, on
(as he has once cOnie~-ed) insufficient eyi-
dence, and Of his zeal to purify at once the
former paper and the Plymouth pulpit. \
prominent Congregational minister made up
his mind that this thing must be inyestiga-
ted by the Congregational union at Its last
anniversary, and announced 10 a number of
his friends his determination t. bring
forward and demand 4 settlement. From
this. of course. he was disSuaded but the
issue has ripened to "a defniteneSs between
Beecher and Bowen that makes q foil trial
of il inevitable sooner or later, unless fore
stalled by full confession and concession
from somebody. The better opinion among
''loyers Of good men Is that Mr.. Beecher
Will come out of the ordeal clear and clean,
50 far a criminal conduct j. concerned. but
by no lneans clear Of ndiscretIon (rather
passive than positive on hispart) such as al
most urely gives occasion IN a world ike
this for, the making and believing OF the
grossest charges. The fonding folly of
some Of Mr.. Beecher' : female adOrers, un-
opposed by a compensation of wisdom on
his part, has much to answer for all this
misery and shame. The uncharitable and
un comprehending world without cannot
Understand certain grades Of loving tamil-
laritV. however innocent in fact, on any
other theory than that ofcriminal intimacy
Many women, it Is certain, have been madly
in love with Mr.. Beecher. | know of one.
Many others have lavished upon him the
the fondest id0iatry, ASA sort Of god, eager
to kiss the hem of his garment, and when
favored with actual intimacy-we all know
what such women will do. There Is some
foundation for the story that Mr. Beecher
had made confession and asked forgive
ness. \ friend of mIne has seen the letters.
But there was nothing of a criminal nature
confessed only just such indiscretions as !
have indicated.
4 LIBEL SUIT. We have had a libel suit.
but are not boasting, for other editors have
had 'em frequently. But what we are vain
of is that ours had tail to il on which
hung a wee. little verdict marked " S35.5S,
more ornamental than useful That part of
the suit belongs to Mr.. Fielding Bugbee of
Waterford, who lost his character in 1870,
in consequence Of a virtuous attempt on the
part of this paper to abate what was then
represented as town nuisance. Six lawyers,
as many court officers, three Judges. twelve
! lurymen, two dozen witnesses and a hun
! dred spectators deliberated over the case a
| day and a half, and cyphered out the dam
age with remarkable accuracy. They were
particular about the costs, from which We
infer that most Of the verdict is for
interest which has accrued from the
time that the character was lost in
1870. We have a high veneration for the
courts, but 1t will be a great day for the
dignity Of the bench and respectabiity of
the bar, when the character Of the cases as
sumo magnitude in some degree cOmmen-
surate with the cost of litigation. This
throwing thirty-fiye dollars worth Of time
and brain into thirty-iiye cents worth of
verdict is waste of raw material. and
poorly comports with what should be the
dignity Of the bench and bar. If farmers
and Others devoting their time to the pro-
ductive industry of the county will consider
how much all the men engaged in that libel
suit could have earned during the time of
the trial had they been engaged in saving
wood. hoeing potatoes, or any other pro-
ductive employment. they will get tolera-
bic idea Of how much brain, time and ex-
pense Is wasted in litigating trihlng affairs
This IS matter for the people to consider
and remedy. Judges never relish trifng
cases, and good lawyers always advise set
tlement of such cases outside of the courts.
The trouble probably rests with the people,
who, from motives of spite, force their little
troubles into the courts, to the expense of
the community and the detriment Of court
dign:ty.-LyndOH Union.
| The WESTERN FARMERS AND THE RAIL