Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1874-08-05


''' 81. w. SAGE, Chairman.
ia LIVINGSTON STREET BROOKLYN,
August J. 1874.
M. Henry W Sage, Chairman Of Conm1ttee:
My Dear sir have Just rece1Y es your uo we
cidentally msdated it. the cdmnunicrIrinh
should have come to me several days ago. lhls
leads me to recall similar dilatorlnesS OF dehVeiy
of YOUR original note first summonlng nue. 10
vo,,r committee which l received only four
hon before was to appear, and yet the sum
mons bears the date of the day previous.
But let these trih pass. Your note' Just re-
ca;v.d surprises me by it's contents, Tor you
seem to have forgotten that n the last day OF
nv appearance before your commlltee carlieu
to YOUR meeting not only all the documents
wb;ych Quoted IN my sworn statement save
those in MIR Moult'n:s possession, put many
more besides making double HANDFUL OF inter
esling ard important papers, vital 10 my cH-o
and destructive to yours. All these papers l
uurposed to lay before you, but no sooner hau
begun to read them aloud in your presence silah
ono of ycur attorneys stopped me- Ill the reaulhg
and proposed that l she uld save the comm
time by referring these papers to one Oh your
mnmbers- tae Hon. John Winslow l acqul-
csced in this suggestion, and r,tired from your
| committee with the expectation OF speedy CON-
ference with Wlnslow. Perhaps it Was my
nroner duty to have called on Wiuslow, but rs
! the whole committee had previously sci Inc ex-
ample of calling in body ON one or Inc otnel
parties TO this controversy, TOOK IL lof grah.eu
| that Winslow would repeat this, precedent oy
doing me the honor to ca ut my house, ~ "IiGh
| he would have been welcome guest; but, Wnilo
| waiting for his coming, l Was called upon, IN.
| stead BY policeman, who arrested me, ana
| carried me ut thirty minutes notice before jus
| tice Riley's Police Court to answer Inc charge
of libeling Rev. Henry Ward Beccher, against
| whom had spoken not libel, but truth. UP
| to the time of this arrest l bad employed no
| 1owver not needing any but on finding myself
| before the Police Court, and not understanding
| the motive fer my arrest nor tn, methods VI
| courts, requested my friend, Judge > u MOT
ris TO answer for me IN technical proceeding IN
which knew no. how to answer properly tor
myself Twice already l have been before this
unexpected tribunal, and may be called before
| it thii d time on Wednesday next Meanwhile
| nav counsel, to whom l have just shown your
| note, hstructs me to lay no documents, papers
or rernuining testimony before your committee,
in any form, except to send you this present and
final letter. containing the reasons Tor this step
These reasons are the following:
| First. You arc committee of Mr.. Be, cher S
friends; appointed by himself; expected TO net
in his beh .lf; assisted by attorneys employed
| exc usivey for his vindcasion; Jldng secret
! sessions inaccessible to the public; having no
| power t, compel the attendance OF witnesses
giving no opportunity for the opposite side to
| cross examine such rs vol ur.tarlly appear; pub
fishing or SURPRISING their testimony as you see
i H., and, so tar as my own experience goes, Ask
| ing me no questions save such rs were irrelevant
| to the case and emitting to publ sn in your inn
| perfect and I'm, ust report of my testimony all
| that WAS most pertinent TO my own side OF the
controversy.
| New York have been arttully i'd day by day
| with crumbs of fictitious evidence against my
| character as if not Mr.. Beecber, but | alone,
| v ere the man on trial; aid though 1 have but
little right, perhaps, to hold your committee re-
| spunsibe for this daily tatlon which
may come through the malice of others, yet the
| result is the same 10 me as If you had deoer-
atey designed it. and That result is this, namely:
expect NO justie either from your tribunal,
| since you cannot compel witnesses to testify,
nor from your reporters, since they do not give
| impartial reports
| mean no offence i'll expressing it, that your
committee has come ut last to be as little Salts
| factory to the public US myself, and that your
verdict, if you render one, could not possibly be
| based on full tac.s, since you nave no power TO
compel witnesses nor to verify their testn. ony
by oath nor to sift it by cross examination. For
| these reasons, which Gus ut to have moved me
| earlier, L have ut last instructed my council TO
proceed at once, at his discretion, to carry my
case fir M your jurisdiction to court OF law, and
| in view of this instruction from me, he has In
| turn instructed me to hold no further communl-
cation with your comm ,ttee, except this present
letter of courtesy in which l have the honor to
bid you farewell in doing which allow me to
add that the respect which AIN unable to en-
tertun for your committee q: a Tribunal cannot
help expressing for y"u, each and all, as indi-
vi4uals. Yours truly,
tn oDoRE TILToN.
MRS. TILToN's TESTIMONY.
New YORK, Aug. A. Mrs. Tilton's testi-
mony before the Plymouth Church Iuvestigat-
ing Committee will be published Tomorrow.
The following is brief synopsis, embracing
all that is of interest and not heretofore pub
lished The examination begins with an ap
parent purpose to show that MIR. Tllton neglect
ed his wife from very early period of their
married life. Mrs. Tiltou stated that she was
trt qucntly sick, and her physician said there
was care aud trouble on her mind which he
could not cure with medicine.
O. What was the trouble 10 point Of fact
A. Well, any Of one of you gentlemen, think,
would have cared for my family as much as
Theodore did; | was left entirely with my SER
wants, and they We're very poor servants; l
could not have my mother with me, because 1t
was impossible for her to live with us on &C
count of disagreement with MIR. Tlton; Mr..
his wife management, and was harsh in his
criticisms.
O. When did he begin to talk to you, if at
all, regard to your association with and friend
ship for Mr.. Beecher? A. think | had 90
visits from MIR. Beecher before 1866; that is the
first tibet remember seeing him very much.
Q What was the criticism 10 regard to
Beecher and yourself which TiIton made ? A.
Early in 1865 Mr. Tiltou's miod was tainted
with suspicious of Mr.. Beechcr, and be used to
talk with me continually about his wrong do
Jugs with ladies, stories of which were told by
Mr. uame not given; when Mr.. Beecher
came to see me- MIR. Tiltou began to be sus.
picous, and that | might be perfectly trans
parent with my husband with respect to my TO-
terviews with MIR. Beecher alone, | used to
charge my mind with our conversations, and
repeat them to MIR. Tilton. Mrs Tiltou con-
tinues-She was continually questioned hv Mr.