Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-06-28
TILTON.BEECHER.
Still Beating About the Bush.
Beeeher Ansiots to Hold Ills
Peace,
Not for His Own Sake, but fO
Others.
His Lawyer Denies that Beechei
Ever Wrote the Apology
Cited by Tilton.
No Action 20 be raLen for q Week

NO Action 10 De lSAcn tOE u WccA
Nkw Yotlf, Jmie 2T.-kt a consultation
on the Tilton letter last evening ~ Hev
Henry Ward Beecher and several friends
Mr.. Beecher is reported to have said thai
personally he was opposed TO saying any
thing publicly in reply to Tilton's charges
He believed the only effect of the utterance
would he TO tsrclonq the discussion OF the
case, while ii silence Was pfeserFtd ar end
would be speedily reached. He as
suTed the gentlemen that his leaning
toward a silent policy was IN
no way caused by any fear OF
C cJnseQuences to himself by a discus
sion. His desire was simply to gst out OF
the difficulty with as little injury as posi-
bic. he kiiew by speaking be could end
the matter so far as he was personally con
cerned, but he also thought continued
silence on his part would shortly have
the same effect and entertaining thai
cpirion, lie eU,ild sec nothing 70 be gaiHed
by any demonstration.
Professor RAYMOND admired the fOrbear-
ance Beecher had all along exhibited IN
this matter, and was sure the congregation
did the same, but thought it questionable
whether forbearance had ngi now ceased to
lie virtue. 1t was, he knew, Christian
duty tn be jiiagnaniROus, but the question
in his mind was whether
PusiIIanimity and Magnanimity
were convertible terms in this connection.
Mr. Sherman, the lawyer and clerk Of tile
Church, said that if il were necessary TO say
anything in reply to Mr.. Tilton could be
said very briefly. The whole matter was
involved in the Iapologetic letter. and he
thought all that was necessary was TO show,
as could be easily done, that the letter cited
by Mr.. TiltOn was never written by Mr..
Beecher, and that nothing resembling il
exists.
Mr.. Beeeher then remarked that they
would all be i'm better condition 10 de-
termine what ought to be done week
hence aLd since he saw no immediate ne
cessity for action he thought il would be
Just as well 10 give the question a weeks
consideration before determining anything.
In Ihal spirit the council dissolved.
A New witness en the stand.
FB. Carpenter, the artist of whom
Tilton speaks in connection with the pro-
position TO raise means to send himself and
family TO Europe for few years, has been
interviewed. Carpenter SAYS: \ few days
after the adjournment OF the council L had
occasion to call upon Beecher at his house
in connection with matter wholly dis
connected from this scandal. In the course
Of some friendly conversation mentioned
the fact to Beecher that Tilton
had Just finished his book on
which he had been engaged for a year.
added that tile excitement Of the Council
had depressed him considerably and that /,
in common with several of his friends, wish
ed he could 30 to Europe. Mr.. Beecher
said he thought it would be an excellent
thing for him to do. l replied that recent
business embaTassmentS stood in the way,
TO which Mr.. Beecher answered that if Mr..
TiltOn desired TO 60 to Europe, the means
would be provided. l did not understand
from anything said by MIR. Beecher
that he made this proposition in
order 10 secure Mr.. TiltOn's silence in
regard to the scandal. The matter only
came up incidentally. had not gone TO
speak To Mr.. Beecher on this subject, and
he could hardly have expected that L would
bring it up. / told Mr. Tilton what Mr..
Beecher had said, and il enraged him great
ly, although it was Z long time afterwards
that learned that he had written to Mr..
BeecheT about the thing.