The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-08-05
THE GREAT SCANDAL.
TiltOn Refuses to Produce the
Original Letters.
Moulton Interviewed. 80 WIZ He
will not Testify.
Mrs. TistOn's Cross Examination II.
Painful Family History!
Painful Family History !!
Tilton Again.

Tilton Again.
New York, Aug. 4-The Brooklyn Argus
publishes the following letteri
BROOKLYN, July 81, 1874.
THEODORE TILToN, ESQ
Dear Sr-I am instructed by the committee
to state that the letters and documents referred
to in your statement presented to us have not
been delivered, Notwithstanding your several
promises to furnish them. AS yonr statement
in the absence of these documents is deprived
of its greater force, We thihk you should desire
to place them in our possession and desire to
impress on you the Importance of delivering
them to us at your earliest convenience
(signed) Ii. W. SAGE,
Chairman.
BROOKLYN, Aug. 8, 1874.
Mr.. HENRY w. SAGE,
Chairman of the Committee:
My Dear Sir i have Just received your note
of July 81, four days after date. Unless you
accidentally misdated it, the communication
should have come to me several days ago.
This leads me to recall a similar delitatonness
of the delivery of your original note, first sum-
moning me to your com mittee which received
only four hours before was to appear, and yet
the summons bore date of the day previous.
But let these tr1es pass and your note just
received surprises me by its contents for you
seem to have forgotten that on the last day of
rled 10 your meeting not only all the documents
which quoted in my statement (save these in
Mr.. Moulton's statement) but many more be-
sides, making double handful Of interesting
and important papers vital to my case and des
tructive to yours. All these pHpers proposed
to lay before You but no sooner had begun to
read them aloud in your presence than one of
your attorneys stopped me in the reading and
proposed that should save the committee the
time by referring these papers to one Of your
p,omlprc thp Hon Holm WIncOw I
ced in this proposition and retired from your
committee with the expectation Of a speedy
conference with Mr.. Winslow.
>terhaps it was my proper duty to have called
on Mr.. MOulton, but as the whole committee
had previously set the example of calling ia a
body Oh one of the other parties to this contro-
versy, took it for granted that Mr.. Winslow
would repeat the precedent by doing ME the
honor to Call at my honse at which he would
have been welcome guest but while waiting
for his coming was called upon instead by
policeman, who arrested me and carried me at
thirty minutes notice before Justice Rley's
police court to answer the charge of libelIng
the Rev. Mr.. Beecher, against whom l had
spoke not a libe! bpt the truth,
Up to the time of this arrest had employed
no lawy er, not needing any, but ON finding my
self before police court, and not understand
ing the motive of my arrest, nor the method of
courts, I requested my friend, Judge d. d.
Morris, to answer for me in a technical pro-
CeeulD3 III WHICH Knew uOU HOW 10 answer
properly for myself. Twice already | have
been before this unexpected tribunal and may
be called before tia third time Wednesday
next. Meanwhile my counsel, to whom have
Just shown your note, instructs me to lay no
documents, papers, or remaining testimony be-
fore your committee, nor have further commun-
ication with you in any form except to send you
this present and fiual letter containing the
reasons for this step.
These reasons are the following: vFirst-You
are committee of Mr.. Beechers friends, ap-
pointed by himself, expected to act in his
behalf, assisted by attorneys employed ex
clusively for his vindicatioD, holding secret
sessions inaccessible to the public, having no
power to compel witnesses, giving no oppor
tuaity for the opposite side to cross-examine
such as voluntarily appear, publishing Or sup
pressing their testimony as you see fit, and, 50
far as my own experience goes, asking no ques-
tons save such as were irrelevant 10 the case,
rnd emitting to publish in your imperfect and
unjust report of my testimony all that was
most pertinent to my side of the controversy.
I'd. The daily papers of Brooklyn and New
York have been artfully fed day by day with
crumbs of fictitious evidence against my own
character, as if |, not Mr.. Beecher, but alone
were the man on trial; aud though have little
right perhaps to hold your committee respons-
lble for this daily misrepresentation which may
come through the malice of others, yet the re-
suit is the same to me as if you had deliberate
ly designated it, and the result is this, namely
L expect no Justice either from your tribunal,
since you cannot compel witnesses to testify,
nor from your reporters, since they do not give
impartial reports.
Sd. l cannot resist the conviction (though
mean no offence in expressing t) that your
committee has come at last to be as little salts
factory to the public as 10 myself, and that
your verdict (if you render one) could not pos
sibly be based upon full facts, since you have
no power to compel witnesses, nor to verify
their testimony by oath, nor to sift it by
crosS-eXamination.
For these reasons, which ought to have moved
me earlier, have at last instructed my counsel
to proceed at once at his discretion, and carry
my case from your jurisdiction to a court of law,
aud in view OF this instruction from me, he has
in turn instructed me to hold no further COM
munication with your committee except this
present letter of courtesy, in which | have the
honor to bid you farewell, in dong which, a!
low me to add that the respect which l am I'M
able to entertain for your Committee as tribu'
nal, l cannot help expressing for you each and
all as individuals. Truly yours,
THEODORE TILTON.
Moulton Explains.
The Argus says Francis ID. Moulton reached
Brooklyn at an early hourSthis morning. He
| said to- day that although he had heard that an
invitation had been sent to him to apper before
the investigating committee, he had not yet re-
ceiye0 any invitation. He was ready and will
ing to 60 before the committee if both parties
requested 1t. lie had not received lettel
from Beecher asking him to go before the COM
mittee and testify. He still adhered to the
| opinion expressed to the committee that the
matter should have been mpyomised. He
regretted that an investigation had been com
| menced. The committee was an ex parle affair
| and never should have acted except with the
| view to effect compromise. He had not re-
ceiyed any official notification although he bad
received his mail regularly. But" continued
| Mr.. Moulton, cit appears, am here in time to
| testify, if my evidence should lbe requested by
| both Beecher and Mr.. Tilton."
| MIR. Moulton said that the course of some
papers in abusing Mr.. Tilson had been ungen-
| erous and unjust. He regretted that an effort
! had been maize by certain parties to divert the
| issue by bringing absurd charges of insanity
| against Theodore Titon. The stories which
| had been told about Tlton would not help an6
| could have no effect on Beechers case. He eX
| pressed regret at the present situation, but
| said: ''the affair has now reached such pass
| that all the facts must come ont.
The Brooklyn Eagle has also had an inter
| view with Moulton, who said Il ain sorry that
| any action past or present of mine should bt
| the occasion of uneasiness to $50 respectable {
| body as the American public, although | will
| be rash enough to say that had there been less
| Difference shown to public curiosity and more
| respect paid to private interests in this matter
| both Mr. Beecher and Mr.. Tilton would have
| been in much happier frame of mind thar
they are to-day. What l have done hitherto