The Portland daily press., 1874-09-14
MOulton's Last Statement.
Opinions OF Three New Work Papers.

Below we give extracts from the editorials of
three OF the leading morning papers Of New
York relative to Moulton's last statement
The Times says:
The, latest statement does not make it any
more Ineligible than before, how it was pogsi-
BILE for Moulton to state, believing what he
says he did, that Mr.. Beecher could stand eff
the whole case were published tomorrow" He
repeats now his belief that ''if he(Mr. Beecherl
mad made, as he was advised to make, a full
and frank confession Of the whole truth, as he
nad done to me, accompanied by such express
sious of contriton and repentance as he had
made to me, his church and the world would
nave forgiven him, and he would have stood.'
This is grossly absurd. Mr.. Beecher's eoufes-
sion of half the offences of which Moulton
claims to have heard from his own lips would
have irretrievably ruined him. 1t is nonsense
to talk about Moulton's opinion receiving
strength from the fact that after all the
charges have been published Mr.. Beecher still
retains his hold on his church. Thereshas been
no ''condoning" of'adulteries" etherjin Plym-
outh church or outside of it, because Mr..
Beecher has not been convicted of any such of
fences. An eminent clergyman has precisely
the same right as other people to claim that he
shall not be condemned on evidence which will
not stand either the test of court of law or of
fair-minded criticism. Plymouth church may
have undervalued that evidence just as good
many other people have overvalued it,, But the
majority of the respectable public have simply
insisted on rating Mr.. Beecher's credibilty
higher than that of the men who have ap-
peared against him, and so have accepted his
own explanation of his conduct and his letters
as, on the whole, involving fewer difficulties
and inhicting less obvious injustice than apy of
the other alternatives which have been pre-
scented. The only unquestioned "dsclosures''
which have attended the entire controversy in
volve the revelation of unsupported weakness
in Mr. BeecherS characterize moral coward
ice, of tendency to use words in non-natural
senses, OF surprising ignorance of human
character, and OF amazing preferences for
rather worthless people. The undoubted proof
which has been given of the existencesof such
falllngs, Joined with morbid and dangerous
habit of mixing up the most solemn with the
most trivial subjects, will doubtless seriously
impair MI. Beecher's future influence as great
religious teacher. But it will need something
much mere convincing and far less replete with
obvious malice and flthyssuggestion than this
last statement of Mr.. MoultOn to put an end to
that influence altogether.
The Tribune in'its vigorous way thus pays its
respects to Mr.. Moulton:
But we shall not waste time and temper in
analyzing statement which will damn Fran
els ID. Moulton deeper than any revelation of
baseness and treachery that has been made by
Mr.. Beecher or his friends. 1t is about such a
document as one might expect from the man
who allows his friend to make merchandise of
his wife's honor, and acts as broker in the
transaction brutal, cruel, cowardy Infamous.
Because his actions have been misconstrued
forsooth, this Bayard of Brooklyn must save
his reputation for generosity by blasting the
homes in which he has been favored guest,
pulling out the private letters which have been
committed to his private keeping, showing the
world what ugly things brothers and sisters
could say of one another, what sentimental
phrases wives could write in the absence of
their husbands and dragging the reputation of
ladies whom he has never known and the hap
piness OF families which have never wronged
him through the reeking filth of this unparal
leled scandal. 1t would not have been c0nsid-
cred nice business for a gentleman in olden
times; but we suppose it is all right in these
days when husband undertakes to prove that
ne is not dog by showing that he is cuck
old
The World concludes its article on the sui
ject as follows:
There are enormous masses of his statement,
and there is one in particular entirely irrelevant
episode OF it, which we must decline to print
Tor the same reasons which lead all respectable
Journals to suppress the more revolving crimes
with which our courts of Justice are from time
to time compelled to DEAL If we are TO believe
what Mr.. Moulton asserts of himself, he has
devoted himself, with the assistance of his own
wife, Tor number of years past, to concealing
from the public of Brooklyn and from the peo-
pie OF Mr.. Beechers own church and congre-
CATION his knowledge not only of Mr.. Beech
er's criminal intimacy with Mrs. Tilton, but Of
| a series of the most henous offences against
decency and humanity perpetrated by Mr.
Beecher. In the pursuit of this object, if we are
| to believe him, he has not only exhibited, both
in public and in private, the warmest affection
and admiration for a most loathsome hypocrite
and reprobate, but he has also persuaded his
own wife, equally cognzant with himself of
| the revolving truth, to combine with him in
lavishng affection and admiration sympathy
and the gracious tenderness of social intercourse
upon the loathsome hypecrite and reprobate
And he informs that he never would thus
have ceased thus to act, or to lead his own wife
| to act, had it not become necessary for him
to defend himself against a charge of black
mailing Mr.. Beecher vicariously in behalf of a
husband whom he believed Mr.. Beecher to have
| dishonored! All this is not told us of Mr..
Moulton by Mr.. Beecher, nor by Mr. Beecher' 5
lawyers, nor by Mr.. Beechers admirers and
| friends. 1t is told us of Mr. Moulton by Mr..
Moulton himself, with the most cynical uncon-
| seriousness of the hideous light in which he is
| putting himself by the revelation. 1t is kind
OF insult 10 human nature to believe what Mr..
Moulton thus tells us of himself and of his
own wife until belief snail have been forced
upon us by other testimony. 1t would be an
outrage upon common sense to believe what a
man who can tell us this about himself and
| about his own wife, tells us about any other
human being whatever, until belief shall have
been forced upon us by other testimony