Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-09-10

history in the affirmative, 1t was easy to wonder
| that Mr. Beecher shoulditrust such men as TIL
| ton and Moulton, now that their characters are
known, and the committee felt like visiting the
severest censurc upon Nj. Beecher for imperiling
the precious interests contdcd To HIM through the
confidence reposcd in then
The charge made by the accuser is easily pre-
ferred and not easily disprtyed. It's not enough
for the accuser to say: make this charge; now
tribunals have required, III determining the truth
or alsiy of such charges, such proof Of facts and
circumstances as point Enthusiastically to
the guilt of the accused as are not con-
sistent with any theory of innocence. The
committee then cite "Greenlcaf on Evil
dence" to substantiate the proposition, and
then 20 on to say that there is nothing whatever
disclosed by the evidence that proves that the &C
cused parties have ever been found together uu-
der suspicious circumstances, such as in some
unusual hoNse or place, orconsnltlng together III
some secret way. To avoid Exposure and obserra-
ton There WAS no proof OF clandestine CORE
spondence. Mr.. Beecher'swiie testified that she
opencd arranged and rcadall letters that came
to her husband, except those that came to the
Christian Union Office and the church. and those
We're opened by Others. ant hence conclude that
the usual facts and circumstances indicative or
wrong-doing are utterly wanting IN THIS case inc
case then rests upon mere words and assertions
supported by no circumstances whatever that are
the usual indications of adultery
Tilton says he knows the fact from his wife's
Moulfon and her mother But Mrs, Tilton SAYS
this confession was extorted from her by an i'm
perious, malicious husband. and by fraudulent
means. the pretense being that she must say
something in order to ertricate him from his
business perpcxities. She was made to believe
that there was some conspiracy Matching against
her husband. The fact that she withdrew the
charge when Mr.. Beccher first confronted her, on
the evening of Dec. 30, together with the further
fact that she has ever since denied the truth OF
the charge when free from the dominating in
Ar,x 81 aIovNA rnfa nd fn aud
specially commented upon by the committee.
The source of the scandal was the alleged words
of Mrs. Tilton, which she explains in such man
ner as to deprive the allegation OF all force and
credit.
Then comes Mr.. Beecher, who solemnly declares
that whatever words. by whatever means had been
drawn from Mrs. Tilton by her husband, he Is
innocent Of any and all improperly toward her,
whether relating to improper advances or adultery
The committee did not propose to defend the
course Of Mrs. Tilton, On any theory OF human
showed that under the influence Of designing
husband, when in condition Of mental alteration,
she had at least passiycly made charges OF i'm
proper advances by Mr. Beecher, but when her
had done she quickly retracted them in sorrow
and penitence. Eminent physicians appearing
before the committee had testified that such con,
duct on the part of Mrs. Tilton, being subjected
to the influence referred to, was not inconsistent
with an honest mind. As illustrative of tins
latter proposition the committee refer to the
have been written by Mrs. Tilton, in which she
says she is perfect coward in Titon's presence,
and that it Is physical mpossiblity to tel the
IN Which ana she p ssSs a my Mo s
soul ! am innocent Of the crime Of ip..
pure conduct alleged against me- In
the statement, also, which was prepared under
the direction of Mr.. wlton and Mr.. Carpenter,
and taken to DR.. Storrs in 1872, Mrs Tilton shows
that she was made to believe that a conspiracy
had been formed against her husband, Subse-
quently, in letter, she is fonnd asking the for
giveness of Mr.. Beecher for the sulferngs she had
caused him. The committee had heard much
from Tilton Of confessions made by his wife to
him, but they were obliged to receive his state
ments on this point without confederation. On
one occasion, according to the testimony Of Miss
Turner, she told her husband that 1t was lie
that she had confessed to him her intimacy with
Mr. Beecher. This witness was the same person
who, IT was said by Titon and Moulton was sent
| to boarding.school to get rid OF her, because
she had heard Tilton make charges against her.
Miss Turner and Mrs. Triton both agree In saying
away, because she had stated to her
friends that Titon had twice attempted
intimate relations with her during the absence
| losing place and position because OF his social
views and practices, and feared the publicity Of
this girls statement. The sum OF $4,000 was In.
vested to pay her expenses while at school, but
! the committee say the absurdity Of supposing
that Mr. Beecher would invest that sum to get
persons to leave town. to whom Mr.. Titon had
-
Persons to whom Tilton had talked In some form
Of the scandal were too numerous to justify IN
investment of $1,000 on each Of them by anybody
whose wealth could not be counted by millions.
Just rs Miss Turner was leaving for school Mr..
I1lton procured from her. with the aid OF his wife,
letter denying the reports OF improper liberties.
mere MI Triton shone conspicuously - manu-
facturer Of evidence
Mr. Tilton, when before the committee, when
reference was made to the "Griffth Gaunt" let
ter, seemed to think that the offense OF Griffith
Gaunt was adultery, and accordingly relied upon
the letter rs incontrovertible evidence of his
charge In this he was mistaken.
1t was principle of common law that mar
ried woman cannot commit or be held to commit
a crime perpetratcd in the presence of her hus-
band, and this upon the idea that the husbands
presence and influence amount TO dnress. and
that she Is therefore, not responsible Whether
or not II was necessary to invoke this rule OF law
TO excuse Mrs. Tilton, 1t could be in what
Mr.. Tilton was able to extort from her without
her vOlition or real assent something of the rea-
sons which moved the early expounder Of the
English common law to assert the doctrine re-
ferred to-
The committee having reviewed the evidence,
proceed to contrast the characters OF Mr.. Tilton
and Mr.. Beecher. In respect to the former the
committee ask: Who Is this accuscr that he
makes so bold a face! He had lately become a
very different man from what he was formerly re-
ported to be. Signs of degencracy have set In
which make him discredited man in the com
munity. After his espousal OF the new marital
philosophy his downfall was rapid and com
plete. IN sketching his career an able writer
saws: = In process OF time he comes before the
world the indorser Of Victoria c. Woodruff
and lends his name to biography of her which
would have sunk any mans reputation anywhere
for common sense. Such a book IL a tomb rom
which no author rises again" Such is the &C
cuser
The accused is Henry Ward Beecher, the pastor
of Plymouth Church, who has been clergyman
with harness on for forty years He has been liv-
ing in the clear light Of MONDAY be-
fore his people and all men, life
of great Christian usefulness and inccs-
SAINT work. Those who have been most
intimate with hira, at home and abroad
report nothing OF his life or conversation
but what comes of purity Of soul.
We are asked by Tilton and Moulton to believe
that Mr.. Bcecher, with his long and useful life
and high character TO sustain him. is unworthy