Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-06-25
NEW YORK.
rhe Beeehtr.TiIton scandal.

New YORK, June 25.--Among the doc
uments which Theodore Tilton in his
long open letter to Rev. DR.. Leonard
Bacon, on what is commonly known as
the Beecher and Tilton scandal, is the
following under date of May l, 1874:
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher:
SIR-Mr. F. B. Carpenter mentions to
me your saying to him that under GER
tain conditions involving certain disa-
vowals by me, certain sum of money
could or would be raised to send me with
my family to Europe for term of years.
The occasion compels me to state ex-
plicitly that so long as life and self
respect continues to exist together in
my breast | shall be debarred from re-
ceiving either directly or indirectly any
presents or other favors from your hands.
The reason for this feeling on my part
you know so we'll that | will spare you
the statement Of it. Yours truly,
THEODORE TILToN.
Tilton fellows this with reference to
what he declares fact, that although
he had received from the clerk of Ply
mouth church on the 18th Of May a
communication announcing this, his
(Tilton's) offer to appear for trial had
been read by Rev. Mr.. Holiday, assist
ant pastor of Plymouth church, and sub
mitted to the examining committee, by
whom it had been rejected. Mr.. Holli-
day had, some forty days afterward,
emphatically denied to several news
paper reporters that such offer had ever
been received, and branded the whole
story as a fabrication from beginning to
end. DR.. Bacon having in his speech
characterized Beecher as the most mag
unanimous of men, and referred to Tilton
as dog and knave, leading the public
to infer that the latter was, in some way,
q creature of Beecher's bounty, Tilton
states that be called Beechers attention
10 the ofensiveness of the statement,
and insisted on its correction by either
that gentleman or himself.
Tilton closes his letter to Rev. DR..
Bacon, as follows: If the public have
heretofore considered my sentence as
inexplicable, let my sufficient motive be
now seen in the just forbearance which |
felt morally bound to show to a man
who had sent me written and absolute
apology. But my duty to continue this
forbearance ceased when the spirit Of
hat apology was violated, to my injury,
by its author or his agents. These vio-
iations have been multitudinous, and
they threaten to multiply in the future,
forcing me to protect myself against
them in advance, particularly against
the cunning devices Of the clerk Of the
church, Who acting as attorney, appears
to be conducting this business against
me as if 1t we're a case at law. Had the
fair spirit, which had a right to expect
from Plymouth church, at least for its
pastors sake, been shown toward me,
would have continued to rest
in silence on Mr. Beecher's apo
logy, and never during the remainder
Of my life would have permitted any
public word Of mine to allude to the
3fense or offenders. bat injurious meas
lres which the author of this apology
las since permitted his church to take
against me without protest on his part,
INVOLVING gross injury to me, which have
,een greatly aggravated by your writ
ngs, have put me before my country
men in the character Of base and bad
nan, a character which ] trust is foreign !