Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1874-08-08
BEECUER SCANDAL CORRESPON-
DENCE.

The following letters are pant Of series in
the Beecher Tilton case, portion of which
we published. The first is Moulton's reply
to Beecher asking to see letters, Sc.
MoULroN TO BEEcuUH.
4G REMsEN SIHElr,
| BKooKLYN, Aug. >. ISL.
ZEE. HtArH Ward Beecher:
My Dear Sir: In all our acquaintance aad
| friendship, | have never received from you
| letter of the tone of yours of Aug. 4. 1t
! seems unlike yourself to have been inspired
| by the same i'll adviser who has so lamentably
| carried your private affairs before a commit
| tee of your church and thence before the pub
| lie. In reply, let me remind you that during
| the whole Of the past four years all the docu-
mcnts, notes and memoranda which YOU and
| Mr.. TItOn have entrusted to me, have been
| SO entrusted because they had reference 10
| your mutual difference-I hold no papers, Ell
! Their of yours or of his, except such as bear
| on this case. You speak of memoranda of
| affairs not Immediately connected with the
| Tilton matter. You probably allude here TO
! the memoranda of your difficulties with Mr
! Bowen, but these have a direct bearing on
| your present case with MIR. Ti!ton, and were
! deposited with me because Of their reference
two from your sister, and am sure you have
not forgotten the apprehension we felt lest
Mrs. Hooper should affect a design, which she
foreshadowed, to take your pulpit and read to
your congregation the confession of your it,
timacy with Mrs. Tlton. You speak of 9th n
papers which hold, subject to your wishes.
hold none such, nor do ! hold any subject
to Mr.. Tilton's wishes.
The papers which | hold, both yours and
his were not given to be subject to either OF
the parties but the very object Of my holding
them was. and still is, to prevent the will of
one party from being injuriuusly exercised
against the other. You are incorrect in say
ing that Mr.. Tilton has had access to my de-
postory OF material. On the contrary, | re-
fus ed 10 give him access Daring the prcpa-
ration of his sworn statement he came to me
and said his case would be incomplete unless
! gave him access to all the documents, but
| refu sed, and all he could rely upon were
such notes as he had made from time to time
from writings of yours which you had written
to me to he read to him, and passages Of which
he caught from my lips in shorthand.
MIR. Tilton has seen only part OF the pa
pers in my possession, and would he more
surprised to learn the entire facts OF the case
than you can possibly be. What idle runors
may have existed in newspaper offices know
not but they have not come from me. In
closing your letter you say, " do not ask
you to place before the committee any papers
which Mr.. Tilton may have given you, but
do demand that you forthwith place before
the committee every paper which have =" mt
ten or deposited with you.
In reply, can only say that | cannot justly
place before the committee the papers Of one
Of the parties without doing the same with
the papers Of the other. | cannot do tllls
honorably except either by legal process com
pelling me, or else by consent in writing, not
only of yourself, but Of Mr.. Tiltor, with
whom shall confer on the subject as speedily
as possible.
You will, trust, see greater spirit of JUS
tice in this reply than you have infused into
your unusual letter of August 4.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) FRANCIS ID. MouLToN.
Then follows letter from Moulton to Til
ton dated Aug. 4th, in which the former asks
permission of the latter to 60 before the In
yestgating Committee Titon's reply is
given, consenting to Moulton's request, and
then the following from Moul;on to the Com
mittee:
MouLroN TO THE COMMITTEE.
Gentle men OF the COMMITTEE:
have received your invitation to appear
before you. / have been ready on any prop
er occasion to disclose any of the documents
known to me or in my possession relating to
the subject matter of your inquiry. But
have found myself embarrassed because Of
my peculiar relation to the parties and to the
controversy. Friendly for years to both of
them, and at the time of the outbreak of the
miserable business, having the kndliest feel
ing toward each, | endeavored to avert the
calamity that has now falen~upon all. Most
fully and confl1entally trusted by all parties,
it became necessary that | should show the
exact and single truth of every fact and in
stance of the controversy, as l was made by
mutual consent in some sort the arbiter of the
affair, and, after the enlargement, the me-
dunn of the communication between the par
ties both saying or writing to me such things
as they desired said or written to the other.
That in such case | gave the information or
showed the communication TO the person in
tended to receive or be affected by it. I'm
der these circumstances | have not fclt at
liberty to give testimony on facts thus OBJ
tanned in the sacreGness of confidence before
tribunal not authorized by law to require
them, however much otherwise | might re-
spect its members and objects, without con,
sent Of the parties from whom / received the
disclosures and documents. With the coz
sent of Mr. Beecher and Mr. Tilton l have
felt myself ready sorrowingly TO give all the
facts that know about the object Of the in
quiry of the committee and leave copies of
the same with them if they desire it. With
perhaps the stipulation that if | was to give
my advice orally, or to be cross-examined
that l might bring with me photographic
reporter in order that should have an exact
pnuv for my own protection.
am to day in receipt of letters from the
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and Mr.. Theodore
Tilton, with their consent and request, thus
absoving me thereby from my confidential
relation towards them, to appear before you
and give TO you the facts and documents in
reference to the differences between them
| 1t appears 10 me that as Mr.. Iilton has given
| his evidence and Mrs. Tilton, that Mr. Beech
err should be requested to ado his own in or
| der that the three principal parties to the case
shall have been Independently heard upon
| their own responsibility before | am called
| upon to adduce the facts in my possession de-
| rived from them all. Nevertheless, since |
| am now fully released from any confidential