The Grange advance., 1874-07-01
IN UNION STRENGTHEN KNOWLEDGE POWER.
The Beecher.TillOn Scandal Re.
vived.

The Beecher-Tilton Scandal he.
vived.
(Fror the New York Sur, June ~
The offer Of Mr.. Theodore Tilton to
waive the privileges Of member
ship in Plymouth Church and appear
before it's Examining Committee for
trial on the charge of slandering Mr..
Beecher, was announced in The Sun OF
Saturday. The proposition has been
declined. Mr.. Tilton's letter was ad'
dressed jointly to Mr.. Beecher, Mr..
Halliday, the assistant pastor, and Mr.
Shearnman, the clerk Of Plymouth
Church. II referred to the tact that
the Rev. DR.. Leonard Bacon, the Mod
orator o! the recent Congregational
Council in Brooklyn, had said
in published articles that
Plymouth Church had thrown
away the opportunity to vind;cate its
pastor by allowing Mr. Til>on to retire
without trial, and had laid especial
stress on Mr.. Halliday's letter to the
Sun to the effect that Mr.. Tilton was
dropped from membership without re-
Election upon his character. Ur..A this
showing Mr.. Tlton offered to -es,ore
to the Church the lost opportunity of
trying him, and to do that his plan was
for it to bring charges against him
just az though he was still q member,
he promising to meet them just as
though the Church still had authority
over him. This letter was not brought
before any meeting of the Church, but
was the subject of private, informal
conference among the leaders. It was
decided to decline the offer, and Mir.
Shearnman, as clerk Of the Church,
wrote reply to that effect. Mr..
Shearnmau and Mr. Tllton also talked
the matter over. The ground taken
by Mr.. Shearnman, who is G. lawyer
and has all along had much to say in the
conduct ofthe Plymouth war, is that
Mr.. Tllton's plan is not feasible, even if
desirable on the part Of the Church.
The only way, be thinks, of putting
Mr.. Tilton in a position to answer a
charge of originating the
Beecher scandal would be to make him
member again by the usual process,
and that would involve Inconsistencies.
as Mr.. Tilton's religious belief is not
now such as would make him eligible
for membership. THUS the negolia-
tions dropped, and so quietly had it
been begun and ended that the rank
and file of Plymouth membership knew
nothing Of it.
On Saturday Mr.. Ti'ton and Mr.. F.
B. Carpenter, the artist, returned from
New Haven. Their errand had been
| to lay before the Rev. DR.. Bacon an
elaborate written statement of the case
from the Tilton standpoint, Including
the last offer and its rejection. The
document includes recital Of what
! Mr.. Tilton says are Inaccuracies and
! injustices in the proceeding which
have incidentally involved an asser-
ton of his willingness to meet the
charge of slandering Mr.. Beecher and
a request that DR.. Bacon, as the &C.
knowledged head OF Congregational
ism in the matter OF polity and usage,
will consider the subject thoroughly
and render decision in accordance
Will LIS EOuVlCt1OuS.
| TILTON's EXPOSURE.
| (Aeeociated Press Telegram, June 49,
Theodore Tilton publishes in The
Golden Age this afternoon seven col
umn larticle touching the Beecher
scandal. In reply to the charges OF
Rev. L. Bacon, Moderator of the late
Brooklyn Council, that MIR. Tilton has
been a cowardly slanderer of Mr..
Beechel, whose magnanimity alone
saved him from disgraceful exposure,
and having suffered in silence four
years from these and similar misrepre'
sentations adroit]y put before the pub
lie by Plymouth Church, Tilton says,
neither patience or duty will permit
him to longer conceal the actual facts
from the public. He then goes on to
say that he never slandered Mr.
Beecher, but on the contrary has sac
rifced his own reputation to suppress
the truth about him, and that he never
has refused to appear before the
church and answer all questions re-
garding the scandal that might be put
to him. Tilton gives his reason fol
Devering his connection with the church
as follows: "After had been for II
years member of Plymouth church.
and had become meanwhile an intimate
friend of the pastor, the knowledge
came to me in 1870 that he had com
mitted against me an ofense which
forbear to name or characterize
Prompted by my self respect, I imme
diately and forever ceased my attend
snce On his ministry" He publishes