The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-08-24
REPORT OF THE INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE.
Beecher Found Not Guilty.
New York, Aug. 90.

NEW YORK, Aug 90.
The Herald gives thc following as
synopsis of the forthcoming report of the
Plymouth church investigating committee.
The report is somewhat lengthy docu
ment, given as it were in two parts. one a
mere review Of the evidence. and the other
giving the conclusions of the committee.
OF course these are all in favor of Beecber.
The state ment of Theodore Triton is first
taken up and gone over pecemeal, and
each main allegation set plainly forth,
without vcrbiage. the prominence being
given of course to the alleged ''crm-
inal" commerce between Mr. Beecher
and Tilton's wife. This is com
pared with the statements made in
the cross examination and the tergiversa-
ton there uscd it is shown that the state
ment of what is now known as the "anklc
scene are not supported by the evidence
of the person who claims to have been a
witness in as much as he could not
swear to its taking place at any par
ticuar period during term of nine
years. The report then goes on to
review Mr.. Tilton's allegations of personal
chastity and claim of high moral character
compared with the evidence of other per-
sons as to his alleged corrupt practices and
criminality, immoral conduct, notable in
the case of the girl known as Bessie Tur-
ner, whose evidence is given TO show that
Mr.. Tilton states himself to be what he is
not; therefrom is deducted charge
of perjury, showing that Mr.. Titon
states under oath ia one instance what is
fatty denied in another, the committee
giving rs conclusion to this particular
branch Of the subject the rule in law that
the entire testimony of any one shown to
have committed perjury is worthless The
report then goes or to review the testimony
of several unimportant witnesses, among
them Mrs. Stanton, coming at length TO the
cross-eXamination of Mrs. Elizabeth X.
Tilton herself, giving her accusations of
brutality against her husband and of inf
deity, still further showing the distinct
contradictions of Tilton's accusations. Mrs.
av;J 10 al taI III, La
denial of having ever had criminal
relations with the pastor, and her own cx-
plantations of several of the most prominent
portions of her letters. From this report
it proceeds to the short statement of Frank
Moulton as given to the committee, and
dismisses it briefly as having made no
charges whatever against anybody. Fl
nally the Beecher statement itself is taken
and contrasted with several of the more
serious portions of Tilton's, showing that
circumstances in themselves apparently
damaging, were in reality easily
capable of explanation after this
review, giving in detail the more
prominent episodes of the entire
controversy the report sums up the whole
matter, pro and con, showing on the one
hand man standing before all the world
with a great reputation for spotless purity.
Christian character and moral worth on
the other, man of proven bad and crimi-
nal character, the latter making accusa-
tons against the fcrmer-the one with
nothing to prove his story except personal
allegation, proven in part to be perjury,
and supported by some letters
which may mean dozen things
| but the one meaning given TO them.
| This story is denied by all having any con-
nection with the matter but one, with the
circumstances as well as the burden of
proof are all on one side, the other unsup-
ported by anything but bad character.
| The committee find that Henry Ward
Beecher Is not guilty of the charges pre-
ferred against him. 1t is possible that
short paragraph may be added to the re-
port noticing briefly the failure of Frank
Moulton to bring any new evidence 10
bear upon the subject which can in
the slightest alter the conclusion the com
| miftpo have come To