Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-07-02


TiltOn deals thenceforward mainly
with Congregational usages and the
course of Plymouth church, until he
brings up against the Brooklyn I'm
ions article of March 28 1874, which
represents the Clerk Of the Church,
Mr.. Sherman, as saying: $50 far as
Triton was concerned, he (Tilton)
was out of his mind, off his balance,
and did not act reasonably. AS for
Mrs. Tllton, she had occasioned the
whole trouble while in a half-crazed
condition. She had mediumistic fits,
and, while under the strange power
that possessed her, often spoke OF the
most incredible things, declared
things possible that were impossible
and, among the rest. had slandered
Mr.. Beecher." Mr.. Tilton did not
believe that Mr.. Sherman had said
this, regarding lady whose devout
religious faith and life are at the far
therest possible remove from Spirit
ualism or fanaticism of any kind"
until he secured the sworn state
ment Of the reporter, Edwin f. De-
nyse, who made affidavit that s'the
above is a correct and moderate re-
port of Mr.. Shearman's statements. +"
Thereupon Mr.. Tilton demanded of
Mr.. Sherman retraction, which
Mr.. Tilton prints, and which con-
cludes as follows: 81 deeply regret
having been mised into an uninten-
tional injustice, and am glad to take
the earliest opportunity to rectify it,.
| beg therefore to withdraw all that
| said upon the occasion referred to as
incorrect (although then believed by
me), and to repudiate entirely the
statement imputed to me as I'M
true and unjust to all parties con-
cerned."
M. Tilton's refusal at the request
of the pastor and leading members of
Plymouth Church, to recognize HIM
self as responsible to that body, hav-
ing been so miscontrued as to enure
to his damage, he on the 4th of May,
1874, wrote to the Clerk of the
church, saying that as he is placed
IN the dishonoraole position Of u man
who denies to his former pastor an
opportunity for the vindication Of
that pastors character" he requests
"the pastor, or the examining COM
mittee, or the church as body" to
cite him to appear for trial on the
charge regarding which they before
re quested, that ne should not appear,
viz, chat of circulating and promot-
ing scandals derogatory to the Chris
tian integrity of the Pastor, and in
furious to the reputation of the
Church. My only stipulation con-
corning the trial is, that it shall not
be held with closed doors, nor in the
absence Of the pastor"
To this the Clerk responds in a
long letter, the pith of which is con-
tanned in the sentences: "Your let
ter has been read by Mr.. Halliday
with whose concurrence it has been
submitted to the Examining Commit
tee:" "Having consulted the MEM
bers of the Committee, | am in.
formed by them that they see no rea-
so. for accepting your proposition, or
even laying it before the church"
Forty days afterward, the same
Mr.. Halliday spoken Of above stated
to several newspaper reporters that
s'no letter had been received by any
one connected with the Church from
Mr.. Titon expressing q desire or
Willingness TO appear Tor trial.
When Mr. Tilton's population of
church membership was at the
earnest request of the pastor and the
officers and leading members of Ply
mouth church, in order to save the
reputation Of that pastor and avoid
scandal to that church, he thinks it
unfair for that pastor and church to
send message to the Council say
ing: "We hold that it is our right,
and may be our duty, to avoid the
evils incident to apublic explanation
or public trial, and that such an ex-
ercise of our discretion furnishes no
good ground@for the interference of
other churches, proUided zoe neither
retain within our fellowship, nor dis
mass By letter as in regular standing
persons aoho bring rpen diShonor upon
The Christian church." And the two
churches refer to Hilton thus /;
"Speoifc charges Of grossly un-Chris>
tian conduct are presented against
him by brother in the church to
Dhich charges he declines to anS'oer,
etc" Gentlemen of the Council,
every man among you knows that |
did not decline to answer" And he
now responds to DR.. Bacon; 81
will not say that, in my unsuccessful
management of this unhappy scan-
dal, | have brought no "dishonor on
the Christian name, the one which,
of all others, | most seek to honor.
With infinite sorrow l look back
through the last few years, and sse
instances in which, by the fatality of
my false position, | have brought
peculiar "dishonor on the Christian
name, all which freely acknowl>
edge, and hope yet to repair. But
| solemnly aver-and no man shall
gainsay me-that the reason why
Plymouth Church avoided an invest
igation into the scandal with which
| was charged was not because 1,
but another man, had drought dis
honor on the Christian name. : And
vet this other person, clergyman,
permitted the Church to brand me
before the Council with an accusation
which, had been in his place and
he in mine, l would have voluntarily
borne for myself, instead of casting
on another Who this "otEer per-
son" is, Titon Identifies by "a quo
tstion from letter which | had oc.
casion to address to Mr.. Beecher,
dated May l, 1874, thus:
aHenry Ward BeecheT
SIR-Mr. F. B. Carpenter mentions to me
your saying to him that under certain con-
ditions, involving certain disavowals by me,
| ha n