The New York herald., 1874-09-15
THE GREAT SCANDAL.
VIII There he Split In Plymouth
Church h !-Mr. Tilton's View Statement.

VIII There BE N Split IN Plymouth
Church .-Mr. Tiiton's New Statement.
The public opinion OF Brooklyn, so far as a thor
ongh investigation yesterday could ascertain It, is
not very much divloed the question OF Moul-
toms statement There seems TO be but few out
side Of Plymouth church who do not express the
opinion that it viii seriously damage Mr.. Beecher's
standing. "what," said prominent gentleman
YESTERDAY 'is il possible that with such terrnc ac
cusations unrefuted Mr. Beecher can go on preach
ing the Gospel and enacting the pattern OF Christian
virtue tell you 1t cannot last, and split in the
church must be the inevitable result.n The sale OF
pews next January will tell the story.
General Tracy was away early, and II is supposed
that he went to the Twin Mountain House TO con-
fer with Mr. Beecher upon the advsabty OF pre-
pairing reply 10 Mr.. Mouiton's statement Gene
raj Tracy mas used some very plain language IN
regard to Mr. Moultons statement, stigmatlzing II
a tissue OF 1alsehoods and strongly limiting that
he meant to hold Mr.. Moulton personally responsl.
bic for all the passages rejecting upon HIM. His
assistants are busy getting up the evidence for
defence Tor the approaching trial.
MIR. rlton's statement is now almost ready and
will probably be published on Thursday or FRIDAY
He was not at his nome during the greater part Of
the day being engaged on some business In New
York.
Reputation Gone Higher Than q Kite.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
Mr.. Francis d. Moulton, IN his lawyers plea TO
Mr. Beecher's published statement, devotes nearly
q column OF his pictorial organ to convict the
great preacher ofuntruthfulness In saying that he
thought the socalled "letter OF contrition,' COM
mitted to Moulton in confidence, was destroyed
and burned up" and he produces me on the stand
NJ his witness in the following letter.
NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY
sEcRErARY's orrIcE 40 BRoADwAY,
NEW YORK, April =, 1872 }
and Let Theodore pass into your hand the written
DO pass into the aes Of The friendly re in s@a
room oSreconciiauon Then let Theodore talk Oliver
aSe e whole affair the subest 9t ia the
Mr.. Moulton strains for the inference he desires
to establish against Mr.. Beecher's veracity with
this conclusion -
Mr. samuel Wilkeson, Mr. Beechers friend and acting
s1a s9na have SHOWN nothing Of that paper except
sna anything Of Its contents and both Beecher
as II was intended to be-
Ii the nineteen columns of Mr.. Mouton's plea
are a. unsubstantial as the column he has built on
my letter, his entire fabric will 90 to leeward in
Vapor. declare that never heard OF that .4etter
0i contritlon" from Mr.. Beecher, that he never
alluded to such letter, and that l
did not hear that such a letter had
been written or was in existence TILL
two days before the tripartite agreement
was arranged. Then an acquaintance came into
my onlce, and, saying that he had heard OF my
EFFORT to estop the sianderers or Mr.. Beecher,
warned me that would utterly fail II did not
SAID llltOn claimed to possess-a written confess
SION by Mr.. Beecher OF his adultery. l could not
himself, on the night ol the lst OF April IN Mr..
Eoulton's library, satisfied that this weapon
existed IN some form and was then in the armory
OF the conspiracy. For when he earnestly and
absolutely denleo that Mr.. Beecher had ever been
guilty with Mrs. Tilton. and SAID that the extent
OF MS offence had been improper words adj
vances, he added that for this he hed Mr. Beecher's
ample apology IN writing. 1t was this apology
tnat 1 asked Moulton to get from Tilton and de-
stroy.
repeat that Mr.. Beecher never spoke to me of
tins document nor In any way alluded to it, nor
spoke OF alluded to any .'conession' or .'ietter
Of contrltlou' whatsoever
Mr.. Moulton is lunny he looks upward and |
tancies he sees The 'Liie Of Christ" going higher
than kte' III the misfortune OF the blind that |
fair reputation going out OF sight The ..Llle Of |
Christ" Is permanent and imperishabe property
& 1t has been confirmed by tue failure OF con
Cnr,st'dn linton and to pull down it's nlusrrous
edior into the grave where rot the lame, fortunes
sned Of envy and f disapponted Ga WG0 abpon
,ds, Ine reputation equation tnat Is going higher |
who has violated his trust The trust he assumed
TO Mr.. Beecner was to protect his reputation
assumption OF the included trust OF papers COM
mitted to HIM, and his promise TO project them
q pistol in his overcoat pocket. The great lawyer
who counses MIR. Moulton could have told him
tnat trustee cannot at Will discharge himself or
the Obligations OF his trust. The ceStui Que trust
may be ungraeful, may De defiant, may be hostile,
may most OGenSlVey demand or the trustee TO I
strip himself OF the relation he assumed. But the
trustee cannot take him at, his word ,
and walk out OF the relation, which, bosn |
law and the interests OF society make un-
RiteraDle save by the terms OF It's creation.
He cannot OF his own motion discharge himself |
OF his trust, nor can ne get discharged py the
order OF court OF equity and Tor causes that /
AFFECT not the mere Will, but the ability or fit |
Of the trustee. Mr.. Mouton assumed a |
trust 1or the benefit OF Henry Ward Beecher. The |
1w OF honor among gentlemen is as binding as the |
common law OF England and America Frank |
houlton should have faithfully executed that trust
I'LL he dled. The included trust to safely keep
papers committed to him IN confidence he could |
have discharged himself by surrendering them to
Mr.. Beecher when he demanded them. TIE papers
we're Mr.. Beechers. They were not Theo.
nore 1llton's. They were not Frank Mou-
IONS. Tney were not the common fund
Di migrants They were not the assets
OF a dispute. What has trustee Moulton done
With themY He has converted to his own use
every letter, every paper, every private conversa-
ton, every sacred confidence gwen to him by a
troubled weary, overburdened frIend-has fash
loned them ell into weapons and bundled them
up-and publicly walked with his arcenous load
INTO the camp OF Mr.. Beecher's deadest enemy,
and rom thence, with his own hands, discharged
them III the enemy's interest against the man
whose trust he had sworn TO protect with his life.
sorrowfuly say that Frank Mouiton had better
nave taken his lie with the PISTOL OF overcoat
pocket than nave done this thing.
SAMUEL wILK ESoN.
No. 90 FIFTH AVENUE Sept r. 1874.