Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1874-08-22
Beecher's Statement

Is very lehHVhy, H'ahinS oNc' Ic'
columns in small type, and If pub
lished entire would I'LL two pages OF
the OPINION in our ordinary news
type. We can therefore only give
an abstract of the statement, cover
ing the principal points of the charg
es made against him in Tilton's com
munication. Beecher commenced
the statement at about eight o'clock
Thursday morning and continued
the address till near one o'clock in
the afternoon. He spoke before the
committee in a calm, dignifcd man
ner, refreshing his memory from
paper containing notes.
At the very outset of his state
ment, Mr.. Beecher re-iterates with
the explicit comprehensiveness and
SOLEMN denial made to the commit
tee on the 22d of July, of the clarg.
es made by Theodore Tilton. He
then says:
Four years ago Theodore TiltOn
fell from one of the proudest editor
ial chairs in America, where he rep
resented the cause of religion, hui
manity and patriotism, and in few
months thereafter became the assO-
ate and representative Of Victoria
Woodruff and her strange cause.
BY his fOllies he was bankrupt in
reputation, in occupation and in re-
sources. The interior history of
which | am now to give brief out
line, is a history Of his attempts to
so employ me as to restore his rep
utation, reinstate him in business
and place him again upon the emf
nence from which he had fallen. 1t
is a sad history, to the full meaning
of which / have but recently awak-
ened. Entangled in wilderness of
complications, l followed until late
Iy false theory and a delusive
hope; believing that the friend who
assured me of his determination
and ability to control the passion
ate yagaries of Mr.. Tilton, to re-
store his household, to rebuild his
fortunes and to vindicate me, would
he equal to that pOomise. His self
confessed failure has made clear to
me what for a long time l did not
suspect.
My narrative does not represent
a single standpoint, only as regards
my opinion of Theodore Tilton. 1t
begins at my cordial intimacy with
him in his earlier careier, shows my
lamentation and sorrowful but hope
full affection for him during the pc
Rod of his initial wanderings from
truth and virtue. 1t describes my
repentance over evils Detailing him,
of which l was made to believe my
self the cause. My persevering and
friendly despairing efforts to save
him and his family by any sacrifice
of myself, not absolutely dishonor-
able, and my growing conviction
that his perpetual follies and blum
ders rendered his recovery impossi-
BILE. | can now see that he is and
has been from the beginning of this
difficulty selfish and reckless
schemer, pursuing plan Of min
gled good and hatred, and weaving
about me a net work of suspicious
misunderstanding, plots and lies,
to which my own innocent words
and acts, nay, even my thoughts of
kindness toward him, have been
made to contribute. These success
sive views of him must he kepJ in
view to explain my course through
the last four years. That l was
blind so long as to the real motive
of the intrigue going on about me
was due partly to my own over
whelming public engagements, part
ly to my complete surrender of this
affair and all papers and questions
connected with it into the hands of
Mr.. Moulton, who was intensity con.
fident that he could manage it sue
cessfully l suffered much but 1 in
quired little.
Mr.. MOultOn was chary to me of
Mr.. Tilton's condolences to him, re-
porting occasionally, in a general
way, Mr.. TiltOn's words and out
breaks of passion, only as elements
of trouble which he was able to con-
troll, and rs additional proofs of the
wisdom of leaving it to him. His
comments of the situation seemed
to me, at the time, complete, i'm
as l was, in incessant cares
and duties, and only too glad to be
from considering the de.
tails and wretched complications,
the origin and the fact of which re-
main, in spite of all friendly inter-
ventions, perpetual burden to my
soul. l would not read in the pa
pers about it. l would not talk
about it. l made Moulton, for
Ong time, my confident and only
channel of information. From time
to time suspicious were aroused in
ne, by indications that Mr.. Tilton
was acting the part of an enemy,
out the suspicious were rapidly al
aged by his own behavior toward
ne in other moods, and by the as
'urances of Mr.. MOultOn, who as,
,ribed the circumstances to a mis-.
or to malice on the
)art of others.