Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-08-22

DTOOl I'D SHOW lllhl uOl. TIC utiDDleS
and turns and twists He says in effrct,
at 1 am guilty, prove it. Prov" that 1
am not what profess 10 be. Bring some
one TO swear that have overstepped The
line that should mark the limit of my
profession
Tilton proposes TO prove il. He sub
mits letters that have passed between
Beecher and Elizabeth his wife He pro-
duces a document signed by Beecher
which is actually a confession, and
thousand other documen is, on which any
jury in the country would send man
to the penitentiarY and which have sat.
isfied the world as TO the true state of the
case. But all this won't do for Beecher'
Knowing his power in the church, know
ing the power he has upon the popular
minds, he lays back on his reputation as
preacher and says: II neither admit
nor deny prove those letters 10 be gen.
uine-prove that the language in them
ought justly to bear the construction
you put upon them. wash my hands Of
The whole of it, l don't like It. II is dis
az reeable"
And what does Plymouth Church pro-
pose to de? Why, instead of sitting this
matter-instead of bringing all the par
ties to the bar, and compelling them to
tell the truth and the whole truth, they
have decided iE advance that Mr.. Beech
er is innocent. and have determined that
their Committee shall make a report 10
that effect. Then Mr. Beecher is to ten
der his resignation as pastor, which they
will not accept, and Henry Ward Beech
er will go on as before.
This will happen within this week
Mark it.
But Tilton will not allow it to rest in
this way. He fancies he has some rights,
and if church council will not do him
justice he proposes to find tribunal that
will. Therefore he will take the matter
from the ecclesiastical, to the legal tribu-
mails. The moment the church white
washes Beecher, he will commence suit in
the courts for damages tor the seduction
to his wife. This will bring the delicate
people who know, but who do not
wish to testify to the mark. When they
are under oath, when they have sworn TO
tell the truth, and the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, and when the
swearing is invested: with all the solem-
nifty of legal forms, they must swear
Then when Mr.. Frank Moulton, who
has letters in his possessions, be COM
PEELED to either produce them or swea
to their contents then will the people
who know things. but who have kept
what they know to themselves for mo-
tives of delicacY or interest, be compelled
to state the truth, and it will all out /;
then will the public be satisfied and not
till then. Till then, good people who
read these epistles rest. You will get
nothing that is reliable till you get it In
the courts.
Plymouth Church intends to clear its
pastor, guilty or not guilty the courts,
which are above personal likings and in
fuenced by the magnetism of great
name, will get at the cold solId truth
Don't make up your minds till the courts
have passed upon it. If Tilton makes
good his case, down goes gigantic fraud.
If he does not, the name of Beecher will
still shine as one of the elect, and no man
in America will be more rejOiced than L
For dislike to see great name besmear-
ed hate to see life clouded.
But with all this be lenient to Tilton.
He is great ma n an d good one. know
whereof 1 speak, for 1 know him well.
He has done unwise things AMI foolish
| things, he has the lnfrmities that belong
to and are part ofgenius but his inten-
tions have always been ood, his impul-
ses have always been right, and his fail
ings have always leaned towards
virtue. If he fails in this he must not be
put down as bad. His action must be as
cribed to malevolent influence that has
made things seem as they were not.
know Theodore Tilton well, and I assure
those who read these lines that he is not a
uuack, dreamer, or fool. He is
strong man in all things that he believes
aud his beliefs are as rule right-a weak
man in policy, but an honest man so far
as his light shows him what honesty is
He would not make good member OF
Congress, but he has place in the world
and he will always fill it creditably and
we'll. A great genius is Theodore and
good and useful man. he has made mis-
takes which were almost equivalent to
crimes, but he has repented of them and
paid his penalty. Can't little sympathy
be shown him Must it all go 10 the
man whom he believes has injured him
1t is, serious matter, and one that mus
not be hastily decided upon.
BEECHER EXPLAINS,
And now comes Beecher with his ex'
planation. 1t is the old story re-tOld. He
claims to have been particular friend of
Mrs. Tilt On's that she came to him with
stories of Theodore's infdelities and cru
city, and that he adVis, her 10 leave
him. Aflerward, Moulton came to him
and convinced him that the allegations
against him were unfounded. Troubled
at haying made trouble, he signed, the
document known as his "Con fession," in
which he wishes himself dead, etc. Mr.
Beechers explanation will not bear anal
ysis If what he says is true, he is The
weakest man living. He admits TO haV-
ing submitted to b.ackmail, to having
walked in terror for four years, to have
made all sorts of compromises and make
shifts, and he only comes TO the front
with some sort Of boldness now. by the
act of an accuser. Innocent men do not
work in this way. Had Mr.. Beecher
been innocent, he would have taken The
odore by the throat at the first of it, and
dragged him before q tribunal. That
would have established his innocence be-
yond a peradventure. He would have
been the active man, and would have
made it lively for the gentlemen who
were after him.
By the way, Mr.. Beecher does not say