The New York herald., 1875-07-15
Henry Ward Beeehsr.

VI 'uemOnStI0tlOnS. We have Alr Deeoher
himself commanding his own ''manliness"
at Plymouth prayer meeting in which he
informed the world that he was in the hands
OF the Lord and very near to Christ, and
meant to do his work to the end We had the
Incorporate speech OF Raymond, evidently
tender kid in the Plymouth flock who at
tributed the whole trouble to the newspapers.
We had the hundred thousand dollar vote, the
most creditable thing that the church has
done; for II it believes in the pastor it should
pay its money for him. We had the surprise
party of Plymouth maidens and matrons who
marched over the Peekskill fields singing
"Beecher," In honor of the author of "true
inwardness" and ''nest hiding" We had
Mr.. Beecher going on the stand to swear
two wretches like Loader and Price
into prison for perjury, when if he
were in earnest he would have made
the same charges against Moulton and
Tilton. Now we have him again making
speech to his neighbors and friends at Peeks-
kill. Mr.. Beecher spoke for an hour under
the trees, and in his address he commented
AISSAJ uPOA LID SuoO. A1O bS6uh htO W
resolution to be ''an honest man" and to
make men better. This he has done "by the
help of God;" not by the ''help and permis-
sion of few newspapers, but in "spite of
them" Nor does he care for the newspapers,
who are not going to ''stop" his ''mouth with
muzzle." AS for himself, he asks no 'but-
tressing." He will take care of himself. He
went through the Red Scarborough pretty
deep water at times" but the trouble was
over long ago. His trial shows what charac-
ter can do-character having sustained him
when, ''not upheld by his sect" he was as
saulted Shy the newspapers and by shrewd,
cunning and experienced men," AS for the
trial, it will cost seventy-fve thousand dol
lars, and even with the help of the church he
will barely "get through" At the end of this
address Chauncey M. Depew made an elo-
quent speech in alteration of Mr.. Beecher.
Now, there is no reason why Mr.. Beecher
should not go among his friends and allow
them 10 cheer him and give him money. Of
that we do not in any way complain. But
when he and his friends become the aggres-
sors and present their pastor as the victim of
a wanton conspiracy they do him infinite
harm. They compel us to say that Mr..
Beecher, judged by his own written and
spoken record, is unworthy TO preach the
Gospel. BY his own confession he
brought ruin upon a home he was
bound to protect and cherish, and
alienated the love of a wife from hus-
band who, however wayward or unreasonable,
was still husband and bound to his wife by
a holy tie. BY his own confession this sin on
his part brought him remorse so keen that its
expression has founded new hterature-the
literature of contrtion. We have to go back
to the Hebrew psalmist for rhetoric to COM
pare with that which Mr.. Beecher found nec-
essary to express his fault Because of this
fault his troubles came. II was not the work
Of the newspapers When the scandals were
first breathed the press took his side almost
without an exception. They defended him
so long as defence was possible. They
stamped upon his opponent and did him
irretrievable injury. They had every in
clinatIon to aid Mr.. Beecher. He was
national man, great orator and
writer, with O hundred winning quail
tiles, who lived in the sunshine of enthu-
siastic friendship, and whose fall it was natu-
country and religion. Mr.. Beecher caused
the change in the tone of the press. The
newspapers were not within the @gis Of Plym-
outh church. They knew the meaning of
English words, and when they found mas
ter of phrase humbling himself before an ad-
versary as before his God and wishing he
were dead, and that he alone was guilty
and when they saw him paying money to pur-
chase silence, and for four years a puppet in
the hands of shrewd, driving business man,
arranging devices after ''devices'' to ''save
ourselves" they reached a conclusion which
MIR. Beecher's moaning rhetoric under a
Peekskil moon cannot destroy. We do not
know of anything that would have given the
press higher satisfaction than to have seen
Henry Ward Beecher overthrow his accusers
by showing his absolute and undoubted inno-
cence. Moulton and Tilton were moth
ing TO us in comparison TO him, and if he
had been truly innocent the journals
would have seen them float over the "'moral
Niagara" without regret. Even now
no one desires to be cruel to Mr.. Beecher
We know of no man in public life to
whom more kindness would naturally flow.
But he must not pose as q martyr Whatever
he may be to Plymouth church, to the world
he is no longer the Beecher Of the old days.
The Beecher of the old days is dead The
Beecher of freedom and emancipation and
religious tolerance-the Beecber who did
such valiant service in England-no
longer lives. He died under the pen
and pistol of Frank Moulton when he
signed the letter Of contriticn-a letter
which he could no more deny to the
common sense Of mankind than Shakespeare
could have denied Hamlet" This Beecher
whose speeches we read is only phantom,