Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-05-29
THE BEEcHER TRIAz-THE sUNHIN,

| THE SIXTH DAY.
| 1t was not until IL Ii that the jury roll wa
| called Judge Porter then arose promptly and re
sumed his argument.
| The first object of Moulton and Titon, he said
was TO reinstate the latter in the independent
| That failing. the Golden Age was started by tn
friends of Mr.. Beechcr. The ship so successful,
| launched was scuttled by Tilton through his con
nection with " oodhul The money that Wood
ruff and Moulton had embarked in the enterprise
| was endangered. More money must be had. Bower
must be reached. His purse strings could not b
| drawn by libel on him. The influence OF Mr. b,
| friends was needed, and that was gained by ;
threatened libel on Mr.. Bcecher. The 81 900 wa
| thus obtained When this was gone came de-
| mand which was met by the charge OF black
| Tlton told jackson 5. Schultz that he would blow
| the roof off Plymouth Church if it did not; hence
this suit. Even after the publication of the Bacon
letter. further attempts were made to eNtort money
| from Mr. Beecher. The Bacon letter itself admits
of two constructions-onc favorable and the other
| unfavorable to the guilt of Mr.. Beecher, and the
| favorable construction was fer sale.
Judge Porter here digresseu to read from Judge
Morris opening speech paragraph which DIS
tincty AYERS that the prosecution would put Frank
Carpenter on the stand to prove that Mr. Beecher
confessed adultery to him. On Tuesday Judge
Morris shook his head vigorously when the speak
er from memory placed these words III his mouth.
If Mr. Beecher were guilty, said the speaker, why
did he refuse TO sign the card which the conspra-
The reading Of that card would have prevented
this investigations Mr.. Beecher was determined
TO meet the charges to the bitter end. lie knew
that there were three persons who knew he was
innocent, one Of whom was Elizabeth X. Illton,
who might or might not have been called upon to
testify. Mrs. Moultons testimony was then taken
up. Judge Porter said he should exercise towards
her the forbearance due to her sex, which she did
not extend to another woman or to the clergyman
to whom she extended favors which a virtuou.
do f,D fIrnI hE nj
amble was followed up by an elaborate apology
| for the strong language he had used towards the
conspirators." He would, he said, be wanting in
his duty did he not denonnce in the bitterest terms
| at his command the perjured black mailers who
sought to follow up long career of villainy by
the destruction of pure and venerable clergyman.
HIS language was no worse than that used toward
Mr.. Beecher by Judge Morris and Mr.. Beach. Is
the language sworn 10 BY Mrs. Moulton as having
been spoken by her to Mr.. Beecher at the suicide
interview, said he, such as a respectable woman
would use under such circumstances The phrase
"a section Of the day ofjudgment' came from the
same mint as "paroxysmal kiss" and moral
Niagara" Mr.. Beecher is not the man to split up
| the day of Judgment into sections. Laughter.
The speaker granted that Mrs. Moulton might be-
| lieye all she said, but she not mistaken? The
conversation took place eighteen months OIL
two years previous. The speaker quoted from
Loves Labor Lost" as applicable to Mrs. Moul.
| ton passage to the effect that her perjury had
| the excuse OF love. TIC NIsueu tuat anu
| Tilton had that shield to cover theirs.
| Judge Porter continued in this strain at great
length lie said that he mentioned these things
to impress upon the jury the danger of relying
upon the memory of a lady, even though she
meant to tell the truth, when the fate of such a
man as Henry Ward Beecher depended upon the
shading of word. According to Mrs. Moulton,
she was the firm partisan of the defendant until
the day Tilton sent Redpath to Beeeher to change
the charge. On that day she admits that she was
in consultation with Judge Morris and Gen. But
| ler Although the sense OF chvalry inmate to me n
incline them to believe Mrs. Moulton, no
woman believes her testimony. She swore
that Moulton spoke of being witness even before
he wrote those last sly letters to Beecher profess
ing love and gratitude. However much the speak
er might differ from the opinion of Mr.. Evarts,
however much he might jar upon the sensibilities
of the defendant, who believed Mrs. Moulton to
be only clay in the hands of the potter, he felt
bound to express the conviction that she should
| not entirely escape censure. The jury could form
| their own Judgment about the high-bred lady who
went after the apostle of free love and brought
| her to take part in the midnight conferences of
the conspirators. 1t is barely possible that Mrs.
Moulton might have been innocenty msled into
the belief of Mr.. Beecher's guilt but the speaker
could not bring himself to think so. Judge Por.
ter said that enough had been spoken, as it seemed
to him, to safely leave the jury to decide whether
the testimony Of Tilton, Moulton, and Moulton's
wife should outweigh that of Henry Ward Beech
err. Gen. Tracy was here made the subject OF an
| elaborate eulogy. His appearance on the witness
stand, said the speaker, was the act of his asse-
ciate counsel. II may have been wrong but if
so, it was their wrong. not his. 81 think, said
Judge Porter, 'the fact to have been an
honorable one. II there be an error on that sub
ject," said the speaker, sit Is error OF viii h
MIR. Evarts and and our associates take the sole
responsibility. If my friend [pointing to Mr..
Beach, thinks that with our experience at the Bar,
| and our knowledge of professional honor, we are
| capable of prostituting them for the purpose of
getting an additional witness for our client, have
nothing more to say"
Judge Porter euiogzed the jury for their atten-
tion and warmly thanked Judge Nelson for his
unwavering kindness and his Impartiality.