Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-06-16
BEACH.
Trenchant Talk on the Real
Merits Of the Case.
The MuItIfOId Absurdity Of the Con-
a-Hua.,~ TrFaarw

/ AeEltS Oh lue OdScs
The MuItICOId Absurdity Of the Con.
sPIraey Theory.
NEW YORK, June IJ.-The Brooklyn
city court room was filed this morning,
and the audience inclnded many ladies.
The plaintiff, Mr.. Beach and ex-Judge Full
l1erton were in their places before the jury
took their seats. The defendant was alb
sent when the court opened, but was rep
resented by his wife and brother Edward.
Beach, at five minutes past IL, continued
his address.
He referred to the West charges, in
which Mr.. TiltOn had been arraigned for
slandering his pastor. There was a re-
markabie letter in this connection written
BY Beecher 10 Moulton, dated March %,
| 1874. In it Beecher says that the course
pursued by Mr.. SlOrTs was an unspeakable
outrage; that the professions Of friendship
advanced by DR.. StOrTs were hollow, in
sincere; and that he was trying to goad
Tilton into attacking him (Beecher). This
letter clearly showed the jury the state of
mind Beecher was in.
Beach cited decision 0f Lord SteWell
in opposition to the position ofEvarss, that
the evidence Of the guilt in a case like this
must exclude reasonable doubt in order
| to Justify verdict. BE then argued that
| the court should instruct the jury that the
theory Of the law advanced by EVarts was
upsound and erroneous. The charge in
this case was seduction and adultery, and
the answer to it was blackmail and con
sDiraey. At the first step that Jury took to |
| investigate these charge, they were con- |
| frOnted by the figure Of Elizabeth r. Til |
ton. Could they believe Mrs. TiltOn low !
ing Mr. Beecher as Mr.. Beecher had said |
he believed she did, and who with scanda- |
lous impudence appeared in this court to |
give him her support, when
The Final struggle
between the lover and husband came
could they believe she was the central /
figure in a conspiracy against Mr.. Beecher?
Could they believe that this woman, a wife
and mother, at the mere bidding Of her
husband, had manufactured a false charge
against her pastor which involved her own
infamy? This was one of those incredible
propositions which the mind at once re-
ieeted. Then, however low any man
might think Mr.. Tilton's character to be,
could any man believe his degradation to
be so great that he would deliberately en-
ter into a conspiracy which was founded
upon the pretended infamy Of lis wife?
Then what could be the object Of such a
conspiracy? Money? He wanted none.
He was living comparatively in luxury on
the products Of his Intellectual labor al the
time when he obtained his wife's cOnfes-
sion in July, 1870. Was it fame? He
wanted none. He had obtained a high
literary reputation throughout the country,
and held an enviable rank as an editor,
author and orator. If this charge was true,
not only had TiltOn and MOultOn perjured
themselves in this case, but Mrs. MOultOn
and Mrs Bradshaw had done the like for
the sake Of Theodore TiltOn, and Mrs.
TiltOn had ruined her good name for the
same purpose. If this was a conspiracy to
extOrt money why was
Beecher's OGer Not Accepted
when he volunteered to aid in paying of
the mortgage upon TiltOn's house, as testi-
fed by BeecheT? But what Lad struck his
mind most forcibly as utterly destroying
this idea Of blackmail, was Beecher's own
reluctant admission under crOss-examina-
tiOn. that he believed TiltOn was sincere
in his accusation on the night Of Deem
Der so, 1870. How could this be recon-
ciled with any idea of a conspiracy which
was organized in that month? When Mr.. |
Beecher made that admission he stamped |
the whole theory Of conspiracy aud
blackmail as an absurdity. I'm
agine, gentlemen, those two
men engaging in a conspiracy to extOrt |
money from Beechel and believing him
(Beecher) to be innocent, how did the jury
think he would treat these charges, know
ing him as they did? Would be have
coYed before them or yielded? Oh, no.
He would have turned on the first breath
of accusation and trampled the acsUser in
the dust in his righteous indignation. 1t
was amazing that Mr. Beecher should 90
harbOring and
FOndIing the BIaekmaIIers,
and day after day utteriDg the nOblest
tributesitO their characters. Counsel alluded
to endeavOrs made by Shearman and Tracy /
to imbue Mr.. Beecher with the idea that |
these men men wele blackmailers and |
Beechers struggle against that thought.
Counsel then reverted to the charge
against the defendant, and said that il his |
evidence was to be believed and he had a |
stain on his garments or conscience then |
the case was cleai; bat If there was not |
clear denial Of these charges down on the |
record then Beecher was a guilty man.
The question was whether Beecher could
be allowed to come on the stand and over .
turn All lutS uldlco Ul testimony against | =
him by his own unsupported word. He J
read TO the jury the letter Of retractiOn,
and said that from the terms used it was
evident that in the letter Of confession
much stronger terms were used The
body Of the paper says Il gave paper
IneuIPatInE
my friend Henry W. Beeeher," and il was
prepOsterOus from this to believe that the
letter Of confession only charged improper
When had this lady sub S
jected herself to the domination of her hus- I
band, or been subject to his will in OppOsi- t
ton to the wishes Of Beecher? Tell me t
that if you can, said counsel. Why, this '
woman had dedicated her soul to Beecher. L
Imagine Mr.. Beecher telling this woman of
this letter of confession being his death
blow, and talking about the Council Of
in1S70, before there was breath
about it. Was this statement to her hus-.
band all the Imagination Of TiltOn, or
How Did he Know
Of these arguments Of Beecher, or how did i
he know that Beecher in the prostratiOn Of |
the moment had used the same words he /
had used at MOultOn's about his being a
ruined man? And vet, the Jury were ask =
ed to believe that this paper was written by
this lady, acting under the control and at (
the dictation Of her husband. :
Adjourned. s