Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-05-19
TELEGRAMS TO THE STAR
BEECHER'S DEFENCE.
PORTERS OPENING ARGUMENT
TIE WHISKY RAID.
= Q L L Q w NC 1T Up.
THE MINERS STRlkE.
BEECHER'S DEFENCE.
P0RTER'S OPENING ARGUMENT
TIE WHISKY AID.
FOIL WING 1T uP.
TIE HEE(HER CASE.
Proceedings ro-slnn.

NEW YORK. May LONG before tho
opening OF The court this morning tie room
was unusually crowded, reminding habi;ual
attendants or the early days oi the trial.
The number OF ladies In ATTENDANCE. how
ever, was greatly diminished. Mr.. Tllton
came in five minutes before the hOnr amt
was closely followed b. Mr. Beecher and his
wife. defendant chatted and laughed wiki
those OF the Plymouth gathering IN tbs inn
mSdlste Hlclniiy. Before the jury Were
called Judge Nelson instructed the audience
to keep perfect silence. as any noise woulI
interrupt the speaker EX-J udge Porter thcn
arose and began his
SUMMING Up FOR DEFENSE.
He Said:-Gentlcmen: You have been for
five months i'm the service OF Theodore Z ltou.
under the mandate OF a power which YOU
Were bound Ia obey. My client has since the
beginning of TIE suit dealt in Scripture prin-
uples. When they struck him on the one
cheek he turned Ia them the other In the
beginning they might have been struck W On
The general air Of untruthfglness which per
meated the case and counsel thought that IL
they had then been called upon IA deliver
their verdict then, there cOu have been lit le
doubt what that veplict would have. been
ON the one hand they hal Tilton and Moul-
ton, Jayne, the infCTner. Woodruff Il ClaHin.
Joe Richards stealing up staTkly 10 striks his
sister IN the back, and General r utter. the
S'ratcgiSt. These are the parties who are the
sponsors OF this accu ~aj!UL. These are tt-
CHAMPIONS o. Christian PUR!TT AND
MORALITY.
the orIginators, publishers and sIy.sers i1
This matter. We har iu favor OF la tia.enF-
ant The Jury OI the yIcinage. the wife the
children and the GRANDCHILDREN. who found
shelter beneath Ills roof, and the 0yu wOr-
shippers Of Plymouth church. Even The
clustering hearts OF tie Young ca ldren loved
his name. and would De living TO ble,, his
memory when Nou aud viii be no more.
We have with a. the almost unanimous and
enthusiastic support OF his professional
brethren and The sympathy % enlightened
christendom. These trusted and loved the
defendant, while they ahhOrred aud loaiheI
the names of Theo. TiltOn and Frank MOul-
ton. IN our whole system OF Jurisprudence
the plea OF innocence was safe. aud our laws
in that respect We're not a failure TIE
speaker quoted from Milton in regard 10 the
might Of truth and It's prevailing power.
OBSTACLES To THF ACCUSATIONS.
One Of the obstacles to the accuser vas TIE
defendants answer Of his innocence and hers,
the oath Of an honest man. Bear in mind
that this oath OF Innocence Of the defendant
interpOseS by the spirit OF the law in her de-
fence. Another obstacle they met with pre-
scented itself in the unblemishei character
and unsullied purity OF both him and the
wife: and yet another obstacle was the fact
that TiltOn and MOUlton for four years. by
their words and acts, talSihed such accuse
lions both in writing and otherwise. An
other obstacle was the tact that Tilton CO.
habited and slept with the lady accused, and
remained for four years in family relations
with the alleged adulteresS. They met an
other obstacle in that they both tIoultOn
aud TiltOn) admitted they were here, with
the oath on their lips OF having an open hos
tility against the defendant. They encouu-
tered another obstacle III the fact that they
lied 10 conceal il as they say, and the question
arises II they are not lying now. There wa a.
old maxim OF the Roman law, which pro
Nided that witne SSeS were 10 be weighed in
the balance; and here i'm the one scale they
had Henry Ward Beecher and his life, and
Tilton and MouliOn with the record OF their
lives. We were accustomed to believe in
truth. not by the numbers of those who
spoke. but in the probability of the stories
told in regard to the matter.
WHO WAS THE ALLEGED CULPRIT'
\ man three-Score years of age, Seif-dISci p
lined, well-poisel. Not merely a Christ an.
but veteran Christian and a minister A
man who from his youth up had dedicated
himself to God and religion: who in his boy
hood was raised by mother who was an
angel OF mercy, If ever God sent one upon
earth. lie was not trained up in the lessons
Of lust, but he received the tender and gra-
cious schooling OF Christian mother. from
whose lessons he passed in 20 labor in the
fields Of God. When the defendant was going
from one log cabin TO another preaching the
Word OF God, he left no mark or trail of the
Seducer behind him. If he was true to his
wife and virtue in these early days of his
ministry, could ii be believed that he had
fallen now?