The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-02-09


was written by me and sent 10 Bsecher, Nay
2, 1874. The letter was read and placed in
evidence. II related to his refusal to accept a
sum of money from Bsecher 20 proceed with
bis family TO Europe and remain there for J
number OF years. Aletter daled May 4, 1878,
was also read by ex-Judge Fullerton, adj
dressed to the Rev. Henry Ward Boecher,
Mr.. Halliday and Mr.. sSaaFmsn informing
them of statement made by DR.. Bacon
after the adjournment OF the church council,
and asking that he, TiltOn, should be sum-
moned before the examining committee 70
answer the charges OF slandering the pastor.
T1LroS's oFFER TO BE TRIsD.
BROOKLYN, May 4.
To the Rev. Henry Ward Beeooer, Pastor OF
Plymouth Church, the Rev. s. b. Halliday,
Clerk:
GENTLENEN-I address through You TO
the church of which you are officers the fol-
lowing statement, which you are at
liberty to communicate to the church
through the examining commitsss a IN any
other mode, private or publiS. ms Rev.
Leonard Bacon, d. D., LII. D., thu Moderator
OF the recent Congregational council, hss
seen mt, since the adjournment OF that body,
TO proclaim. publish ana reiterate with sig
nal emphasis, and with the weight of some
thing like official authority, a grave dsciars-
ton which / here quote, namely: cit was
for Plymouth Church," he says, s'to viudi-
cate its pastor against damaging imputa-
ton from one Of its members. With great
alacrity, the pastor himself cOnsenting,
it threw away the opportunity OF yindica-
ton. That act" he continued. lin which
Plymouth Church threw away the opportu-
ni-y of vindicating it's pastor, vss what gave
occasion for the remoDstraDces from the
neighboring churches" "There are many,'
he says. 'slso not only in Brooklyn, but
elsewhere, who felt that The church had not
| fairly met the question, and by eyading the
issue had throw n away the opportunity of
vindicating its PASTOR" the mod
orators declaration is thus made three
| times over the Plymouth Church, in dealing
with my, case threw away its opportunity of
vindicating its pastor. This declaration, so
emphaticslly repeated by the chief mouth
piece of the counsel, and put forth by kim
| apparently az an exposition of the cOunsePs
views, compels me, as the third party to the
controversy, to choose between two alter
natives. One of these Is to remain in the
disbonorable position OF a man who denies
to his former pastor an opportunity for
vINDIcATIoN
of that pastors character, an Offense the
| more heinous because an unsulIied charac-
ter and reputation are requisites to his sa-
cred Office. The other alternative is for me
to restore 20 his church their lost opportu-
nifty for his vindicatioR by presenting
myself voluntarily for the same trial, to
| which the church would have the power to
summon me if 1 were member, sugges-
ton which, judging from my past
experience, will subject me Rfresh to the
unjust imputstion of revising a scandal
| Tor the suppression of which made more
sacrifices than all the other persons Be-
| tween these two alternatives which are all
that the moderator leaves 10 me- and which
are both equally repugnant TO my feelings
duty requires me to choose the second i
therefore give you notice that if
| the pastor or the examining commit
tee, or the church, as BODY
wishes to repossess the opportunity which
| the moderator laments that you have thrown
away, hereby restore to you this oppor-
tunity as freely as if you had never parted
with 1t. L authorize you, if such be your
pleasure, to cite me at any time within
thirty days to appear at the bar of Plymouth
Church tor trial on the charge heretofore
made against me, viz: that of circulating
and promoting scandals derogstory to the
Christian integrity of the pastor and iDiuri-
| Gus TO the reputation of the church Nv
only stipulation concerning the trial is that
| it shall not be held with closed doors nor in
the absence ofthe pastor. / regret that the
moderator has imposed on ms the neces-
sity for making this communication, for
nothing but necessity would extort it. The
practical good which L seek TO achieve
by this proposition is that, whether ac-
cepted or declined, it will, in either case, ef-
grave charge that Plymouth Church has
been deprived through me Of an opportunities
to vindicate Is pastor, or that its pastor has
been, by any act Of mine, deprived of an OPP
portunity to vindicst6 himself.
Truly Yours THEODORE TILToS.
The witness continued: In the ssrly part OF
July, 1873, / first heard OF
THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE
to wait upon me with regard TO the scandal.
Fullerton here read the correspondence call
ing for an investigation of the charges by the
church committee. The witness resumed:
first saw the letter calling for committee
on the night before it was published, in the
hands of Mrs. Cleveland. NV wife was then
with me. but she left the house after the
publication of this letter, think on the
morning of July Ii. She did not leave
against my will. She had will of her own
and acted upon it. At the Same time did
not restrain her. There were three or four
reports proposed for the committee, and /
prepared two of them. The prepara-
ton OF the short report happened as
follows: Mrs. Hlton informed me ON the
Stb of July that she had been down before
a committee of the church in relation to
what passed between me and Dr. Bacon. A
long argument here eusued on the right of
the witness TO question what wSs told him
by his wife, as TO wnat occurred before the
committee. Mr.. Evarts objected TO tbs.
QUESTION, ana tn6 QUESTION was sustained
by the court. The witness then continued:
I do not remember that the sripsrtite agree.
ment was ever the subject of conversation
between Beecher and re. Bessie Turner
was girl who came to our house under the
name of Lizzie McDermott, about Is years
ago. She came to my house through the
means. Of an old Sunday school teacher.
either of mine or of Mrs. Tilton.
L do not know whether she resided cont;r-
ually in the house until after my return
from the West In 1867. Mrs. Tilton and Mr.
Moulton made arrange nents for sending
her to. school some time In January, 1871.
MIR. Beecher, from the first to the last. never
denied his criminal intercourse with Mrs
T1lton. Whenever he spoke of, he alwsys
said she was not the person to blame Res
sic Turnar1a Il fhirlr L.