The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-12-30
woR1HNGToN MINI, THURsDAY, 80 1876

"
80, 1875. .>. +.
> The Beecher Case. %S'& z*$"
New York Observer (Presbyterian).l
Plymouth church has voted to call an
advisory council, to whom it will submit
substantially the same questions that
were before the Church Committee seloc-
ted by Mr.. Beecher before the case vas
tried in the civil court. Mrs. Moulton' 3
proposition to accept the questions of the
church and to add the questions submit
ted by her, and to lay them al before a
mutual council, was not acceded to by
the church.. =" q
At this moment there is 4 probability
that no Mutual Council will he called,
but two ex parte Councils may be. ! <; :
We think We can say some things on
this subject without giving just offense to
any, that have not yet been said, and
which ought to be said in the interests of
the Church Of Christ, of truth and of so.
clety.
:. l. The case has never yet been inves.
tigated except from one side of the
house. In the civil suit of Tilton against
Beecher, all that might have been proved
or disproved by the denials or admissions
Of one Of the parties implicated, and all
the persons with whom sne had had con.
versation on the subject, were excluded.
This leaves one half. at least, and per.
haps more, Of the case unexamined.
2. The investigation had by q church
conmittee selected by Mr.. Beecher him.
self previous to the civil trial, being
wholly ex.parte, never afforded satisfac-
tion to the public. However candid and
ingenious the gentlemen were who com.
posed the committee, they found no cause
for investigation, while the trial and the
present action Of the church show the
contrary.
3. The resolution of the church last
week to call an advisory council, that is,
an ex-parte council, a council predisposed
to favor the church and the pastor, is
simply repetition of the church commit
tee investigation. 1t will not have
weight in the sight Of the world. By its
nature it is incompetent to give an
opinion to which value is attached by
those seeking impartial inquiry.
4. This is the more painfully true
when the genesis of it is considered.
Mrs. Moulton asked mutual council to
consider certain state Of things The
church a:ceded to her request, provided
questions which it proposed should be
submitted. She accepted the questions
and assented to their submission, pro.
vided certains questions which she pro.
posed were also admitted. Their cues.
tions cid not involve the merits Of the
case. Hers did. The council, with only
the questions Of the church before it,
would leave the whole case where it now
is; with her questions before it, the coun.
Gil would have the whole subject in hand,
and it wsuld be possible to make deliv.
erance justly commanding the respect ot
the world.
5. It is not impossible to reach the
truth in regard to the Beechcr case. The
course pursued by the church and its
pastor from the beginning has produced
the impression (rig int or wrong) on the
public of desire not to have the whole
truth revealed; as if there were some.
thing yet untold that they would not
have known. Whether this impression
be we'll founded or not. it exists widely
and is felt deeply, and we give expression
to general sentiment when We make
this declaration. But if all the parties
In the case, and oil the persons to whom
the parties in the case have made com.
munications on the subject, and all the
written papers, were brought before an
intelligent body Of ministers and laymcn,
the truth might be palpable to the intel.
ligent perception of the great majority ot
the judges, and their pronounced opinion
would have convincing power with the
public.
9. There can be no reasonable objec.
tion to such submission of the case,
from any party willing to have the whole
truth known.
7. Christians who believe that Christ
is in His Church and that his promises to
be with it in its discipline arc perpetual,
may be assured that He will be in the
midst of such an assembly to direct in
the way Of all truth and to bring light
out Of obscurity and cover the wicked
with confusion.
3. With the sincere cooperation of
both parties all witnesses required could
be readily induced to appear voluntarily,
and all the documentary testimony al.
ready on record would be in hand. All
the evil to be feared has been done the
good would be to get at the real truth
which is certainly attaioable, and indeed
is inevitable, whom the facts from both
|sides of the house come to the light, as
they have not yet.
1t is in the interest Of pure and unde
filed religion at large that We seek in the
name of the Church for such An inquiry
as no one-sidcd Council can make. AND
until such inquiry is had, the good name
of the pastor Of Plymouth Church viii
be clouded, and the zeal Of the church
will thicken, not disperse it.
A New Painting.-t'Harvest In Minne
soto.s,
Mr.. Dwight Benton, an artist at Gin
cinnati, the Commercial of that cit,
mentions ''has just finished 4 beautiful
picture Of upper Mississippi scenery, en-
titled Harvest in Minnesota 80 field O
standing corn surrounded by the western
worm fence in the foreground, harvested
wheat fields beyond, and = stretch o
country the furthest glimpse Of which
still shows the wealth of the golden grair
the whole touched with peculiar ten
derness in which the American eye dis