New-York tribune., 1875-01-22
QUESTIONING MOULTON.

THE FIRST WITNESS FURTHER EXAMINED.
THE FOURTH DAY OF THE CRoss-E&AhiNAiioN w
FRANCIS D. MoULToN-CoNTINUED ABsRNcE IF
vx.u-pGE poRTER-THE LETTER OF coNTR ION
ANALYzED-Irs AUTHENTICITY oUEsTioNGD.
Yesterday was the fourth day of Frances d. Moul-
@on,s cross-examination in the suit against Mr..
Baechsr. and the indications tblt he viii be on
the stand for the remainder Of TIE week On taking
his seat Judge Nelson asked If John X. Porter was
still too i'll to attend the trial, and Mr.. Evarts re-
pied that the absent counsel might be able 10 se'
An court to-day. Gen Tracy took up the crossqueS-
tioning of Mr.. MoultOn at the point where IL ter-
minated on Wednesday, and afteS Ie"
animportant queries. the queetioner came 70
the consderation of the celebrated letter Of
"eontritlon." alleged TO have been written at Mr.
Beecher's dictation. During the examination upon
this theme there was profound silence In the court
room and every eye was turned on the witness lie
seemed entirely at ease. and displayed no hesitancy
in replying 10 Gen. Tracy's significant inquiries.
The first admission made by him was that he
could not remember any letter in which MT Beecher
addressed him as MY dear Frank" except the one
which was asserted to have been written at the de-
fendants dictation. The witness was examined
carefully and at lenth concerning the man
ner bn which the letter was written Ihe
sensation of the day followed. MI Shearman read
the letter as he said for the purpose of having lts
construction well understood. Immediately after
the reading Mr. Shearman said "t" had Deeh
added to the word "can," and the words "for my
self placed after the word plead 30 as to make
the sentence read Il will not plead for myself"
The remarks of counsel aroused excited interest
among the spectators for il the first attack
upon the authenticity of the celebrated letter OF
which so much depends in the great trial The Jnry
looked eagerly from witness 10 counsel and from
counsel to witness To add to the impression he had
produced Mr.. SheaTman then stated that two dlt-
ferent kinds of ink were used on the letter
Another ripple of excitement ran through
the courtroom. Some Of the jurymen
looked sharply first at the plaintiff and then
at Mr.. Mouh on, if expecting explanation from
one OF the other. Mr.. MOulton smiled cOmplacentlv.
Mr.. Morris was greatly excited. Jumping TO his
feet he asked for the letter Upon receiving it, he
with Judge Fullerton, went over it hastily. Then
Mr Morris accused Mr.. Shearman of having tried to
create false impression. He declared with warmth
that it was PLAIN that the pen used in writing the
letter did not deliver the ink freely. and Ill this
way he accounted for the difference in the appear
ance of the several parts An attempt to make a
further explanation was cut short by prompt Ob-
lection from Mr.. Evarts.
IL is stated that counsel for the defense will
endeavOr to prove by experts that the letter was
altered from it's original form, and it asserted that
the point, in connection with the fact that the
letter was written by Moult9n, will form the basis
of a strong appeal to the jury to consider it void
The examination concerning the document gave
rise TO varied discussion. The assertions made
by counsel for the defence plainly annoyed
Mr.. Tlton's lawyers. Nothing Of particular inlpOr-
tance was developed during the rest Of the session
except the introduction of two letters written by
Bessie Turner. Her statements IN these letters
would seem to show that she left Mr TiltOus hOuse
for q seminary because she knew of the alleged rea-
tions between Mrs. Tilton and Mr. beecber,