The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-05-26
The Tilton- Beecher Trial.
New YoRK, May 25.


New YoRK, May %.
Lieut.. Gov. Dorsheimer occupied seat
on the bench with Judge Nelson this
morning. Mr. Beecher came in with his
wife, and ex-Judge Porter a few minutes
after him, and Tilton sat in his usual place
A large crowd of spectators filled the court
room. About fifteen minutes after the
hour Mr.. Porter continued his summing
up, and said that he would close at some
| period of the day, when his learned friend
Evarts would follow him. The counsel
then turned his attention to the long report
prepared by Titon for the church COM
mitiee, and resumed his comments upon it.
If Beecher, said he, had debauched his
wife, gentlemen, do you think that he
could ask a committee of christian men to
acquit Beccher He makes and utters a
recaniation Of this charge of adultery, and
| then comes into court of Justice and asks
for verdict upon it. This paper could
not have been prepared to protect his
wife's honor, because she had left his roof
three days before this paper was prepared,
and was living in the house of Mrs. Owing
ton The accusation of Sunday was false,
and. said counsel, on Tuesday he retracted
it, because he knew 1t was false Mr..
| Porter then spoke of lady whom he said
had been malignantly traduced, but people
should remember that she was so traduced
by the man who had not hesltated to false
ly accuse his own wife and his honored
pastor Mrs. Morse had no advocate,
and therefore she was fit vic
tim of this leader of free love-
But this lady commanded degree of re-
spect which would never be obtained by
Theodore Tilton, neither in this city nor in
any other place. This is the man who was
endeavoring, as he says, to keep his wife's
disgrace from becoming known, and all lie
had to do was to keep his Apollo-like lips
closed-those lips which Elizabeth r. Til
ton loved to this day. Was it for such
men as these. declared Mr. Porter, that the
law interposed and sustained in the courts
Francis d. Moulton. said the counsel, was
one of a class of dangerous men. Two
years ago he was leading member of one
of the most trustworthy firms in this city;
today, through some cause, that great
house has met with disaster like that
which was threatened TO Plymouth church.
The men who had passed judgment on him
and executed 1t knew him better than
either the counsel or jury knew him. Ger
tainly, said Mr. Porter, he did not leave
this firm through any lack of business ca
pacity. How did Francis ID. Moulton
stand to-day in the judgment of his own
heart, and in that of the millions of men
who read the details of this case from day
to day? 1t was not for the counsel to say,
but for the jury only. This man, who
wrote the letter of June and produced il
here as being written by Mr. Beecher,
Francis ID. Moulton, said the speaker, was
early brought into relations with BENJAMIN
+. Butler in difficulties from suits in which
his firm was engaged; but the law prohib-
tied any evidence which would perhaps
have made the jury understand that mat
ter better The prosecution in that case
was pushed by the informer, Jayne, and
oddly enough the prosecutions counsel was
Benjamin +. Butler. When the litigation
ended a firm friendship sprung up between
these pnrties-Moultop, the iDformer, and
the informer's counsel. The plaintiff 8
party had endeavorei by fraud and strata
gem to secure Mr.. Tracy's services, who
was counsel for Mr.. Bcecher, and Thomas
l.. Sherman, another of defendants coun-
sci, kept them all at bay. When Mr. But
Ter was rejected as one of the counsel for
Mr.. Beecher, he drew up one of the most
adrot and able papers ever published,
which was intended to kill Mr.. Beecher at
one blow. and which was put forth at the
time as Moulton's own production. 1t was
said of a celebrated naturalist that if he
were given bone he could reconstruct the
whole animal to which it belonged. Coun-
sci would give the jury one of the bones of
Moulton, and would see if they could 80
reconstruct the whole man. Moulton was
either true man or false one. In the
middle OF January Moulton swore that on
the 1st of that month there was partial
separation of the firm, and he was in the
firm with Mr.. Robinson. That was either
true or false. When Mr.. Robinson was on
the stand, he was asked when Mr.. Moulton
ceased to be member of that firm. He
said "Our partnership closed on the LIST
of January, in pursuance of an agreement
made about year ago."
Mr.. Porter continued his address up to
four o'clock, when the court adjourned on
account of the illness Of Mr.. Jeffrey one of
the jurors
He thought no man who had heard the
evidence of Beecher and Moulton would
fail to conclude that Moulton was the liar.
The tripartite agreement which Tilton
broke would have bound any but bar
barian. Bessie Turner, whom Moulton had
characterized as dangerous person, was
dangerous but not for Beecher but Tilton;
hence she was sent away. The letter
in which Mr.. Beecher is said to
have resigned his ministry was a
forgery of Moultons ; the language In
which IL was couched was not Beechers,
because it was not English. He then re-
turned to the attack ON Moulton, who had
Just entered the court room, exhausting his
vocabulary of invective on him, and hold
| ing him up 70 derision as a sneak who could
have the world believe he had introduced
| libertine to his wife, and left that libertine
with her in bed room for four hours, TO
kiss his wife in his presence. Mr.. Porter
then pointed out what he conceived to be
the Inconsistencies in Moulton's testimony,
and actions if the charge against Beecher
is well founded, and concluded as
follows; Ex-Judge Morris, in his
opening stated that Frank Carpenter
would be called to the stand, and would
testify that Beecher had confessed his
adultery TO him yet the case had closed
and this witness had not appeared to swear
to it. When MOulton said to Beecher that
Tilton threatened to publish the scandal
unless Mr.. Bowen paid HIM $1,000 which
he claimed, Moullon said that he would
pay it out of his own pocket to rave
Beecher. He wanted to force the pay
ment of this money out of Beecher or his
friends There was n panel.house game
exposed throughout this whole case The
original aim of Moulton was to get Tilton
back on the Independent, but their devices
and plans changed. These men, Tilton
and Moulton, were shams who wanted to
be thought real men. Tilton wanted to be
thought the most magnanimous man on
earth in forgiying Beecher.
|