The Portland daily press., 1876-02-22

lucidly and concisely as he has in this last
letter of his. 1t was called forth by the publ
cation of previous letter which he wrote to
Bowen at time when he had not ascertained
how utterly false and vicious Bowen was
But was there ever such bad lot as the
little set who have combined together to de.
stroy Henry Ward Beecher? Each one of
them that has appeared upon the scene has
enjoyed for the moment the dubious eminence
OF being worse than anybody who had ever
gone before him. but Bowen is so many shades
blacker than the rest that the contrast makes
them seem less hideous than they are.
The proceedings Of the advisory council have
been of absorbing interest throughout. Mr.
Beecher, grand as he always is, has never
appeared SO superbly eloquent and inspired
as he has become while recalling and recitiug
to his clerical brethren the thrilling story of
the wrongs and outrage he has suffered at the
hands of the little knot of enemies in his own
parish who have for years been plotting against
him. The sessions have been replete with
situations of thrilling excitement, and he has
borne himself with a manliness and dignity
that have completely captivated the assem-
blage-so much so that their enthusiasm has
frequently found vent in outbursts OF tumul-
tuous applause. His magnificent powers OF
eloquence and pathos have never been more
touchingly displayed than in this grand epoch
of his life, when sense of injuries inflicted
upon him by base creatures whom he has con-
fdingly trusted has inspired him with super
human intellectual and moral strength. From
out this refining fire of relentless persecution
the pure gold of his character shines with
translucent splendor.
Turning for moment to the trial in prog
ress in st. Louis we find that it has reached a
stage at which it is no longer difficult to reach
an intelligent conclusion. The attempt to con-
meet Gen. Babcock with knowledge of or COM
plicity with the frauds of the whskey ring has
failed. That the General has been imprudent
in maintaining somewhat intimate personal
relations with the federal off ,ers in the West
is true, but that is the extent of his offending,
and to those who knew him it furnishes the
best possible ground for believing that he had
no suspicion that they were in league to enrich
themselves by the double violation of their
oaths as officers and their obligations as
ciIizens. That the Indictment against him
originated in partisan rancor appears to be
pretty decsively established, and that his case
has been tried and prejudged by hostile news.
papers is q self-evident proposition. There is
no reason to doubt his acquittal, except upon
the hypothesis that the tribunal before which
he stands arraigned is on unjust one. That
an not prepared to believe. The rulings of
the Court it must be confessed, are not such as
to preclude the suspicion of unfriendiy bias.
What, for example, could be more unfair in
the light of strict equity than the decision that
a telegram can be used in evidence against the
party to whom it is addressed? If that is the
case. what is to hinder the throwing of sus
picion upon anybody by simply sending them
message of equivocal or iniquitous tenure?
The notice given by District Attorney Dyer
that he purposes to resign when the trial is
over must be accepted as an acknowledgement
that the prosecution has failed. AS soon as the
end is reached We shall begin to get at the
facts, and it will be established that the whole
thing is political intrigue, and that the ma
chinery of federal judcature in st. Louis has
been wrested from its legitimate functions to
serve the purpose of an unscrupulo1s cabal
having political objects in view. This was
AAOhoChcOho iittC game, duu 10 PoyOu ~ 81
openly that he was detected and dismissed.
That Dyer was an sccomplice looks more and
more probable Who else could have furnished
the material out of which the penny-a-lners
have been manufacturing sensational des-
patches day by day? The whole thing has been
a trial by newspaper rather than by jury, and
reflects disgrace upon the administration Of
justice If this is the way in which the oppo-
sition expect to get control of the government
it is to be hoped, for the sake of common de-
cency that the scheme will be frustrated. Ev-
erybody felt rejoiced at the success of the
effort to detect and punish the men who be-
trayed a public trust with view to personal
gain. But when the same agencies are en-
ployed to throw suspicion and opprobrium up
on innocent parties the law becomes sword
in the hands of the oppressor instead of a
shield against wrong.
The Tweed suit drsgs its slow length along
receiving far less attention from the commu nj
ty than its gravity demands, considering that it
is an action to recover &c. 000 900 stolen from the
city treasury. The most important witnesses
thus far have been the confederates of the fu-
gacious "Boss." They relate the manner of
the theft and the division of the plunder-with
q minuteness of detail which is more con-
vincing than the ordinary statement of such
fellows could be. In fact they merely corrob-
crate what everybody knew before. The mon
ey was purloined, and they simply certify to
the scale of distribution. What will come of
it nobody can tell, but if judgment should be
obtained it will be appealed, and carried
through all the stages of the laws long jour-
ney, and if finality ever should be reached it
will be rather a matter of form than sub
stance, as there does not seem to be any con-
ceivable way of getting it satisfied. The Ring
rascals are all out of reach now, and the
chances of their being compelled to make res
titutiUn are not worth calculating. Their mon
ument remains in that unsightly and un-
finished edi6ce the county court house.
YARMOUTH.