The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-20
VOL. XLlIl.-N0. lGO.
BEECHER'S GAME OF BLUFF
rms GRFAT COCNCIL WE tkENIN0
UNDER MS ELDQUENCE.

Ao.,r., Him to Produce Them-The In-
\ .u,rv Cio.rd The Council In secret session
The managing members OF Mr.. Bcechers
se,eot council continued yosterlayt to handle the
.c.ndnI as though It were a torI edo with no.
ching inside the object being to see how much
Of an additional investiTaton was needed oy
the Congregational Church To prove that MI
Beechor was pure and spotless. Mr.. shearman'
Mr. Raymond, and Dr. Edward Deecher had re-
pestedy told the council that they Thought no
more investi CATIONS were needed. and that there
was othinR new g. be added to the case, yet
few whIte-balred delegates, leaving alone all OF
the eccleeIastical questions, some OF them
scarceiy considered by the whole body siftedt TO
a turther extent the work Of Mr. Beecher's
chosen committee to see hnw far they had gone,
and they probcd into the direction OF the Bowen
aecrets to see how much further there there was
to go.
Mr. Henry W. Sag, In answer to questo ms
relative TO the Inve,tg ting Com nittee, said
that he did not understand that 1t was seriously
Intended to invite Henry c. Bowen his own
views were that he was not wanted They had
before them the tripartite agreement, In which
Mr. Bowen had retracted all that he had said
AgAlnst MIR. Beecher rs a Christian man and
minister For the reason of this retract. on he
considered 1t wholly unnecessary to call Mr..
Bowen. Ho dii not expect TO call him. The
Investigation was az thorough cs they could
make II, The committee was appointed with
no previous consultation with Beecher.
To Dr. wellnan Mr.. Sage said that he was not
q aparty to sending II. II. Cl1din to Mr.. Bowen, TO
soc whether 1t was safe to call him. 1t was not
. visit authorized bv the committee.
To Deacon Claflin OF Leonard. ILL., Mr.. Sage
said that the committee was not whitewash-
Inc committee. Every member 81 the commit
tee was a personal friend Of Mr.. Beecher. aud
would have been nled with sorrow to have
found him guilty. vet there was not IA man there
who didn't love truth ana justice m re, and
there was not IN n there that would not haNe
brought In Mr. Beecher a guilty man had the
evidence warranted II. lGteat applause
MIR. Bradford of Montclar. y j.. asked wheth-
er Mr. Jos. II. Richards given every oppor-
tunity to testify before the committee. - MIR.
Kohards." Mo. ec answered, "w.s not rer-
sistently urged u tcNify after he bad been sum
moned and mad refused. bat ne uetSistently r.
fused" lie do not remember that Mr.. Richards
gave any special reason " not testifying. Mrs
Richards was not called. There were no specific
charges before the G mmittcc except Mr.. Til
tons, hut they thought that the whole subject
Of Mr.. Beechers purity was before them. On
Mr. Shearman's word. he said that the commit
tee had published card OF general invitation to
all the world.
PLYMoUTHs NoTIoN OF 4 BROAD INVITATION.
The card of the committee was Sc rched out
and the discovery made that the only general
Invitation given WAS one published uy Mr ge,
In which, a few DAYS petore the close OF tie tes-
timony, he asked all OF the invited witnesses to
appear before "a cer.ain te. when the tcs.i-
mony was to close. Ihis, II appeared. was the
broadest Invitation which the committee had
Mr.. Beecher then po.ed himself for another
great speech. In reliminary way he ex.
about the appointment OF Mr. Cleveland. his
business pa, ner before that time. Mr. Cleveland
was chosen because he had happened to lie In
the current OF larger inform Ation, and because.
knowing the ropes, he could direct the other
members after Information. There could I've no
In the air hence the committee work was DIM
cult. There were rumors and hsckotings that
lad ~ VRh ah nAtn nIN IN
be Internally resurrected again.
But there was dismal swamp" he added
" out OF which came mal1rial rumors, but no
mas could get At the bottom OF them. There
were no charges, no statements. WHEN sounded
and tested they could only md that ominous
croak II what was known in some qusrters
was known somebody would know something
CConh knoT,ng an9nt tne pas'oT' want VA NE
agreement W len was read here last night.
signed by Henry {. Bowen: That paper did con
tain forgiveness, because Mr.. Bowen took back
everything, and Mr.. lilton agreed to say moth
Ing more about what lie mad heard from Bowen
against me. ami forRSve boih OF them In re-
gard to that part OF tho tripartite tire 4ty signed
by Mr.. Bowen, In which he saws tnat he knew
nothinR that would prevent his cordial Christi n
fellowship and personal fIiendship-in regard to
that II holds hin Just AS tlght as the bars OF a
prison cell hold culprit; he ma, look out he
cannot get out Of 1t. No mn can ~ tnat tn Z
agreement means on its face anything but the
most ABSOLUTE renunciatiou OF every rumortnat
ever presented itself before hin, or an acknOwl-
edgment OF piece Of yillainy coCcoctcd with
sould"
Dr. Warren asked whether Mr.. Beecher would
have signed tnat treaty ~ he hld the slightest
suspicion that 1t would lie taken by Mr.. Bowen
o. ANYBODY else as Implying an acknowiedgaent
VI past guilt.
TALKS WITH BOWEN.
Hr Deecher answered with tone Of surprise :
"Me2 Me sign IN No, sir. WHY, old not see
Mr.. Bowen In all this business. ma b d four
.epara'e conferences with Mr. Bowen N answer
- an intimatipn made 20 me that he had some
thing on mis- mind which he wanted to disclose
60 mo- did meet hun, and In every case II WAS
money. We settled the matter once 10y arbitra-
tion. Then we had another arbitration,
but | would not accept bis terms, and It
freelands house TO tee Mr.. 30 - en- under oress-
Ing intlmations that ne had somethin awful TO
tell me. We had more than two hours confer
snce and he drew from his pocket a paper on
whloh he meant 20 have a settlement. Tue great
oihculty was, that being newly married he could
was under the ban Of the pastor. In response
10 his urReLt Request, wrote a letter which l
suppose will a3pe T next week. expressing III v
cordial Election and friendship for nim 80 that
he might live happily in his new connection
under the circumstances. lLauehterl After
tnAt settlement, which VENT through more tn an
two hours OF taik At James Freeland's house,
and At the end OF the interview, we called In
Mr., Freeiand, and he conRratuaIed us on the
settlement OF our difficulties Then Mr.. Bowen
and vent out Of the door and walked up and
down the street with our arms around each
other like college boys, with renewal OF the
ELECTION OF our early days for we had great
Mr.. Beecher spoke OF Mr.. Bowen's early work
for the church, how he shaped It's hscal policy
how he helped TO build two Congregational
ohurohes Ia BROOKLYN and one In hocnester,
now they worked together TO spread G ngregA-
Honhlsm. lie added: 81 had tenderness in
my neatt Tor thAt mtn hen, and have II to
thls hour ana II will i've 10 the DAY Of M death,
anu thht although seated and blistered, the
love 10 stlll there. 40 not speak angt!ly. 1 do
not speak except with teuderuess ant sorrow.
that am obliged to 90 80. We walked thai
day, speaking OF the old da 3, and Wishing IN al
they might return One term Of tho settlement
was that was To assist IN removing the pre- ju-
di0e existing against him In the church"
EXQUISITE KNAvERY."
Mr.. Deeoher described his speech n eulogy OF
Mr.. Bowen on the last Friday evening IN Janu-
ary, and ths qualification Sir. Bowen had ex-
pressed at II, and how much he felt thAt II was
more than he deserved. Yet two days sfter that
scene Mir. Bowen saiu to "a brother (Jr Howard
who went TO congratulate him bee iuse all I'M
euities were buried, "Aii the difficulties a not
buried know enough To drive MIR. Beecber out
OF iiroOkvn In for,y-eght hours" "Now,
after all THIS" added Mr.. Beecher, "the trl par
tite agreement was signed You read the lines
IA winch Mr. Bowen recalls everything, and say 8
that no knows nothing. Is It me language Of a
man who says that he foIgiyes me because |
pave snned ana repented2 Ibis man says that
ue KNOWS nothing. IL is absolute, and there are
put Two alternatives; tndt his part OF II ID an
uohost decarati n or exquisite knHverY. LGreat
applduse.l make thesr statements bee use
the matter was brought up last night,
sul because was called on TO say word. The
splrt n the Lord was 1lghty with me, and II |
Han. Iasra "a j..