Year: 1874

one moment doubted MT. Beecher's inno

 cencc of the crime of which he was chare

 ed, and we hold it as duty to be sacredl

 observed, that when citizen whose whol

 life stands out prominently as living evi

 dence of pure and chaste existence, is ac

 cused of terrible crime by one who's

 record in morality is most foul, to not giv

 the slightest countenance of credulity til

 proved beyond possibility of doubt. B

 his own confessions and acknowledgements

 Theodore Triton has for years led life o

 immortality and crime, and when such a

 him accuse one with Henry Ward Beech

 CTS record and reputation, of adultery, ou

 lnmost soul would cry shame 60 our man

 hood if we entertained for moment

 doubt of his innocence, till compelled by in

 disputable testimony to receive it as tn

 truth. We have stood aloof from all dis

 cussion in this repulsive and shameful scan

 dal up to this time, and now that Mir. Beech

 CT has spoken and the country at large ren

 dered it's verdict, we'll even now let thu

 summing up of the result come from anoth

 CT pen; from one whose views correspond

 with our own in the case. Below we copy

 from the Hartford Post of last Saturda,

 evening, its remarks concerning the affair

 It was Henry Ward Beecher himself who

 once facetiously expressed the wish that hi,

 foresightwas as good as his hindsight, and nc

 man ever needed that faculty more thar

 MT. Beecher has during the past few years

 He sees to-day, as does all the world, thai

 he adopted the wrong course in dealing with

 the Hilton -Moulton conspiracy. With oul

 full knowledge of the circumstances of tht

 case we are inclined to condemn hln fol

 not meeting his slanderers on the threshold

 with defiance. It would have saved him

 years of anxiety, and in all probab eff

 fectually killed the abominable and crue

 islander with which he has been harasseC

 ana robbed. But Mir. Beecher was unable

 to measure the real duplicity of the men

 with whom he was dealing. He vainly

 fancied that while striving to carry Tiltor

 on his broad shoulders he was quieting the

 assaults upon his good name; in reality he

 was but filling the culver of his treacherons enemy with poisoned arrows. That this course was weak every one will say. and not even he pretends to deny. And vet

 while we condemn the almost craven sn,rit with which he met the conspirators. we must acknowledge that there is force m the reasons he gives why he was led to take the wrong road out of his difficulty. Mir. Beech. CT is no common man; he had upon his shoulders no common responsibilities, He was the pastor of great church the edi- tor of 8 widely y-circulated journal. in which he and his friends had invested large sums: he was writing book in which his publish. CTS were deeply involved, and he had a worldwide reputation to sustain, to say nothing of host of friends whose hearts would ache should his good name be smlrched. Conscious of his innocence, he sought to avert the ordeal through which he has finally been forced to pass by tempor- lzlng, by trying to placate malicious ene- my, by striving with kindness and favors rendered to close the lips of an inveterate baobler. That he failed is not surprising in the light of what we know; but MT. Beech CT was forced to act without this light to guide his steps. He still believed Triton a man of real nobleness of character. despite the faults with which it was marred: he conceived an extravagant respect for and confidence in Moulton, whom even Mrs. Hilton was able to guage more shrewdly, once In the tolls so ingeniously woven about him, he was led on from step to step till he found himself hopelessly involved. It IS to his credit that when he was at last threatened with exposure unless he should pay another large sum of money, he took the bold and manly step he should have ta- ken long ago, and challenged his accusers to the proof. Once he had resolved to meet the conspirators in an open fight he behaved as all who have known Henry Ward Beech CT would have expected. He makes clean work of the business once he has underta- ken it. He does not content himself with merely explaining and excusing his own conduct; he strikes back at his accusers with terrible force and effect Theodore Hilton and Francis De Pau Moulton cannot md the paper very pleasant reading. Their victim has at last broken loose and it is their turn to sit on the sharp and ragged edge

 In what he says of the peculiar circum- stances under which he was drawn into this complication, and of the constitutional traits of character inherited from his ances- tors, the extravagant expressions of the let ters are fully and amply accounted for. In his position before the world, the appre- hension that he was to be accused, even of base treachery and gross corruption was enough to appall the stoutest heart; with his intense nature it was impossible for him to express himself with the coolness and caution that would have been expected under the circumstances from less impul- slVe and nervous character. He would not nave been the man he is; he would never nave won his fame and captivated the hearts of the world if he had not been capa- Dle ot the deepest emotions that can be aroused in the human breast. One feels profound regret that it did not happen that nf h. en into the hands of some strong. cool clear-headed man, instead of the willy in. triguant on whom he leaned and to whom he gave his confidence only to be betrayed Had he been thus happily reinforced this trouble would have had speedy ending, and while there might have been momen. tary disturbance, the memory of the oc- currence would have passed away, leavinp his reputation unclouded. D

 As to the effect of MT. Beecher's state- ment, we have no hesitation in saving that among the great majority of decent people 1t will be accepted as conclusive of his in nocence of the revolting crime charged m on him. There will be thousands of the baser sort, who wish to believe him guilty who would have condemned him on even less plausible testimo1Ythan that of Hilton This was to be expected and cannot he helped. The misfortune is with those who refuse to see the marks of innocence in the defense MT. Beeeher has advanced. Against them they will set hundred trivial ciTcum. stances in no way bearing upon the point and for which he is in no sense responsi- ble. It is not his fault, it was not h is wish that the case should be so long kept before the public. Having called upon commit tee ot honorable gentlemen in his church to make thorough investigation of the whole matter, he was bound to permit them to proceed in their own way and time. No. body can doubt that he was as anxious to put in his defense and have done with the business as any mortal could be to have him. No man is better capable of pulsing public opinion, and no man could see more plainly than he that every hour of delay he. tween Tilton's charges and his exculpstion WAS making his task mora onaro,,a n.