KEY TO THE BEECHER SCANDAL.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1873, 9 October 1874, Page 3

KEY TO THE BEECHER SCANDAL.

A exporter of the San Francisco Chronicle appears to have arrived at tho key to the Beecher-Tiltou scandal in an interview with an old friend of the Plymouth Church pastor. Beecher's " Esoteric " doctrine is thus commented upon by the gentleman interviewed: -"Beecher has for tho.last 25 years held certain views both in regard to religion and tho relations of the sexes, which he considered ' too advanced' to bo openly proclaimed in the present state of public opinion. He believed tint the public trachor has a right to practice a certain judicious reticence in proclaiming the truth. He thought that men who were' far advanced' and come into greater liberty of faith, might still, wtiilo teachers in churches that were in the rudiments, and slaves to rigid dogmas, continue to preach in conformity to the accepted beliefs, and to .refrain from preaching truths that would shock his bearors and destroy his own iniluence. I have often heard him quote the saying of Christ, 'I have many tilings to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now, 1 in connection with the apothegm,' Milk for babes and meat for strong men.' I have heard him justify the course of teachers who speak in one set of terms to the multitude and in another to tho intelligent and confidential communion. He had given up the oldfashioned view of the inspiration of the Bible, even before Bishop Uolenso's book on tho Pentateuch appeared; but for many years after he had come to that conclusion, and freely communicated it to confidential friends, he continued in tho pulpit to talk about the Scriptures iu the old way. Reporter—Excuse me, but I really don't see what this has to do with the matter in haud—the question of Beecher's guilt.

Mi' A.—Well, lie had \ advanced doc- I trines' on Boeial as well as theological c questions. In regard to marriage, poly- j; gamy and the relations of the sexes lie d has for many years entertained views t ■hostile to the conventional ones. I have a believed for more than live years that t Mr Beecher's real belief in regard lo the r relation of the sexe3 did not differ t materially from tho free-love doctrine as i expounded by its most intelligent advocates. _ c Reporter—l begin to see the drift of i what you say. Tho idea is, that Mr i Beecher has only been practicing what c he has long secretly believed. i Mr A,—When i'iltou's statement ap- j pearod, I saw no way of getting round it. There was Beecher's abject apology, full t of remorse ami fear ami self-humiliation, i to account for which his explanation is t utterly inadequate. And the whole thing t hangs together perfectly. Then it had ' been known that Tiltou had some secret ] affecting Beecher, which the friends of ] the latter feared ho would ventilate. 1 J have no doubt that the secret is out now. < But I aui utterly disappointed and iucx- I pressibly grieved at the courso Beecher i has taken. I Reporter— To what do you allude P 1 Mr. A.— To his denial. 1 expected, 1 and confidently predicted, that now, since the blow hail fallon, he would have come out with an honest, manful confession, I expected that, he would say to the world in substance: ' This story is true. I ain ashamed ol the concealment ami deceit involved in tho business, of all that seems sneaking and underhanded aud tscae icrotyt. Bu-» as Caft Mbi.;

intimate association between any man aud any woman who really aud truly love each other, I have long believed that there is nothing wrong in that. I thought the time for declaring that belief had not yet come, and I kept silence. But now this exposure compels me to declare my views/ I expected something like this from him. Had he taken this course he would have ceased to be pastor of Plymouth Church, but he would have become the head of quite a large society of ' Advanced Eeformers.' As it is, Tilton will prove his case, if it ever gets in a shape to be legally investigated, and then Beecher's career will be ended for over, at least on this earth. There are multitudes of his- friends and admirers who would have forgiven the offence charged by Tilton had he made a frank confession, but who will not bo able to forgive him now that lie has undertaken to falsify tho truth. _ This course of his has changed tho entire situation. If after this solemn denial he is proved guilty, his sin is greater than David's. He lias not only seduced the wite of his bosom friend, but lias committed perjury to protect himself, and suborned her to commit perjury in his behalf.

Eeporter—You. have spoken of Beecher as a ' sincere and noble man.' How can you reconcile that opinion with the conduct you attribute to him P

ill)* A.— I think if Beecher had been left to himself he would not have pursued this course. I think if he had been a private persou and had no interests but his own persqnal ones to consult, he would have come out boldly, acknowledged the whole truth, and faced tho consequences. _ But hejs surrounded by friends and admirers. Ho is also probably influenced a good deal by considerations relating tp Mrs Tilton and her reputation, tie may bo willing to do for her what he would not do for himself. Then, again, lie may think that he is justified, in the interests of Christianity, in any necessary measures to refute a charge which, if admitted or proven, would be so terrible a blow to the cause of religion. I still believe that Beecher, in his instincts and aspirations, is a thoroughly good and noble man. But he is only a man, after all. His temperament is peculiar. His great strength is in his emotions. As to his intellect, that has been greatly overrated. Ho is not a deep thinker nor an originator. But he is impressionable, receptive and sympathetic. His intellect and temperament eminently fit him for the office of interpreter betweon the great originators of ideas and the masses. ' Wo great original thinker is qualified to expound his thoughts to the masses. He needs an interpreter. Beecher is a splendid interpreter. He has a fervor of temperament which tho greatest men seldom posses;). He lias a great deal of animalism, warmth, enthusiasm; very little calm or repose. Ho is a creature of frames and moods. What he believes in the morning he may reject at night. What seems reasonable and right to him in the streets of the city will seem altogether wrong and hateful to him on the sea-shore or among the solitudes of the mountains or forests. He. is not a bigot; he is not a Pharisee, or a hypocrite; he is not id mind or heart a bad man, But I have always recognized the fact that by virtue of his variable and emotional temperament, he was liable, like David, to be betrayed into sin. Beecher's temperament is like that of David. Both were full of genuine religious feeling. When David wrote his psalms he was perfectly sincere. When Beecher preached he was sincere. But in both tho animal and emotional, nature predominated over the purely intellectual. Hence both were liable to errors of conduct. Those who know Beecher as well as I know him will not be entirely unprepared for the charges which iiltoa has brought against him. Those win know him know well he is no hypocrite. The religious element in his nature is a true element and is largely developed. But there are other elements. I am not surprised that ho should have fallen. What surprises and disappoints me is that he should have resolved to brazon the thiug out by denial, iuvolving perjury in himself and others.

Reporter— And so you still believe hat Beecher is a great and good mau P

Mr -4.'— tie is certainly a man of rare gifts. His power oyer an audience is immense. It is not due to the graudeur of hi* intellect; for his intellect is not grand.. The greatest thinkers have no power before the psople. They cannot bring themselves into direct communication with the popular mind. He is still a great mm in his power. And he is a good man by aspiration, by sympathy, and by endeavour. He sympathises with every good cause. He prefers good to evil, the true to the false, the beautiful to the ugly. But still, he is liable by his temperament and physical constitution to fall into error. Reporter.—Do you mean to justify him in his courso upon your theory of the facta ? Mr A.—By no means; lam very far from justifying him. Buc in order to judge him fairly and charitably, all the circumstances must be taken into consideration.