The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-11-16

PFaSlfy, all the evidence 10 this ease clo, ri,,
1S.'shes hS ,Sn some general ideas, gilded over
70 him by Brown and formed the basis Of what
seemed 10 him duty and honor. II ever man
charged with crime was lifted up by the evil
uense ,sa ol MS case above the ignoble traits of
the ordinary felon, the prisoner is thus distiu
gaished. Instead of the eager and willing
bandit. anxious to join hoary leader bent or,
miscnief-snstead of the ontlaw in mind aud
character glo0miiy and fiercely Wondering
revenge against his fsllow-meu for FAM
cleo or real tnJuries-we see from the eyi.
dence kind though wayward heart a
cheerful, obligipg. though visionary mind
with children everywhere he has been a IA
vorite; and since little children crept uuon
the knee of the Saviour eighteen hundred
years ago, they have been the most infaIIjble
Judges OF gentle and affectionate heart
Amiabilfty and sweetness of temper he has
carried with him through the world. and he
brings that trait now here before you to show
that strong Inducements and powerful incen-
tises must have been brought to bear in order
70 engage him in an enterprise so desperate as
that for which his life is now SO sadly i'm
periled. What motive controlled him to this
action A crime without motive cannot
exist Was it the motive of bloodshed His
character forbids the thought. Was it the
m mbtiye Of disloyaity to government cemented
by the blood of his ancestors and defended by
all who are rear to him by the ties OF kindred!
Not syllable of preof warrants such a con-
clusion. Was his motive robbery and unholy
gain! Other fields are more inviting to the
land pirate but the thought of piunder neyer
crossed a mind like his. One ans wer aud One
alone is to be given TO all these qaestonssE
John Brown was the despotic leader, and
John +. Cook was an iii-fated follower of an
enterprise whose horror he now realizes and
deplores defy the man. here or else where,
who has ever known John f. Cook, who has
ever looked once fully into his face and lie ,rned
any thing OF his history, to lay his hand ON his
heart and say that he believes him guilty OF
the origin or the results OF the outbreak at
Harper's Ferry.
Here, then, are the two characters whom
you are thinking to punish alike Can it be
that Il jury of Christian men will find no dis
elimination should be made between them +
Are the tempter and the tempted the same In
your eyes Is the beguiled youth TO die the
same as the old offender who has pondered his
crime tor thirty years Are there no grades
in your estimation of guilt Is each one
with hout pect to age circums tance, to be
beaten with the same number of stripes =
Such is not the law, human or divine. We
are all to be rewarded according to our works,
whether IN punishment Tor eVIi or blessings
tor good that we have done. You are here to
do justice, and if justice requires the same
IA tie to betai Cook that befais Brown. l knew
nothing of her rules. and do not care to learn.
They are as widely aSunder in all that consti-
tutes guilt as the poles of the earth, and should
| be dealt with accordingly. 1t is in your power
to do so. and by the principles by which you
yourselves are willing to be judged hereafter
| l impiore you to do it!
Come with me- however, gentlemen. and let
\ us approach the spot where the tragedy of the
| 18th of October occurred. and analyZe the con-
| duct OF the prisoner there. 1t is not true that
| he came as a citizen to your State and gained
| a home in your midst to betray you. He was
| ordered to take his position at Harpers Ferry
| IN advance of his party for the sole purpose of
| ascertaiuing whether Col. Forbes, of New
| York, had divulged the plan. This order
came from John Brown, the 'Commander-in-
| Chief" and was doubtless matter of as much
| interest t. others of prominent station as to
| him self. Cook simply obeyed-no more There
| IS not q particle of evidence that he tampered
| with your slaves during his temporary resi-
dence. On the contrary, it is admitted on ali
| hands that he did not. His position there is
| we'll defined. Nor was he from under the
! cold, stern eye of his leader. From the top oi
| the mountain his chief looked down upon
him, and he'd him as within charmed circle
| Would Cook have lived day had he tried to
| break the me-lieS which envlr0ned nm =
| Happy the hour in which he had made the at
tempt even had he perished, but, iii fixing the
measure of his guilt, the circumstances by
| which he was surrounded must all be weigh
| ed At every step we see him as the instru-
| ment in the hands of other men, and not as
originating or advising any thing. HIS condue'
| towards that elegant and excellent gentleman
Col. Washington, is a matter OF sore regret to
| his friends and also TO himself. 1t is the oue
act most difficult of ali others 10 reconciIt
| with the well-known character of the man -
But even there his offence is paliated ny tbs
dicta atorship which governed him. At frs
| glance we see a high-toned gentlemans hospi-
| tality abused. This has been used TO aggra
| vate his acknowledged offences But tnt
| truth is that when Cook first visited Colonel
| Washington'S house and received from him
| various acts of kindness, the thought tina
| soon he was to be ordered back over thai
| threshold in a hostile manner had never en-
| tered mis- BRAIN The act was not Cooks, but
| Browns. The mere soldier is never punished
for the outrages OF his commander. And when
you allow that the prisoners great error was
his enlistment under the leadership OF Brown
i'm the first place, then You must admit thai
everything else has followed in logical Sc
ouence. Obedience and fidelity upon a leader
IN fa'se and pernicieus cause are ehtitieu 10
| Offset in some measure at least the evil thai
has flown from them. But the prisoner took
certain weapons hallowed by great and sacred
| associations from the possession OF Col. Wash
| ipctcn All! in this he Is once more consls'
tent with the visionary and dreamy cast OF
his mind. The act was not ptunder. Tor 1t
pledged their safe return to their owner, and
has faithfully kept that pledge to the fuii ex-
tent of his power. But his wayward fancy
was caught with the idea that spell or en-
chantment hung around them, and that, IKE
the relies of saint they would bless ano
prosper any cause IN Wnieh tney We're IN
yoked The sword of Frederick the Great anc
the pistols of Lafayette linked to the name
and family of Washington! With what
| charm such associations would strike the po
| eIic temperament of q young enthusiast EN-
barked in an enterprise presenting to his per
| yerted imagination the incentives OF danger
and glory and if a new order OF things was
to be inaugurated, and storm and revolution
, | were to shake the country and the world, IKE
the heart of the Bruce or the eagles of Napo
| leon. these warlike incentives of heroes Were
to fascinate and allure followers, and hailov
the battles in which they We're lifted Th'
| mind of the prisoner Is fully capable OF dream
| ing such dreams and nursing such visions
But it is said that Cook left the scene a
| Harper's Ferry ut an early hour to avoid thu
danger of the occasion, and thus broke faItf
with his comrades in wrong. Even this il
wholly untrue Again we find the faithful
obedient subaltern carrying out tue orders o
his chief, and when he had crossed the rive
and fulfilled the commands OF Brown, he die
what Browns oHn SON would not do--by re
turning and exposing himself TO the fire of I'll,
| soldiers and citizens for the relief OF Browl
and his party. We see much. alas too much
to condemn in his conduct, but thing to de
spise; We look in vain for an act that belong
10 base or malignant nature. Let the hand o
chas tisement fall gently Oh the errors of sucf
as him, and reserve your heavy blows for sucl
as commit crime from motives of Gepravity.-
| UP 10 this point have followed ,he prisoner
| and traced his immediate eonnexion with thi
sad affair. You have every thing before you
You have heard his own account of his strang'
| and in ia atuated wanderings up ard down th,
earth with John Brown and his conductors
how like fiction it all seems, and yet how
lamentably true; now unreal 10 minds IKE
ours; how like the feyer-dream of mino
warped and disordered to the borders OF II
sanity does The part which the prisoner has
played seem to every practical Judgment! Il
| there nothing In IL dfi you tiic ucai
est privilege which man has on earth-ths
privilege of being mercifals Why, the very
thief on the cross, for single moments re-
pentance over his crimes, received absolute
forgiveness and was rewarded with paradise
But, gentlemen, in estimating the magnitnd,
of this young mans guilt, there IS one fac
which is proven in his behalf by the currenl
history of the day which you cannot fail L
consider. Shall John f. Cook perish, and .hs
real criminals who for twenty years have
taught the principles on which he acted heal
no voice from this spoti Shall mark b,
: 1 49, l.. AZ