Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1859-11-18
2ailg Tirgiaiau.
The Trial Of John e. Cook-Speeoh Of
Hon. d. w. Voorhees,

1AOu ~. w. tOOEno6o.
| In the recent trial Of John f. Cook, one OF tho
Garper's Ferry insurgents. a different line Of de-
fencc was adopted from that pursued by the ooun-
sci Tor the other prisoners. Cook was the broth
er- in law of Governor Willard. of Indiana. and
his friends allege that he was dreaming enthu-
siast of a susceptible and impressible character.
completely under the control Of the strong and de.
termined will ofJohn Brown. Governor Willard.
with ahumanity and devotion to his wayward
and unfortunate relative creditable to his hoad
and heart went TO Cooks assistance rs soon as he
heard of his arrest. accompanied by Hon. Daniel
| w. Voorhses, Attorney General of Indiana. By
their advice, Cook made complete confession Of
his connection with the recent outbreak, and al
though no very Important facts were clicted
by it, ii afforded some proof Of tho irresistible
power Brown possessed over the men who had
enlisted under him. The speech of Mr.. Voorhees,.
in defence of his client, is published at length |;
and, while VIC do not agree with all its positions
or conclusions, no one can fail to admire the TO-
ronsic skill and ability it displays and the touch
ing eloquence with which it pleads for mercift,l
verdict.
The speech opens with eulogy Of the court
and jury, for the impartial and orderly manner
in which the trial Of the insurgents had been con-
Quoted, and with the following appeal for chnri-
table consideration Of the Indictment:
"Gentlerhen, l nun not here on behalf Of this
palefaced, fair-haired wanderer from his home
a"d the paths Of duty, to talk to you about legal
techncalities of law born oflaborious ana ysis 10y
the sight of tho midnight lamp. place him be-
fore you no such ground. lie is in the hands
of friends who nbhor tho conduct OF which be has
| been guilty. But does that inct debar him of hu-
man sympathy? Duas tho simple act smite the
errng brother with leprosy which f"rblds the
touch If the hand of affection? L. his voice Of
repentance and appeal for forgiveness sied in
| his mouth? II 80, the meek Saviour Of the world
would have rec"ile1 with horror from Mary Mag
dalene, and spurned the repentant sorrow ofPctcr
who betrayed him. For my client avow every
sympathy. Fallen and undonc broken and ruin
ed as he is by the fall yet. from the depths Of the
fearful chasm in which he lies, l hear tho COM
| mon call which the wretched make for sympathy
moro clearly than if it issued Irnm the lolest py-
ramiI of wealth aud power. Ii lie who made the
| earth, and hung the sun, moun and stars un high
! to give it light and created man joint heir Dieter
nal wealth, and nut within him an immortal spark
oi that celestial fame which surrounds His throne
| could remember mercy in executing Justice, when
Il-'whole plan of Divine Gnvernment WAS assail-
cd and ,crangrd; when His law set ut def
ancc and violated: when the purity Of Eden Ind
been defled hy the presence aud counsels of the
serpent--why, can |. and you, when the wrong
and the crime stand confessed, and every atone
ment is made to the majesty "f the law which the
prisoner has in his power to make
Mr.. voorhees, then proceeded to argue, that
Notwithstanding The crime of Cook, Virginia could
well afford to be mcrcilul, in consideration of the
facts that nearly all the insurgents ut once paid
the penalty of their lives; that Brown, the leader
of the expedition, was convicted and sentenced
and thnt the conduct OF the slaves had shown
their attachment to their masters. lie then spoke
as follows of Cook:
"Wh, is John f. Couk lie has the right him
keli to be heard before you but will answer for
him. Sprung from an ancestryof loyal attach
ment to the American Government, lie inhcrits ho
blood of tainted impurity. His grandfather an
officer of the Revolution hy which your liberty as
well as mine acheued and his gray-hnired
father, who lives to weep over him, n soldier of
the war Of 1872. he brings no dishonored lineage
into your presence. If the blood which flows in
his veins has been offered against your peace, the
same blood in the veins of those from whose loins
he sprang has been oiferod in fierce shnck Of bat
tie and foreign invasion in behalf of tho people OF
Virginia and the Union. Born of parent stock
occupying the middle walks of life and possessed
| of all those tender and domestic virtues which es-
cape the contamination of those vices that dwell
on the frozen peaks, or in the dark and deep cav
| crns of society," he would not have been here Ind
rrecept and example been remembered in the
prodiga wanderinss Of his short and chequcred
life. Poor deluied boy wnyward misled child
| An evil star presided over thy natal hour and
smote 1t with gloom. The hour in which thy
mother bore thee and pleased thee as her blue
eyed babe upon her knee, is to her now one oi
bitterness as she stands the bank Of the chill
river of DEATH and looks back on a name hitherto
| as unspotted and as pure as the unstained snow.
May God stand by and sustain her, and preserve
the mothers Of Virginia from the waves of sorrow
that now roll over her!'
After denonncng Brown as the leader Of the
expedition, and as the man who had arranged it,
making plant instruments ofthose under his CON-
mand, he said:
Come with me, however, gentlemen. and let
us approach the spot where the tragedy of the
l7tr of October occurred. and analyze the conduct
of the prisoner there. 1t is not true that he
rs n citizen to your State, and gained homo in
| yonr midst to betray you. lie was ordered to
take his position ut fIarpcr's Ferry in advance Of
his party, for the sole purpose of ascertaining
whether Col. Forbes, of New York, had divulged
the plan This order came from John Brown. the
er-in-chief' and was, doubtless,a matter
of as much interest to others of prominent station
as to himself. Cook simply obeyed-no more
There is not q particle OF evidence that he tam
pered with your slaves during his temporary resi-
dence. On the contrary, it 10 admitted on all
hands that he did not His position there is well
defined. Nor was he from under the cold, stern
eye of his leader. From the top of the mountain
| his chief looked down uoon linn, and beheld him
as within charmed circle. Would Cook have
lived day had be tried to break the meshes which
envroned himf Happy the hour in which he had
made the attempt, sveu had he persisted; but. iu
fixing the measure of his guilt, the circumstances
| by which he WAS surrounded must all be weighed