The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-06-05
THE CONSPIRACY.
Letter from Washington.
Conduct of the Proceedings.
A Coup d'oeiI Of the Greatest Criminal
Trial on Record.
From the New York World ]

| The following letter, which comes 10
us from person who has enjoyed at
Washington the best possible opportuni-
ties for iudging Of the facts in the case
of the conspiracy trial, aud the charac-
| ter and conduct of the members of the
| court, will interest our readers:
WASHINGTON, May ~,
| The evidence against the real plotters
| and their accomplices is very full and
| explicit, nor is it necessary 20 trust the
| government spies to establish it; but
| against Davis, Clay and Thompson, II
is halting, and has a suspicious appear
ance. The government has relinquished
its pretension ofimplicating Davis in the
assassination, by not placing him on tri-
al before this commission. Stanton Is
himself directing the prosecution quite
as much as if he were the jndge-advo-
| cate in person Judge-Adyocate Holt
and all the generals are mere pets and
| tools of his.
The composition of the cohri is of the
worst possible description. There is not
man composing it who ever achieved
| an honorable distinction in the service.
or who is regarded with favor by his
| brother officers Hunter, the president
| as everybody knows, what part of him
is not fool is knave He has been chiefly
distinguished by his stupid proclama
tions, which the President has been
obliged to revoke, his Quarrels with his
subordinate and superior officers, and his
wanton visitations of cruelty upon the
inhabitants Of the valley. He is mix
ture of old womanish conccit. and time
serving duplcty. General Lew Wallace
| for young man has made the most pro
ficiency in official hunkeyism of any man
of the time He il neither soldier, schol
ar Judge nor gentleman. Kautz is a
| good natured, harmless Pennsylvania
| Dutchman who knows as much of the
nature of a legal proposition as the
horses he has killed by useless hard rid
| ing Ekin and Howe are too small
for mention, they are inconspicuons
nobodies. There is not a member of the
court who dare for one moment give eN-
preston to an opinion contrary To the
will of tho author of their promotion
Coming down to the Judge-Advocatc
| Joe Holt, we find "A man who, like Stan
| ton. was member of Buchanan's Cabi-
| net, and W no like him has yeered ronnd
from the views he then held With much
| more tact than principle he does his mas
ter's work well, and, while speciOusly
pleading for fairness, winks at the enor
nous injustice practiced on the country
| and the accused by his slavish subordi
mates Bingham, his chief tool, is one
of the most peevish, captiOus, insulting
and sOulless persons who ever disgraced
| the American bar The wouder. is that
his life has been prolonged to these years
| Burnett seems 10 have an aptitude for
dirty work, and his labors at the West
among detectives have fitted him for this
closet tribunal.
Even the cOunsel for the defense are
remarkable for their meekness and lack
of spirit and industry. With hardly an
exception they have permitted the testi-
mony to be taken as if they received the
largest fee from the War Department.
The principal witnesses for the govern
ment prosecution have been men whose
characters are so notoriously bad that
they would not be believed in private
life in anything affecting the custody OF
| five dollars. Yet the examination was
allowed 10 range wherever the prosecu-
tion desired without check or protest.
| Truly enough, protests would have eff
fected little, as the conrt vigorously fol
lowed the hint Of the Judge advocate
Yet there was no dignfied remOnstrance,
no eloquent appeal for the rights of
truth and Justice The absent and ac-
cnsed had no friends at court, aud the
| rrant anH
challenged.
The most fragrant injustice was appar-
ent, however, when the defense began IL
introduce its witnesses. At every stct,
they were met by the most insulting
vexations, and unworthy objections,
which the over Jealous court was too
prone to entertain, until, for very fear
and shame, Judge Holt found il neeessa-
sary to desire them to permit greater
freedom to the counsel TO establish the
innocence of their clients Bnt the truth
is manifest The words of the proclama-
ton from the Bureau of Military jus
tice.' duplicating Davis ct a. were tQ he
made valid by such evidence a. could br
picked up or manufactured; or, failing
that, side issue of honor at the CTneI
ties to southern prisoners, was TO be rails
ed, IN which the main charge might be
overlooked. That is the labor Of the
commission to-day, not 10 detect and
punish the guilty parties, and protect
the innocent, but TO verify the theory
| upon which the prosecution was begun
To do this, any point will be strained:
and il is exceedingly doubtful if. rather
than invalidate the secretary pTecOn-
clusions. they wOnld not hang an inno-
cent man
To exc out the links of evidence, the
most transparent subterfuges have been
rcsoTted TO. Does any one believe that
story about a letter being dropped h.
Booth in the street cars in Neg York; |,
that the way in which Couspilat"rs man
age! Who Is Mrs Hudpelt, aud what
are her antecedents2 VIII she rsha
has received no money from the agents Of
the War Department Steinack-r, an
other of the principal witnesses used u
| establish Booths connection with the
Canadian conspirators, has disappeared,
nor can he he found He is also an ON
eer Of the secret service 4 sharp cross
examination w0uld have revealed the
fact that he wa. concerned with one
Weber in blockade running and IN pass
ing Confederate notes. In fact il has
been asserted that he was spy working
for both governments. who fitted he
tween Richmond and Washington. tn
whom Stanton was greatly indebted -
Finegas. another of these precious det"c