COOK, GEORGE, D.D.,
an eminent minister of the church of Scotland, was the second son of
the Reb. John Cook, professor of moral philosophy in the university of
St. Andrews, who succeeded to the estate of Newburn in the county of
Fife, and of Janet Hill, daughter of the Rev. John Hill, minister of
St. Andrews, Fife, and sister of Principal Hill. He was burn in
December 1772, and at an early age became a student at the united
college of St. Salvator’s and St. Leonard’s, St. Andrews. Devoting
himself to the ministry, after attending the divinity hall of St.
Mary’s in that university, he was licensed to preach the gospel on the
30th of April 1795. About three months after, he was
presented to the living of Laurencekirk, in the gift of St. Mary’s
college, and was ordained and settled there on the 3d of September in
that year. He remained at Laurencekirk till 1829. During his whole
life Dr. Cook was distinguished by great energy and activity of mind.
To his pastoral duties he devoted himself with great assiduity.
Unaffected and kindly in manner, and singularly easy of access, his
people regarded him with much affection and respect. His leisure time
he early devoted to studies congenial to the duties in which he was
engaged, and he published in 1808 a treatise in one vol. octavo, under
the title of ‘An Illustration of the General Evidence establishing the
Reality of Christ’s Resurrection,’ which was at the time very
favourably received. He had early begun to take a prominent part in
the deliberations of church courts, and was led to a careful
investigation of the history of the church, which had not then
attracted the amount of attention which, in consequence of his labours
and those of Dr. M’Crie and others, it subsequently received. The
result of his investigations, carried on under considerable
disadvantage from his distance from public libraries, but with great
industry and much research, was the appearance of his ‘History of the
Reformation in Scotland,’ in 1811, in 3 vols. octavo, embracing the
period from the beginning of the Reformation to the appointment of the
earl of Murray to the regency in 1567. This was followed by the
‘History of the Church of Scotland,’ which appeared in 1815, in 3
vols. octavo, containing the narrative from the regency of Murray down
to the Revolution. The two works form a full and interesting
ecclesiastical history of a period out of which momentous consequences
to Scotland resulted. They are written with great calmness and
impartiality, and the researches of later historians have in no
particular of the least importance affected their accuracy. A third
important work was published in 3 vols, 8vo, in 1822, entitled a
‘General and Historical View of Christianity.’
In addition
to these larger works, Dr. Cook published in 1820 a life of his uncle,
Principal Hill, who had long directed the counsels of the General
Assembly, in which much important information as to the ecclesiastical
proceedings of that venerable body during the period is conveyed. In
July 1826 a commission was issued by the crown for the visitation of
the universities of Scotland, of which Dr. Cook was a member. To the
duties of that commission he devoted himself with his usual mental
activity, and on him a large portion of its important work was
devolved. He drew up for the commissioners elaborate reports of the
history and present state of the universities of Edinburgh and
Aberdeen, and the draft of the general Report – services which were
acknowledged in a special communication to Dr. Cook made by the earl
of Rosebery, the chairman of the commission. These services were
continued till near the conclusion of the year 1830; and as a
gratifying mark of the estimation in which his character as a
clergyman was held, he was appointed dean of the Order of the Thistle
in June that year, the highest honour that the Crown has to confer on
a minister of the Church of Scotland.
In the
course of the summer of 1828 Dr. Cook received the intimation that he
was to be appointed professor of moral philosophy in the university of
St. Andrews, and he accordingly entered on the duties of the chair in
the following college session. To his regular course, of 115 lectures,
on moral philosophy, he added in the ensuing year a shorter course, of
49 lectures, on political economy.
From an
early period of life Dr. Cook took a deep interest in the
deliberations of the General Assembly, and soon distinguished himself
in debate by his knowledge of the constitution and history of the
church. He was attached, by a deep conviction of their soundness, to
those principles maintained by what was called the moderate party in
the church – principles which might seem hereditary to his family, for
they were those so powerfully advocated by his uncle Principal Hill,
and by his father’s kinsman Principal Robertson, and which had been
maintained by a long line of clerical ancestors. But Dr. Cook was too
independent to tie himself down to party, or to allow others to
determine for him what were the principles which, as a member of a
party, he should in consistency entertain. In the year 1813 he
differed with those with whom he had till then acted, as to the
important question of pluralities and non-residence. To non-residence
he was strongly opposed, – his views on this subject will be found
expressed in a pamphlet entitled, ‘Substance of a speech delivered in
the General Assembly, 22d May 1816, containing an Inquiry into the Law
and Constitution of the Church of Scotland, respecting Residence and
Pluralities,’ &c., 8vo. The subject excited for a time a strong
feeling against Dr. Cook on the part of the leading men of the
moderate party, and in consequence he was opposed by them in the
General Assemblies of 1821 and 1822, when brought forward as a
candidate for the moderator’s chair. On the latter occasion he
addressed the Assembly in a speech, subsequently published, in which
he vindicated, with great judgment and temper, the course he had
followed. In 1825, however, he was unanimously chosen moderator, and
from that period unquestionably held the leading position in the
counsels of the party to which he was attached. In all the debates
which led to the disruption of the Church of Scotland in May 1843, he
took a prominent part on the moderate side, and his name was a “tower
of Strength” to his party. His views on the Veto Act, and on the
different questions which were originated by it, as expressed in the
Assembly, are fully stated in a pamphlet entitled, ‘A few Plain
Observations on the Enactments of the General Assembly of 1834,
relating to Patronage and Calls,’ published in that year, and in
several speeches published since. The duties of the Assembly of 1844
were very heavy, and although Dr. Cook appeared to be in his usual
health, he was attacked almost immediately after with sudden illness,
supposed to be connected with disease of the heart. The attack was of
short duration, but it occasionally recurred. On the 13th
of May 1845, in passing down to the Bank in St. Andrews, he was
observed to fall heavily on the street, and when taken up it was found
that life had fled. To Dr. Cook’s character and usefulness the
following tribute was borne by the Assembly that met in 1845 – “The
General Assembly desire to record the deep feelings of regret with
which they regard the loss which this court and the church at large
have recently sustained, in the death of one of its most distinguished
members – the Rev. Dr. George Cook, whose eminent abilities and
profound knowledge of th principles and practical constitution of our
church, while they highly qualified him for becoming her historian, no
less enabled him, in combination with that sound wisdom, clear
reasoning, and manly eloquence, which were equally characteristic of
his mind, to afford the most valuable aid in conducting the
deliberations of the Assembly. The cool judgment, enlarged views, and
unwearied perseverance of Dr. Cook the Assembly regard as having been,
under providence, instrumental in no ordinary degree to the safety of
the church during the perils with which she was lately surrounded –
and the valuable counsels so promptly and kindly afforded by him, as
often as inferior judicatories or individual clergymen applied in
cases of perplexity for his aid, will be long and gratefully
remembered through the church.”
Dr. Cook
married, 23d February, 1801, Diana, eldest daughter of the Rev.
Alexander Shank, sometime minister at St. Cyrus. Of seven children,
five survived him, namely, the Rev. Dr. John Cook, minister of
Haddington; Mrs. Marjoribanks, wife of the Rev. Thomas Marjoribanks,
Stenton; Alexander Shank Cook, Esq., advocate; the Rev. George Cook,
chaplain at Bombay; and Henry David Cook, a civil servant of the East
India Company at Madras. dr. Cook’s eldest brother, John Cook, D.D.,
professor of divinity at St. Andrews, was the author of a valuable
‘Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Books of the New Testament,’
published in 1821. He died in 1824. One of his sons, Dr. John Cook, is
minister of St. Leonards. St. Andrews, and another, the Rev. George
Cook, of Midmar. A younger brother of Dr. George Cook is Mr. Walter
Cook, W.S. The youngest of the family is the Rev. Henry David Cook,
minister of Kilmany.
