WILLIAM COBBETT, born in Surrey, England, March 9th, 1763, was one of the most remarkable of the race of agitators who by scolding and threats have compelled England to progress. He was the son of a farm laborer, and while he acquired by his own efforts an education much above the average, he never learned to value the graces of life either in writing or in associating with others. As a result, he made himself unnecessarily odious in doing a highly useful and necessary work which would have made him hated in any event. He was a hearty hater himself, hating the Tories for their tyranny and detesting the Whigs for their cowardice. He visited America in 1792 and remained until 1800. For some time he was highly pleased with the United States, but he concluded finally that his mission lay in England. Returning there, he attacked the government so effectively that he was repeatedly prosecuted and at last imprisoned. He died in June, 1835.