Papermoney，hefoundout，wasatthebottomofitall；forpapermoneywastheoutwardandvisiblesymbolofagiganticsystemofcorruptionandjobbery。Itrepresentedthedevicebywhichthehard-earnedwagesofthelabourerwerebeingsomehowconjuredawayintothepocketsofJewsandstockjobbers。Theclasseswhichprofitedbythisatrocioussystemformedwhathecalledthe’thing’——thehuge，indicatecombinationofknaveswhichwasbeingdenouncedbytheRadicals——thoughwithadifference。
Cobbettcouldjointhereformersinsofaras，likethem，hethoughtthattherottenboroughswereavitalpartofthesystem。Hemeetsamiserablelabourercomplainingofthe’hardtimes。’Theharvesthadbeengood，butitsblessingswerenotforthelabourer。That’accursedhill，’saysCobbett，pointingtooldSarum，’iswhathasrobbedyouofyoursupper。’108Thelabourerrepresentedtheclasswhosebloodwasbeingsucked。
Sofar，then，astheRadicalswereassailingtheboroughmongers，Cobbettcouldbetheircordialally。
Twoyears’imprisonmentforlibelembitteredhisfeelings。Inthedistresswhichsucceededthepeace，Cobbett’svoicewasforatimeloudestinthegeneralhubbub。HereducedthepriceofhisRegister，andhis’two-pennydash’reachedacirculationof25，000or30，000copies。Hebecameapowerintheland，andanticipatedtheimmediatetriumphofreform。Thedaywasnotyet。Sidmouth’smeasuresofrepressionfrightenedCobbetttoAmericaMarch1819，wherehewrotehishistoryofthe’lasthundreddaysofEnglishliberty。’Hereturnedinacoupleofyears，damagedinreputationandbrokeninfortune；butonlytocarryonthewarwithindomitableenergy，althoughwitharecklessnessandextravagancewhichalienatedhisalliesandloweredhischaracter。Hetriedtocoverhiserrorsbybragsandbombast，whichbecameridiculous，andwhichareyetnotwithoutsignificance。
CobbettcamebackfromAmericawiththerelicsofPaine。Paine，theobjectofhisabuse，hadbecomehisidol，notbecauseCobbettcaredmuchforanyabstractpoliticaltheories，orforreligiousdogmas。Paine’smeritwasthathehadattackedpapermoney。