A coger (pronounced with a long 'o' - "koh'jer") is a
advocate of
free speech and
intellectual freedom.
The Cogers movement started in the 18th century in the City of London, meeting in an inn to discuss the current affairs of the day. In those days, newspapers were very scarce and expensive. Attending a Cogers meeting was a way to find out about politics and what was happening in the world.
Of course, the King of England was very interested in this political movement, and would place spies to make sure that he was kept informed of their goings on and who was attending.
Debating societies using the word "Cogers" in their title exist to the present day (for details of which societies are currently active, try a google search on cogers).
The name is often wrongly’ spelt Codgers and Coggers; the “o “is really long, the accepted derivation being from Descartes’ Cogito, ergo sum, and thus meaning “The society of thinkers.” The aims of the Cogers were "the promotion of the liberty of the subject and the freedom of the Press, the maintenance of loyalty to the laws, the rights and claims of humanity and the practice of public and private virtue."From the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica