suspicion of being favourably disposed towards the royal party. The chief supporters of the king in the ensuing conflicts were the nobility, in great numbers; the higher orders of the gentry, and a considerable portion of their tenantry; all the High-churchmen; and a large majority of the Catholics. The parliamentarian army, on the other hand, was mainly composed of freeholders, traders, manufacturers, Puritans, Presbyterians, and Independents. An engagement near Wigan roused up the people in our vicinity to a sense of the dangers menacing them, and a public meeting of royalists was called at Preston under the presidency of the earl of Derby. Amongst other gentlemen who took a prominent part in the assembly were Thomas Clifton, esq., of Lytham, and Alexander Rigby, esq., of Layton. Several resolutions were adopted, the most important being that a sum of money, amounting to £8,700, should be raised and devoted to the payment of a regiment, consisting of 2,000 foot and 400 horse, in the following scale of remuneration:— DRAGOONERS. Captain 12s. 0d. per diem. Lieutenant 6s. 0d. ” ” Cornet 4s. 0d. ” ” Sergeant 3s. 0d. ” ” Corporal 2s. 0d. ” ” Dragooner 1s. 6d. ” ” Kettle-drum 2s. 0d. ” ” FOOT. Captain 10s. 0d. per diem. Lieutenant 4s. 0d. ” ” Sergeant 1s. 6d. ” ” Drummer 1s. 3d. ” ” Corporal 1s. 0d. ” ” Private 0s. 9d. ” ” HORSE. Captain 16s. 0d. per diem. Lieutenant 8s. 0d. ” ” Cornet 6s. 0d. ” ” Corporal 4s. 0d. ” ” Trumpeter 5s. 0d. ” ” Private 2s. 6d. ” ” And to every Commissary 5s. 0d. per diem. Parliamentary commissioners were sent this year, 1642, into all parts of Lancashire to visit the churches and chapels and to remove therefrom all images, superstitious pictures, and idolatrous relics, which any of them might contain.