With the approach of winter, however, the plague slackened, and the inhabitants began to return to their homes. On December 9th Parliament directed that a collection should be made on the following Sunday, December 11th, in all the churches and chapels in London and Westminster for the relief of Manchester, "one of the first towns in England that in this great cause stood for their just defence against the opposition and attempts of a very powerful army, and hath for a long time been so sore visited with the pestilence that for many months none were permitted either to go in or to come out of the said town, whereby most of the inhabitants (living upon trade) are not only ruined in their estates, but many families like to perish for want, who cannot be sufficiently relieved by that miserably wasted country." In the following May, Heyrick, preaching before the House of Commons on a Fast Day, referred to Manchester as "the only town untouched by the enemy, the only town stricken by God."[189] In 1646 Presbyterianism was set up by the Parliament. A petition had been presented to Parliament on August 31st of that year by more than 12,500 "of the well affected gentlemen, ministers, freeholders, and others of the County Palatine of Lancaster," in favour of Presbyterianism, "against sectaries, heretics and schismatics." The petition was urged for the reason that the petitioners, who numbered 12,578 in all, were those who had won the county of Lancaster for the Parliament; more than 6,000 of the signatures came from Salford and Blackburn Hundreds, which out of the six Hundreds of the county had been mainly active in the Parliament's cause. Many of them were among those who had also signed the Petition to the King at York in 1642 to return to Parliament, "which evidenceth that the petitioners attend a golden mediocrity." No malignants had been allowed to sign, and the names of some who were in favour of the Covenant were removed because they rested under a suspicion of royalism.[190] Parliament promised to take the Petition into consideration, and the Ordinance for division of Lancashire into nine classical Presbyteries was brought before the House of Commons on September 15th, 1646, though it was not finally sanctioned until December. As is well known, Lancashire furnished the most completely organised system of Presbyterian government in the whole country; and the system continued in force until the Restoration. A year or two after the surrender of Lathom House, however, things had returned to a more normal condition in Lancashire. "Some malignant enough were fled where they could get to be safe. Others that had been abroad were come home again and glad to live quietly though in a meaner condition. So that the county was in a reasonable quiet posture for a long space corn and all things plenty and cheap."[191] But a new storm now appeared on the horizon. FOOTNOTES: [161] "C.S.P.," 1644-5, p. 5.