During the next few years, great events were being enacted in London, but in these Lancashire had no part. The county was full of unrest, which found its outlet in disturbances and riots. Two years later the Council of State was much concerned with disturbances which broke out at Preston, Ormskirk, Manchester, and Rochdale, in resistance to the imposition of the Excise. Large numbers of people were put in prison; and three troops of horse under Major Mayer were commissioned to remain in Lancashire until further orders to assist Colonel Birch and the Sheriffs to preserve the peace of the county. The Act for bidding the proclamation of a King was duly published in Lancashire from Feb. 5-10, 1649, but it evidently provoked no enthusiasm in the county, for the remnants of the royalist party began to carry themselves with much more boldness than formerly. In July, a party of them well armed and mounted, even dared to proclaim Charles II. as King at Manchester Cross. They then rode to Wigan and to Kendal with the same object; and it was only after some days that meeting with a troop of Parliamentarian soldiers they were dispersed.[208] The same spirit of unrest was shown in the difficulties encountered in enforcing the Ordinance for Disbanding the militia. Four thousand of Colonel Assheton's troops, being zealous for the Covenant, at first refused to disband. On February 10th the House of Commons ordered that Assheton's and Shuttleworth's troops were to be disbanded by Major-General Lambert, who was authorised to use force if necessary; but some months at least elapsed before the order could be carried into effect. It was not altogether zeal for the Covenant but also the fact that their pay was largely in arrear, that caused the opposition among the Lancashire soldiers. The matter was considered important enough to receive the attention of Cromwell himself, and on February 27, 1648-9, the Council of State requested him to urge on the House of Commons the necessity of providing a further sum of money for disbanding the Lancashire forces. On March 4th, accordingly, the Committee at Goldsmith's Hall were ordered to pay the sum of £1,444/14/10 which had been voted for this purpose. A month later practically all the soldiers were dispersed except one or two free companies, who gathered all the disorderly spirits in the county and lived by plunder. One of these under Captain Bamber was ordered to be disbanded by force by Major General Assheton, their horses and arms being restored to those from whom they had been stolen. They gave out that they were appointed for service in Ireland, but they had no commission. Bamber seems to have preyed upon the county for two months longer before he was actually subdued by Colonel Duckenfield.[209]