of the 8th June, 1702, and is recorded here for the reason that, although twenty years later, the spelling of the words is more unlike the modern form than the order of 1682. "That all plate and "other goods wch shalbe borowed from any p'son "or p'sons for the use and service of the Guyld "shalbe carefully restored back, and if any damage "or loss happen to any for or by reason of the "loan of such plate or oth' goods soe lent, that "yt shalbe repayred and made good out of ye p'fits "of the Guyld or otherwise out of the revennues "of ye Corporacon." Since that time, however, the Corporation have become possessed, by gift or purchase, of a collection of plate of which the town has reason to call itself proud.

Up to quite recent years it was the practice for successive mayors to have the use of the plate at their private residences during their term of office, but this has been wisely discontinued, and the plate never goes beyond the Town Hall. The former custom may or may not be the cause of the portions of the plate mentioned in the old records not being now in existence; at all events, there is less fear now that the treasures the Corporation possesses will either be neglected or forgotten.

I. THE REGALIA.

The regalia proper, which will be first dealt with, consists of the following articles, viz. :-The gold mace, two silver maces, town flag, mayor's wand, the sword of state, two halberds, and the oar.

THE MACES.

"Ile mightily upheld that royal mace

Which now thou bearest."-Faery Queen, b. ii.

The word mace is derived from the Saxon word mazza. Originally a weapon of defence, it became, and has been from time immemorial, like the royal

4 The Regalia and Plate of Preston.

sceptre, a sign merely of the authority vested in
the person before whom it was borne. In mediæval
times great personages were escorted by their guards
bearing the mace, then a simple form of club, but
which gradually became, as its practical use
diminished, an object of embellishment, and a
method of exhibiting the craftsman's handiwork.
When this period arrived, maces came to be borne
by royal and official personages only; but the
symbolical meaning would be perfectly well known.
Indeed, in early times the appearance of the mace
would be sufficient to overawe the multitude: with
so much respect was it regarded. Probably the
abuse of the power which accompanied the mace
caused Richard II, in the seventeenth year of his
reign, to decree, on the petition of the House of
Commons, "that no sergeant of any town should
"be allowed to carry his mace out of his own.
"Liberty and Township." Hence it happens
that most of the charters granted by sovereigns.
subsequent to this decree contain a clause pro-
hibitive of carrying the mace outside the boundary
of the jurisdiction of the commonalty to whom the
charters are granted. Thus, Queen Elizabeth, in
her charter to Preston (8 Eliz., 1566), authorises
the appointment of a
of a sergeant-at-mace, who

may and can bear a mace engraven with our "arms within the limits and bounds of the said 'borough during the time that he shall be in that "office."

66

Whether the sergeant-at-mace did bear the token of authority in the exercise of the duties of his office it is impossible to say, for there is no mention in the records of any such having been acquired by the Corporation; but most probably he did carry some symbol of his office dignified by the name of a mace, for it must be remembered that at that period maces of authority partook more of

6

The Regalia and Plate of Preston.

demi-figures and foliage repoussé, are on one side the arms (with the supporters and ducal coronet) of the House of Hamilton and the motto and Order of the Thistle; on the opposite side are the arms of Preston in the modern style; and on the other side the Lancaster rose, surmounted by a crown between the royal initials, A. R. The shaft is divided by massive knops into three lengths, and the base is richly chased, the medial and foot knops being decorated with raised acanthus leaves, a characteristic decoration of the period of its manufacture.

Round the shaft the following inscription is engraved :-" The Gift of the High and Mighty "Prince James, Duke of Hamilton, Marquess of Clydsdale, Earl of Arran, Lanark, and Cambridge, Lord of Avon Polemont, Machanshire, "and Innerdale, and Knight of the most antient "and noble Order of the Thistle, &c. To the "Towne of Preston in Lancashire in the year 1703. "In Token of his Friendship to that Corporation, "and of their Civilities to him and Elizabeth "Gerard, Dutches of Hamilton, His consort, "Testified on Several Occasions during their abode "in that place, and particularly upon the birth of "their Son James, Marquis of Clydsdale, who was "born in Preston, the third day of January, 1701." Ashton Hall, Lancashire, was one of the seats of the Dukes of Hamilton.

The mace bears the Hall marks of the London Assay Office of the year 1702-3, and the maker's mark indicates that it was manufactured by Mr. Benjamin Pyne, a noted goldsmith of the period.

This mace has an additional and interesting value, inasmuch as it is an example of what is known as the "Britannia period." Under the Act 8 and 9 William III, cap. 8, sec. 9, the standard for silver plate was raised in 1697 above that of the coinage, in order to prevent the melting

down of the coin of the realm for the purpose of making plate, a practice that had then apparently become much in vogue. New marks were accordingly appointed for the new standard-a figure of Britannia and lion's head erased--instead of the familiar marks of the leopard's head and lion passant. The new standard, however, ceased to be compulsory in 1720, by the Act 6 George I, cap. 2, chiefly on account of the fact that plate made of the higher standard was found to be less durable than the old one. The lower standard was restored in 1720, and has continued ever since.

The Corporation are to be congratulated on the possession of this and other silver, forming as they do examples of a limited period, during which a different standard of silver was compulsory, the higher standard being 8 dwt. per lb. troy purer; being 110z. 1odwt. per lb. troy, whilst the old or lower standard represented 11oz. 2dwt. per lb. troy.

As the inscription on the mace indicates, it was presented in 1703, two years after the event which it is in commemoration of, viz., the birth of the Marquis of Clydsdale, at Preston, on the 3rd Jan., 1701. The inscription records the "civilities shown to his grace by the Corporation. Amongst these was probably that of the Duke being admitted an in-burgess on the 19th August, 1701, during the mayoralty of Mr. George Addison.

Apparently neither the Corporation nor the Duke of Hamilton forgot the interesting tie which bound them together, for at a meeting of the Council, held on the 24th October, 1717, it appears from the Council book "It being represented to this "Council that the Lady Dutchess Hamilton is shortly to pass through this town and the direcons "of this Council being desired touching the re"spects that must be shewn to Her Grace by this Corporation during her stay here, it is ordered