Within a few months of Elizabeth’s accession, this new legislation was tested by calling out the general muster throughout the kingdom, and by obtaining returns of the number in equipment from each county. The long, interesting return for Derbyshire, dated March 9th, 1558–9, is extant; it is signed by seven justices—George Vernon, Humphrey Bradbourne, Henry Vernon, Francis Curzon, John Frances, Gilbert Thacker, and Richard Pole. Every hundred and township is set forth in detail, both as to the arms and the men. There was only one landowner of sufficient wealth in the county to be called upon to provide all that was requisite for a heavy horseman; but there were ten light horsemen. The total of “the able Footemen harnissed and unharnissed” amounted to 1,211, namely, 56 harnessed archers, 135 harnessed billmen, 236 unharnessed archers, and 784 unharnessed billmen. A second full certificate of the able men, arms, and weapons throughout the county was forwarded ten years later to the council. With this return a letter was forwarded signed by the Earl of Shrewsbury as lord-lieutenant, as well as by his deputies. A noteworthy paragraph in this letter shows that Derbyshire was not taking kindly to the general substitution of explosive weapons in the place of archery which was then in progress. “Touching thorders prescribed for thexercise of harquebuziers, the truthe is this shire doth not aptlie serve theretoe for we have very few harquebuziers & they placed so farre from market townes as they shuld nott come to a day of exercise above the nombre of six, & yet their travell further than in the time for the same is prescribed. Indeed we have good plenty of archers & therefore in our generall musters wee thought it best to appoint many of them to be furnished accordingly & nowe if we shuld make a new charge the countrey undoubledy wuld think themselves oversore burdened.” The Earl of Shrewsbury received orders in November, 1569, to raise the whole force of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and to proceed against the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, “now in rebellion.” It would be wearisome in a sketch of this character to note the various incidents, which can be gleaned from both the public records and the county muniments, as to the several occasions on which the Derbyshire musters were called out when there was no immediate necessity for their use.