Local government in Henry VIII’s reign depended to a great extent on the peers. Each nobleman was responsible for the behaviour of his own district or “country” as it was called; under his supervision the gentlemen kept order, each on his own lands. The lord’s private friendships, feuds and marriages had a widespread influence on the lives of all whom he ruled. North of Trent the gentlemen naturally grouped themselves into three clans round the three great houses of Clifford, Percy, and Neville, the heads of which were respectively the earls of Cumberland, Northumberland, and Westmorland. It is necessary to know something of genealogy in order to understand the history of a period when marriages were arranged to suit family politics rather than the inclination of the parties, and consequently a man was born to an hereditary friendship with one family, a feud with another, and perhaps depended on a third for all hope of advancement. All the noblemen of the northern counties took part in the strenuous task of governing the Borders. The border counties, Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland and the Bishopric of Durham, formed a district totally different from the rest of England. Scotland was a troublesome neighbour, and the men of these counties were a hardy race, famed for their soldier-like qualities and especially for their skill as scouts and skirmishers. Then again these counties were exempted from taxation on account of the Scots’ ravages and their own special burdens of defence. Finally a state of lawlessness frequently prevailed, which in peaceful times never even threatened the south. The Wardens of the Marches were usually noblemen such as Lord Darcy, Lord Dacre, and the Earl of Northumberland. The power entrusted to them was regarded with much suspicion by the King, while it was quite insufficient to maintain order. As early as 1522 a secret council, under the presidency of a royal lieutenant, was organised on the Borders. In 1525 it was re-organised and placed under the presidency of Henry’s natural son the Duke of Richmond[108]. The powers of the Council naturally roused much opposition in the north. Among Lord Darcy’s papers there is a draft of a petition complaining of its authority. The petitioners protested their loyalty, and declared their willingness to prove it against any insinuations. Seeing that they were so loyal, and that the country was quiet, with no rufflings as in the days of King Henry and King Edward, “but both the titles and all lovings to God (joined) in your Grace,” the petitioners begged they might be left under the ordinary jurisdiction of the Westminster Courts, which extended all over the kingdom except in the county palatine of Durham, instead of being at the mercy of the members of the Council, who might call any man before them on the slightest pretext. They complained that so long as things went well the Council alone was praised, and if affairs went badly, wheresoever the