Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/193

I570-] THE RISING OF THE NORTH. 179 bourhood of their masters' houses ; and ' the bodies were not to be removed, but to remain till they fell to pieces where they hung.' The rest were to be formally tried, that her Majesty might be duly assured of her escheats. If ' corruption or lucre' prevented a fair verdict that is to say, if judgment was not given for the Crown the prisoners were not to be released, but the trial adjourned to the Star Chamber. 'For the avoiding of desperation' a proclamation was sent out that any one who was not already taken and would surrender of his own accord might be re- ceived to mercy. But it was added that if those who had been culpable should fly from the country they should never receive pardon at all. 1 The first part of these instructions was immediately acted upon. An indefinite number of unfortunate peo- ple were seized, and out of them six or seven hundred artisans, labourers, or poor tenant farmers were picked out for summary execution. Lord Sussex was scrupul- ous not ' to include any person that had inheritance or wealth, for that he knew the law/ Those were chosen whose worst crime was that they had followed the gen- tlemen who, by the constitution of the country, were their natural leaders, and these, besides ' the prisoners taken in the field/ were to be distributed about York- shire and hanged. ' He meant to use such discretion/ he said, ' as that no sort should escape for example, and Notes for the suppression of the rebellion, December 31, 1569.