Tudor Government: The Points of Contact

Abstract

PARLIAMENT It is one of the functions of government to preserve in contentment and balance that society which it rules. Some of the tasks involved in that general purpose are familiar enough. Government exists to maintain peace in the nation – to prevent disturbance, punish crime, and generally ensure that people can lead their lives without threats from others. Government must therefore provide the means for resolving disputes peacefully: it must administer justice and be seen to do so. In addition, since no society can ever stand absolutely still, government is charged with the task of reviewing ėxisting relationships – relationships of rights, duties, burdens and privileges – with an eye to supplying reform, that is, changes designed to keep the general balance and contentment from deteriorating. Most discussions of problems of government revolve around these points. Analysis has concerned itself with the machinery available for discharging these tasks, and assessment has concentrated on establishing the degree of success obtained. However, there is more to it than this. It has long been realized that the so-called realities of government involve further the social structure of the body governed. Government, we know, cannot work unless it obtains obedience and (preferably) consent from the governed and that recognition has led to a good deal of work on the power structure among the governed and its integration into the exercise of power relinquished to the ruler.