ABSTRACT
Governments are fond of justifying their actions by mentioning the mandate of the people, even when, as is the case in Britain, only a minority of the electorate has voted for them. This has been used to override contrary obligations such as university charters. By 1841 the taxpayers of Massachusetts, with its population of 700,000 were putting £130,000 into educational provision whilst the British government was spending £30,000 on the education of England's 15 million population. The arguments for the rights of the university are interesting, if somewhat academic, in a period of economic growth. These same arguments are critical in a period of recession and consequent reduction in public spending. The English belief that university places should be available for only a small percentage of the population contrasts baldly with the United States' philosophy. Amalgamation with the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology was the price of waywardness.
