ABSTRACT
Those who work in universities are always in debt to their colleagues for inspiration, criticism and plain straightforward help. It is essential to the whole concept of a university that this should be so. I am very conscious of this, and the tangible and intangible help that I have received from historians, lawyers, economists, sociologists and even from specialists in 'arts' subjects like Englis11 is immense and cannot really be written down. There are, however, some whose help has been direct and whom I would like to thank directly, Kathleen Jones (now of the University of York) is one of these. She not only persuaded me to write this little book, but she has always been a person who was ready for discussion, and she could be relied upon for trenchant criticism at all times. There is, of course, also my wife who has not only read this manuscript for me but has also read many others and whose comments are a real necessity for a careless writer like myself. I would like, too, to thank my colleague, Paul Wilding, who read the manuscript very thoroughly and at great speed, made some very important points and helped in the trying task of checking references.
