The
justices sat on the wool sacks. A bar separated this area from the
rest of the room, where the members of the commons stood. There
were many bills concerning personal, local, or sectional
interests, but priority consideration was given to public
measures. The House of Lords still had 55 members. The Queen
appointed and paid the Speaker, Clerk, and Sergeant at Arms of the
Commons. The knights in the Commons were almost invariably from
the county's leading families and chosen by consensus of knights
with free land of at least 40s. in the county court. In the towns,
the electors might be the town corporation, holders of certain
properties, all the freemen, all the ratepayers, or all the male
inhabitants. Disputed elections were not usually concerned with
political issues, but were rivalries for power. The Commons
gradually won for its members freedom from arrest without its
permission and the right of punishing and expelling members for
crimes committed. Tax on land remained at 10% of its estimated
yearly income. The Queen deferred to the church convocation to
define Christian faith and religion, thus separating church and
state functions.
The Treasury sought to keep a balanced budget by selling royal
land and keeping Crown expenditures down. The Crown carried a
slight debt incurred before the Queen's accession.
Theft and robbery were so usual that there were names for various
techniques used.
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