The unity of the national government being recognised, it was another sign of the times that its control should be transferred from the monarch to a committee of barons.  At this point the rigid conceptions of the triumphant oligarchy stood in the way of a wide national policy.  Since the reign of John the custom had arisen of consulting the representatives of the shire-courts on matters of politics and finance.  In 1258 there is not the least trace of a suggestion that parliament could ever include a more popular element than the barons and prelates.  On the contrary, the Provisions diminished the need even for those periodical assemblies of the magnates which had been in existence since the earliest dawn of our history.  For all practical purposes small baronial committees were to perform the work of magnates and people as well as of the crown.  Yet it must be recognised that the barons showed self-control, as well as practical wisdom, in handing over functions discharged by the baronage as a whole to the various committees of their selection.  The danger of general control by the magnates was that a large assembly, more skilled in opposition than in constructive work, was almost sure to become infected by faction.  By strictly limiting and defining who the new rulers of England were to be, the barons approached a combination of aristocratic control with the stability and continuity resulting from limited numbers and defined functions.  It is likely, however, that in bestowing such extensive powers on their nominees, they were influenced by the well-grounded belief that the new constitution could only be established by main force, and that, even when abandoned by the king, the aliens would make a good fight before they gave up all that they had so long held in England.  The success of the new scheme largely depended upon the immediate execution of the ordinance for the expulsion of the foreigners.

The first step taken to carry out the Provisions was the appointment of the new ministers.  The barons insisted on the revival of the office of justiciar, and a strenuous and capable chief minister was found in Hugh Bigod.  It was advisable to go cautiously, and some of the king’s ministers were allowed to continue in office.  An appeal to force was necessary before the new constitution could be set up in detail.  The Savoyards bought their safety by accepting it; but the Poitevins, seeing that flight or resistance were the only alternatives before them, were spirited enough to prefer the bolder course.  They were specially dangerous because Edward and his cousin, Henry of Almaine, the son of the King of the Romans, were much under their influence.  In the Dominican convent at Oxford the baronial leaders formed a sworn confederacy not to desist from their purpose until the foreigners had been expelled.  There were more hot words between Leicester and William, the most capable of the Lusignans.  The Poitevins soon found that they could not maintain themselves