The Henson Journals
Tue 9 March 1915
Volume 20, Page 161
[161]
Tuesday, March 9th, 1915.
218th day
A beautiful day, but still very cold. The Watsons left for Oxford after breakfast. I attended an extraordinary meeting of the Council of the Durham colleges, convened to consider the present state of the litigation between the University & the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in the matter of the way–leave at Bearpark. I offered, perhaps rashly, to attempt to effect a peaceable settlement with the Commissioners, or at least to discover through Sir Louis Dibdin how far they were disposed to go in that direction. Ella and I motored to Newcastle, & there attended a meeting in the Church Institute, organised by Sir Thomas Oliver in aid of a Fund for relieving Polish Refugees. A Russian actress, Princess Bariatinsky, was the principal speaker. Her strong & virile voice & foreign accent added impressiveness to the vigorous paper which occupied nearly an hour in reading. I made a short speech: and was followed by the secretary, Mr Pollock, & Prof: Shaw. Then we all went to Sir T. Oliver's house, & were regaled with a rather elaborate dinner. We motored back to Durham afterwards, and got in to the Deanery about 20 minutes before midnight.