The Henson Journals

[503]

Saturday, November 27th, 1915.

481st day

I had some more talk with Sir James Willcocks. He said that he heard privately from the Viceroy that there was nothing dangerous stirring in India, but none the less His Excellency would not consent to have back the Indian regiments who had been serving in the West unless they were accompanied by sufficient British troops. The Germans had sent back their native prisoners to the North Western frontier, from which they had mostly come, & possibly these had been a factor in the disturbances there, though such disturbances were normal. I inquired whether he thought that the German Emperor's entry into Constantinople would have any serious effect on the Indian Moslems. He replied that probably it would not greatly impress them, for they had not much feeling for Turkey itself. But he allowed that he had selected none but Hindoos for service at the Dardanelles. Some of the Mohammedan soldiers had inquired the reason, & his explanation had seemed to them more indicative of his consideration for their consciences, than properly required by their religion! He was strongly of the opinion that it would be highly impolitic to bring a Japanese army into Europe. He volunteered many very pleasant assurances as to the excellence of the chaplains at the front. I gathered that he was in favour of the clergy being allowed to join as privates. Their influence in that character would he thought be very considerable & wholesome. I asked him whether in his personal experience of the German soldiers he had found them worse than others in their methods of fighting. He replied No: and added that for himself he by no means believed all the stories of atrocities which were current. On the other hand, he allowed that the outrages in Belgium were not exaggerated.

[505] [symbol]

Bishop Bury arrived about the same time as we did. We all went in a bus together from the station to the Deanery. After lunch, the house was given up to a children's party. I sate in the study, and had a long & very interesting conversation with the Bishop. He says that the rural Germans, especially in the South, are morally sound, but that the great cities, & pre–eminently Berlin, are extremely depraved. Unnatural vice has become so general that it is almost avowedly acquiesced in. The Protestant Churches in Northern Europe are, he thinks, spiritually dead. He is very enthusiastic about Russia, and especially about the Tsar, whom he holds to be a really strong man. He says that the secret of the Russian disasters was the moral collapse of the Grand Duke Nicholas, whose nerves had given way hopelessly under the strain. He had become a drunkard, and worse. The German Crown Prince, probably the true author of the War, has gone wholly to the bad, & had so lost popularity in Germany that his accession to the throne was highly improbable. The Bishop's forecast of the future was interesting; He expected that when the defeat of Germany became assured, the Kaiser would commit suicide: that the Crown Prince would be set aside: & his son, a promising boy, declared Emperor with a Regency. The War–lordship would go to Bavaria. Time will show how far all this is well–based. I took the Bishop to the Castle to dine. Cruickshank was there with two guests – Bilson the architect, and Taylor, the philosopher from St Andrews. The Bishop went off to address students in St Chad's. He returned to the Deanery about 10 p.m. and we had some more conversation until the lateness of the hour compelled retirement to our bedrooms.

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