The Henson Journals

[54]

Friday, February 2nd, 1917.

914th day

I attended Mattins: celebrated the Holy Communion at 11.15 a.m.: and afterwards presided over the annual meeting of the St. Catherine's Home Committee in Bishop Cosin's Library. After lunch, I attended a meeting of the Sherburn Hospital Governors. The Mayor called on me to show me the plan for the new allotments on Dean & Chapter land. He says that about 100 additional allotments will be taken up in the City, making a total of nearly 600.

I received a letter from the Bishop of Manchester marked "private and confidential". He is evidently much exercised by the progress of the Archiepiscopal scheme for securing "autonomy".

"I take the earliest opportunity of letting you know that the Abp. of C., urged by the Bp. of O., is pushing forward the Church & State Report with great energy. He wished to have a meeting of all the Bps. And all the Bps. Suffragan holding sees in the month of May, to discuss the Selborne report…..Fortunately the Bps. resolved not to have the Suffragans summoned, but to discuss the matter among themselves…..My object in writing to you is to ask you what you think ought to be done under the existing circumstances. The position seems to be full of peril."

The Bishop of Ripon has asked me to address the meeting of men in Leeds on Good Friday which Bp. Boyd Carpenter originally started.

I observe a significant reticence in the Church newspapers about my projected visit to the City Temple. The "Challenge" professes to have no objection to my preaching there, but only to the wide publicity given to the fact, and to the absence of episcopal authority! But I suspect they are a little abashed by the generally favourable attitude of the secular press. They will speak their minds more boldly before long!

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