The Henson Journals

[71]

Thursday, June 27th, 1918.

1424th day

The proceedings in the Committee were of no great interest or importance. Lord Hugh Cecil and I united in a vigorous protest against reporting to the Representative Church Council in October. The session ended at 1.30 p.m. I lunched with Gamble. At 5.30 p.m. I attended a meeting of the Churchmen's Union at the Caxton hall, and made a speech on Exchange of pulpits. The Bishop of Carlisle was there. An excellent paper on the "Liberty of Prophesying" was read by Macan, the Master of University. He thanked me for my Commem. sermon, which, he said, had impressed everybody as "entirely adequate" to the occasion. A young clergyman asked to be introduced to me. He said that a sermon of mine in St Margaret's, which he had heard one Easter day, had converted him from agnosticism to faith. He expressed himself with some ardour. I dined with Miss Mundella. The party consisted of Lord Muir Mackenzie, Sir J. Murray, ^Lady Murray^, Admiral Paget, Lady Paget, Lady Cromer, Lady Romer, Sir Robert Younger, myself, & Miss M. For some reason or other, I found the evening dull, & indeed was positively bored. Probably the fault was wholly in myself. Lady Romer drove me to Gloucester Road Station, from whence I got a train to Charing Cross & so home shortly after 11 p.m. Curzon offers "chapter & verse" for his accusation against the Roman Catholic clergy in Ireland by publishing a sheaf of extracts from sermons by Irish priests. Nothing could be more treasonable, & wicked. Yet the Irish bishops pretend to be injured by the charge!

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