The Henson Journals

[1]

Wednesday, November 27th, 1918.

The "Times" was brought to me in bed; and there I read a column, summarizing the Report of the "Church & State" Committee. It made me very angry to see that, in spite of the assurances given to me in the Committee by the Dean of Westminster in Committee [sic], and later by the Archbishop of Canterbury privately, this Report has gone out to the world, without a minority Report, and without the commentary of what was called a "second reading debate". I was so moved that, after breakfast in the club, I wrote a letter to the "Times", and gave it to Geoffrey Dawson, when he came to the club to join me at lunch. The Bishop of[2] Norwich, happening to come into the Club, I shewed the letter to him, and he expressed cordial agreement in my plea for a Royal Commission. I had much talk with Geoffrey, desiring to persuade him to take a line on the question of reconstructing the Establishment, and urging that he should adopt the line of following precedent, and insisting on a Royal Commission as the constitutional preliminary to legislation. Are two Scottish Primates in collusion with a Welsh Premier to destroy the most distinctively English of all English Institutions? The ultramontanism of the first and the sectarianism of the other, blend easily in an attack on a national Establishment of religion. I shewedGeoffrey also some portion of this hapless memoir, and he expressed approval. We walked together into the City, and parted at Printing House Square. I called at the Deanery of St Paul's but found both Kitty and Ralph were out. Then I went to 15 Bridge Street, and had tea with Linetta, who has clearly been "pulled down" by the influenza. Finally, I returned to the Club, wrote to Ella, dined with Oman, and ended by a rather futile attempt to prepare my Worcester speech.

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