The Henson Journals

[195]

Thursday, May 15th, 1919.

The Bishop of Manchester has a long letter in today's "Times". He is evidently bent on appealing to the anti–Ritualist feeling of the country – a quickly waning sentiment. Moreover, he is personally both unpopular and distrusted. However, we must work with such tools as Heaven sends us, and the Bishop at leasts [sic] breaks the fallacious semblance of episcopal unanimity, which is as much a conspiracy of silence as an act of homage to the Archbishop. I write to Burge urging him, so far as is possible, to work with Knox in the House of Lords. Knox's worst practical fault is his incorrigible habit of "going off at a tangent" from an agreed course, and thus disconcerting his allies, and generally securing the defeat of his own side. In any case the position in Parliament will be extremely difficult & delicate. Both the Archbishops, and almost the whole of the Bishops, will claim, with obvious and considerable plausibility, to express the general sentiment of the Church. They will point to the votes of the Convocation, and the Representative Church Council as justifying this claim, or, at least, going some way towards doing so.The peers are accustomed to take the Primate's right to speak for the Church of England as a secure assumption, only challenged by Radicals! It is a very difficult situation indeed.

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