The Henson Journals

[145]

Thursday, August 28th, 1919.

We left Durham at 10 a.m., and motored to Sandbeck Park. Rotherham, where we were hospitably received by Lady Scarbrough. We arrived at a few minutes before 6 pm. after a cheerless journey through continuous rain, and with sundry unfortunate incidents. We punctured, and had to purchase a new tyre. Fisher, the Minister of Education is staying here. I had much interesting conversation with him. He himself raised the question of the Enabling Bill. He said the Government would probably "take the Whips off", and leave members, free to take their own line. He agreed that, in these circumstances, the Bill would probably be carried. I did my best to make him understand how unsatisfactory the Bill is, even as amended by the Lords. He himself professed dislike of the Bill, but I can see that he thinks it will pass. He spoke very highly of the Prime Minister, whose powers, physical and mental, he describes as very amazing. I spoke to him at some length of my desire to have Durham Cathedral linked more closely with the University, and he expressed much sympathy with the idea. He said that the low mental quality of the clergy in the North of England was regrettable and embarrassing.

[146]

Fisher said that Lloyd George impressed him as being curiously like Napoleon. He had the same sudden swift inspirations, the power of seeing to the heart of a tangled situation & making up his mind at once. He was amazingly strong physically, and was as versatile as strong. The finest examples of his eloquence were often addressed to the Cabinet. Like Napoleon, however, he had little loyalty to colleagues, & would "drop" a man as easily as he would "take him up". He had introduced the practice of keeping minutes of the proceedings at Cabinet meetings. Type–written copies were sent to every Minister present for correction, & the corrected record was preserved. This arrangement would be of the greatest value to future historians, but made the leaking out of Cabinet secrets very much easier. The introduction of "Labour" men into the Cabinet had tended in the same direction, for they had an incorrigible tendency to 'blab'. Fisher spoke highly of the Labour Ministers, with whom he had been associated, and thought that they were of great value in restraining the Cabinet from procedures which the artisans would misunderstand & resent. Barnes, especially, was an honest & valuable colleague.

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