The Henson Journals

[88]

12th Sunday after Trinity, August 22nd, 1920.

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I went to the Cathedral at 8 a.m., and received the Holy Communion. While I was religiously considering my duty the thought came powerfully upon me that my departure for Sweden precisely at the moment when a formidable strike of the miners in my diocese has broken out, might well wear the aspect of a callous indifference to my obligations as Bishop of Durham. The tradition of Westcott leads the public to think that much is possible in the way of episcopal mediation which everybody with any real information on economic subjects today knows to be wholly beyond the limits of possibility. What Westcott did has, I suspect, been enormously exaggerated: but he could not have done even that if he had been confronted with such a situation as his latest successor must necessarily face. Then strikes were local: now they are national: the leaders then were almost always religious men, drawn mainly from the Non–conformists: now they are ꓥ in many cases ꓥ brazen secularists who, as old Wilson said, "fear neither God nor man": then the strikes were concerned with definite & comparatively petty matters of wages, hours, details of working, &c: now they are calculated parts of large schemes of social change. There was then no revolutionary fever in the air, & no beckoning figure of victorious Bolshevism on the horizon: now we much reckon with both these sinister factors. Then the State was strong, orderly, & wealthy: now it is exhausted, undisciplined, & impoverished. The electorate then was a comparatively experienced & intelligible body: the electorate now is a vast multitude of both sexes, with respect to which not the wisest electoral prophet dare adventure a forecast.

[89]

If I announce that, owing to the disturbed condition of my diocese, I have cancelled my visit to Sweden, I shall be exposed to the accusation that I "take myself too seriously", that I "have cast myself for the role of Westcott", that I am "interfering outside my proper concerns." If I carry through my programme as arranged I shall be criticised as shewing a cynical indifference to the state of affairs in my diocese, as placing my own convenience in front of my public duty, as failing to rise to the opportunity, as taking a low view of my position & responsibility. In either event I stand to lose! Meanwhile I must settle my course for myself, & let the consequences be what they will. It is not open to me to cancel my engagement without adequate cause: and a mere speculation as to false interpretations of my absence from the country during a strike is not obviously an adequate excuse for breaking faith with the Swedes. Besides, my presence at the Swedish consecrations on the 19th Sept has acquired a more than personal or complimentary significance since the publication of the Lambeth Resolutions on our relations with the Church of Sweden. Then, my departure as if nothing specially important were happening at home might itself be judicious, as contributing something, however little, to encourage a steady & normal frame of mind in the public. Conversely, the announcement that I had cancelled my Swedish visit on account of the strike could hardly but contribute something to the disturbance of the public equanimity. My undertaking to deliver lectures in Upsala is more than a merely private arrangement, & can hardly be sacrificed to anything short of a clear requirement of public duty. Look at the matter how one will, the right decision cannot be said to leap to one's eyes!

[90] [symbol]

[After lunch Baddeley and I walked to the top of Dynedor Hill, and were rewarded by very noble views of the country. On the way, he told me many stories, ludicrous but melancholy, of the present Lord Chancellor's drinking habits. He must have an iron constitution, & a brow of brass. The Sunday paper prints mysterious allusions to his becoming Prime Minister or accepting high office, presumably, the Vice–Royalty of India.] I went to the Cathedral for Evensong, & heard Streeter preach the 2nd of a series of sermons on the Creed. If he had taken the pains to prepare his discourse, it would have been an excellent one: but he contented himself with throwing down the rough outlines of his sermon. Herein I account him to be blameworthy, for a preacher fails in his duty if he fails to serve up his banquet decently. After dinner, Gabrielsson came into my study, and catechised me as to the precise meaning of the Lambeth pronouncements. He clearly rates the "appeal" not very highly. I agree with him that the difficulty about episcopal ordination still remains, though it is presented in a less offensive fashion. Then we sate round the fire ‒ for in spite of the threatened strike of the miners we allowed ourselves that luxury ‒ and talked. The little Swede impresses me as very observant and quick–witted. His command of the English language is still very imperfect, but he is probably able to understand most that is said to him, & he is not above asking for explanations. It is noteworthy that he manages to make the acquaintance of everybody he thinks worth his knowing: & he gains entrance wherever he thinks it is important that he should go.

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