The Henson Journals

[211]

Wednesday, November 1st, 1922.

A wet stormy morning, but a bright afternoon. I finished the Balliol Sermon, and wrote many letters. Also I played bowls with William for an hour, & had an interview with Lomax. The "Church Times" contains a correspondence which has passed between the Bishop of Hereford and Mr Arnold Pinchard, the Secretary of the E.C.U. It was, perhaps, unwise of the Bishop to get into such a correspondence, for the fact that he has done so gives an apparent recognition of the impudent claim of that society to be a Judge of episcopal action. Nor do I think that he handles his own case very effectively. The E.C.U. is allowed to pose as a champion of ecclesiastical order, & to paralyze every approach to the non–Cons by an appeal to law. This 'law' is, of course, the Canons of 1604. Meanwhile its own law–breaking proceeds apace, & here not merely the Canons of 1604, but the Rubricks (which are statute law) and Services of the P.B. are concerned. Its own attitude towards Roman Catholics, & the actual behaviour of its members, e.g. Ld Halifax in negociating with them are quite as contrary to the Canons as friendly approaches to Non–anglicans can be. The fact is that the Canons of 1604 imply an illegality in both Nonconfirmity & Papistry which has been destroyed by a mass of legislation since the Revolution of 1688: & this fact does render that whole Code really obsolete so far as Nonconformity & Papistry are concerned.

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