The Henson Journals

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Friday, April 6th, 1923.

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The difficulty of the existing situation is brought home to mind by the life of a great nobleman's house even more poignantly than by the noisy squalours of a mining village. The contrast between the two in here emphasized by their intimate and obvious connexion, for mine Host is one of the greatest mine–owners in the kingdom. His social influence and political activity are sustained & made possible by the 'black diamonds' of Durham. If these Christian Socialists be right, the Bishop of Durham, so far form enjoying the pleasant hospitality of Lord L., ought to be heading the agitation for the complete overthrow of the social & the economic system which his Lordship so excellently represents. If he may rightly take his place as a guest in the great House, where ease & comfort attest culture & wealth, he cannot possibly assist movements which confessedly proceed on the principle that all these things are morally indefensible. The Christian Ministers can preach a message of individual responsibility, and make a protest against individual wrong–doing: but he is as helpless as other men before these obstinate & difficult problems of economic life. The N.T. seems to speak with two voices – on the one hand, the parable of the Talents, on the other hand, the Sermon on the Mount: and the Christian Church has never yet succeeded in working out a practical harmony of the two.

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The Conference on Economics in relation to Christianity for which such extensive preparations are being made, & which is arranged to take place in Birmingham in April 1924, proceeds on the assumptions that the existing situation is morally indefensible, and that the Christian Church is competent & commissioned for the task of substituting a system which might rightly be described as 'the Kingdom of God'. That no supernatural assistance in the fulfilment of this task can be counted upon might fairly be inferred from the urgent admonition to the study of economics, which the organisers of the proposed conference have issued. Yet that such supernatural assistance is, however, the dominating Factor seems to be clear from the emphasis placed on prayers & devotion, as if these were even more requisite than economic knowledge & practical sagacity for the solution of the problem proposed. For one person able to master the subject of political economy, there are a thousand able to pray, preach, & vote.

After breakfast I walked & talked with Filson Young, who gave me an account of his experiences with Conan Doyle, in the matter of spiritualism. He asked me to 'put him on to' a competent clergyman, who could deal with ecclesiastical questions for the 'Saturday Review'. Of course, I mentioned Knight. I doubt if the 'S.R.' is worth taking account of: but, for what it is worth, one must make the most of it!

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Then mine hostess took me off to see the old mason, who is modelling the animals which adorn the grounds. Finally, Lord L. claimed me for a walk. We discussed many things. It interested me to hear him speak of his own position, & public responsibilities. Certainly, he expresses himself in a simple, manly fashion, which cannot but command respect.

A local antiquary, named Biggar, a Papist and a nephew of the notorious Irish member who 'obstructed' in the eighties, came to lunch. He was to expound the ecclesiastical monuments on Marce Island in the Lough. We set out in the motor boat, but wind & tide would not allow of our landing, so that after more than hour's beating about on the water, we returned home. A Presbyterian minister, Simmons, who was senior chaplain during the War, & made himself very popular, also lunched.

After dinner I had some conversation with General Godley about the situation on the Rhine. He thought it was highly dangerous, and might become acute at any moment as the French were excited and unreasonable. They did not care for reparations, but only for security, which they only conceived of in the light of another War. They were determined to fight with the Rhine for their base. He described his dealings with them in Cologne, where he had succeeded in finding a modus operandi. Then we played card–games until bed–time.

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