The Henson Journals

[37]

Wednesday, October 31st, 1923.

I finished The Westminster Sermon: walked in the Park with the dogs: wrote many letters: and read the newspapers. Voila tout!

Bonar Law died yesterday. The papers are filled with obituary notices, and personal tributes. He was certainly not a great man, but he had a great career. His character evoked both confidence and affection. When I met him at Wynyard, I was struck by his common–place appearance, his taciturnity, and the shrewdness of his occasional observations.

The "Times" has a leading article expressed very strongly against the French, whose proceedings in the Rhineland are described in a long telegram from the Correspondent at Cologne. If that description can be depended upon, it is evident that the French are acting with duplicity, violence, and cynicism. It appears that their policy is by some means or other to break up Germany, and bring it back to that state of disorganisation & dissidence from which Bismarck delivered it, and which had for many generations made it the helpless victim of French ambition. Great Britain is reported to have informed France and Belgium that she will not recognize the Rhineland Republic, if it is constituted, on the ground that its constitution violates the Treaty of Versailles. It will be interesting to see how this situation developes.

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