The Henson Journals

[77]

Monday, November 10th, 1924.

I wrote letters all the morning. After lunch I walked round the Park with the dogs. In the "temple", as I returned, I came upon a young–looking man, with whom I got to talk. His name is James Tait; he is 32 years old, married, but without family: his work is mining, & he has been workless for 4 months. The dole for him & his wife is 23/– weekly, and he receives 6/4d from his Union. This is about half of what he would normally earn as a heaver.

I motored to Gateshead, and addressed a meeting of the League of Nations Union in the Town Hall. There were threatenings of fog, but, as we got away from Auckland, the atmosphere became clearer. The Town Hall was filled with a rather shabby looking company, in which a number of rough men wearing cloth caps, which they kept on their heads throughout the proceedings, were conspicuous. They did not look either very friendly or very intelligent, and there was some ranting by a local Communist at the end. However, they listened with bovine attention, and applauded when I sat down. After the meeting I returned to Auckland, arriving about 10.15 p.m. Gateshead is certainly the most God–forsaken of the larger centres of population in the diocese. There are no people of education and position to take a wholesome lead in the place. The clergy are on the whole a good set.

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