The Henson Journals

[279]

Thursday, May 6th, 1926.

A local post came in this morning, but we are still cut off from the country. It is difficult to see how this criminal strike can continue without civil war, or end with any reasonable settlement. For there is no intelligible issue at stake, except of course the supreme issue of Salus Populi. Pickets in the Stanley district prevented all movement, so that an Ordination Candidate could not come in to his examination yesterday. The difficulty in this county is that in many places so large a proportion of the people is disloyal, that an appeal for volunteers is useless. Nobody dares stand up against the local feeling. And the cunning policy of preventing the issue & circulation of the newspapers makes it impossible to get for the Government any access to the people's ear. These poisonous agitators have the field to themselves, & their criminal talk passes unchallenged. We can trust nobody. The scandalous preaching of "class consciousness" has not failed of its effect. Even the clergy, who might have been regarded as the inevitable champions of individual rights & responsibilities, are as servile as the rest. Indeed in many places they are the mere parasites of the Labour party. The Northern Echo – the only paper this morning – reports that urgent efforts are being made to patch up a settlement, & Lloyd George's name is mentioned as a probable pacificator. This is probably the worst news of the day!

[280] [symbol]

The Bishop of London is reported to have offered Fulham Palace to Mr Thomas as a "neutral place" in which negociations for a settlement can be carried on. Probably the feather–headed prelate never gave a moment's thought to the significance of his action. In adopting the pose of "neutrality" in a conflict between the King's Government and the Trade Unions, the Bishop surrenders the Christian doctrine of the Divine Right of the Civil Power within its own sphere ['within its own sphere' has been added in pencil, and is such a different typescript that it's possible it was written significantly after the fact], and assumes that the Trade Unions are entitled to confront the State on equal terms i.e. to take the character of a belligerent in War. His Lordship cannot plead the excuse which may fairly be pleaded by the Labour–toadying incumbents of parishes of which the mass of the people are Trade Unionists. They would "go in fear of their lives" if they ran counter to local sentiment, or at least they think so. If they were big enough, and religious enough, to leave the squalid party game alone, and stand frankly for morality and religion, I am sure that they wd hold their own, & command respect. But too commonly, they are either the creatures of the mine managers, or the tools & toadies of "Labour".

[281] [symbol]

J. G. Wilson came to lunch, and accompanied me to Durham afterwards. I went to Pittington, & confirmed 125 candidates in the beautiful parish church. Boddy was hors de combat with influenza & malaria, so the Rural Dean, Boutflower, took the arrangements in charge. The church was crowded, & I was particularly pleased with the young men in it. Boddy seems to be able to impress and interest young men. After tea in the Vicarage, I went to Durham, & spent an interval there. Then I motored to South Hetton, & confirmed 125 candidates. At the Vicar's suggestion, I referred to the strike, & offered prayers for the Prime Minister and his Colleagues, and for the men on strike. It seemed to me requisite that the real character of this calamitous strife should be indicated. We returned to Auckland after the service. I found a telegram from Newsom, cancelling the University Sermon in Newcastle Cathedral next Sunday morning, which I had promised to deliver. Such news as came to us during the day tended to show that the country was taking the crisis very calmly, and that the Government was being well supported by volunteers. The Trade Union Council continues to bluster.

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