The Henson Journals

[298]

Sunday after Christmas, S. Stephen's Day, December 26th, 1926.

I celebrated the Holy Communion in the Chapel at 8 a.m. After breakfast I prepared a sermon for the evening, and in due course delivered it in the parish church of Beamish to a congregation, which was mostly composed of young women. The Church, which certainly could not accommodate more than 400–500 people, is all the provision made for 20,000 people. I am sure that there were not more than 50 grown men in the congregation! The Vicar told me that his parishioners were largely communists. During the general strike a "Soviet" was set up in Beamish, and wielded a galling pervasive tyranny over the population. Cook has an enthusiastic following in the place. I was interested to note that Squance spoke strongly of the impolicy of the mine–owners, who were making the situation unnecessarily difficult for the men. A good many of the "reddest" miners would not be suffered to resume work. What is to be done with them? Their record is decisive against their gaining employment in the colonies. Squance gave an excellent account of his two curates, Goodwins and Copland. Their only defect is a certain physical delicacy. After the service we returned to Auckland, taking the route through West Pelton & Chester–le–Street, the distance was about 22 miles. The road by which we had journeyed to Beamish through Craghead & South Moor was execrable, & not lightly to be attempted.

---