The Henson Journals

[352]

Saturday, February 5th, 1927.

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I worked at the Lecture, and brought it to completion. It is woefully inadequate, but I have never quite succeeded in making up my mind as to what I really want to say! Thus the poor thing lacks unity and lucidity, the two things which are essential to a properly constructed lecture. However, it will have to serve my turn.

Mr Watson–Armstrong, Lord Armstrong's son, with Mr and Mrs Planta of British Columbia, came to lunch, and were shown over the Castle. Like most colonials, they expressed themselves vastly interested, and strangely ignorant.

Then the Vicar of Escombe came to see me by appointment, and I had an interview which was by no means satisfactory. However, it was less annoying than I expected.

Mr Watson–Armstrong has travelled in the Far East. He gave me an interesting account of Siam, which convicted me of much ignorance about that country, which I had supposed to be very backward. He assured me that it was almost the equal of Japan; that no less than 6000 miles of railway were open; that the Siamese were particularly adroit as air–men; & that the foreign capitulations had been cancelled, so that Europeans were subject to Siamese law and law–courts. China now remains the only independent Oriental power, which has to endure the humiliation of having Europeans exempt from the native tribunals. Siamese Buddhism he described as a very latitudinarian religion.

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