The Henson Journals

[375]

Quinquagesima, February 27th, 1927.

I think, perhaps, a Prayer for the Empire ought to make mention of the great variety of races, languages, and stages of culture included in the British Empire, & make petition for mutual forbearance & unity in allegiance. Also, perhaps, we ought to pray for the security of the Empire from external attack.

I wasted the morning in an unsuccessful attempt to draft a Preface which shall be adequate without being either too long or in any improper sense controversial.

In the afternoon I walked in the Park, and picked up three young men who had not seen the inside of the Castle. So I took them there, and spent half an hour. They seem both intelligent and appreciative.

Then I wrote to the Archbishop, and sent him the draft collect. It doesn't satisfy me, but I can't do anything better.

I wrote to my Godson, Gilbert Simpson: to Bailey answering his very interesting letter from Avignon: and to Caröe who is lying ill in a Hotel in Mallorca.

There seems a probability that the Bishops will have in front of them a large number of proposals and protests. How ought these to be treated? Probably it would be advisable to select a few very important points, & with respect to them to concede the request of the Convention. Having thus "saved their face" by appearing thus to defer to their wishes, the Bishops should make a clean sweep of all the rest, and present their own proposals essentially unaltered for the acceptance or the rejection of the Convocations. Anything like a re–opening of the whole complicated issue of Revision would be quite disastrous. "Sint ut sunt, aut non sint" must be the Episcopal Motto.

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