The Henson Journals

[407]

Saturday, October 26th, 1929.

A white frost & a bright sun. My mind is distressed about Winlaton, & my conscience is not easy. To institute a man is to confer on him a tenure for life: and if he be an incompetent or a knave he will probably live it out. Winlaton has no less than 16,500 parishioners, & there are two mission churches. Only an able & tactful man can hope to get indispensable curates.

[symbol] The Archbishop of York arrived in good time for lunch. We all motored in to Durham for the missionary Festival. There was a great gathering of the Clergy and the congregation stretched to the Font. Temple preached & gave the Blessing, the palatine independence being ignored! After tea the service we had tea. Then we returned to Auckland.

Peter Richardson arrived to dine and sleep. Sybil, Lady Eden, came to dinner.

I had much talk with the Archbishop before going to bed. He expressed himself far more decisively on the main question than I had dared to hope.

[408]

The 'Times' has a very surprising and very disconcerting leader headed 'Church and State'. It expresses the hope that the proposal for a Commission will be dropped, belittles the significance of the rejection of the Revised Prayer Book, and professes to believe that everything is proceeding satisfactorily in the Church. The appointment of the suggested Commission could do no good, & might do much harm:

"It would raise the question of Disestablishment not only at the least opportune moment but in the least desirable form. A few Churchmen, like the Bishop of Durham, have convinced themselves that Disestablishment is intrinsically desirable, though they have not convinced, & are unlikely to convince, the great mass of English Churchpeople. Yet, if ever a change so momentous to the nation is to be considered, it must not be in a spirit of chagrin over a Parliamentary defeat".

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