The Henson Journals

[105]

Friday, October 17th, 1930.

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A bright warm day, worthy of a St Luke's summer. The northern papers give prominence to my letter to Merryweather, but it has not found its way into the Times. The Church Times has a paragraph in its opening page disavowing Merryweather, and pointing out the absurdity of his pretensions. He may possibly be affected by the lack of approval even in the quarters where he might have expected sympathy, but he is an ignorant, pig–headed fellow, who may be mentally unbalanced. Indeed, I cannot divest myself of the suspicion that he is not quite sane: but his brother does not suggest this in his letter to me, where it would have been natural for him to plead the fact, if it were there to be pleaded, and the churchwardens assured me that they had no reason to suspect anything of the kind. Of course, if he has to be treated as a responsible person, and if he disobeys my order, I must prosecute him in due form, & presumably he will defend himself. And in the end, he must be suspended, or even (ultimately) deprived. And all this will mean months of litigation, with the parochial situation worsening all the time, and the lawyers' bills steadily waxing!

[106]

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The age of miracles is certainly not wholly past as some of our sceptics profanely assert for one miracle had actually taken place. Ferens arrived from Durham with the two documents signed by Merryweather viz. a statement embodying his recantation to be read for him in Pelton Church on Sunday, and a resignation of his benefice. It remains to "implement" these instruments! Ferens reports that Merryweather was in a chastened mood, far removed from the mood of last night.

Mrs Underhill (Mrs Starr) was the principal speaker at the C. M. S. meeting in the State room at 3.15 p.m. The Vicar presided, & there was a gathering of women which filled the room. The lady–orator was fluent and earnest but (as is commonly the case with female speakers) badly handicapped by her voice which was thin and monotonous. The doctor from the Hospital in India, who also spoke, had a better voice, but was neither fluent nor earnest. I came away to see an Ordination candidate named Harrison, who is from Bishop Auckland, and desired to be ordained at Advent.

[107]

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Athelstan Riley wrote to me with reference to the Resolution of the Lambeth Conference which gives a cautiously–conditioned sanction to the use of contraceptives. I was at the pains of writing to him a long letter in reply. I defended the Lambeth Resolution, but with little confidence and less satisfaction. The certainty of abuse is far more apparent that the value of use. And we have probably added yet another disintegrating factor to the disordered life of the Church of England. Moreover, though I think there is no sufficient reason for refusing recognition of 'contraceptives' as fairly usable by Christian folk, I can see so clearly that the main cause of the pressure for such recognition is a licentious repudiation of all disciples that I dislike extremely even the appearance of yielding to such an appeal. The opposition is, of course, irrational, for it is determined, not by a reasoned conclusion as to the merits of the case for contraceptives, but by a blind adherence to a traditional position. In some cases, perhaps, only by a dread of the Papist gibes!

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