The Henson Journals

[188]

Wednesday, December 3rd, 1930.

I wrote to Downing about the projected re–arrangement of buildings at the Castle gate, taking care to display no great ardour for it, but not rejecting it tout court.

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Also, I wrote to the Bishop of Coventry (Lisle Carr) who, to my surprize, is evidently much perturbed at the thought that I should officiate at the marriage of an innocent divorcée in his diocese. I sent his letter to Harris, suggesting that, in the circumstances, he might acquiesce in a registry wedding, followed by a service in church.

I walked round the Park, & had some talk with the unemployed youths, who were playing football there.

I went to Spennymoor, & presided at a meeting of the British & Foreign Bible Society in the Methodist Chapel. It had been organized by the Vicar. The Minister, Henderson, said that he used often to hear me preach in Westminster, & that, when I was Dean of Durham, I shewed him & a company of ministers over the Cathedral. The weather became foggy.

[189]

A Scot and Jesuit, hand in hand,

First taught the world to say

That subjects ought to have command,

And monarchs to obey.

George Buchanan, in his De Jure Regni apud Scotos, 1579, justified the deposition of Mary, and the Jesuit Mariana in his De Rege et Regis Institutione in 1599 defended tyrannicide. The combination of these knavish sophists is indicated in squib quoted above. It was produced during the English Civil War.

Old Dr James Wilson, who is now 94 years old, has a letter in the 'Times' accusing me of following into "the old and too familiar fallacy that the Church is alone spiritual & the state secular" because I spoke in my letter of "the spiritual society". He still cleaves to the identification of Church and State which was maintained by Hooker, & expressed in the Tudor policy of religious uniformity enforced by law. It is probably not worth while embarking on a controversy with the venerable man on that issue, which is really exhausted, & may, perhaps, with some reason, be said to have been formally disallowed by the Enabling Act.

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