The Henson Journals

[23]

Tuesday January 20th, 1931.

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The warm, wet, unpleasant weather continues, and there are threatenings of fog. After breakfast I wrote to Ella, and to Charles. Then I walked to Lambeth, & there continued until shortly after 4 p.m. when I returned to the club in order to prepare my notes for the evening lecture.

We talked much, and for the most part quite uselessly on the question what should be the conditions under which non–episcopalians should be admitted to Holy Communion. I pointed out that we must keep in mind 2 questions, that of discipline, respecting which there would be little difficulty in reaching agreement with thoughtful non–episcopalians, and that of the equality of the Churches, on which, in spite of our fraternal language, we had really made no concession. The Bishop of S. Alban's spoke often and fanatically, but he has the advantage of a logical position. In the afternoon, the matter of the celebration of the Centenary of the Tractarian Movement was raised, & the discussion disclosed a fairly sharp divergence of opinion. The E.C.U is clearly seeking to enmesh the Episcopate in its party plot.

[24]

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The hollowness of all this Reunion talk is very apparent. Where the other party is far distant, as in the East or even on the continent, it costs us nothing to speak in terms of large charity: but when he is actually in our own parish, the case is far otherwise. I scribbled the following lines to illustrate the point:

I can love him, love him dearly, for he's

very far away

And he never, never sees me,

And I never, never see him,

So he loves me, loves me dearly, for I'm

very far away.

But Stiggins round the corner, & Stiggins

in my street!

When he always, always sees me,

And I always, always see him!

So I hate him, hate him sorely, & we'll

never, never meet!

On the whole I incline to think that more harm than good is done by these recurrent orgies of irresponsible fraternity.

[25]

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Lord Dawson spoke to me in the Club, and I asked him about Lang's health. He said that his Grace's illness was serious, but curable if he would put aside all work. Sir Charles Ballance was in the Club, & we had some speech together. He is going to America to undertake some professional work. Since his wife's death, and the giving up of his house in London, he seems rather lost.

I took a taxi to Anderton's Hotel in Fleet Street where, at 7.30.p.m, I addressed an audience of about 250 members of the Northumberland & Durham Association. They were a queer looking lot, belonging mostly, as I imagine to the lower section of the middle class. There were some of their magnates present, bulky city men, & one Noble, who has recently been raised to the peerage, & who claimed to have met me years ago at some gathering in a Chapel which I had attended, & Sydney Walton was there. I lectured on the History of the palatinate, & my notes were taken off by the Yorkshire Post man, though what he will make of them I cannot imagine. Everybody was very 'gushing', & I was glad to get away to the Athenaeum.

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