Chapter 10
the workers and the church by charles summer from topics of to-day busy man's canada june nineteen twelve read by bologna times five hundred anglican church socialists headed by mr george lansbury m p bearing a cross and with the rev conrad knowll and the countess of warwick prominent in the ranks marched from westminster to the archbishop's palace at lambeth to lay before his grace a memorial expressing surprise and regret that the bishops had failed to take the side of the workers in the recent industrial troubles the archbishop was away and the memorial was accepted by his chaplain the demonstration in front of the grand old pile which has for seven centuries been the official home of the head of the anglican church was on this occasion a peaceable one but lambeth palace in its time has had to be defended from very hostile attacks it is no new thing for the working classes to entertain the idea that his grace of canterbury has but little in common with the toilers lambeth palace entertained with magnificent hospitality plantagent tudor and stuart kings
queen's mary first elizabeth mary mary second and victoria visited the archbishop and were received with great pomp let in the poor the grand gates of morton's tower were gladly open to those who could smile royal favors but only a very few years ago since the days of archbishop benson have the spacious and beautiful grounds of the palaces been open for the enjoyment of the poor of crowded and squalid lambeth the great library of lambeth palace the great hall the noble guard-room have been the scenes of many historic gatherings councils and trials hard-fought battles over such questions as a priest's genuflections in front of an altar the decoration of a vestment or the position of a candlestick but how comparatively seldom has lambeth palace the home and office of the head of the church been the scene of a conference for bettering the condition of the toiling poor
garden parties for the dwellers of the west end have been many under the shadow of the lollards tower but it took years of agitation to convince the head of the church that the green and broad acres of lambeth palace seldom used by his grace of canterbury who had another beautiful palace at addington would be a boon and a blessing to the children of those who toiled in the potteries the ironworks and soap factories of murky lambeth take the long line of archbishops from lanfranc in ten seventy to benson and the courtiers who have held sway at lambeth who have far outnumbered those who have followed the master as a friend of the people names spoken reverently lambeth has had a stephen langton a henry chichely a whitgift a tillotson a howley and a tate names to be spoken with love and reverence but some of these had hard work in doing good to atone for the mischief wrought by a lot who saw eye to eye and worked hand in hand with those who tried to murder english liberty
the terms of the memorial to the present archbishop are not before me but it will not surprise any student of history to find the head of the english church reminded of his duty to those who toil lambeth has been the scene of a very peaceable demonstration but there have been episodes of violence in its history archbishop boniface who had committed an outrage on the prior of st bartholomew's smithfield had to repel a regular siege by excited londoners the followers of wat tyler who was not such an awful rebel as some historians have painted him attacked the palace and to their honour some five hundred london apprentices held a very hostile demonstration at lambeth against the obnoxious laud in seventeen eighty lambeth palace suffered from the followers of the fanatic lord george gordon and the archbishop and his family had to beat a hasty retreat across the river
the present head of the church has but recently read the clergy a lecture on the signs of the times he has the wisdom to see that the church to hold its position must take cognizance of the problems of everyday life and that fact will certainly be brought home to him by the midnight visit of a band of people who although their methods are unconventional must have the excuse and be given the credit of being deadly in earnest give me the money that has been spent in war and i will clothe every man woman and child in an entire of which kings and kings would be proud i will build a school-house in every valley over the whole earth i will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to the gospel of peace the workers and the church by charles summer
