British Q uakerism

1 8 60- 1 9 2 0

Th e T ransform atio n of a Religio us

C ommun ity

T H OMAS C . KE N N EDY

Fig. I J ohn W ilhelm R ow ntrcc (1S6R- 1YOS), C. 19 00

OXFORD
U N IVE RSIT Y PR ESS
 OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS

(;rc,lt Cl.ircndou Succr. Ovford OX.:: (II)P

( hl~lr~i UIl]\ LTqt) Prcs-, 1<; ,1 dcp.trtmcnt of the Uuiv crvuv ol (h:~; ll"l!
II turthcr- till' Umvrrvuv', ohJCt nvc of cxcclk-:» C 111 rt--c.n, h '\ h. .l.u'vlup.
.uui l,\11lCH101l b\ pllhh\hlll~ \\'()rhhYldc
()xfnnl Ncxv York

Arhcn- Auc kl.urd ltllq;knJ.,. B()go[,i llUl'llm AlrL'\

(:,I~lC TO\\l1 I),lf C" Sal.t.un Dcllu Horcnc'c Hong KOll).!: Ivt.uibu]

(:lll'1111,1l

Kar.ulu Kolk.ir.r "\l,tI,] Lumpur Madr.d Melbour-ne MC'X1C{) ('ny Mumh.u

N,llrobl P,tr1\ S,\O P,llll() SkUlgh,1l SlIlg,IP(lfl' T.l1~'l'l 1 oJ...) (l Toronto \\,',If\.I\\

,1I1d ,)\\1)( t.rtc-d (Olllf1,1l1Jn III Bc-rhn Ib.id.ut The night is far SpC11t,

Oxford I' ,J rq.!)\tl'rl'd tr.rdc m.u-k otOvtord Umvcrvrtv Prcv,

The day is at hand:

111thv UK .rud ccrt.un orher count nc­ let liS therefore cast off the works of darkness,

Pul-l.vlu-d 1Il lhc Ull1tnl 'it.ur,

And let liS Pllt 011

h) l ):-,.ford Unrvcrvir v Ilrl''>~ luc . Nn\ York

The armour of light.

Fhoui.r- ( Krrun-dv 200]

Romans [3: 12
The Jllt1r.tl fl!-!.hh of till' .uulior lLl\'l' been ,1'>~lTtcd
!),lLlh,l'>l l'ly;hr (h((\rd Umv crvnv Prcv, (m.ik cr)

Frrvt pllhh~lll'd -2()O]

All r1~,h(~ rcvrrvcd No p.nt of rill'> puhhc-anou m.tv be rcproduc c-d ,

In loving l11Cl11Ory of Roger Cowan Wilson,

vtorcd 111 .1 rcr ncv.tl -vcn-m. or tranvnuncd. 1ll .m-, torm or \'\ .uiv 111,',111'
1<)O(j- [ <J<) 1
wrthour till' lJ,t'~;!~~1 III \\Tl(lll~ o(();lilrd Uurvvrvnv Pn-v..

,.'~htu~t~~. nuder rcnu- ,Igrl'ed xvnh tlu­ ,ll'l'fnl'fl,Hl

Historian, friend, great Friend

*
or ,I'> l'xprn,>ly
rl'pfo!-';r.lP ,~;.\+lgh~~ org,llll~l( ,LllLjlllrlC<, (nll,l'fl1II1g rq'r\ldlldl!l]} ,111d

outvidc- til ~~pc of till' .rhovc ..It! he "cut (0 rhc Itlght, I )q',}flllll'l1l
~-:t lxtort! UI11\'LT~ltV ,tt",>, .it the ,ldlin'\'> .rbovr
With gratdiIl thanks to

Jk~.~':'.lot
\',lll , - . , • m-ul.uc u.jJ11
•
f'lk III
1
,lll~
other \'IlHI.111,L:: or l ()\'IT Edward H. Milligan,

.md '~.\l.'('ju'>t llllP\~" .unc condmou Oll .mv ,ll q\llrl'r the peerless Ted

"' .... A. I (-i'e" ,.' ,

Bnflb1tt.~I~~L1I(lgtllllg IJl Puhluatron 1),](,1

1),ILl .rv.nl.rblc
I tbr 1[\ of ( ongrl ' -, ( It J!oglTlg III l'ubln .rnon I) It 1

. '1--C) cr tor

~ '}..O ~~ I Kc-unc-dc Th"u,,, (

~ Brmvh Qu.rkrrr-ru. r ,W,I)-ll)2U the r r.mvtorm.mon of 1 rl'hglol,l\
conuuuuuv I Thom.r, C Kcnncdv

P. (Ill

lnchuh- hJi--,lllugnplul.d rctcrcncr-, .md llldn.

~OlJl'[Y PI" Frll'lllh.-( .n.n IIrn.un-} iJ'>tory-1 vrh ccnturv

SOl]l'(~ of fricl1d,-( ;rl',lt BrruIlI-III,tory-2()r!l ccnturv I. Title
BX7(l/(I ..\ -l-() .ioo r
2,'\lj,(j'..j.I'U')03-l--dt"-2r CJ()--Q(l,'\(l] ~

ISBN n-I lj-,'\.2"uJ ~-()

I J :\ 7 .) I (J x (, -l­

\~Vl'''l'( by Kol.nn lntorm.mon SLT\'ICl'<'

Prrv.uc Ltd, Pondrcberrv, InJI,1

Prnucd 1Il Cn',1t BrnJ1l1 l-)\

Blcidlc~ Ltd, (;t1l1Jfi.)fd &. KlIlg', l\1l1l

v
 Acknowledgenlents

.~ L1I1Y individuals and i nstitutions have made invaluable contribu­

tions to this study, but no one ottlTcd so much or delivered so
.ibundantly as the late Rogcr C. Wilson, one otthc grcat kaders of
rwcuricth-ccnturv 13ritish Quakerism, to whom the book is dedi­
c,ltcd, I never kIt worthy of his incxhuuvt ihlc kindncss, let alone
111, .ihsolutc confidence. and can only hope this study is in some
\\,IY worthy of his memory. My dcdication also inrludcs another

.ivtutc , gcncrous, .md able Friend. Edward H, Milligan, tormer

l rbrari.m of the Society of Fricnds. Ted showe-d me where [
ought to look, helped me to understand what I h.id found, and,
by reading and correcting the m.musrript , saved me trom innu­
mcrahk- embarrassing errors and cgrcgious misinterpretations; I
()\\T him more thanks than I c.m adequately express. Malcolm

lliomas, current Librarian at Friends House and his woudcrfullv

.ompctcnt and helpful staff, especially josef Keith, have cheerfully
.uid efficiently dealt with all my rcqucvtx, despite the problems and
IIKOnVCl1lCnccs I often C1uscd for them. They have been good
Friends indeed.
I am gratcful for the tricndvhip .md insight so .rbuudantlv con­
tlTrcd by Edwin U. Uronner, tC.lrI11lT curator of the Quaker Col­
lection at Haverford College, and his staff, cspccially Elizabeth
Potts l3rown, Di;lnn~1 Fr.mzuxott Peterson, and Nancy Magl1cssol1
(now librarian of Goucher Collcgc), during the year I spcnt at
Haverford as T Wistar Brown Fellow. During the intervening
vc.irs Emma Lapsanskv, the current curator, has maintained this
Friendly traditiou. Two other Friends who have givcn unstiutingly
of their knowledge, hovpit.ilitv. and good will arc jean Rowntrcc
.ind Mary Hoxie Joncs, daughters who have maintained and
expanded the kg~lcies of their fathers. In conversations, correspond­
cucc , and published works, John Punshou has shared his always
penetrating and often moving insights into Quaker religious
thought. If I have been half so good a student as he is a teacher, I

vn
 vm ."1 (", /(11/ 'IC(~~e"ICIIIS
will not lead the innocent or uninitiated far astray. Other Friends
who provided hospitality, information, or good counsel include
numerous members of the Rowntrcc family, the late Ormerod
Greenwood, Mollie Grubb, the late Horace Alexander. Robin and
Mary Hodgkin, Marv Barlow Millor, the late Richard Braithwaite.
Knightsbridge Professor of Philosophy, Univcrxitv of Cambridge,
Thomas Haunn , Director of the Earlham College Quaker Collec­
tion. Philip Radley. Henry Ecroyd, Stephen and Olive Peer. I am
deeply indebted to the Wardens and Fellows of Woodbrooke
College, Birmingham for their assistance and generosity.
I need also to express gratitude to the directors and ,tafts of the
John Rvl.uid, Library, University of Manchester, Manchester
Archives and Local Studies Manchester Central Librarv, Hardshaw
East Monthly Meeting, the Brotherton Library Special Collection,
University of Leeds the l.unr.ixhirc County Record Office, the
Yorkshire Ccncral Meeting, Lancashire and Cheshire Quarterly
Meeting, the Bertrand Russell Archives, McMaster University.
the University l.ibr.irv, Cambridge, and to Craham Pollard, torrm-r
librarian of Wolf,on College, Cambridge, and his associate Ruth
Webb. Beth Juhl. Rdl'rence Librarian of Mullins Library. Uni­
vcrsity of Arkam,ls, saved me considerable time and discomfiture
providing answers I should already have known and others I would
never otherwise have found.
My mentor .uid friend Richard Rempel uriginally conceived of
the idea of a study of the renaissance of Uritish Qmkerism and
collaborated in its early stages until ill-health combined with his
duties as an editor of the Uertrand Russell Editorial Project made it
impossible fl.)r him to continue. He has, none the less. persisted in
giving of his time and insight, reading the manuscripr and provid­
ing wise counsel and invaluable criticism. Martin Ccadcl, the
historian of till' British peace movement, also read the manuscript,
offering shrewd adviri: and warm friendship without hope of
recompeme . .10 Vcllacott, an esteemed colleague and friend. has
contributed her knowledge of Quakerism and insights as a histor­
ian. Peter Clarke. Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, has been a
role model. no less tor his kindness than for his erudition. Peter
Brock, Boyd Hilton, Chris Hollingsworth, Fred Leventhal. Urain
Phillips, and Jay Wintn have helped me in various W;lyS and
I am grateful to each of them. I also owe special thanks to Sir
David Williams, former President of Wolfson College and Vice­
, id,"olI'le{~rzellclls IX
Ch,lIlcellor of the University of Cambridge, and to the Fellows.
,tllLknts, and staff of Wolfson College. where my wife and I spent a
IllClllorable year while I was Fulbright College Visiting Fellow, a
hJppy circumstance made possible by the patience and goodwill of
[he History Department of Fulbright College and its Dean, Bcr­
IIJrd L. Madison. My research assistant Michael Martin was a
\\'lllderfully eHicient proof-rcadcr ,lnd bibliographer. I apologize
rlH any omissi om from the above li,t, and for any errors I have
r:liled to correct despite all the a"i,tance and good will lavished
ul10n me.
Jim Whitehcld pLlcticllly abandoned his own work fl.H ;1 time
ro concentLlte his knowledge of Christian thought and history, .md
hi, passion to have it rightly told. on the final draft of thi« book,
f1roviding, beyond the enduring gifi: of his friendship, reverent
iusight .uid irreverent laughter when both WLTe badly needed.
n J. Q, (Quince) Adams, I hvid Edwards. and Uill Lulx-now arc
'11 ecial friends who have insp ircd Inc, encouraged me, and made
nil' Llllgh-wOlldrollS gifi:~, frcclv given, that I can never repay. My
.hildrcn and grandchildren IlLlY not a!w,lYs be sure of what I a111 up
lO but I em always he sure of their loyaltv and aftl,ction. Finally,
111\' great historical tricnd. Mary Lynn. the light of 1111' life, has
«omfortcd 111e when I was de,pOlldellt, corrected 111e when I was
\\ rong, ignored 111e when I wa, impossible, and loved me ill spite
\)f it all. Dazzling blessings th.it never cease to amaze.
r.c:.K.
h tllm:rz/ll C()lIc~c, {'lIi,'crsi Iy (!{ A r"<1I1.i£IS
/ :,1 Yi'1I1'l'i llc
/'chw<1ry 2001
 Contents

IJ'I <'I' lliustrations xn

, 1/J!J/{",j,lIi,'1/S XIII

Inrrodu ctiou
The Condition of Friends 12

2 Spiritual Rebellion 47
An Angry God or ,-1 !<-e(/sol/<I{,le Faitt)? S()

-+ Prophetic Vision I 1<)

~ The New Qu.ik crism 157

() 'Kindly Silence the Men a Bit': W0111en in the
Society of Friends, I S(IO~ 1<) 14 2 J I

Never to Fight with Carnal Weapons 237

~ Renaissance Years, 1<)02-11) 14 27 0

') 'A Ghoulish Terror of Darkness' 312

1 () War and the Social Order 357

II Abiding Wounds, I<)IS-I1)20 3S S
12 Legacies of the Quaker Tr.msformatiou 42 1

I 5/{,1 i ogr<l]JII}' 43 2
lu.lc»: 4(10

XI
 List of Illustrations Abbreviations

I. John Wilhelm Rowntrcc (I KM'-/()O"i), (, /()OO n /\.13.13. A. 13. Brown

2. Joseph Bevan Braithwaite (I K I K-/()O"i), c. 1<)00 K2 .il-' '[f,e American Trielld
3· John William Graham (I KW-I <)32), leader in the /\fC All Friends Conference
Quaker Renaissance 101 /\.N.13. A. Neavc Bravshaw
+. Edward Gruhb (IK5+-1<)2<)), with unidentified Il<.T A Reasonable Taith (London, I KK(l)
women .it the Scarborough Summer School, I <)0 I rr; !'\OSA Ackworth Old Scholars Association
s· William Charles Braithwaite (I K()2-1<)22), historian .A.S.R. Arnold S. Rowntree
of British Quakerism, taken about 1<)20 1<)+ ASRP Arnold S. Rowntree Papers
(l. Rufus M. Jones (IK(l3-1<)+K), (, 1<)20, American nnHPL Bi/Jliogmplliwl Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders (West­
prophet ofliheral Quakerism 1<)<) port, Conn., I<)KS)
7· Mary Jl11e Codlcc (IK50-1<)30), first female m' British Trielld
Clerk in London Yearly Meeting 2 I (l BFP Braithwaite Family Papers
K. Alfred Ncavc 13rayshaw (IK(ll-I<)40), taken in 1<)2K; BL Brotherton Library, Leeds
spiritual leader of the Young Friends Movement 32 0 B.R. Bertrand Russell
<). Wilfrid E. Littlcbov (IKKS-I<)7<)), taken 1<)3+; (.E.M. Catherine E. Marshall
Quaker prisoner of conscience H<) (:EMP Catherine E. Marshall Papers
10. Edith jane Wilson (IK(l<)-I<)S3), c. 1<)00; a leader (,'H Church History
~l11lOIlg Quaker absolute pacifists jo z US Council for International Service
CO conscientious objector
com Conscientious 0 bj cctors lnforma tion 13 urea u
CP13R Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell
C.R.K. Caleb R. Kemp
I)MM I)arlington Monthly Meeting
DORA Defence of the Realm Act
DQH Dictionary of Qllaker Hio,~raph y (Library of the Society of
Friends)
E.E. Edith Ellis
E.G. Edward Grubb
FAU Friends Ambulance Unit
FCFU Friends Christian Fellowship Union
FFDSA Friends First-Day School Association
FFMA Friends Foreign Mission Association

xu xm
XIV A bbrc, -ia tious .4h!JI"cl'iatiolls XV

FHMC Frieuds HOllie Missiou Couunirtcc

J-: "I lic J>!oll,\Zlis!l<1re
fHS Friends Historir.il Society
PRO Public Records Office
FLNC Friends Le,lguc of Natinl1S Committee
UtI Qlla!.m History
FOR Fellowship of Rcronciliarion
(~I'vl Qu.utcrlv Meetiug
HJ r:ricllds QI/i/rtcr!y
(JI<..F --
()II,7I,cr Rclioious
,.... Thouoh:
, ....

FQI:' h'icllds (Jlli/rtcr!y Ex.unin»:

!)" Qlli/klT Stndics
fSARC Friends South Ati·lc.tn Relief Cornmitn-«
lUI' Rownrn-c f,ll1lih' P,I\XTS
fSC Fr icud-, Service Committee
ICC. Iz..ich.mi CLllwll
FSU Friends Social Union
IZ..M.J Rutlls M. joues
FWVRC Friends War Victims Relief Con nuirtcc
IUVlJI' RUtlls M. jOlles Papers
«.c. Ceorge Cadbury
R().M. Robert O. Mcuncll
CC P Cl'orge Cadbur , Papers
S/\.CC South African Couciliution Committee
(;f)H Till' COSflC! or Dil'illC J/c!p (Loudon I SS())
SQS SOl·i.Ilist (~uahr Socidy
HEMM r/;Irdshaw E:lst MOllthly Meetillg
SSCC Sununc» Schno! Courinuarion Counuittcc
I1MC HOl11l' Miv.ion Conu nirtcc
SSS SClrhorough S11111111l'r Scl]l)nl
H.T.H.
Henry T. Hodgkil1
J/,' "the l"riClid (l.oudon)
HMHP
Herbert M. Hodgkll1 Papers
\\/( :.B. Willi,lIl1 Ch.trks Braithwaite
II.W.P. H LIbert W. Peet
WEL. Wi!tiTd E. Lirrlcbov
Ill' Iudcpcudcu t Labou I' Pa rty
\VL Woodbronke Libr.iry
!"IS,4 C
Is F!I1TC IIO! a C',I1ISC ~ WLl' Wiltinl Lirtlchoy I'.tpers
n:IIS
-'i'l/rtll7! ill" the lricnd: Historical Si1Cicty W(W War Ot!ll"e Papers
JB.B. joseph Be\';111 Hr.uthw.utc WSOC W;1r .uid the Soci;1! Order Committee
j.P.F. J \) Henher WSPU WOll1eu's Socul .uid Political Union
JR.f I. J Rl'l1del Harris YM Yc.irlx Meeting
JW.l;. john Willi.nu CLlh,1111
JWCP johu William CralLlIII Papers
j.W.R. johl1 Wilhelll1 Rownrrc«
LNU League of Nations Union
L&CQM l.ancashirc .md Cheshire (~uarterlv Meeting
LPA Local Peace AsslKiatiou
LRO Lancashire Record Office
LSF I.ibr.irv of the Society of Friends
LYM loudon Yearly Mel,ting
Mel Manchester City Library
All' Manchester Fri['//d
NAM Natiou.il Army Museum

NCF No-Conscriptiou Fellowship

NFCC National Fret' Church Council

P[~C Peace alld Goodwill

PDP Till' Present Day Papers
 Introduction

My first serious encounter with Quakers occurred in the midst of a

study on British conscientious objectors during the First World
\X/ar. At the time I was particularly struck by a group of no­
compromise (absolutist) war resisters who were members of some­
thing called the Friends Service Committee (FSC), a group
.ippointcd to assist Quakers of military age who were determined
to resist the implementation of compulsory military service. My
being drawn to these young men was, 110 doubt, related to my own
opposition to the American intervention in Vietnam, then in its
most intense and deadly phase. I admired the courage and tenacity
of all the men who faced imprisonment and worse tor rdilsing, for
consci cnccs sake, to partake in Britain's war effort, but the FSC
Friends, exuding unwavering confidence in the rightness of their
stand, impressed me most. What was it about the Society of Friends
th.it inspired these men to remain so steadfast in their resistance to
the demands of both public opinion and the warrior state? My
curiosity about the nature of this tiny body of believers (20,000 in
[() (4) was the beginning of a process which has culminated, after
llL1ny years, in the completion of this book.
I did not, to be sure, begin with the idea of embarking upon In
Intellectual, and I must say, spiritual journey which would cncorn­
pass nearly two decades of intermittent but sometimes obsessive
toil. My initial aims were modest: to investigate ideas and actions
which might help to account for the depth and persistence of
Quaker resistance to the Great War and conscription. Because of
Iny previous work, I already knew some things about Quakers. I
was aware of the odd organizational structure of British Quaker­
Ism, wherein an annual Spring gathering called London Yearly
Meeting' gave guidance and direction to subordinate but largely

, London Yearly Meeting, WIth rinal constitutional authority for the ReligiollS Society of
Frtcnds ill Great Britain, outside Ireland, was comprised of about two dozen quarterly
 2 British Qlfo/.:cri.\", IS(i0-J9.l(l
,c1f-govemillg monthly meetings located throughout the country.
I knew of the quaiutlv-namcd Meeting tor Sutferiugs, a body of
'weighty' friends who acted as a sort of executive committee when
Yc.ulv Meeting \\'as not ill session." These and other Quaker
111eetil1g' conducted businc« ill J unique way, being presided
over hy ,1 romhin.ition inrcrlocutor/nutocrar called the Clerk
who unobtrusrvclv directed di,cu"ioll on v.uiou-, topics and then
.ulntr.nilv determined thc "ClhL' of the mcctins;' couccrruug thesc
matters without C\Tr uking a vote. I had also dlSCOVCITd th.it the
Quaker pcmh.u tr Ior silent reiJgiou, worship seemed to allow
Quaker prisoners of comcil'llce more casIly to withstand the cal­
cul.itcd crucltv, of solit.trv. cOlltincllIL'llt in the third division of the
Enghsh prison system.' Finallv, I \\',IS partirularlv coglllzant of the
historic Quaker pL\ICe tcstimouv as the basis tlJr their contruntanon
with the l irinvh SUte. My sense that this p;Hitist legan caused
Friends as ,I group to be uncommonlv gentle .iud huni.mc SlTlllCLi
to he COlltinued In' my impressions of the (~u;lkcrs I ILld met or
corrcsponded with. All of this. [ suppose. coutriburcd to UIV initial.
n.uv« ,ell'C tint the British SOCICty of Friends \\',IS ;1 sort of se,lIIIIe"
web, cndurinj; III Llrgeh' unbroken sequence Irorn its sCH'nteel1th­
ccuturv origim to Its tl\lrless stand agaimt the Crcat W;IL It took
time and sornc cmb.ura-xu rcnt lor UK to discover huxv \\TOl1g I W,l,
;lbDUt that.
WhcII, thus unawares .md ill-equipped, I sought instruction Oil
the origim of (~uakerism, divlllg into the rcligiD\JS turmoil of the
ll1id-sC\'e'ltl'l'llth-ceutury world of Civil War. Purit.m C01l11110U­
wc.ilt h .uul uiillcnari.m flll,ltiCl',,Jll that produccd the Socicty of
Frieuds, [ initially SLlvcd aHoat hv IWlgillg with ;1 death grip to
lllCl'llllg" -vlu.lr III [urll, l'lllOlllP,I\\l,d \(llll\.' .'q.!,-lH~ llllllllhk
i. Illl"l'11l1g" I he Lltkr,
"l'Illlllg [\\0 or Illll!"l' [Ol,tl 1I1l'l'tillg\ for \\()p,hlJ~' \\lTl' 1.1rgl']\ .llltt1Il0111tlll" Jdlllllll"rLlIJ\T
hodll''', rl,..,p()ll\ihk ttlr JlLlttl'r" Ofllll'JllhLT\hlp. till,lIll"l', pr\)plTt\, lfJ"l-lplil1l', JIJd thl' rl'''O]U­
tion of dl~Plltl''' <1:-, \\ l·ll ,h 'rhl' prl'1JllllJl'lfIl'" r\) ,1I1d ,,( dl'JlJlll",I[lllll uf ,til lll.lrn.lgl'" ",1Cl ordlllg
to our lh,lgl''i
Ml'l'tlllg for Sut1l'nllg" d,ltl'" tl'{)Jll J()-() \\ Ill'n, .llllld"t l'I)l).,Jlkuhk plT"u'lirioll h)
IOl',11 ,1lItiJoritil'''_ ,I body of Fnl'lld" \\ ,1\ lTl'.l!n1 tl> llukl' pk'l" Oil hl'll.llf ot- thl'lr ,ut1l'nllg
hrl'thrl'll to A""izl' Judgl''i Illl'l'ting J1l I ()Jllioll. ]]) timc, thi" body 111('[ oJ) till' tllV f'nd.ly uf
l':Ich lllonth ,llld l'\'olYl,d illto thl' O~1l'LltJll~ l':'\L'Cl1ri\'l' l'()lllllllttl'L' of tl1l' ~()Cll'ty of Fnl'lld~
1,1]<';0 bl'clllll' J\\,lrl' ofrhl' t~ld th,1( rhe "l1l'J)(l' "y\tClll 111 EngiJ'ih pri"Oll' \\,1'- 111 pJrr ,I
fl'''pOlhl' to rhl' YhiOIl ot" thl' l'Jfly nilll'rL'l'llth-ll'lHury (~luklT pri"on rl'f()n11 IT, FlJz,lht.'r!l
rry, \\.'ho bc1lt.'\Td tlLlt l'llt()fccd StlCI1Cl' \YOldd kJd pn'ionl'r~ to rqW]]UnCl' ,111d rch.lbiliLI­
[lOll,
III traduction 3
Christopher Hill" captivating Ii (lrld Turned Upside Down. -I Quak­
LTS loomed LJrge in this topsy-turvy milieu, emerging among the
most radic.il representatives, socially as well as spiritually, tro m that
1110S( eccentric and iconoclastic of eras. Only after absorbing the
rJ\'cting picture of early Friends created by Hill and his students did
I turn to the orhrial and monumental Quaker histories." These
p;lintcd a dirfi-rcnr though not contradictory picture, cu rphasiz.ing
the religiollS rather rhau social radicalism of the first 'Children of
the Light'. The sum of books and perspectives [ digested was
slltTicient to convince me that the followers of (;eorge Fox were
,I fIr more complex and diverse crowd than [ had at tirxr imagined.
Early on, their beliefs and actions wen: sutficic ntlv revolutionary to
.ausc them to become a feared, hated, and persecuted minority,
especi<llly tdlmving the Restoration whirh most of them initially
opposed. StilL attcr overt pcrsccunon cClsed and (;corge Fox died,
the maturing Society of Friends. no longer threatened or perceived
,IS ;1 thrcar. gradually turned from a vibrant. prosclytizing 1l10Ve­
mcut to an iuward-lookiug sect wlurh , while continuing to uour­
Ish the spiritual lives of its adhcrents, largely ceased to seek new
converts or otherwise mingle with the sociable world of men. The
results of this withdrawal were paradoxical. Quakers consciously
.idoprcd peculi,lrities in their style of worship, dress, speech, and
living which marked them a, unworldly people: at the same time,
m.uiv of them succeeded in commerce, banking, m.mut.u turi np,
.uul even brewing and distilling to a degree that aroused the
attention .md CIl\'Y of tlicir most worldly neighbours.
My ill\Tsti~;ltions otthc carlv periods of Quakerism, sobering in
the sense of exposing previous .md presumptive ignor;]nce, did give
me some contilkncc t1L1t [ W,l, at last sufficiently prepared to begin
;1 serious inquiry on the root, of the twentieth-century Quaker
rq1rl'­
war-resist;lllcC which had so ;lrou,ed my admiration and curiosity.
Mv earlier work on wartime dIssent had concentrated 011 thc
sel:ubr ;lIld mainly socialist No-Conscription Fcllowship,(' but
llluch of the Quaker material [ discovered added another
-1 1ht' fl'(l/'Id TlIfIlcd l 'Jl-i/de })Oll'//: Rtfllicd! filcd.' Duril/.I.( {Itt' j;'II,I!/i.dl Ut'I'(l/Uf/(J/I (LdlldOIl
[972) AI,o <';l'l' Hcury Re-1Y, '}III' (Jilt/kef.' illid tl/(, j;'Il.l.!/is/1 RCI'(J/I/li{lll (I.DIlLion I (),-,:S)·
\X,.'illi,llll (:hJrll') BrJld1\\'Jltc, 'nit, Hl)!./IIII illg.i l!f ()1I11J..:crislil (LnndnJl 11)12; 2nd l'till.
,ltld 'J'/It' S('((l/Id n'l'ltJd {!{ ()lIilk\'ri,\'1II (London 1010; 2nd l'dll, J 1)(111,
Sec Ti,e Ht1/llld l!{ COl/sciCIICl' , .-1 Hi,lto!')' <:f tlu' ,\-tl-COIISITirri(l/l !"cll(11IJ.i/lljJ, 19 1 -1- /9
(F,lIc(t<:"llc Il)NI),
4 Brifish Qllakeris1Il 1860-1920
dimension, at once militant and unworldly. ThIS was especially true
of the papers of the Friends Service Committee which were
covered with a half century's dust when first brought to my
attention by Ted Milligan, a walking encyclopaedia of Quaker
lore, then the Librarian at Friends House in London. These papers
also made me aware of the considerable and at times intense
differences among British Quakers, some of whom were not at
all meek and docile, regardIng their Society's response to the
wartime crisis. Most Friends opposed the war and conscription
(although about a third of British Quakers openly supported the
war effort), but there was a wide range of opinions about what
form aud scope Quaker resistance should take. I discovered that the
no-compromise stand assumed by the Friends Service Committee,
.md confirmed at various times by both Meeting for Sufferings and
Yearly Meeting, represented, in tan, a distinctly minority position
within the Society. I also caine to appreciate the significant con­
trihurion made by Quaker worucn who took charge of the Friends
Service Committee when most of its male members were in State
custody. These women, many of them veterans of the Edwardian
suffrage campaign, were fullv as unyielding as their male counter­
parts ami SOllie of them shared their more radical menfolk 's attach­
ment to socialism, a political and economic position far removed
from the diligent Liberalism I had previously identified with
(~uakers.
After complcrinj; one brief study of the unique and controversial
stand taken hv the absolutists of the Friends Service Connuirtcc." I
set out to look more deeply mto the historical roots of Quaker
war-resistance. Working backwards through the Edwardian
period, I tound a gLltifying abundance of material on the pcacc
tcstirnony but also discovered a deep division within the Socicry
over the w.rr in South Africa, which was supported by sonic
prominent friends. Early twentieth-century materials also revealed
strong opinions on questions of social reform; many of these
critical of Quaker philanthropy, so highly praised during the Vic­
torian decades, for its failure to come to grips with the underlying
atflictions of modern industrial society. At this point, I also began
to acquire some understanding of various self-defining categories
'Ftghting About Peace The No-Conscription Fellowship and the Hrurvli Fncnds'
Service COIl1111i,tcT. I<)I\-]<)I<)', Qu,/leer llISI"I")' (QI-I). (")/1 (Spring 1<)501. 1-22,
Introduction 5
of Friends-evangelical, conservative, liberal-and the ways 111
\vhich these groups delineated serious, and at times even bitter,
.liffcrcnccs, intellectual and theological as well as social and ceo­
nomic. In this regard, certain names and ideas appeared with
Increasing regularity, all associated with what certain historians of
Quakerism were calling a Quaker renewal or renaissance. Accord­
ing to its partisans, this renaissance of Quakerism combined freshly
l'\'olving liberal theology and progressive social activism with ;1
new-found knowledge of and attachment to traditional Quaker
beliefs which had been largely discarded by the evangelicals who
dominated the Society of Friends throughout most of the nine­
teenth century, especially the concept of the Inward Light of
Christ. Although, in the beginning, I had little understanding
of the issues involved, it did seem to me that the liberal agents of
Quaker renewal were fresh, vital, and compassionate while their
evangelical rivals appeared stodgy, desiccated, and rigid. In any
case, I decided that my focus would be the Quaker Renaissance
.uid that my survey of its influence should begin at about I H<)o
whcn , as it seemed to me, the ideological struggle tor control of the
Society had gottcn underway. Wrong again, as time would tell.
Having selected a theine, I soon discovered a hero in the person
nfJohn Wilhelm Rowntrcc (I H6H-l<)OS). A ubiquitous presence in
Quaker circles during the I H<)os and early twentieth century, J. W.
Rowntrcc was handsome, fun-loving, energetic, intellectually
.icutc, and remarkably influcnrial tor one so young; he was perhaps
doublv attractive because he died too soon and at the height of his
inrlucnrc, leaving an inspiring if unfulfilled vision tor his contem­
poraries to realize. With the generous support of my University
.md Haverford College, I set out to elucidate the Quaker Rcnais­
s.ince and thereby to provide answers to relevant questions about
the na ture and importance of twentieth-century Bri tish Friends. In
the course of my year as T. Wister Brown Fellow at H avcrto I'd, I
wrote an essay on John Wilhelm Rowntrcc's sense of the import­
;lI1Cl' of comprehending the Quaker past in order that Friends
might fully grasp their future possihilitics." Through the good
offices of Mary Hoxie Jones, daughter of John Wilhelm's great
friend and fellow renewer, Rufus M. Jones, this paper was placed
, 'H"tory md the ()luker ReILli",lllCC: the Vision ofJohn Wilhelm Rowntrec',JFllS.
,,/]-2 (I<)K6), 35-56.
() British QlIakerislIl 1860-1920
into the hands ofjean Rowntrcc.Tohn Wilhelm's surviving daugh­
ter, and she passed it along to Roger Cowan Wilson, a former
Clerk of London Yearly Meeting. After reading my essay, Roger
asked if we might meet for a talk the next time I WJS in EngLmd.
Our talk took place the t()llowing summer in the garden of the
Penn Club in London. For me, at least, that meeting changed
everything.
Roger Wilson told Inc that he had maint.uncd an enduring
interest in the meaning and importance of Quakcrivm 's metamor­
phosis from a tiny, self-isolated body of peculiar people in the eJrly
nineteenth century into a spiritually-driven association of activists
defined by a strong social commitment and enduring pacifist ethic.
With this in mind, he had long thought about the possibility of
undertaking a study of this rransformation, but his OWII work as au
educator ami as a leader in the Society had caused him to
deter launching the project until recently when, after making a
beginning, he realized that, nearing ,'\0, he h.id neither time nor
energy to complete the task.') 'Soincbodv has to do it', he said,
'and I think you're the man.' When I protested that the study he
seen led to have in mind might he better done by a Quaker,
he replied that insofar as he was concerned, ~l history of the
evolution of modern British Quakerism could best be done by a
non-Friend unburdened by any institutional or ideological
baggage.
Deeply flattered if still uncertain, I succumbed to Roger Wil­
SOlI's wiles and in so doing began the process of learning the great
deal he could teach me. Ever a tont of wisdom, he was also the soul
of generosity. I)uring the tc)llowing summer Roger personally
arranged a series of interviews with mainly elderly Friends who
might have personal insight into the development of their Society
in the early twentieth century. He was also decisive in persuading
me that a proper study of the changes in Quakerisnl that culmin­
ated in its struggle ~lgainst the Great War and the British State
should not begin in the I H()os when the contest for control of the
spiritual direction of London Yearly Meeting reached its climax.
Rather, he said, it ought to commence much earlier, in the I H(,os,
during that crucial time when the majority of Quakers had been
convinced by their evangelical brethren that changes in the world
., Sn' 'Frielld, III the' Nrnerccnrh Cenrurv . HJ. 23/S (I )crobcr I~S~). 3'3-(>3· W5.
III traduction 7
,IS well as in their own perception of how God wished to be
\\op;hlpped required that their religious Society break out of its
spiritual isolation and begin moving toward the mainstream of
"\',mgelical Protestant Christianity. It was at this moment of appar­
,'llt triumph that the evangelical leadership of British Quakerism
\\.IS peremptorily challenged by an group of mainlv young men
"spousing modern ideas and a liberal theology.
That critical crossroads was encountered about I H(IO, a round
.uul balanced point from which to set forth. The story that follows
bepns as a tale of conflict. a paradoxical circumstance, perhaps, for
Llne of the tCw Christian churches which has officially sustained its
pKiflst doctrine. But, in LICt. British Quakerism was transformed ;IS
.1 result of ~l long and intense idcologico] .md theological struggle
involving some of the tundamcntal questions which had troubled
Cluistiaus from the days of Paul ;l1ld Augustilll'. When, in the early
ni nctr-rnth century. weighty Friends began to absorb and embrace
till' central doctrines of the evangelical rcvivnl-s-salvation based
upon the lll'cessary belief in Christ's redeeming sacrifice and strictly
gUlcled by a literal interpretation of Scripture-they had. perf()rce,
to de-emphasize or even discard many of the peculiar beliefs ami
pr.irrircs inherited front early friends, most especially the idea of
an Inward Light which appeared to place the individual conscience
.ibovc scriptural authority.
I)uring the initial decades of the nineteenth century, evangelical
Quakers were forced to struggle tor asccndancv with ill their reli­
gious Society against the stubborn resistance of traditionalist
Friends who might more accuratclv be cl!kd radical than conser­
v.itivc. The contest. which h.id personal as well as theological
dimensions, was difficult, at times even agonizing. Still, evangel­
icals might take comfort in the knowledge that the views they
promulgated were considered both sound and fashionable within
the broad mainstream of non-conformist Protestantism. Thus,
C\'allgelical Quakers could tC'd sure of their doctrinal soundness
~IS well as their modernity. By the time evangelical Friends h~ld
achieved effective control of the machinery of London Yearly
Meeting. the views they espoused had come under serious attack
trorn the combined, if not precisely allied, forces of religious
liberalism and godless scicntism. Thereafter, the aggressive mode
evangelical Friends had maintained for nearly half a century rapidly
became defensive and those who had so recently promoted
s British QllakerislII 1860-1920
significant changes within the Quakcr canon became the
cktcrInincd enemies of innovation and modernism, seeking to
prevcnt dangerous new ideas from penetrating the walls of their
meeting houses.
The ensuing struggle followed familiar lines. In the early stages.
young, hot-blooded but outnumbered and ill-organized rebels
were decisively repelled, But the initial triumph of orthodoxy
.md good order was neither complete nor without its Pyrrhic
qualities. Dissent continued to tlourish and, in tunc. was marked
by both a swelling alienation among the younger generation and
the creeping defection of cv.utgrlical moderates. There was.
turtln-nuorc, a growing perception of organizational high­
handedness and intcllcrrual complaccncv ;m](JIIg the evangelical
leadership of Yearly Mccting. All of this would seem to point to
the inevitability of a liberal/modernist victory. but cvangelical
Friends were not without virtues or resources. They co ntinucd
the struggle, driven by the spectre of a religious Socicrv, bereft of
scriptural guidance and sound doctrine, alrcmativclv drifting with­
out compass or storm-tossed by successive and destructive wavcs of
modern thought, rooted in nothing. Indeed, had it not hccn ror
the intellectual acuity, leadership ability, and spiritual depth of
lilwrallmockrnist Friends, the evangelicals might have prevailed
as did their cousins in the American Midwest and South. Still, by
the beginning of the twentieth century the contest for control of
London Yearly Mcctinr; became increasingly uneven and, in a
sense, even unfair. Quaker liberals marched to the sound of a
drum beating time for progrcss throughout the Wcstern world.
They were not only, in the main, young, earnest and cncrgcti«:
they were all courant as well. Beside them. evangelicals, however
reasonable their tears and arguments, invariably looked old, tired.
and backward, So, in the years of the Quaker Renaissance between
I ill)o and Il) 14, liberal Quakers succeeded in their quest to mod­
ernize and invigorate London Yearly Meeting. Their victory was
decisive although not unconditional since a goodly number of
British Friends remained staunchly evangelical well into the txvcn­
ticth century. But the mould of twentieth-century British Quaker­
ism was shaped by men and women who led the parade toward
modcrniry of thought and spirit. Liberal theology returned the
Inward Light to its central position in the pantheon of Quaker
beliefs and liberal thought opened the way to the sort of social and
111 traduction 9
political activism that would have been unthinkable for rune­
teellth-century Friends.
The most important product of the Quaker Renaissance was the
IT\'italization of the Society's peace testimony. The young men and
\\OI1lcn who so ardently resisted the Grcat War and the imposition
(,f conscription did not suddenly and conveniently discover
(~lLlkcr pacifism once the war began; the principles they lived
(lilt and suffered for had been an integral part of their moral and
,pi ritual training during the Edwardian years. For them the Great
Welr was an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the dimcn­
,1Ons and depth of their Quaker faith as means of nourishing Iik
LIther th.m, as was the case of' nearly every other religious corn­
muniry, simply ministering to death.
Quaker resistance to the Crcat War not only caused the
puhlic perception of Quakerism to be inexorably linked to
fl'lcitism rather rh.in , .1S in the past, to various other peculiarities
of belief and pr.uritc , it also raised the stature of the Society of
friends in the post-war world to a higher plane than it had ever
previously occupied. One of the remarkable f('atures of the post­
w.rr period was the flct that, almost as soon as the guns fell
<ilcnt, this minuscule religious community, despite their
proscribed condition as supposedly unpatriotic pariah, began to
m.mitcvt ;1 remarkable mo r.il iuflucncc. One prominent former
Ilritish Liberal politician called Quakers the 'religious body
\\hich c.uuc through the war least tainted' and a German journalist
elsslTted that British Friends, 'who really regard religious freedom
«-riouslv, stood highest among those who still professed to be
Christians. '"
By 1l)20 when the British Society of Friends hosted Quakerism's
first world-wide conference, London Yearly Meeting had, to bor­
row Year's contemporaneous phase, changed utterly from the time
six decades earlier when Friends first began to compromise with
the modem world, The wings of both conservative and evangelical
t:Lctions had been clipped by a soaring liberal theology that would
remain dominant throughout the remainder of the rwcntictl: cen­
tury. Quakerism's inward-looking propensities had been replaced
by a devotion to social activism; its allegiance to laisscz-fairc
Ch.rrlcs M;htcTlllan (0 Lucy MJ~tl'rIlUI1, quoted in L. Masu-rman, C. F C. ;\!dstomafl,
-1 HlOg"'I'II)' (London i<nv), 2VO and Alton Paquet, 'The Quakers', po",phler nprmred from
r-rLlIl~t;/ff('r 7l'ifllll.l.!., [2.
 TO British Ql/akerislIl 1860-1920 Introduction 11

capitalism and the Liberal Party had been shaken to the roots; its
peace testimony had become a badge of identity rather than vague
historical baggage; finally, sonic of its most devoted followers had
come to believe, as George Fox and early Friends had believed,
that theirs was truly a Prophet Society which might lead in the
struggle to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth.
The years traversed 1Il course of this study arc some of the most
I'rinciple, on Quaker business practices would require a separate
,1I1d different sort of book. '2 I can only hope that, for the reader,
the book that follows will suffice.
A rr-i-cut -,r udv which emph.isc« the nuport.uuc of bu-inc« connccnon- ill the devol­
l'pllll'llt" nr elghtl'enth Jlld J1111l'[l'l'llth-cL'lltllr~' (~Lukl'ri"lll l~ Jallll''i Walvin , 'l hc QlltlJ.:cr'.i:
\r1I1l'j' (~ .\[(1I"dl-, (London I()()7) " But "l'l' the criticJ!IT\"ll'\\· of Walvin by MlChal'] Row!Ill\OIl
III [h'lt)ri(i1/.~"rlldi('.\ III [l/d1l.lfI"Itll !<.c!,I1/()//S. () (Autumn I ()().I.\), I ()3-1 ().I.\. Rnwliu-ou'< own work

momentous in the history of British Quakerism. They began with \ 111 till' l'lllplO';-"llll'llt prJl"tICl''\ of Qu.ik cr buvincv.mcn i\ l'Jgl'rly .iw.utcd.

the struggle to determine the nature of authentic George Fox

Quakerism or even, in the case of some Victorian evangelical
Friends, to decide if George Fox was an authentic Quaker: they
ended with a ringing authentication of George Fox's radical mes­
sage through the witness of a small body of Friends who refused to
surrender conscience to Caesar. During the intervening years, ,I
great many things occurred within the Societv of Friends and
between Quakers and the rest of the world upon which this
work is chiefly silent, The hoarding and day schools which formed
a private cduca tional system of which Friends were Justly proud are
mentioned mainly in passing." ThIS IS because of my scn:«: that the
lessons hrought to action by movers and shakers of the Society
were, by and brge, not learned in notoriouslv cautious Quaker
schools hut in the larger world of ideas (~uaker academics \\'eIT
reluctant to cmhr.nr-. Similarly, little attention IS given to the
Quakers who successfully pursued political careers in the 13ritish
Parliament. These men certainly gave prestige to the SOCIety and
were on hand when necessary to look to its special interests, but
their influence, as politicians and as Friends, on nJaJor develop­
ments within the SOCIety seems marginal at best. Finally, there is
the question of the role of businessmen in the evolution of Quaker
idea, and attitudes. Alliances between and among Quaker tan ulios
were, most assuredly, vital to the success of numerous Quaker
enterprises. Wealthy Friends often donated generously to Quaker
religious and charitable activities and many Quaker entrepreneurs
retired from business in early middle age to devote themselves to
the well-being and advancement of their religious Society. Still.
any serious attempt to evaluate the influence of Quaker religious

I I St.md.ird -tudics 011 Quaker -chools arc w. A. Campbell Stewart. (Jllilkef.' dud !:'l!r/(<1f1l1/l

(I on don !()53) and john lt.c.idcr. ()(S(!/oo[s lmd S(!l110h/lilSrcrs: SOllie FIItJll,«lu 0/1 tile c'211,1J.:cr
Contribunon to !:'dl/{/;riol/ (London I Sl"7l)).

I Victorian evangelical Protestantism: a vital religion of the heart
The Condition of Friends
WHITHER THE L](;HP ORIC;INS AND
D/VER(;ENCES
I prc,"'bcd Irom tbL' ,"prL'"iOll 'thc hc.ut of m.in is dcccltiltl ,lhovc .rll
tlrlllgS ,lIld dcsper,ltL'1v "ids,',J' lJercllli,tll I T'J/ Sl'ttlllg helllrc thc
pcoplc our I,,,, thro t hc r.rl], tb,' nu-viou ufjcsus Chnst. rhc ubjcd of
power uf rh.- gmp,'L i'll'itlIlg rhcm to \.1\ hold of rlu- bopc sl't helllrc
us-tiLlt sllhnrittillg to rh,: OpCLltlUIl' of t h c Ho lv Spirit rh cv l11igbt hc
hruugbt Il)r rlIL'lllsL'ln:s '1\'''ilrlIg to bvhold th.- Llll1h of (;ud who t oo k
,lIva)' rh c SillS of rh.. wurld ,
(',ill'll ll..ickllLlll Kemp (I S3('-1 ()OS)
Friend Caleb Kcmps ministry in September I X()O echoed his vision
of the Quaker faith, set out earlier that S,IIllC year. .md incorporat­
illg 'what I understand to be the (;ospel, i.c., the power of Cod
unto Salvation to every onc who believeth , , , '
I believe that m.m, through the 1:111 of our lirst p.irvnr«, is n.uur.rllv prone to
evil, born into th« world <inful &. lost", sulvation &. r"ekmption .ir c
oltl'rcd him through Jcsus (:IJrist-as hc yIelds to rlu-«. touche's of HCJV­
cnly Love his hc.rrr is coutritcd, b.rptiscd, humbl.-d broken bdlltc his
C;od, , ,on his repentance tor sin &. raith . , .jn the Coming, Sultc'rings,
death, RC'lJrrcnion &. Ascemio!l , , , of Christ Jcsus, , , JS h« cxpene'nces
of this flith which , , , n1;IY be dcscribed as the substance of things hoped
for . , , he is 'justified'-well does he know rhat without faith it is impos­
sible to pleZlsc C;od, also that without holiness no man shJII sec the Lord,
I (~,)kh
It. KClllP, },lllflU].." I ''''lJ-Il}OS' .... ix 1l1,1l1l1'~crip( VOlUlllC;", 7 JUIlL' IS()O (hCfClIl­
,trLTC. R K" 'Juurn:ds', ,,,tII \'olume ,lIld date), Libr,r\, of the Societ\' of FrIend\ (LSF).
Lnlldo!J.
The Condition of Friends 13
Kemp's confession offaith embodied the central doctrines ofmid­
,,'hercby depraved humanity, weighed down by original sin, is
offered the possibility of salvation through Christ's atoning sacrifice
on the Cross, Only unyielding faith in that Atonement couldjustify
.md sanctify the sinful human soul; the believer's attachment to the
literal truth ofthe Scriptures was the test ofthe soundness ofhis faith. 2
At the same time, Kemp defined himself as "a Quaker to the bZ1Ck
hone' and his life and thought, mirrored in the extensive '[ournals' he
kept. give ample demonstration of the sinccritv of his convictions,
Furthermore. the principles Kemp professed coincided with those of
the dominant leadership element among British Quakers in I X()o,
He himself was scarcely more than a callow youth when his local
mouthly meeting recognized his special gifts by recording him ZlS a
minister,' and. in honoured old age, he would preside as Clerk of
london Y early Meeting for most of a decade ([ X<)o-<)X), For all of
this, a sizeable minority of Kemp's fellow Quakers, calling them­
selves "old-t.ivhioncd" Friends, would have argued that his convic­
tions contained little that was distinctively Quaker. Indeed,
.onscrvativc Friends would, no doubt, have aligned Kemp with
those self-appointed 'leaders of the people' whom they believed to
be bent on so redesigning Quakerism as to make it "unworthy to
retain the honoured designation-the Society of Fricnds"."
The authenticity of his Quaker principles aside, Caleb Kemp,
pious and CZlrIlCSt to a frult. recognized in [X(lO that his beloved
Religious Society was at ,1 critical crossroads. With cvcry fibrc of
his being, he was uniting with other evangelical Friends in the
crlort to lead British Quakerism, aLmllingly diminished in numbers
and stature." down a path that would eventually intersect with the
.2 For the gl'llcLli tOpIC of rln- Jl))P,ld of l'\'Jllgl'lical PrO(,,·.. t.mnsm Oil the middle .md
upper cLI'l'il''l ill c.ulv ninctccnrh-rcnturv Hrit ich "'lL'Lcty ..,l'C Uuyd lhlron'. [mlli.mr ..,rudy,
17/c .-l.~(' l:(.-ltt1JlClllcllr: '17/(' },!t1I1CII(C !)(LI',jIJ,t!c!it'dli."JII (111 :'lll(/(/! dud [;'«11l(1111ic F!/ollgl,r, 17,",'5-18(J5
(()xford i oxx).
l 13l'Clll'il' of l'Jrly Fncm!..;' devotion (0 "plrltua! equality, <'2uJkcf'l rejected the idc.i of a
\CP,lLltL', rr.nncd. .uid pn\'Ilcgcd clergy. SulL the "'p,YIJI gitt of \ o ell lllllll'ary wa'i ,l!W,ly"
recognIzcd Jnd, frotll thc l\lrly cightecnth cCIl(llry, ill"iptrL'd pre.lcher'l, both Iluic <HId female,
I
\\lTl' ,lCkl1owkd~ed <md 'recurded' hy thcir monthly Jl1l.:enllg''';, ,1 prJetIlT cuntinued until
I {).24.
~ \X/ilJiam [rwlll, Hn'(f f(c/I/t1rks ()II the Pilst dlltl Present COllditiol/ {:( tl/(, Socict), (!f Friel/ds
(M.lllcl1L'\tL'r I ~(,7), pp, \'-I'il.
" A tULl! of [4.0r() (-2uJkc['; <1ttcnded murning rnecting on Ccn~ll~ SUJllhy ill 11'151: tell
\·1.... 1['; lJtcr. <llTording to thc Suciety'.; O\V11 'TJbulJr StatI'1l1Cllt'. thcre \VlTC ,1 tDt:ll nt- 1J.~)l)
 Brirish QlIil!cerJsliI 186,1-19-,,1 The Condition <>( Friel/ds IS
'4
luuh road of Victorian Protestantism. Kemp and 111~ allies were Il'Jr, , Matters of dogma which inspired or divided other Christ­
cO~lVinccd that only by incorporating the evangelical principles Llm-thc relationship of the historical Je~lIS to the divine Christ,
rhcv had cmbr.iccd could the Society of Friends be extricated biblical infallibility. clerical authority, rituals, erc.-were of little
trou: the spiritual torpor and social isolation into which it h.id import to Fox and he denounced 'those temples, tithes, pnests and
driltcd .uid , rhus, reclaimed as a vital and vibrant communirv of rudiments of the world' which had led the people away 11'0111
believlTs, Still. the route evangelical Friends were determined to priuiirivc Christianity. For him and most early Friends, it \V~IS
follovv \V,IS strewn with obstacles and pitfalls. Conservative Q1L1k­ enough to S,ly that the LIght would lead souls away tl'01I1 sin and
lTS helievni that adherence to an evangelical creed would incxor­ mto rightl'ousne'S, Through the aggressivc evangelism of Fo x ~md
ably force them to abandon many of the tr.iditiona] practices and other 'first publishers of the Truth', a convidcrahlc band of .idhrr­
tellets t hcv believed were tuudamcnr.rl to mainraining Quakeri~m l'llt, \\'.1, gathered,'
;l~ a separate Christian communion. When Fox taught th.it cvcrv human person had access to (;od\
Why did Kemp and his go-ahead evangelical associatcs believe '.l\illg gift of Light, it followed that all souls, m.ilc and female, rich
that QLlakcri~m had strayed so fir down the p.ith toward spiritual .md POOl', lord and l.ihourcr. King and conlillonlT, WLTl' cqual
desolation th.ir only a strong jolt of hiblically-ha,cd e\';lllgl'lic,d bctorc Cod and, thus, should be hd(JIT II1cn, As :I result. these
Christi.mirv could rcsrorc it, spiritu.rl vitaliry? What were the Children of the Light, :IS they first c.illcd themselves, embraced a
Quaker beliefs .md practice" ~o dllTished b\ rraditional Friend" s\vceping brand ofq-'::lliLtri~lJ1islll, They refused to dorirhcir hats to
,111\' man or xvor n.u: of whatever worldly station: they declined to
that evangelicals brlicvcd must hl' set axidc ;IS irrelevant or even
dangerous to the s,llvation of QU:lker souls' S\\'l',lr oaths lwl(Jrc c.irth!. judgc,: rhcv ,lddrl'Sscd pcr,o!1'> of .ill
To begin, ronscrvativc Friends in I :-\(JO believed that rhcv COIl­ r.uiks a, 'rhcc' or 'thou', ~l I(JrI11 con nuonlv uscd in the seventeenth
tinned to prarticc .mthcntir (~uakerisill. Furth crt norc, thcv were ccnturv \\'hcn sf1L'aklng to children or interiors" Early Quakers
convinced that their t:Jith, as set out 11\' Ceorge Fox (I (12-1--<; I) .md <"()midl'l'cd no h.rllowcc] ground, no d:l)' of the week, no title of
reiterated (cv.lngelicli critic, Inight say distorted) by Robert Bar­ honour, no Il'~l~t or ~l"l,on supnior to ,my other. For them, neither
clay (I (>-1-:-\-<;0), the 11lOSt svstcn raric early Quaker theologian, \\;IS .1 'steeple house nor 'hireling priest' W:lS ncccssarv I(Jr ~l gathcred
genuine revival of prin nrivc Chrixti.u utv. In the c.nlv I (1-1-0S Fox meeting of the t:lithtid to seck .uid lind the redeeming Word,
had ab:lndonl'd the (luriunisll1 of his vourh and set out ,I~ an This was ,I radie,1i businc~" eYCll III the rumultuous dCCldcs of
itinerant preacher 'to tum people troiu dark11l's~ to the light th.u the I (l-1-0S and I t, <os. .md ceruinlv :ltter the Restoration of the
they might receive Christ Jesus'." III what em only be called a mon.m.hv. For their l'CCl'lltric 11L'ltds .uid practircs. the first two
mystical vision, Fox perceived tlnt not only \\;IS Chri,t alone able gl'neLltio!1'> of Quakl'l" \\'LTe WIdely hated and severely persecuted,
to speak to thc hUll1an condition bllt that through the mllnite lovc b\' both eccleSIastical and ,ecubr ,Illthoritil's, Two ccnturies bter
of (;od, Christ might also ~peak directly to l'very belie\'l'r 11\ W:I\' mid-VIctorian COll~crvativc Fricllds still 1lL'licvcd they f:1ithfully
of an Inward Voice or Light vvithout the intervl,l1tion of ,lilY pLlctised 'thosc sound vicw, of Chri,tian truth handcd do\vn to
human minister or sacred book, In dfl.'Ct, Christ hilllSdf \\;]' u, by our pcr,ecutcd or I1Iartyred prcdeccssors, , , ,'0 Thcy also
come to teach his pcople and the Light of Christ g.lvc all hUn1.111 bdicvcd that the I1Iost efficaciollS lIIeallS through whidl tlll' flithfi,11
beings thc capacity to discern thcir sinful conditIon (dark11l'S'» ,lIId might reccive illllllllnatlon 11'0111 thc Light was to w:lit in ,ilent
by surrendering to openings or 'leadings' from the Light, tl1L'Y
might 'come into the statc of Adam which he was in lwllJ!'L' he ~ IhId. 27.
" Ibll!. I (j(J. (.,,2U,lJ.-.lT lllL'lllhcr\!np III I (lKo !1.l~ heen l·\tilll.lted Jr (,u.ooo. Sl'l' JulJn
Illember\ ill London Yelrly Ml'l'llllg, circd by Eliz.lhcrh I"'IL-bl't. "/(fMlllII (JIILlk'I'l'., (( ht~lI'd PUll'dllH1. /Jt 1 l"trllit III e"(')1 (Londoll IVS.+). I\lU.
!()/o), 112-13. ALlIlI). (~llhl'rt, R..c1~!!I()1I dlld '\l)(ii'ly 11/ Jl/tJ'L,rridl LII,l!./dlld: (;/III(t-ll, Clldllt'! dll,1 " Hugh Uarhour and J. WdiI.lIn FrO" n,e ()II,&('/,< (Ne\\' Y()[k It)XX), 4 1 no(,' til,,,
.")0(/'/1/ C/lilll,I!.C, 1790-19l-f (Londoll 1074) put\ th ... Ilumher ,It IJ.3S4. \l'\'Clltl't'llth-celltury gelltlelllell ,.lid thel' 'only to C;(Jd, ]()vcr~, chlidrL'1l ,1nd 'L'f\',lIlt"'.
(, }tlllfl/rl/ (!( Cco/:\!I' fox. cd. John N1CkJJ!" (London IV.'\2). 3.+, III Irwin. Bl"i~r RClIlMks. pp. \,i-\'li.
 16 British QlIakerislIl 1860-1920
meeting wherein gathered believers might share saving revelations.
For them. conviction of sin came, not primarily through outward
means such as the preaching of ministers or the written words of
Scripture but through inward 'openings from the Light'. They did
not deny the efficacy of the Dible as an outward guide to right
living, but the saving radiance of inward lcadings from the Light
was superior to Scripture in teaching righteousness and holiness.
On the other hand, these conservatives did not believe that mere
recognition of one's sins resulted in extinguishing the spiritual
damage done by the sinner. The process of sanctification, or free­
ing oneself from the consequences of sin, was a life-long struggle,
and justification, becoming free from the guilt of sin and recon­
ciled with Cod, was possible only for the sanctified.
If conservative Friends did, as they claimed, still practice Quak­
erism as it was taught and practiced by Fox ami his early followers,
how did they corne to be an embattled minority within their own
religious Society? This is a long story which, here, must be briefly
told.
In the flce of serious adversity, the spiritual inspiration and
organizational skill of George Fox helped to secure the survival
of the Society of Friends in its earliest days. Atter the Glorious
Revolution and the passage of the Toleration Act (I ()X<)) , the
persecution of Quakers t:lded to mild disability, and public .mimos­
ity dwindled to curiosity or indifference. With the death of George
Fox in 10<) I, Quakerism gLldually lost touch with its radical roots.
In a peculiar combination of relief and drift. Quakers, as one
historian put it, 'like a rowing crew after a fierce race, rested on
their oars'. I I In marked contrast to the vigorous and successful
evangelizing activities of early Quakers. eighteenth-century British
Friends largely ceased to proselytize, drawing inward and establish­
ing a social exclusivity which effectively discourujrcd converts to
the told. In their subsequent quest lor simplicity Friends rejected
music, dancing, and other forms of public amusement, while
retaining both the plain speech and arcane dress of their forebears.
This drawing away from the larger society of non-believers Jus
caused the eighteenth century to be dubbed as Quakerism's 'quiet­
" john Wilhelm Rownrn-« (J. W. Il...), 'The Rise of Quakvrrsm 11l Yorkshm-'.
in j"hll Wilhelrn ROII'llIrre Es",'y., 'lIId ,iddrr..ses, eel. joshua RO\\'lltree (London IYO(I),
64-5,
"1111' Condition 0( Friends 17
l,t' era. 12 Although Friends of that period never used this expres­
,jon to define themselves, there seems to have been an increasing
propensity among them to deprecate 'dependency on words',
Ic.ldmg to a marked decline in the sort of spontaneous, emotional
Ininistry which had characterized early Quaker meetings. In time,
m.iny meetings for worship became distinguished by long periods
of silent waiting upon the Light, only occasionally broken by the
fx'culiar sing-song discourses of ministers who always took care to
.-mptv their minds of worldly thoughts and distractions before
cLn'ing to speak. Indccd, the idea of preparing one's remarks rather
than w~liting upon unrehearsed 'gifts of the spirit' was anatheln~1.'3
10 ensure that ministers remained properly submissive to leading»
ti'Olil the Light, a system of elders and overseers was devised to
glIlde or censure what, given the awesome sense of responsibility
t~'lt hv those who dared to speak at meeting, became a diminishing
corps of preaching ministers. In this regard, the emphasis of the
Yc.irlv Meeting L]Jisllc of 1740, issued for the guidaIlce of
-ubordin.itc meetings, is clear:
lhc inuncdi.rtc teclclll11g of the Holy Spirit [the Light] i, the foulHLltio11
"f .ill gosp,,] \\'''r\hip .ind ministrv: .uid rho«: wlu: dcpc11d curircly
rhcrcou ,helll not be dl\elppoi11ted through the t:li]ure or the abse11ce of
invrrumc-ut.rl l11e,lIK WherC'l()rc', we beseech vt iu , wait i11 silence with
rc'\'l're11l'e .md single11ess of hc.rrt. in .ill your Illc'e'ting" that you l11ay
xvituc-« the. ' , rdre\hing i11HuenCL' of the Holy Spirit by which you will
11C' \trellgthe11ed i11 the inw.m] 111,111 .. ,'-I
So, in the course of;l tl.-W gencLltiollS, Quakers turned from an
',lpostolic vision of the Kingdom of God into the prosc of Quict­
ivin and Commcrrc ', I, passing from a Prophet Society seeking to
establi,h God's Kingdom on earth to a peculiar people ahjuring
earthly pleasures in their quest for the Kingdom of Heaven.
rill' 1I1l1\Trv.lllty pftllh ,-ptntu,ll \\"irhdLl\\',ll 11,1" been challcn~l'd hv Nuholu-, Morg.lll,
LlI/(,)3Icr lnvtu!: ,l//l/ flit' L"f'Il>Ii.i/lll1t'!I(, I b6o-1 7)0 (H<dit~lX I \IV3), (~h,lP· 7 .md PdSSllll. Al"o :\L'l'
I I. Lirrv l nulc. 'I hr Future' "r'Qu,lke'r III,t"r,,'. In IS, ,XII (1<)<17), ,-(" 10,
I, For (rined di\lll';l,lOl)\ of the n.rturc of (~~ukl'r ql1il'~i'lt miuisrrv "'~'l' John S. Rowntrcc.
C.)U(//.:criSIII H1St ,1IId PreSt'II!, (London IK)l)). ('(l, 103-+ .md Robert Barcl.iy, TI/t' Inner Lit£' l!f
ll,e Rc!l5?ioll.i S(JOC"!'.i l!( the COI111I/(1/HI'C,drh (Lon.iou (H7<J), )O{)- [-t.
" LI',,'r!c, 1740 quoted by john Kltcillng, 'On the Ri«: .md First Principles of tbe Socictv
ot FnL'nM, TF (April 1,~5'.i), 61.
'.' [J<lhll Wrlhelm Rownrrec]. 'The Outlook', '!1II' 1'''','<'111 o.'y Papers (PDP), II, ([ X<)<)) , <),
 Iii British QuakerislII 1860-1920
Rejecting any spiritual expression which by outside their unique if
narrow conception of the true Christian way, some conservative
Friends might be justly accused of making the peculiarities they
lived by central manifestations of their faith.
Quietism dominated Quakerism for nearly a hundred years, but
by the beginning of the nineteenth century a new and vital spiritual
vision, inspired by the Evangelical Revival, at last began to break
through the Quaker 'hedge' that had been constructed during the
quietist period. By I il60 this vital evangelical spirit was still moving
Friends like Caleb Kemp and his allies in their quest to rejuvenate
and reform British Quakerism. To fully gL1Sp the issues and inter­
ests involved in the long-standing struggle of evangelical Friends
to rescue their Society from its somnolent recent past and deliver it
to a vigorous luturc, a discussion of major developments during the
tirst half of the nineteenth ccnturv is in order.
THE BATTLE JOINED
Thomas Clarkson's Portraiture or the Socict» (l( Friend, (I il06) at one
point described his Quaker contemporaries as a peculiar
people rcmark.ihlv unaltc'cted by the whirling political, social.
and intellectual currents of a tempestuous timc.!" In this
reg<lfd, Clarkson's picture was incomplete and misleading tor
there were serious tensions among early nineteenth-cL'ntury Qua­
kers which reflected the drawing of more thoughtful and active
members towards the opposing attractions of Enlightenment
rationalism and the Evangelical Revival. The latter influences had
a somewhat delayed arrival among Friends, although the appear­
ance of evangelical influence in London Yearly Meeting was
sufficiently timely to raise the alarm against agents of rationalism,
scepticism, and deism who, in the view of some anxious Friends,
seemed to be making inroads into their Religious Society.
As it transpired, the bearers of these unsound sentiments sprang
forth from two geographical centres of revolutionary thought and
action, Ireland and America. The first of these was Abraham
Shackleton (1752- I iI I iI) who provoked a small but bitter schism
1(, ThOIllJS Clarkson, f-ltJrlr(litllre (~r the cr.,'ocicty l!( Friends, 3 vols. (London I ~o(), I.·ired b~
Edward Grubb, 'The Evallgebcal Movemc-n r and It..; Impact on the Society of Fricnd-,'.
FQE, {an. J<)24, H.
The Condition of Friends 19
III Dublin Yearly Meeting in the late 1790S by questioning the
JCcuracy of sections in the Old Testament which asserted that God
hJd commanded the Hebrews to attack and slaughter their neigh­
bours. Reason, Shackleton said, would not support the ornniprcs­
l'nce of a Divine Being who in one era ordered the massacre of
innocents and in another commanded his followers to turn the
other cheek. Shackleton believed that these scriptural passages must
he misguided or mistaken and that adherence to them by Friends
\\,IS a manifestation of their abandoning Inner Truth and cmbra­
(1I1g corrupting outward symbols. Concerns raised by Shackleton's
.listurbing rationalist revolt obviously influenced the decision by
leaders of London Yearly Meeting in I xo I not to endorse the
tLlvelling ministry of a popular American minister, Hannah Bar­
u.ird. Barnard seemed to British Friends not only to support
Shackleton's Old Testament doubts, but even to call into question
p.irts of the Christian Gospels relating to the Virgin Birth and the
miracles of Jesus, defending her position as based upon 'lcadings
trcu n the Light'. Later, Barnard's censure and eventual disownment
b\ New York Yearly Meeting threw into stark relief the question
of biblical authority as against individual openings from the
Light. 17
The first evangelically-inspired theological salvos to be fired
JgJinst the rationalism and incipient deism of thinkers like Shack­
lcton and Barnard were let olt' by Henry Tukc in 71/1' Faith ojtlie
I'coplc called Ql/akers ... (I So I) and Principles or Rclioio» liS pro!i'ssed
1>)' the . . . Quakers (I iloS), These works, particularly the latter which
ran to twelve editions, were influential in disseminating among
friends the doctrine of the absolute infallibility and unqualified
.mrhoriry of Scripture. The degree to which this emphasis deviated
lrorn the beliefs and practices of early Quakers became and
remained the basis for a long-standing debate. I x Clearly, however,
The accusation. ;lg;lJll~t and eventual divownmcnr of Hannab Barnard .irc discussed 111
nr October 'V02, 2S7-(lO and David Maxcy, 'Ncw Light on Hannah Barnard, A Quaker
--lkrc,tic"', ()II FJll, I <)K<), (1l-H6. A recent di-ausxion uf Abraham Shackleton's Clse IS
\lollie Grubb, 'Abrah.nn Sh,lCklcton and the Irish Sep.ir.uion of 17~7-IHo3',JFtJS, '(,/4
1')~3), 2(,2-71. Also sec Bi-, December 1 ~02, 313 and Rutu, M. Jones, Tile Later Period, (II
(,I"<1hri'lI1, 2 vols. (London 1921), I, 2~3-H.
I" Rufus Jones In Later Period..; mainr.uns that Tukc's interpretation, 'entirely altered the
(lng-Illal perspective.. of Qu.ikcrisn: and raised 'e\'JngelicJI dortrine-, into unprecedented
pr\Hllincl1ce', I, 2oSS-f), Edw.ud Grubb, 'Evangelical Movement', 21, agrees that Tukes
hook" 'are important landmarks sho\vlng the direction in which the Society was moving'.
 20 British QlI'lwcrisl/l 18{1(1- J 92(1
the works of Henry Tukc as well as john Devan's A Dctcncc the
Christian Doctrinr: of the Socia» l,f Fiicnds ,I/:aillsr the c!/(llge of Soci­
uianisni (I Xo~), which refuted Hannah Barnard point hy point,
brought Quakerism into touch with the main currents of thought
in the Age of Atoucmcnr L\lrly in the nineteenth century, It was
during the succeeding generation, in the life and work of Joseph
John C;urney (17XS-1X47), the fIrst writer since Robert Barclav to
at tcn ipt a comprehensive exposition of the Quaker f;lith, that
eV~lIIgeliCII thought anlOng Friends carne into fiIlI Hower.
J. J. C;umey was born into a large and prospenHls mcrchanr­
banker taniilv, widely accounted to be 'gay' C~LI;]kers. For Friends,
that ,ldjecrive retained its original English Incllling, signit';ing
mcmhcrs who were more citizens of the world than solcmnlv
withdrawn trom it. In their magnificent Norfolk home Earlham
Hall, the (;urneys S;]ng .md danced and rode to hounds, while
dressed in the latest London frshious. Thev were illustrative of
John Punshons belief th.it m.mv eighteenth-centurv friends, p~lr­
ticularlv if they were wcIIth\', had 110 compunction-; about ignor­
ing Quaker odditie-; while fl'e1lllg pcrtcrrlv comfort.rhlc within
their self-ddlned bound.nies of C2uakLT theo]llgy and culture")
The second youngest of twelve C.urncv« (his older sister was the
prison rctormcr Elizabeth Fry), Joseph j ohn had an ~Igile mind,
tinclv honed under the guidance of a sound and consricutiou- but
unQuakerly private tutor at Oxford. Even bdllre the death of his
t:nhLT ill [Sal), (;umey's magnetic pcrson.rlity !l;ld attracted a
number of important Anglican evangelicals, including Edward
Edwards, lIcnry Venn and especially Charles Sill1eon, who
brought the-ir increasingly serious young clLlrge solidly into the
cvaugclical call1p.2(J Also imporr.uir was (;umey's tricudsh ip with
the ablllitionist William Wilherfllrce which sharpened his social
awareness and expanded his range of philanthropic activities to
include the campaign ~lg;linst the slave trade, But while he rcceivl'l1
his theological undLTpinnings from these prominent churchmen,
M(Jllic (;rubh. 'Th,' Be",(J1l SCI'Jr,lt;(JIl', JUIS. Ssl!) (I<)SS). I'}O 11.\, J''''rr,'d til.\[ 'I Ill"
dIttlTl'd ti-ulll B,lrllly\ ·--III(lJ(~~J' Oldy ill hi" dcudcd dl'\Cnptloll ofrhc l'(cnu! d,lnllutl()ll t1t'
,>illlll'r~ ,md hi . . in,>IS(l'IlCl' UpOll rill' Llllilllpl..'Jch,lbk Jut!lority o(Scriprurc <1\ ,lg.lilhr B,'r,IJY'"
PO\itlon th,n till' Bible \\'<1\ not the 'fOLIIlLlill' ofI)IYllll' kno\\"ledgl' but on I: rhe Lkl-'L1Lltinll
~)r rhv foullt.lin and, t!lerdc)rc, 'iccolldJry to dll' LIght.
I') f'ullshon, l)ortrllit ill ercy, 14K, 151, 1.57.
~" hn Simcon, \ce JliltOIl, .--J.~{' 1!{.--JtoIlCI1lCllr . .2''\(1-37,'\. J'IISSIIII
'11(ic]llIulldl [1)'J2). 1[0-12
The Condition 4 Friends 2T
or hi, spiritual home remained within the known and beloved circle
(,f Friends. Recognized as a minister before he was thirty, Curncv'»
'['l'cial 'fire and vision' evangelism made him the most popular and
intiucritial preacher among Quakers on both sicks of the Atlantic.
lk~lnning in the mid-j X20S, he published ;1 series of books and
tLlctS which provided the Society of Fricnds with what Rufus
.I'JIlcS later called 'a complete system of cvangelical theology"."
(;umey, indeed, seemed to have thoroughly embodied the spirit
of the Agc of Atonement. Viewing humanitv attcr the Fall of
Ad.uu-v-ruincd. depraved and dominated by sin--(;urney could
tind hope only in the atoning blood sacrifice of jL'sus by which
human kind, incapable of rising from its tallcn state through ~IIIY
pitiful personal cttort, was justified by the mercy and love of Cod.
Thi« W;IS, otcoursc , the standard Augustinian line reaching into the
nineteenth century via C.alvin as modified by Wesley and fllLllly by
modcr.rtc cvangelicds of the Clapham Sect who had such a stron~
pnsonal influence on Curncy.
So tar so good for the ordinary slacking Protestant in need of
houcst tear and trembling. But Cumcy'« critics, both during and
.ittcr his lifetime, believed that his prl\ll'hing and tcarhiuj; set the
original principles of (;eorgc Fox .md his associates, as confirmed
,111l1 systematized by Robert 13Jrclay, Oil their head. For early
l ricuds the Light was the 1I1e,111S to justification through recogni­
tion of sin, whereupon the t:lithfid were sanctified as they grew in
-pirituul Iik and power by tl)IlO\ving its lcadiugs. By Curncy's
-piritual calculus. said his detractors, the Inward Light was reduced
to ,I non-csscutial adjunct, another expression tor the Holy Spirit's
',lllnification of those who maintained an unremitting f.nth in the
Atonement. a t.uth confirmed by strict adherence to the letter of
Iloly Scnpture. 22
Cumey's critics, while praising his sincerity of purpose and
rccognizing his vital contribution to convcying the Society of
Friends bcyond thc limitations of quietism, cOlnplaincd tint he
'Ilcver really understood what the early Friends had discovercd'. 13y
ch,mging thl' basis for Quaker rl'Jigious authority from the inward
JOlh.''i, l . . ltt'f Period..;, I, ~(j1-2.
For l1l\lghtful CUllllJlCll[';' Oil (;Uflll'y-'" \"IT\ion ofthc 11l\\"Jrd Light, ')cc ThollUS H~1111ll1,
" l"he problelll of the Inner Llghr in Ninl'tcl'Jltll Cl'lltury (.,2uakcrism', III '17/{' LlIllb 's ~'f ~1r:
(1/1 II kel" E';SllyS ro HOl/ll,. HII.1!./1 nnlhlllr. cd". Miclud L. 13irkd and John W. NcurnUll
 22 British QllakerislIl 1860-1920
revelation of the Light to the outward creed of biblical literalism.
he 'recalled the Society from the Quakerism of Fox and his friends
to the position of their Puritan opponents'. Whether or not this
depiction was entirely accurate, Joseph John Gurncv's vision of
Quakerism is still adhered to by more than half of those who call
themselves Friends, although, ironicallv, few of these live in Cur­
ncy's native land. 2 3
While J. J. Gurney was the most popular and influential prophet
of the evangelical message that would, during the 11I20S and 11I30S,
begin to sweep Anglo-American (~uakerism toward the Protestant
mainstream, he was by no means alone. There was a regular
transatlantic exchange of travelling evangelical ministers 'liberated'
by their own meetings for missions of religious concern. Their
ministry was gcncrullv aimed at inducing the sort of individual
conversion experience so essential to the evangelical creed. This
was accomplished by vigorous preaching based upon biblical texts.
Such an approach, of course, contrasted dramatically with the
quietist t ncct ing tor worship which, when not complcn-lv sileur ,
demanded a ministry tint was entirely unpremeditated. The incon­
gruity of both style and spirit between these two versions of
Quaker ministry planted the seeds of suspicion and distrust that
would in time bear bitter fruit.
In [11 20 William Forster (17114- [ 11.'14), Gurney's close friend 011 a
travelling mission in America, expressed his anxiety about Friends
in Long Island who seemed to be infected with many of the same
notions that had influenced Abraham Shackleton and his fol­
lowcrs.r" The leader of these New York Friends was Elias Hicks
([7411-11130), whose name would soon become synonymous with
the largest and most rancorous 'Separation' in Quaker history, an
upheaval that would also have profound crfccts on the develop­
ment of nineteenth-century British Quakerism.
William Forster was not alone in expressing concern about the
growing and, as he saw it, subversive influence of Elias Hicks. Soon
after the Hannah Barnard affair, the American Quaker Stephen
Grelior (1773-[1152), a transplanted Frenchman and former free­
thinker tully aware of the dangers of rationalism and deism, had
warned that Hicks was spreading doctrines 'repugnant to the
Quotations are from C;rubb, .Evangelical Movement'. 32.
.:'.i
Benjamin Secbohrn (cd.), .\lclIloirs
2.j. or
Ji'illi!1111 rors(cr (London 1St))), I, 2()7.
(;rubh, 'Evangelical Movement.', 24-).
The Condition or Friends 23
Christian tlith, [and] tending to lessen the authority of the Holy
Scriptures .... '2,
As the evangelical stream in America became a torrent during
the tirst two decades of the nineteenth century, British visitors
l"tllltinued to voice their tears about Hicks. Recent historians of
rill' Hicksitc Separation have generally made the point that differ­
L'IHTS among American Friends were seriously exacerbated by
rr.ivc lling British ministers who saw in Hicks's preaching a growing
u-nricncv towards Unitarianism, pantheism, and even 'the spirit of
AntiChrist'.2(' One English visitor, Anna Braithwaite ([ 7 Hl)- [11 W),
published a tract accusing Hicks of denying the truth of the
Scriptures, the Virgin Birth, the Atonement, ~l!ld other essential
Clnisti.m doctrines. For his part, Hicks asserted that he was defend­
ing traditional Quaker beliefs-the Inward Light, silent worship
.ind the rejection of outward sacraments-froll1 an insidious
onslaught of evangelical innovation.f '
The obvious doctrinal point of collision between Hirksitcs and
those who assumed the mantle of a new Quaker orthodoxy was the
-c.it of ultimate religious authority. I)id this reside in the letter of
Scripture or the inspir.it ion of the Light? Most of the American
l-ricnds who followed Hicks into exile probably agreed that evan­
gelical dependence on scriprural authority threatened the primacy
\)f the Inward Light, but many did not share Hicks' extreme
nivsticism or his apparent depreciation of the Scriptures as a
'dC';ld lcucr." Indeed, British Friends seemed to have little sense
nf the degree to which the Hicksite Separation was not only a
.iortriual dispute but also a political and slleial revolt agai[[st the
n.irrow oligarchies who controlled most American Yearly Meet­
ings. There was, in fact, a fairly wide variety of opinions among the
BCllJ.lIllin SCl'bohlll. (L'cL) . .\/CIIIOirs (:( tile LUi' dl/d (;(l_\[!cI Labou«: (~r c')'fCp!tCI/ (;1'<'1/('/
.! (Jildon i xr.o). I. 1...1.2.
r lhis point i\ \tre\sl'd by II. l.arrv IJl~k. (J1l11J.:crS ill CO}!f{lif: 71/{' H/e/':s;(c Rt:!iJtI/Wfioll
t knoxville It)X(J), 32-7 ill J \LILlllchly pr o-Huksirv .uc ount. Also "l'l' Edwin B. Bronner.
rile Cnlu-r bratul: '. LOIlt/tlll ) ('11r1)' .\ J('t'fi!l,~ IlI/d th: Hi(J.:.'itcs, U.,'27-1912 (London I tJ75), .')-7·
.- B,lrcl.1Y. luncr LiJi·. 557-!JO; J S. Rowutrvv. (JiI'lkCll."U, 1.11; Bronnc r, Other IJr<1I1r11.
.uid (;rubb, 'Evclllgl'lJC.l] M()\'CIl1L'llt", 22-'+_
.2,~ Probablv the 1HOSt signltlcllH acrual dtvi-aou hetwccu Orrhodo x -lnd Hicksitl' Friend.
\\.1\ the Orthodox insistence that lx'lld-lIl the propitiatory' dortrin« of rhe Atonenn-ut was a
Ilt'eC~"l,lry' preconditioll to .l\'JibbIiity orr!«: Holy Spl ri t in the soul: l licksitcs believed that
-uch J view transformed alld drstorrcd tilL' sp,ritlul Juthority of rhc Light to an outw.ird
Al\o "ce 'hc.id-m.ittcr. I.e., the IlC(L'S..;[ty ofaccepring a particular interpretation of the Bible in order
[0 be ..;aved. Sec UarcLry, inner LUt', 5(q-6 ,HId Punshon, Portrait ill Crey, 174-5·
 24 British QII(lRcrislll 186o-192(l T!ze Condition 0( Friends 25

breakaway clements. but the generally one-sided versions of the Obviously, the question of authentic ministry and the authority
struggle most British Friends received deepened their anxieties upon which it should be based will always be a problem for a
about the pernicious effects of Hicks's tcaching.:" Indeed, religious body which eschewed the concept of a professional
Hicksism, although representing as many as ()O,OOO American f11"iesthood. William Penn (I ()+4- [71 x), ever the diplomat and
Quakers, became a sort of spiritual bogey, embodying all that was I'l\!lemaker, had attempted to resolve this dilemma by citing 'the
deceitful, pestilent, and 'unsound'. When various Hicksite Meet­ double and agreeing testimony of God within and Holy Scripture
ings attempted to establish counuunications with London through \\ it hour '. For much of the nineteenth century, however, censer­
Ejiist/cs emphasizing their devotion to the Trinity, to the Divinity v.uivc Friends, bv exclusively embracing the first of Penn's tcsti­
ofJesus Christ. to His essential role in human redemption and to Illonies, could tum their meetings 'towards two hours of empty
the divine inspiration of Scripture, such messages were pere111ptor­ 'ilcnce'; and evangelical», hy adopting only the second, might steer
ily rejected and connections with Hicksitc Meetings were severed rlll'irs 'row.ird« the worship of texts'. Conservatives blamed evan­
tor generations. W ;";l'lic.l!s tor concentrating on 'head matters' and for compromising
Within London Yearly Meeting the shock of the Hicksitr .vit h things of the world that were not 'in the liti-'. For their part,
Separation had the effl.'ct of bringing to the fore evangelical argu­ e.urncyircs ,ICcused conservative Friends of becoming so self..
mcnts concerning the necessity for right belief to challenge the ,Ihsorbed ~IS to lose touch with both basic Christian principles and
conservative cmph.isis on right worship. Quietist meetings, the id c.i of corpoLlte worsh ip.:'" 'fhey also complained that lack of
~lddressed spoLldicllly hy ruinistcrs speaking without notes or J..:IH)\\·ledge of the Scriptures, a product of conservative resistance
other prcpar.ir ions, might become profoundlv moving spiritual to .ill 'outward' things, was the single greatest cause of the 'dcso­
cxpcricuri-, when the minister stirred the gathered Elithfid to the Lltillg heresies' which had racked their Society ill Ireland and
depths of their souls. But more often. the Spirit remained inward America.'3 During the I i\30s, attempts to resolve this lingering
and the lIleeting silent, sometimes for weeks Oil end. This toriu of qucvrion created the possibility th.u Britain might be visited by
urinistrv, said evangelicals, not only tended to crcatc au atmosphere -imilar dcsolatiou.
of somnolent indolence hut. more significantly, it also depended In I ~33 the annual Epi5t/C or letter of instruction and guidance
on dcmonstrablv unreliable, and possibly chngcrous, inward lead­ ti·OI]] London Yc.irlv Meeting askc'd Friends to 'seck all culight­
ings. They held that the divinely inspired llIessage of the Scriptures, l'lll'd sense of the various delusions', ;1Il evangelical code-word tor
preached by ministers of;ll'knowledged insight .ind .ihilirv, was ,1 t:1I' the misleading or dangerous interpretations of Ieadings troiu the
1110re efficacious spiritual guide than the possibly 'delusive' notions Light. Responding to the tOIlL' of this Yearly Meeting, conservative
of the Light, representing the sort of spiritual anarchy which had di.uivt Richard COl-kin also perceived dangers, but tl)r him they
been a continuing source of difficulty and confusion tor Friends c.nuc in the guise of those who would place the letter orScriptures
since James Naylor's ubcrr.mt behaviour at Bristol ill I ()){).'I .ibovc 'our reverent watchful dependence upon .. , the Holy
Spirit'.'+ Cockin doubtless would have ~lgreed with the Friends
.'.() I )urll1g till' I S(lO" Brit!,,\) t~ll,lkl'r [nvto n.ni Rohcrr U,lfCLI\" .llkgni th.ir 'IrrL''ip~ lll\lhk'
who had objected to William Boulton's formation of a Quaker
,1Ild 'oiIg~lrc]llcd' church k'ldn"lJir \\',1\ rh c nl~lj()r C,111'.l' ot'dll' dl\'i",JOll,llld rh ir 'ell J \'l'r~ Bible-study group in Manchester Meeting because they believed
l.lrgc extent tr.rdmon.rl religHlll prn"lilL'd' ,Hllong l l ick -,i rc-. Sull. London Yc.rrl. ~1L'L'tl1lg
drd not J'C\(Ofl' even p.iru.ri n)Jlllllllllicl[lOI1 with H1Ck";J[c\ until I (jUS_ Scc U.lrcLIY. 111111'1 LOt'.
5(li--2. 57(j .11Hi Punshon. !)(lf1r,lir il/ (,'rcy. 17.+-7)­
ju l-or cxtr.ur , trom H1CK\jrl' Illl"\\.lgl'" to I ondon, \l'C S,lI11tll'1 M. JlI1l1l'Y_ fh.lll1/)' (J( till ROglT C Wihull_ 'Fricnd-, ill d1C Ninctccnth Century. /;(J. 23/X (Oct. I(jK4), 3S3­
R..c!l:r,:;iol/S ,1,';l)Ucfy (:( lricn.l, (Phil.ulrlpln.i I ,".(j(» • .+ \'01..... 1 V, 33(j-'+O. Abo \IT Hronner. ()rlll'l (I; . _~ _~_~ .md Xl.nuhcstcr, .\I./1/<'hc.lfcr. ill/d ,\ ian, !Jester _-i.r,:;tlill, Prcvidcntial Addrl''i'i to the Fril'IH},'
Limnch, (j-I 0_ 111,,(()ril-,d SO(ll't~ [()Sl) (Loudon I (j{)O). 7- On thi-, point, also 'iCC Doreen RO..,llUIl,
,I For Naylor. <.,el' \\/11!i,1l1l (;. Bntk. I1II1C~\' .\-ll)'!or, 1618-1b6t': File (Jlld1..'t'r Ilid/('[('d fl)' 1:I\illydi((I!_\' and Cuff/Iff' (London I(jX.+). 211
Hnlil7111cllr (York 1 (jS()) .ind Leo I ),lIl1rosch. The .'-.,'O/T{)!I'S l:( II,C (J/Il71..'crjcslI_I. }<lIlICS .\'tl)'/lJr 11lld 1- S. I{,O\\-lltrCL'. (llld1..'erislfl. )). AI'iO ';l'(' Barcby, II/Ilcr LUi" 502-13 IJilSsi1l1.

the PI/nIl/II (.'I"(I(1..'dOIl'1I 011 II,e Free ,""-/l/I'ir (( ~alllbridgc, MA. 1 <)(jo)_ ;I C2l1o(cd by \x'/il\lltL _\[tllld,t'5fcr, 12. 1'+_

 26 British Quakerism 1860-1920
such activity was 'calculated to promote the growth of a branr]!
rather than the deepening of the root'. J 5
The vehemence of these deep-seated objections to merely
studying Scripture justifies Roger Wilson's description of Yearly
Meeting in II\34 as sitting in 'confused gloom, hope, anger, self­
righteousness, and ... spiritual commitment'. Obviously British
Friends were on the edge of a 'volcanic explosion' and this
was duly set off in January II\35 by the publication of Isaac
Crcwdsou's (I71\0-11\44) little hook, A Beacon to the Society of
Frimds.3"
At one level, Cr cwdsons tract was a straightforward attack on
the seeming Unitarian tendencies of the Hicksitcs, hut its under­
lying meaning was clearly to connect Hickxisru with Robert Bar­
clay's 'central error' in presenting the Inward Light as independent
of and superior to I-Ioly Scripture. According to Crcwdson, not
only the concept of an Inward Light, but nearly all of the phrase­
ology traditionally used by conscrv.itivc Quaker ministcrs-s-tdwcll­
ing deep', or 'gathering home to the gift of God in our hearts [in
the] absence of all crcaturcly exertions'-had no bihlic.il authority
nor legitimacy in Cln isti.n , practice. 37
Isaac Crcwdson, formerly a supporter of traditional views, had
embraced evangelicalism late in life, and he exuded all the single­
minded fervour of the newly converted. He was, most assuredly. a
man with a mission: to rescue QU;lkerism trom the dangers of
Hicksite scepticism as well as from the snares of stifling quietism
and to carry a united and scripturally sound Society into the main­
stream of vi tal evangelical Protestant culturc.:' K Crcwdsons Beacon.
however. became not so much a rallying point for the faithfiJ! as a
barricade to compromise which in the end, despite the Quaker
genius tor backing and tilling, had to be battered down lest it create
an insuperable division.
;., Ituclay, 111110 Lii«, 57..... F' WIi"OIl. .\l/llIdlc";fI'r. /7
l-or sunun.un« of the Ht'l!(OIl '.I' 111l'~S<lgC, :--CL' JOJJCS, LuI''' Paitlr!...;, I. -lljo-.2; 13,lrd,ly. 111I/IT
L{!;'. S73-5: and A. Nc.ivi- Br.ivsh.rw, 'l lu: (JI/llkcr.i Thor Sltlry .nul .\/('.I.i(I,I.?C (Loudon J<jJl);
reprinted I \1H2), 2JO-)2.
1.'< Roger \);/J!'iOI1 recounts how Crcwdso» moved hy \omething .ikin [0 ;\ vision' \\".1<0;
able through the sheer force of pl'TSllllality .ind infiucmc to convince Hnrdsh.rw E,ht
Monthly f\.11'ding 111 Manclu-sn-r ro huild .1 local nwcting house with :l ~c(J[1ng C1PdClty
(I~OO) cqun] to about 10 per ccnr of the total Quaker population in all of Grcat Hrir.un
Wilvon, '.\!I1I1c1,C3!cr', I ~-I9.
The Coudition ~l Friends 27
Shortly after the publication of the BeauJII, a young Friend wrote
to his fiancee describing the scene he had witnessed in Manchester
Meeting: 'I never beheld a meeting in such a state. Very many were
in tears on both sides of the meeting and it was really a most
distrc'ssing season.' Such disorder and weeping were occasioned
hv charges from conservative Friends that Isaac Crewdson, present
.it the meeting, had 'published a book which contained principles
,ontrary to those of our Society ... '3') Whel] Crcwdsori's own
rollowcrs leaped to his defence, neither the Clerk's exhortations
IH)r Crcwdsons own plea for calm could prevent an acrimonious
upheaval that set the pattern for a short-lived but deeply disturbing
ril t which briefly threatened to pull British Friends asunder. Many
of those who were present at Manchester would prohably have
.upportcd the young witness's opinion that the ditferences
e,;pressed were not 'sufficient to warrant ... a separation between
(:hristlans'. But the dispute had a fiery momentum of its own
\\hich belied all attempts at mcdiation.?"
When London Yearly Meeting gathered in May I 1\ 35, the first
order of business was to rescue the concept of the Holy Spirit (for
obvious reasons moderates avoided the usc of Inward Light) from
the Beacon's attempt, admitted even by Crewdson's close friend J. J.
(;urney, 'to undermine the precious doctrine of the immediate
1
guidance, and government of the Holy Spirit'.4 To .rchicvr this
ohjective, officers of the Yearly Meeting proposed that, in addition
to the regular annual Epistle, an 'Epistle of Counsel', which both
<upportcd the idea of the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit
.md endorsed the writings of early Friends, be approvcd.:" At the
-amc time, after long and uneasy consideration of the crisis, Yearly
Meeting decided upon the appointment of a Committee to visit
Manchester with a view to resolving the escalating row.
This Visiting Committee, incorporating a well-balanced repre­
sen ration of traditional, moderate, and evangelical views, including
j. j. Gurney himself, visited Manchester eight times during the
following year and a half While a majority of the Committee
were, like Gurney. probably sympathetic toward Crewdson, they
") Quoted III J. Ednnmd Clark, '''The Bcaw/I" Letters of Jallles Clark,' JFHS, 16/ I
!1l)1l)),12()-3 0.
'" Ibid. 133. Also see Mollie Grubb, 'Bcacou Sep.HJtioll'. 193·
" Fron: J.J. Gurney's unpublished diary. cited by TF~ I Nov. 1 H70, 257·
-l2 See William Ir\VII1 , 'Brief remarks'. pp. iu-iv .md Brayshaw, TIu' QHakcr5, 23 2.
2~ Bi!tisu QuakerislII 1860-192(1
were disturbed that his assertive, self-assured style and ceaselessly
aggressive miuistry had created deep resentment within Manches­
ter Meeting, and not just ,11IIong hide-bound conscrvativcs.:':' In
these circumstances, the Committee tirst asked Crcwdson to help
case tensions by withdrawing the Beacon troin circulation. When
he refiJsed to acquiesce, thcv suspended him trom exercise of his
ministrv. It seemed a harsh penalty, but in re~lching this judgement.
the Comrnittcc attempted to ,'VOId a debate Oil doctrinal questions
and to t(XUS instead on resolving the personal differences that
divided Manchester Friends.
Yearly Meeting Itself took a somewhat diA('rent r.uk. Respond­
ing to a provocatively pro-Bcaconitc Declaration oAlTed by West­
moreland Quarterly Meeting (and subsequently rejected) that the
Bible be certified as 'the paramount rule of t.uth and practice',
Yearly Meeting Issued .m LJ'istle which stated that 'the Holy
Scriptures, . , were given by the inspir.n iou of Cod . , . and there
ClIl be no appeal from them to ,lilY other authority whatsoever",
adding that anv .nr or belief contrary to Scripture, even 'under
profession of the immediate guidance of the Spirit, must be reck­
oned ... ~I mere delusion', Such phraseology, ill light of the West­
moreland I kclaration, slTllIed to lean heavily row.rrd Crcwdsons
theologicd position, but It not only t('11 short of satlstying the
Manchester dissidents, it seriously offended the beliefs .urd xcnx­
ibilitics of traditiou.il Friends.l~
Outxidcrs attempting to discern the precise position of British
(~uakerislll in 1:-13(1 with regard to either Scripture or the Holy
Spirit might be excused for being puzzled. Contemporary accounts
provide a wide variety orimpressions but very little enlightenment.
For example. in suu nn.iriz im; the stand LIken by J. J. Gurncv
during the I :-13(1 Yearly Meeting, the notes of Josiah Forster
(17:-12-1 :-170), a weighty evangelical, implied that while Curney
upheld the supremacy of Scripture ~IS a guide to Friends beliefs
and practices, he also testified as to 'the true soundness of Frds.'
views in regard to silent mtgs' and declared that if the Society 'were
to give way in our mtgs. Ior worship to any ministrv except that
which Rows immcdiatclv trom the Lds.' anointing, we should
~ l Sec Ldw.rrd Ach , M. I )., 'The Hel1(ll!/ Controvcr« .md till' Y C'lrly Mcctuu; (:Ollll111UCe
of 1,10;3.'\-37', "IF, r SqH. rS70, 2(J7-,Io; and Wil"on, .\ftllldll.'.\rn. 21-J.
11 \X/il..,OI1, '.\/11I/(//('sr('/"·, 2-t-.~ Jlld "l-rrenci-, in the Nineteenth Ccnturv. 3.'\.~-(l .nul ·!John
Suurlull\ Accounr of) London Yc.irlv Meeting, rSyl·,jIIL\. 17/2 (1t)20). S7-S
The Condition 4 Friends 29
suffer loss.":' John Southall (17:-1:-1-1:-162), a conservative Friend,
responded vcrv differently. Curucv's views, he said, did not 'cor­
respond in principle and profession with our Society'. When, tor
,"\.1 III PIe , Gurney asserted that any attempt to place 'the impres­
sions received trom our own minds' over the Scriptures would lead
to deism, Southall cited an unnamed Friend who had argued that
the 'question was not the exaltation of the Scriptures but the
exaltation of the human interpretation of the Scriptures' which
\\ould IClVe Friends 'under the han of... Theologians'. Some
L'\',lI1gelical 'theologians", he said, had already indeed gone so t:lr
,1S to call tor the renunciation of 'questionable works by early
l ricudx. ~(,
"he upshot of such exchanges, not surprisingly, was that 'the
n1tg. grcw dark,., was grc.ltly unsettled ... .md , .. separated
uncomforrablv' ,I~ For the lon[.!;cr LII1 [.!;C , the 13"</(011 struggle
returned to its starting place in Manchester. where the Yearly
ML'L,ting Committee and Hardshaw East Monthly Meeting, tilled
with Crcwdsous p.irtis.ms. [.!;athered tor a momentous fivL'­
.l.rv debate which turned, according to RogLT Wilson, on ques­
tions of style rather th~1J1 doctrine. In the end an unbending
kLIC Crcwdson could find no satistaction and resigned trorn
the Socictv." He was followed into the wilderness b): a body of
'L'ceders variously estimated at t]'OI11 titty to three hundred. Those
who withdrew formed a shorted-lived bodv of 'Ev.mgclic.rl
FrIends', stressing that strict adherence to a hihli.al creed ncccssi­
t.ttcd till' introduction of 'water baptism' and Lord's Supper which
c.ulv Friends abhorred ~lS v.iin outward ritu.ilv. Most otCrcwdsou's
tollowrr« eventually drittcd into the Plymouth Brethren or Low
Church Anglic.nrism , but their loss was long l.nncutcd by l11any
L'\angelicals who felt that they had been shamefully and needlessly
driven from the foki.~')
.!O"1.llJ For..,ter. 'AC(OUllt\ ofYe.1rly t\kl'tillg", rS3(1, J..J-_~. 3S. MS, Vol. S2(1, [SF.
ISlHHh.dll. 'London Y. M., I SJf)·, S(\-,) .md lor-rcr. 'Ac'rount of I S.l/)'. V). MS Vol.
\2(" I SF
Por-ter. 'Accu((nt otY 1\1 .. IS3(", 3')-~O, MS VoL S2(" LSF,
I' A lmc--bv-hnr .ucouut otthi-, contc-r i.., The (,'n.'"I.\ t1(r/lt' (Jlla/.:cr COl/fcs! ill .\Jdlll'/II'stCY
\ l.unhc-n-r. I llildoll l"-. Hri-rol. I SJ()/7), t wo hundred pJgc.., of .ipparcnrlv vcrb.uim rvxr.
-\!,() Wilson . .\llll/(J/!'_ift'r, 2(j-q
"Cl'
I'J Set' BarcL1Y. hiller Liic, ') i1-S }'(/SSilll., Ash. 'Beacon COlltrl)\'C'f"Y" ...'. I (}---I I; .md Wl]]l;llll
Lrll.rck. Cco,:\?C Fov. ,Ill' Friend, nnd tltr Ell"!)' Btlpnst.< (London I S(lX.I, 30
 3° British QlIakerism 1860-1920
Although the Beacon Separation had grievous personal ctfects
that divided families and shattered friendships.Y' Mollie Grubb
holds that, in the long term, it mattered little to the life and
development of British Friends. In her view, the moderate evan­
gelical party, led by J. J. Gurney, guided the Society away from the
shoals of ritual sacraments, programmed meetings, revivalism and
hymn singing along a course parallel to but differing from the
mainstream evangelical churches." But, if important aspects of
traditional Quakerism such as silent meeting and the guidance of
the Holy Spirit, along with the marriage regulations and other
peculiarities, remained as part of the mid-Victorian Quaker life­
style, how much of the intense evangelicalism of the Crewdson
connection was also retained?
Writing in the rH70s, Quaker historian Robert Barclay asserted
that: 'All the views of Isaac Crewdson's followers which would
bear discussion took root in the Society ... in England and Amer­
ica.' Barclay's contemporary, William Tallack also believed: 'The
main body of the fricnds-c-nidcd especially by the influence of
Joseph John Gurney, and the most intelligent and philanthropic
men of the Society-have subsequently come round, with little
exception, to the very views for which their Hearon brethren were
obliged to secede.,j2
Did those Friends cited by Barclay and Tall.uk really need to
'come round'? Or were their differences from the Bcaconitcs
always more strategic or emotional than strictly theological? The
case of Joseph Bevan Braithwaite (rHrH-IljOS), the leading Gur­
ncyitc evangelical during the latter half of the nineteenth century,
may be illuminating in this regard. Early in I H3(), whcn ]. B. B. was
not yet twenty, his earnest but self-assured letters would seem to
indicate an imminent defection, bag and baggage, to the Crewdson
laager. He revealed to a friend that he had become convinced of
the 'radical unsoundness' of early Friends.
)0 Sl'C' Jean Mortimer, 'Leeds Friends and the Be.uonit« Controversy', JFH.\ ~~/ ~
(1<)77), 52-Mi and L1WrCI1lT Demon, 'The Bapusm ot Mana Hack. I HJT An Episode III
the Bearo" Controve"'y',jFflS, 46 (1<)54), 67-77.
~ I Mollie Grubb, 'Bc.uon Separation', llj(I-7
" Barclay, lnncr Ltji'. 5S0 and Tallack, c.w~(' Fox. 37. Also see Crubb. 'E\'angelical
Movrmcnt", 27-8.
The Condition (~f Friends 3r
\Ve clung to them as long as possible, but experience has convinced us
rh.it one thing they lackcd-e-faith. With them everything was inward.
l hcir hope was inward-their rightcousucss was inward-the blood by
\\'hich they were cleansed was within-the water by which they were
WJ,hcd \\'a, within-their Christ was within-and George Fox even
dccLlrl'l their heaven was within. j l
I )espite this apparently Crewdsonian alienation from the foun­
ders of the Society and despite the fact that many of his immediate
fUllily left with Crewdson, J. B. Braithwaite remained with
Friends, not because his theological views had changed but because
hi, cultural attachment to Quakerism, with all the personal con­
soiation it provided, had not. Braithwaite's suhsequcnt mission was
to ensure that his beloved Society would become and remain
doctrinally sound as well as curotionully satisfying. The degree to
which J. 13. 13. and other devout evangelicals were successful bears
further examination Were the theological principles to which
e\'angelicd Friends adhered, for all the patina of traditional
Quakerism that surrounded and obscured them, truly at odds
with the spirit and teachings of George Fox and his early followers?
THE STRUGGLE SUSTAINED
In the years following the !3CI1C<l/l Controversy, tensions between
conservative and evangelical Friends continued to seethe but gen­
erally below the surface and, according to one recent account, at
the periphery rather than the centre of the Society's affairs. 54
Historians generally agree that control of the machinery of London
Yearly Meeting tell increasingly into the hands of moderate evan­
gelicals who shuddered at the prospect of inducing another shatter­
ing separation by pushing the still sizeable conservative clement too
tar, too fast.
For one thing, J. J. Gurney was himself removed from the
British scene in the immediate aftermath of the Bcaconitc struggle.
In r H37 GUrIley asked for and received a certificate of liberation to
travel in the ministry to the United States where he remained for
~ 1 Joseph Bel',m Dr(lirlllluitc: A Friend (?{ 'he I\'ill('f{'C1Irh Ct'/lfl/ry, by his children (London
[<)0<)). 71.
'" Mollie Grubb, 'Beacon Scparurion'. I ~J.
 32 British Quakerislll 186,1-192(1
three years. His wick-ranging American tour, which took on some
.haractcristics of a revival, was enormously successful. In many
areas, especially fiontier Yearly Meetings like Indiana, Gurney's
evangelical message was the harbinger of a startling transformation
for American Quakerism. I I But while the Gumcvitc gospel
carried lIlany Orthodox (non-Hicksitc) American Yearly Meetings
by storm, in some places, Ohio, Philadelphia, <1I1d especially Ncvv
England Yearly Meetings, Gurncv encountered subSL1I1ti<11 and
determined resistance to his reforming campaign. 1(' In New Eng­
land, the opposition was led by a single-minded, strong-willed
conservative of great intcgritv ami authority, John Wilbur (177+­
I ~5(»). Wilbur's ;IIlLlgonisnI arose from a general concern about the
'unsound doctriucs ;md unseemly 'departures' from true Quaker­
ism that he dctcrtcd in C;urney's teaching as well as fi'olll the
'uncivil usage' to which he h.id been subjected by Gurneyites
during his own rwo-vc.ir vi,sit to England and IreL1I1d in the early
I ~30s. An unrepentant quietist, who«. views were impressively set
out in his Letters to ,1 lricnd . " (I ~.~2), Wilhur voiced the t.uniliar
corupl.unt that Gurney and his allies were shiftilIg the fund.uncntal
hasis tor Quakerism by placing scriptural authority before the
Iuward Light and by assigning to the Atoncnicnr 'the uhol« coven­
ant of qlvation'. The difference hctwccu Wilbur and other 01'1'0­
ncnrs of (;UrIleViSlll was the vehemence .md rcn.iritv with which
hL' ,lssailed his 1'0\\ crtul and infiucuti.il ,llh·ers,lr).'
The upshot of John Wilbur's ticrcr .ind continuing opposition
to Gurucyitr ideas was an unseemly powcr-plav by wc.ilthv and
prominent kaders of New England Yearly Meeting. WhL'n Ins
own monthly Inecring refused to censure him at the behest of
the Yearly MeL,ting, Wilbur \\',IS gerrymandered into a more com­
pliant body which subsequently disowned him for 'disobedience'.
The outLI[2:e over the misuse of this obviously troublesome but
entirely righteous m.m , as much as the doctrinal difh-rcnccs that
precipitated it, hrought on still another small but bitter American
Separation, with its concomitant anguish for British Friends.'s
~" Sl'l' Thom.i. I). l l.uum, 'J111' Tr.lII.~/;lfllldri()1I t!! .-lillaii'dli (2I/d~'t'l'L'"I.
IS(JO-1907 (13Jl)()l11ingtoll J l)SS) fur dIl' l()n~-LlIlgl' 1I11P,1([ of (;Uflll'Y'..i tIl!\\!Oll
~() For a SLllllllury of]. J. (;Uflll'y\ nnvviou ro Amcric.r. "'L'l' J011('\. Lift'/' P<Tlld.', t , 515-2 I
,-; Scc ibid. 5 [ l 15 ,wei Pun-bon. J)01"11'1111 ill (;/(')', I {)(1-7,
r-
,,0: III I S5-t- Ohio Ycarlv Meeting di\'ided bcrwccu till' minorrrv .rdhcr.-nr, (0 John
\X/I1huf\ view'l ,1Ild the c;url1cyite lluJority. Phlbdelplll,l Y"-',lrly J\h'l'ting ,l!"'ll IUli ,1 dCCld­
cdk WI1huritc A,lVOllf.
The C"llditiol1 or Friellds 33
While Joseph John Gurney was in America, British conserva­
tives, who had bcstirrcc! themselves to oppose his going in the first
place, showed strength in the Yearly Meeting, especially in the
continuing as,aults of Sarah Lynes Grubb and her allies on both the
innovative doctrines and 'pharisaical spirit' of evangelical Friends.
After heJring Sarah Grubb denounce those who had adopted
"iuoncv-gcttiug as ... the very end and object of their existence'
while simultaucously dcnving the 'divine Power' of the Light, one
<vmpathctic observer of Yearly Meeting 111 I ~3S noted: 'It was
worth the journey to London to p.rrrictpatc in the feelings
excited by this address .. , fullv convinced as I ani that the true
Christianity as professed by early friends is toundcd upon an
inunutablc rock.'?"
A decade later, with Sarah Lynes Gruhb deceased and J. J.
(;urIley soon to follow, that rock still stood, unmoved and immov­
.iblc, but the major aspects of Quaker corporate life had surged
.nouud .md passed it, lc.iviug l11any conservative Friends high and
drv, In I ~+(J the Munchcvtcr quietist John Harrison complained to
a corrcspondcut in Philadelphia about the conduct of eV:l1Jgelical
Friends who successfully CLltlspired to get their own way at Yearly
Meeting: 'Evcrvthing had been cut and dried by the Table Friends
prior to our cnl11ing togcrher ... ,r",
In having their W,ly, the eVJngehcals who dominated the admin­
istrative m.uhincry of the London Yearly Meetin[2: were wont to
emphasize the int.rllihlc , nnilllpeachable, immutable nature of Holy
Scripture. But, unlike the Bcacouitcs. who had dellounlTd early
qld,;ers for their tailurc to cmbr.rcc Scriptural authority, the
.idhcrcnts of this new orthodoxy took paius to illustrate how
the first [2:elllT,ltlon of Friends had, in flCt, taken 'their stand
upon the Holy Scripture as the onlv [2:flHlnd of their religious
t.uth .... ' For the first Friends, said one evangelical account, the
Spirit operated in perfect conjunction with the Word, "interpreting
its meaning, and solcnmifying its application'. Insofar as early
Quakers may have diftl.'red from other Christians, said another
()I[I/(d\1.\- I ru 111(', ,oj '[John South,lil\ Account ofl London Yc.irlv M,'cting. ISjS', JUiS, Isil (t o z t ).
()0-1
John H.rrn-ou to Willi.uu Hlkig'lOiL 2 June I S-t-(), in L!ti' and J1cllloirs {f 11"ill/(111I
Ht)1fl?\oll (PhiLldl']phi,1 1Si(l). \)), reprinted a", 'A "Couscrv.uivc" Virw of Loudon Yc.irl ,
.rvtlTting, I X-t-()'. J FHS. Is/l ([l)21), 2~. The Table Fncud- were l'V,lllgdic.lls who a""j"tcd
the GUrIICyHL' Clerk fOLlnd the ubk whefe Yc.lrly ML'cting dOCLllllel1t.. . \VefC kept. Abl) \l'l'"
CLuk, 'BC(1(ll/i Ll'ttlT'\ '. j2{)-~O.
 34 British Quakerism 1860-1920
evangelical publicist, 'their doctrines II 'en' scriptural' .'" Thus, accord­
ing to these accounts, it was only after the ministry of Fox and the
'First Publishers of the Truth' that certain Friends began to give
'undue prominence to the inward illumination of the Holy Spirit'
and to adopt the unscriptural term 'inward light' as a description of
this supposed process. In so doing these misguided, if sincere,
Quakers left themselves open to accusations of setting up the
individual conscience or mere human reason 'as all all-suHicient
guide'. To avoid the future possibility of such misunderstandings,
evangelicals recommended that all Friends recognize, as William
Penn had done, that the light of which they spoke was the Light
and Spirit of the crucified Christ, never meant to supersede the
Scriptures but 'to credit and confirm them' ('2
Evangelicals also looked to William Penn to give credence to
their inrcrprctatiou of the Atonement. Jesus Christ, Penn declared,
was' our holy sacriticc , atonement and propitiation. , , he bore our
iniquities and .. , by his stripes we arc healed of the wounds Adam
gave us ... nothing we c.u: do, through the operation of the Holy
Spirit, is able to cancel old debts, or wipe out old scores; it is the
power and efficacy of that propitiatory Offering, upon frirh and
repentance, thar justitics us from the sins that are past."'3 Thus, they
maintained that early Quakers believed as finnly as themselves that
it W;IS solely through the Atonement, 'our Lord's death on the cross
as ;1 propitiatory sacrifice for sin, .. [that] all who truly believe in
his name receive the Divine forgiveness,.r,~
Because evangelical Quakers asserted that the basic principles of
the Society, JS they understood and practiced them, were set forth
in Scripture as well as confirmed by early Friends, and because they
feared that the 'element of ambiguity' caused by the use of the term
'Inward Light' might induce an individual Friend, even with the
highest motives, to 'compromise the reputation of our Soci­
ety, , . by putting forth his own views as an expression of the
principles of the society at large', they counselled their brethren
(,I Quot.uions .irc rrorn john Kitching, M. R. (:. S., 'On the R i«: Joel Firer PnI1Upk"'1 uf
till' SocIety otFricnds (three [crtu n-c}, printed ill 'IF,jan.-AprilIX5<J. j-S, 1t)-2.2. Jl)-41, &
51) - ( q. and trom an cdirori.il 'Wh.ir Is Quakcri'Ill?', Ibid .. April and Mav J S()I, SS-----t) L\ 1 [S-.2J).
tv» Kitching, 'The Scriptures: The LlJsis of rlu- lkhd' of Friends'. ibid .. Feb. ,K Sy. I Y .utd
'Wklt is Quak crixni?'. ibid., April IKhl, SS-y and Mav IK()I, r r o.
"1 Quoted in 'What is Quakerism". FF, April IK0r. KK-<.J.
".) Rubert Charleron, Brief 17"Jllybls ,II' Ib" .11,)//("/]11'111 (Bristol I K()y), ). Cf Josc'ph Bcv.m
Llrai,hw'lIlc, 'Thoughts on the Atonement'. I I April IS72, MS. Port. K/12h. LSF.
7I/c Condition (!f Friends 35
to 'avoid all merely human theory and speculation, and. , , confine
ourselves to what is plainly tallght in the Holy Scriptures' ,('S
The degree to which the theological views of evangelical
Friends, once they had abandoned any attachment to the Inward
Light, differed from the bed-rock position of any mainstream
Protestant non-conformist denomination would seem to be subtle
at best. Yet Quaker evangelicals maintained their beliefs within the
context of a unique culture which provided the social and psycho­
logical assurance that true Christianity was also, as Caleb Kemp
believed, 'pure and undefiled Quakcrism-r-as the Society of
Friends has eYLT held it-I pray God we may not let go one iota
thereof. ... ,r,r,
While it appears accurate to describe Quaker ministry during the
I ~4oS and I ~50S as predominantly evangelical, leavened by some
'of a more mystical character' ,"7 it remains difficult to estimate with
.u iv assurance the relative numerical size of the conservative and
evangelical wings, Still, the 'leaven' of traditionalism seems to have
been sustained in many local meetings. As late as I ~73, Caleb
Kemp was flustered and disconcerted by an elderly conservative
Friend who voiced 'strong disunity with my ministry', warning
Kemp that he was on 'the brink of a precipice', Friend Caleb's
discomfiture could not have been relieved when his critic, upon
being avkcd what precisely he objected to, replied that, among
other things, he disapproved of the way Kemp brushed his hair. 'It
may be wise, it may be Christian to treat it silently,' Kemp told his
'Journal' , 'but it is not easy."'~
Jonathan Grubb (1 ~O~-()4), another widely travelled evangelical
minister, expressed a growing distaste for the rigidity of some of his
more traditional brethren: 'The more I see of that self-satisfied
spirit which accompanies the fierce contending for what people
call orthodoxy [quietism], ami the extremely uncharitable way in
which such [people I conduct themselves, the more convinced I ani
that it will never gather the fold, or build up Quakerism, but is of
all things most calculated to pull it down. '(")
c. (:lurltlllL Hri~f 17101l,l!hts, .\ ,111d 1Il ,1 letter to TF "()n the l nw.rrri Light', Feb. ISSS',
32-3
'd, ell... K. '[our n.rl-,", III. 7June IU,O.
"7 T. Edmund Harvey, 'Looking Bark'. JFHS. ~512 (Autumn 1'.153). 51-Y. Also sec
WJ1~on, 'Friends in the Ninr-n-eutb Century', 3SH.
C. R. K., 'Journals', IV, 2 Feb. IK7.1.
roc, Quoted by Edward Crubb. 'Sevcntv Year- Ago', FQE, 1'.l2K. 2yK-y.

 3() Britisl: QllakerislII 1860-1920
Whatever the relative strength of the two opposing wings of the
Quaker communion, it seems clear that insofar as their Society
manifested any tendencies toward a 'fresh conccntr.irion of life and
a readier response 'to the claims of necessitous souls', the impetus
ca n ic from its evangelical wing. 7 0 As one appreciative con n nenta­
tor noted: 'All through the nineteenth century that [eVJngelicalj
voice ;lS been awakening the Society ... our of a corupluccnt and
SpUrlOUS quietism ... and raising it above pedantic tCars of
"crc.iturclv artivitv" to the overmastering rc.ilis.ition of the service
of love, which is the birthright of all who enter upon the higher
life. '7'
Although m.mv tr.idition.il Friends were deeply ill\'oh"ed in
philanthropic activirics, nmch of their contribution to the lite- of
the Victorian Society was distinrtlv negatl\T. reflecting a devotion
to the 'weight of dead l;lndl traditional forms th.it LICked any xp.rrk
otspiritual or socd vir.ilitv.:" Certainly. one continuing complaint
concerned the conservative approach to IneL'tillg lor worship.
Evangelicals believed that ;1 gatherlng of the EJI(hful should be a
period of renewal, a rc.rffirmntion ami ,trengthening of their filth
in Christ crucified as inspired by the saving (;ospel Illess;lge of
Scripturally sound ministers. The contr.isr between this active
religious service and the conservative .itt.xlu ucnt to 'dwelling­
deep' during lung periods of SIlence W;lS reflected in the storv of­
.m elderly Manchester Friend who, u!'on rcrur ninp; to his houic
from First-I )ay Meeting, told bis l.mdl.idv, with r.rdi.uitly bc.n uinj;
flce: 'We h.ivc had a gloriom time this mortling at the nlL'L'ting: 110t
one spoke. '7,
For lIlany locallllL'Ctings the results of such attitudes were deeply
di,turbing. In the late I H50S one writer contrasted the vital, .1ggres­
xivc ministry of early Frivuds. to whom conscrvanvcs claimed to be
devoted, to the condition of many quietist-dominated mLTtings
'which arc absolutely silent sabbath after sabbath tor months if not
tor years!' A survey of British meetings in I N(lN rcvr.ilcd that on Iv
two Quaker meetings in five had regular and active ministry,
Till' quot.uion , .m- fnHll ilud. 306 ,1IJd from .1 l"c\il'\\ otjohn \X/Jihdlll lz..o\\"JJrrlT .lJld
l lcnrv B. Binn v·.4 Ih1fM)' (.l(r!lI" .-Idl/lr S(II/1ill .\/01 ('1/ /1'1" ill {J[)J>. 51.~o ([5 Sepe. II)!).:'.\. .2(1.2
1
c' [john Wilhehnl(O\\J1[fl"ej PD/'. vi,o (15 Sept. 1<)02).2('2.
-2 J. W. R .. ·lz.i-, c. ill F\·~·llrS dlld ."lddr(:'>l'.I, (')-()
"7\SqHLJ,lgl'lLlri,111 [Tholll.ll, rongl"!. 'Fitty YCJr.., Ago',
1<)21, Vol. \\"17\, LSF.
.Htllldlcs[c/ Clf)' .\'CII',,',
Tlic COlldilioll (J( Friends 37
nsu.illv of the eVJngelical character. For the rest, 20 per cent had
()11k 'fitful' ministry and fully 40 per cent had little or nonc.?"
Conservative influence in local meetings was also reflected
In the common comp!.Jint of evangelical Friends concerning 'the
practical exclusion of the holy scriptures from our meetings'.
lz'eSlstance to 'Biblically-based contributions' in meeting for wor­
<hip was justified Oil the ground, that the regular introduction of
Scripture would give rise to the 'growth of formality' .iud 'routine
religlollS scrvircx'. thus undermining the spontaneous nature of the
meeting, even when such spontaneity resulted in two hour, of
'UI1COIIsecrated silence'. 7.' Nor was that silence to be broken by the
strains ofa hymn, for the traditional Quaker rejection ofmusic had
the doublc-b.nnllcd force of being prohibited inside the meeting
.lS prcmcd it.itcd .nid outSIde as crc.iturclv activity that might easily
lend to more serious 'disorderlv w.rlk ing". John S. Rownrrcc noted
rh.it uiusrc was not referred to in the ofhcial pubhc.itions of
london Yearly Meeting until I N4() when the .nmual npisl!e warned
,lg.lillSt 'the unprofitable and injurious tendency of music'. As late
.1, I NNo, the HrilisiJ Frielld reprinted an .irticlc on 'The 'lcmptatious
of Choir-Singers' which traced the bll troru grace of a loru rcr
chori,ter-hoy 'to the I/IIYCll!il)' of coustantly ch.mtnu; words which
were not the genuine expreS\ioll of his heart'. 7('
()f course, not all C01lServative activity was so peripheral to the
m.iiu currents of Victorian religious lifl' ;lIld thought. Quietist
.iurhors. responding to all hints of innovation by cvaugclically
inspired 'lbbel-builders', made ;1 sizc.ihlc contribution to an cnor­
uious hodv of Quaker pamphlet literature produced during the
period. A number of these efforts were ahly written and effectively
.irgucd. ()ne flscinating, and pertinent, example of this genre is a
trc.itisc entitled 'Barclay Vindicated ... ', privately published by
William Lamb Bellows (I N02-77) of Cloucester. In this paper,
Bellows challenged '/hOIlX!IIS Oil H'Jrdi1Y's Apo!oXY by Robert
Charlton (I N09-72), JII evangelical Friend. Charlton's tract was
.m attack on the major theses of Robert Barclay's Ajh1!':IZY, espe­
cially his seeming devaluation of Scripture in relation to the Inward
-I J. S. Rowurrc-,, (J1I'lkcri.,'}//, [Os .uid Wil,on, 'FnClld" 1t1 (he Nineteenth c cnrurv.
_~'q-S
Ed\\"Jrd Ash, (JU,lk'tTf.'11I (London ,l'\(lj), 20; J S. lZ.owlltrcc, 'Thl' Friclld< Book of
3 ALlgu..,( [lNIplinl", F<.)1:, Olr. [s,)S, 4~4; ,\!ld WiI"m, 'Fnend, In rhl' Ninetel'nth eL'ntnry", 354·
-" J. S. !\.O\\nrrl'L·. 'U"c'p[nll", 4~3 ,llId HI-; I I lee I SSo, 220.
38 British Qllilkerislll 1860-1920
Light. Bellows fdt obliged to respond to Robert Charlton's 'mis­
take ... of limiting the saving power of the Most High to the letter
of Scripture .... ' by naming the Bible as the 'divinely appointed
means' to true knowledge of God rather than a means to such
knowledge, Bellows asserted that Charlton contradicted God's
promise of salvation for all humanity, confIning that possibility
only to those with knowledge of the Scriptures. What, he asked,
'is the use of offering salvation to all, unless there be something ill
all predisposing them to receive it,'77
Charlton objected, Bellows noted, to Barclay's representation of
Christ 'not with reference to his propitiatory sacrifice-but as an
internal principle of light common to all mcn '. How, Bellows
asked, could this be wrong 'ill tlu: case of those who had Ilel'('/" fwd
the Scriptures'; but were, like all other human souls, recipients of
God's promise to provide the means for salvation? Barclay, Lkllows
concluded, had possessed the insight to gL1Sp that the internal
principle of Divine Light was not merely a foundation Truth of
Quakerism: it was emphatically Tl ll: touudatiou Truth. To make
outward knowledge of Scripture an absolute necessity fill' salvation
was not only to cut oft-heathens, without access to the sacred texts,
but apparently Christians as well when, through weakness of
111l'nl0ry, they f()rgot the required texts. 7 "'
William Bcllow-.' pica for the universality of the saving Light
was pitched at a higher level than the 1110re frequent quietist
contributions conceming the maintenance of (~LlJker peculiarities
and the enforcement of The Discipline," And, as they chiefly
77 Willt:llll L. Bcllow«. 'Har(/dy I'illdi((l/I'd': :-1 Rn'II'II' (l( RoIJa! LILldtt)// 's '"Jll()II.~jlf.\'
(Mumhcvtcr 1~()~), 3, 1(). Emph.i-i-, III ()n~1l1.l1 13ello\\·-,\ qUl'ry \\'.1:-' taken ~r()J1\ rhOIl1.I:'
I Llllcock\ curlirr . nriquc of lva.u. CIT\\"d..,OIl.
7S Bellow..,.. Htm-/ll)' I "/ndi(l11cli', I r, 2(J-30. A dn-JdL' c.irlicr one of Bellow..,' cOIw,:mpnr­
,lric'i h,rd n r.u.ic the ..,alllC point rh,ir . it I" Ill) dcrogatIon (0 the dULldcr of Holy Sl'rip­
rurc ... to maint.un rh.ir :-'0111(' nn-a surc of rh« light or Spint of (;od h.i- bL'cn inuucdiarclv
grallted to m.ui eve-r "';lncL' hi" r.ill . ,1I1d ... [t",1 the 'Infll,t: .ind IJI'ill(/'/J/c ot- .ill rruc knowledge
.ind holinc« .' 'IF, March ISS(), 52-.1.
") '111t' J);S(fIJlil/c was tirst c<;tabltshed to allow lor.rl mcctmgs to seek .idvicc fro III Y c.irlv
Ml'etll1g as to whether or nor ccrt.nu practIcn were 'in .nc ord.nuc wah Truth'. E.lr]~'-,)J1
this .1dVICL' was i"';'itled :l'i "ceilled appropri.irc. but by the J 730';' a tclr uccd fl)r coddlcl(ioll
r.-sulrcd III the ISSIUllCl' OLI m.uruscripr volume 'Chri-n.m .uid Brotherly Ad.\"icL": Re\'i'iions
to these 'advic cs were Ill;\dc pl'riodicJlIy and re<;ults wcre lIlcrea<;ingly ret~'rred to ,1" the
'hook<; of cxtracts' or 'book.;, of dIsciplinc'. FrOlIl 17~J till' EXfr/l(ts )1[1/11 rllC J/lllllfr.( did
Adl'i(es, pcriodically re\"iscd Jnd fl'is'illl'd, beelIIle one orthc fl'\\' 'otlicial' puhlic1tIOll:-' l)fthc
Society. A copy of thcse 'extract.., and advicc'i' 1llL',Hlt to eInbody the pJ"r deci<;ioll", current
rules, Jlld gt'I1l'ral pnncipks to 'bc ill futurc ob<;er\'ed ~)'Y the rcspccti\<c QUJrterly-, 0./10l1thly
The CO/ldirio/l or Friends 3lJ
n'oked Tilt' Disciplille to remind 'the unfaithful, the immoral, and
the libertine professors .. , of their danger and their duty', its tone
\\'as often 1110re prescriptive than inspirational. xo If conservative
Friends were anxious to keep the Bible out of their meetings and
music out of their hearing, many were equally devoted to ensuring
strict enforcement of all those essentially negative aspects of the
Disciplille that demonstrated Quakerism's 'testimony ... against cer­
tain ideas and practices found in other sectors of the church'. In the
[1\ 50S Monthly Meetings disowned not only 'disorderly walkers'
who broke the ronn nanduu-nts but 'individuals of irreproachable
.oncluct and undoubted piety' who violated traditional proscrip­
tions against the payment of tithes, undergoing the rite of 'water
baptism', or sutfning bankruptcy. The most rou n no n cause for
removal troru highly-prized nn-mbcrship, however, was 'marrying
out, that is, marriage to a nou-rncmhcr". S I While this proscription
\V;I, not at the centre of diftcrono-s between traditional and evan­
gelical Friends, it proved the proximate cause of a series of m011U­
nu-ntal changes relating to the "Rules of Discipline' within London
Yearly Meeting of Friends.
As late a, the 11\ 50S many Friends apparently still interpreted St
IJanl" warning agaillSt being 'unequally yoked with unbelievers' in
a strictly denominational sense, but there were abo legal constraints
to Quakers marrying outside the fdd. Since the passage of Lord
il.rrdwickcs Act (2() Ceo. 2 c. ,13) in 175.1. which pcrtn ittcd special
dispensations fix Quaker and Jewish marriage ceremonies, the
legitimacy of marriages according to the usages of Friends (that is,
in Quaker meeting in the sight of witnesses but without a presiding
clerl--,'Y n1an) was recognized only if both contracting parties were
Quakers.'~2 In effect, this meant that a member of the Society of
cllld other lllel'tillh'" ,Illd by the "C\'eLl1IllClllbl'f'i of our SoriL'ty', W.IS to bc rcr.iinc.! ill l·\·l'fY
lor.il mccrinj; c1t1lliJ(l,d wirb LDlldoll Yearly' ML'l,ting. Sl'C Edw.lrd I I. MilligJIl, 'How We
(;o( o nr Book ofl)i\L·ipllllc: the Rl'\'i'\101l of 1()2 [-FrotIl Docrriu« (0 F.xPCflCllCl", I''(}, 25/
1 (July I~SS). 110-17 .md ]. S. R'l\\l1trc'c, ·nl'ciplillL'·. ~57-~S.
Sec Jonc"" [.. . ttrr l)erit)li" I, 1_1.2--t. und ]. S. Rovvnrrcr, 'Disciplinc. -t.(ll).
."1 J.
S. Ro\\·tltrl'L', QII'1J.:crislIl, 25--t.2IJtt.;silf/ Jill"! A'ih, (!rldJ,:crislIl, [2. l)uJker drsd.ii» tor
'w.ucr b.ipusm' :1'1 ,It-':,lltl<;t 'b.ipnsm of the spirit i'\ rdketL'd II) tl1L' words ota Victorian Friend
vvho ])()(l,d th.it 'J -pnnkling. or w.itcr-vprurk h-d. s.ur.nuc-nt uking Quaker i'l ,1 sort of
llllnngnIou~ mL'dley r (.111 IIL'ithL'r cb'iqt~, or [sicl lllldl'T'iund'. (~l1otl'd ill Jcan Mortllllcr,
'Let'd, Friend, ."ld the lk,IL'onite Controvcr"", I/-HS. 5~/2 (1')77). ()(),
,".2 Ac(ording to <;ectloll 1 H of Lord H.lrd\\,il~ke's Act, QLI,lkL'r'i and .Jc\\''\ wcre relieved
trom tht' general pn)\'i'iioll tlldt all nurrlages be <;OkIllllized in thL' parish church aftcr thc
l,,<;uing of banlls. Thi<; ext'lllptioIl W.IS not extcndcd to ,)ther nOJl-COl1f()fllli'it~ or ItolllJn
 4° Britisl: Quakerislll 1860-1920 "Ilic Condition ,!f r:riellds 41
Friends who married a non-Qu;lker, presumably in the presence of through their own differences and providing a healing spirit for
a minister or 'hireling priest', would be automatirnllv disowned. [11 others. As for the specific means by which British Friends
one way at least the prohibition against marrying out had served an might begin the process of rejuvenating their Society, Rowntrcc
extremely useful purpose. Marriage alliances among Quaker tirst recommended that serious steps be taken to enhance the
families often strengthened economic tics and somcrimcs sh.ircd quality of Quaker ministry, especially where the abyss of silence
capital or expertise provided the ncccssarv means tor the success of threatened to extinguish both the ideal and the reality of
a Quaker cntcrprixc.":' But bv the I '"'50S, the strictures against worvhip services. Next he called for relaxation of the Discipline,
marrying out had become ;1 nLljor contributing t:lctor to a con­ especially with regard to the pcruliaritics and tuarrtagc regul;ltions.
tinuing, and tor some. 011l1nOUS, decline in the Society's member­ lie identified the latter as a 'deliberate ... Jet of suicide' driving
ship. It was indeed, the question of dwindling numbers that was an el1LTgetlC young people out of the Society and perhaps preventing
important caralvst tl)r the wave of changes that swept through rill' 11lOSt pious Friend, fi'om marrying at all.'~' Rowntree believed
London Yearly Meeting around I :-I(JO. rh.ir these \\T1T essential steps if Fnends were ever to recover
In I :-I5<} an anonymous donor ottcrc-d the considerable prize of their spiritu.il depth and renew their iuflucncc on the life of
one hundred gUillC1S tor the hcst cssav on 'The Cause, of the the \\'orld.''''
Decline ill the'SoCIety of Friends".":' Fr;)m among,t one hundred Young Rowntrcc had emphatically delivered the right mess;lge
and fitty elltriesjudged by three 11011-Quaker rdlTees, the winning to the right audience at the right time. Even as his call tor dramatic
essay \V;IS Quakerislli. Past and Present hy 2.~-year-oldJohn Stephen­ changes \\',1'> being published and read, London Yearly Meeting
son Rown tree (I i\ 3 4--1 <}07). Rown tree's essay proved to be a work \\'as nuking the first tentative steps toward the modification of its
ofscu nnnl influence in the tr.uisform.uion of British Friends. With I )i.\,iplillc. Actually, the process had began in I i\ 56 when Yorkshire
;111 the cxulx-ranrr- of youth, Rowntrcc presented a broad-based Quarterly Meeting, urged on by J S. Rowntrcc's father Joseph
attack on the narrow vision of colltemporarv Friends, cousi-rvativr (I SOI-1 :-I5<}), proposed the revocation of the penalty of disown­
and evangelical alike. In their narcissistic conccntrario» on the ment for marriage to ,1 non-Quaker. S7 The proposal concerning
narrow concerns about diftl'ring visions of hclicf and practice, marriage was talked about but not acted upon at Yearly Meeting in
Quakers, he said, had turned from that ,en'ice to truth and their 1:-157. 13lH a proposition to ,end a Salutation 'in Cospcl lovc to the
fl.-llow Christians which W~lS the essence of the mess;lge powerfully members of our religious Soricty. and also to those who bear the
delivered hy the Children of the Light. Fr irnrl's educational vision, n.nuc of friends, wherever resident' was agreed upon after lengthy
Rowntrcc asserted, was as narrow ;IS their sphere of influence in .uid heated discussion. Dccoricd , this proposal meant that Hicksites
the British society. To ever again become the sort of dynamic as well as others who had left the Society would receive an official
spiritual force their ancestors had been. he said, Quakers needed communication from British Friends. As these proceedings moved
more knowledge of the wider world, deeper comprehension of the fl)rward one agitated conservative Friend felt bound to announce
Bible ;IS a guide to living in that world and stronger appreciation of Ins 'solemn duty ... to stem the torrent of innovation' flooding
the necessity for lilwrty of thought and action for both working through the Society. ~s He was, however, thwarted, for the tide of

("lrholJ(\ until thl' 1\1.1rrJ,lgl' .utd Rl'gi'fLHIOll An" ot- I Syl. Sec Mdlig'llJ, '(~luklT tvLlrn,lgc
" Sec J. S. Rownrrcc [() Eliv.rbcth 11m wuc], 1-I.l1I1\- IS,S. MSS Port -I2/'(" I.SF in
Pn)(l'durl", ,J lL'lturl' to rh« .uiuu.il ot- the iu-rirn«. of Popui.inon Rl'gi\tLHj()ll,
COllftTl'IlLl'
\\ lnrl: h« d.l'\cnhed hi- 0\\'11 Monrhlv Meeting'.., .ittcmpt to disown ;1 young woman for
(,.lrh,!L-, 7 .111 Ill' JI)~3" (J-j ,\.'> well ,l\ hi' p.uuphh-r OJ] (211t/l.:ef .\IdIT',I.I!{', J P.1rt orrhc '(~ll,lkl'r
m.irrvnu; uur ,1\ 'injunou- to rlic mdividu.il, hurtful ro the Soclery, [and] unauthorized
T,lpl'\lry BnDkkr\' \(.'ril';-' (loudou I Vt)-t-) , ! 10,1.21
by SlTlptllrl,'
. . ( l-or e';\lllp!c\, "l'l' J.11lll'\ W,l]\'in, Jllt' (J1I'lkc/:i ,\1(11/(')' .in.! .\1()r,lr" (London j <jIJ'7) , "'r, J S, Rownrrc«. (2//llk('/'ISIII, 5 r , ()5-j, t)S-IO-t-, lOS, 153-S and j'lbSilJl.
()()-7.2 .
... - Edcv.nd Mlllig,lIL 'Quaker Marriage Procedure", (l-7, give.., JD\l'ph H..ownrrcc lll.1Jor
."-: Th.. cOlll't.'rncd donor \\'.1'\ prob.iblv the vve.rlrhv BlrlllinghJll1 Friend. (;l'l)r~l' crcdir tor pcrvu.idirn; Ycarlv Meeting to ,lCccpt the ChJllge,
\rurgc (17():-:-t:-\SS). SlT {olin S, Rnwutrcc to NOnIlJIl Penney, 10 Oct. Ilj05, ,r-vlSS PClf( . . s Josi,lh For-rer. 'Mel1lorJndJ Rc~pL'cnng London Yt'<uly Ml'l'[mg frol1l I ,'\:S-j S70
UIJ'. LSF (\\'i,h 'omc exccptio",)". MS., Vol 7(', LSF.
 42 British Quakerism
novelty was further advanced with the agreement to print the
Minutes and Proceedinos of subsequent Yearly Meetings so that
they might be read at leisure by the general mcrn bcrship, ''-'
Late in 1 85'),joseph Devan Braithwaite, now a London barrister,
corresponded with Quaker MP john Bright concerning the intro­
duction of a private member's Dill to establish the legitimacy of
marriage ceremonies 'according to the usages of Friends' when one
of the parties was not :1 Quaker. This legislation had been made
necessary by the recent decision of London Yearly Meeting, after
four years of cautious discussion, to alter its marriage regulation 'to
allow marriages to be solcmniscd in our meetings for worship
... only one [or neither] of the contracting parties being a member
of the Society' .')() Conservative Friends remained adamant that the
ban agaiIlSt mixed marriages not be lifted. but john l3right correctly
anticipated no difficulties in obtaining parliamcntarv approval of
what would become the Marriage (Society of Fricuck) Act, 18()0
(23 & 24 Vict. c. (8). He was pleased to playa part in revising this
draconian custom, which he described as 'one of the many incon­
veniences the Society has suffered ... ' arising from 'the disposition
of. .. Friends ... to fence in the Mcmbcrsh ip of the Dody, as if it
were some exclusive &. privileged club rather than a Christian
Church'.')'
The impetus for reform carried over to 18()0 when Yearly
Meeting :Igreed to a suggestion under consideration since 1857 to
make adherence to the Fourth Query on simplicity (plainness of
speech and dress) optional. In addition, all of the 'Queries and
Advices' annually sent by Yearly Meeting to Quarterly and
Monthly Meetings were revised with a view to adapting Quakers
practices to life in modern society. For example, the Seventh
1860-1920 The Condition (~r Friends 43
Query, enjoining Friends against 'all vain sports, and places of
diversion ... ' was shifted into the list of merely cautionary
Advices, Finally, in 1861 Yearly Meeting approved the recommen­
dations of a conference called to oversee a complete revision of the
Discipline, the first since 1833. Later that same year a new volume
entitled, for its three parts, Ciuistian Doctrine, Practice and Discipline
\\'as published, claiming in its Preface to have preserved 'thej(mll of
our discipline' while bearing 'abundant testimony to the spirit in
which it should be conducted', and embracing that 'wisdom,
p.iticucc, forbearance and love, which ought ever to prevail
,Ilnong Friends' .'-'2
Some conservative Friends found it impossible to forbear. J. S.
Rowntrcc, pleased that Friends were beginning to come to grips
with modernity, was, on the other, distressed by the remarks of a
'very trying convinced Frd.' (probably William Irwin of Manches­
ter) who denounced 'change and its promoters in [such] strong
l.mguagc ' that there seemed a 'danger of the meeting getting into
disorder'. Over half a century later the famed Quaker jurist Sir
Edward Fry (1827- I () I 8) recalled how 'the miserable questions
about dress and address, and ... disputes about orthodoxy ... pro­
duced a chasm ... between myself and systematic Quakerism
which I have never got over' Y1
There was a small body of conservative 'purists' who were also
unable to bear 'the oppression ... of the l'nemy who has, it appears
to some amongst us, taken his scat in the Church [and] brought
forth fruits so incompatible with Truth's dictates that we ... a
poor and afflicted remnant ... cannot join with them.''-'4 Even­
tually, this 'poor and afflicted remnant', broke free from 'that
lapsed body which calls itself the Society', and established a 'true

S') Extract, from th: ininutc: (lilt! ])/'(l({'cdill,l.?s (!( rile )('11fly .\lcnl/I.!.! (!F h·iClIIL, l/I'ld ill LJ/ldlJ/I,

185 7 (L()ndon IS\H). '-'-10. (IlLTc .•ricr IYM. wir h yc .•r). WIllk most c\".lIlgclicai Fnctrd-,
wclrorncd the t()rthCOlllillg c!ungc.... Wilson, .\1'lIJellcsrcr norc-, rh.irJ. 13, Br.urhw.urc opposed
the printing of rlu- Yc.irlv Ml'l'tlllg .\lil/lltes k'lt they drvtr.nr Fncnd-, trom the lllC;"",lgc
embodied ill the annual Lpistlc; Brairhw.iirc \VJ" d rucmbor of the Lpisf/C drafting cornnuttcc
t{)r over thirty' year~. The ever-cautious Caleb KCl11p Ill,ly have expressed his rear th.ir ..,ollle
change" Illight C,lUSl' 'grcat hurt to our sor icrv' for the s.imc reason. C. R. K., '[ouru.il-,'. II,
2(, M.1Y I HSH.
l)() Milhg,lI1, 'Quaker MarrLlge Procedure', ()-7 and Quaker ,\l,m·'i/,!.?£', I r 2 j.
')' John Hright to J. B. lJraithw"itc. l(, December I HW. Temp. Box 1001/I I. LSF. Tlu.
British Frirnd organ of Convcrvanvc Friends in London Yearly Meeting, stared In June r SSt),
l)2 Chriuian f)(hHII/C, Pr.uttc« (1IId f)/sopltl/C (London 1 X(l I), v. Until 1 xoi , London Yearly
lV1ecting \V,h tl'chlllc.llly r cvtr ictcd to a limited number of offici.il rl'pre'lellLltive'l from
(~llJrtCrly Meetings, such recorded (2uakl:'r mirusterx as 111ight be in London and the
members of Meeting (or Suftenng", the executive body of Yc.rrly Meeting. III practice,
YC,lrly Mecting had long snu.c become open to :lIlY Friend who h.id the time and iucliuanou
to .urend. See Fdw.ird H. Milltg,l11, '''To lricnds Evcrvwlicrc": Reflections on the Epistle in
the Lite of London Yearly Mcctim;'. FQ, 22/11 (July I<)H2). 72<).
')\ J. S. Rowntre e. 'Account of Y. M .. IH5'J', MS. \'01. S-3()H, [SF and Ange, Fry .•1
.\1t'lIIo;r orSir Edllmd Fry (Oxtord 1<)21). 16H.
<)-1- Sclcaionsjron: the Dim)' nnd Corrn-pot/dcl/cc (~/John C. Sa~iZcl/t, J 04, quoted by Edward H.

I 5 r 'that the testimony of our Society' agJIl1st lllarrLlgt bcrwcc» mdivrdual- nut united 111 MIlltgan, "'The Aucicin WJ)''': The Conservative Tradition in Nineteenth Century British
religious view should remain III/illlpaired.' Qu"kni,m',]FHS, )7/1 (1<)<)+).7+. 'Purist-,' i, Milligan", term.
 44 Britist! QIIII~'crislll 1860-1920
comervative' meeting at Fritchlcy III Derbyshire which maintained
itself as a separate entity tor over a century.'))
Continued conservative rumblings not withstanding, by the end
of I H() I the Society of Friends had so t~\l" recognized the necessity of
coming to grips with the 1110dem world that Quakers could, with­
out fear of sectarian censure, marry a non-Friend in their local
meeting house dressed in ordinary clothing. They could keep
abreast of developments and opinions within their Religious
Society by reading printed copies of the .\lilllltCS and erocccdill.,,!,i of
Yearly Meetings ;IS well as an up-to-date version of Christian
Doitrinc, Practice, and Discipiin«. By and Ln"ge, members of this
tiny, and still declining. if slightly less peculiar, body of believers
supported these changes ;IS necessary nJCIllS tll]" propelling Quaker­
ism into the modem world. In point of t:Jct, however, tl:W Friends
of any rheological stripe were .idcquatclv prepared to deal with the
eventualities that awaited them. For even as British Quakers insti­
tuted minor modifir.itionc in their long-standing procedures. I )ar­
wins Orioin, of .',})('cics was running through half;1 dozen editions
and the tlrst rr.msl.rtions of Cern];]n 'f-jigher Criticism' of biblical
texts were belllg published in EngLInd. And while these tirst stages
of the assault on the structure of Victorian Christian values were
gathering tlJrce. in 1 S()o the Yearly Meeting of British Fnends was
spending 'the Llrgest part of an hour ... discussing whether the
word preceding Cluistinn in the sixth new Query [peace tcstimo nv]
should he ,lor 0111".')(' Quakerislll had determined to enter the
modern world, hut rh c mr.nis w]: ereby it might con ti nuc to defend
itself tl"om the dangers of that world were nowhere apparent.
There was, however, one notable and creative social cttl)rt to
which Friends, especially those of the younger generation, might
an.uh themselves. In I S..j.5 Joseph Sturge (17<)3-1 S5<)) of l3irming­
ham founded the tlrst Friends' Adult School, tdlowed two years
LIter by the joining of this institution with sixteen other Quaker
Adult Schools in the Friends First Day School Association
(FFDSA). These Adult Schools, built around the concept of de vel­
oping or improving basic skills of working-class men through
Sunday instruction centred on biblical texts, gradually expanded
v-, The quorc r- trum Sdc(/ioll,lj"(l/1I the COITCI"jJIJlldcl/cC
Ilis l.il<' (Phil.idclphi.r [SS(l). 3 )0 . .;\1", ,Cl' Walter Luv, lllk,.
/9'.\'0 (LOll don 14)"";0).
')1, Tl, oS jum- I S(lO, 10-+.
(!( l ] 'illt.nn HI)i~r,;S()IJ, uitl: .\}C/l/t1fr.1
Jill' (,J""kl'I"., ,l! J-rll,/Jil'j'. 181'3­
Tl« Condition of Friends 45
in <izc and in the range of their activities and services. For many
rc.isons. including the inherent traditionalist fear of being swept
,I\\"ay by a tide of 'supcrficial applicants", ill-equipped to absorb
(~uakcr cultural traditions and religious pracriccs.!" Adult Schools
brought few 11l'\\' recruits into the Socictv, But they did widen the
social and religious horizons of several generations of mainly evan­
gehcal young Friends. Perhaps even more important, they gave
ytJllnger Quaker males some ruc.nnngtul activity outside the still
<cvcrclv limited confines of their tinv, self-contained, and tre­
tjuentl)' self-;Ibsorbed religious cOnIlllll;Jity.')S
The impetus tor the 'life-giving influence" of the Adult Schools
.uid other religious and philanthropic activity was almost entirely
L'\'angelical and It unquestionably increased the influence of that
tiJeologicI! position .in long members of the YOllnger generation. If
most Quakers born in the u iiddlc years of the Victorian period had
their first religious instruction at the feet of a more open, active,
.ind involved evangelical ministry which encouraged increased
co nt.ut with and .rpprcci.mo n for spiritual developments outside
the Religious Society of Friends, runny of these same young people
\\'LTe also drawn into ,J world of ideas from which their spiritual
mentors could only recoil with horror. For as conservative ortho­
doxy had sought spiritu;d security by building a defensive hedge
.uound .mcicur. sacred but nebulous truths, the evangelicals
thought they h.id found .iu in iprcgnahlc fortress in the infallible,
irrcfutahlc l11ess,Jge of Holy Scripture. The work-a-day world of
111;111111Wn had been brgely unaware of or, at best, mildly al11used
hv the reclusive Friend with bonnet or collarless coat of grey, but
the more rdlned world of modcru thought could swoop down
upon the supposedly invulnerable evangelical stronghold of biblical
inerrancy in an undittcrcntiatcd .rssault on unquestioned tcstimon­
ics, old and new.
One insightful contemporary observer. Frederick Maurice,
c.iught the point exactly in his diagnosis of Quaker infirmities.
Once the Society of Friends began to reach out and join with other
Irwin, 'Bnd- Rrrn.rrk-,'. v, 1<"-20,
.)\ The vr.u.d.ird '>rudy i" John wrlhcln: R{)\\ ntrcc Jild I lcurv B. Bmn-, _'"I llis[tJY)' (!( the
(f .,ldllir Scho»! .\lt1/'('IIICllf (Loudon J (j0J). T hi" work 11,1\ r.-ccut!v blTIl n-prinrcd with .1 ncv,
mrroduction ,llld "'OIllC ncvv m.ucri.il by Chri-rophcr Ch.irlton. Also \l'T Wil-on, 'Nilll'tlTllth
Cl'lltUf\" l ricud-.' J)7 .uid .\li/}/(I!csrcr, 3-+-5 .uid Edw.ird (;rubb, (Jill/kerfSill ill FII,(!,lillld: It:
Prrscnt !\J:,ifllJ/l (London ]l)OI).
4() British Qllakerism 1860-1920
groups in socially significant corporate acts, Maurice noted, it was
forced to abandon the role assigned to it by its founders as the single
Divinely-constituted means for achieving God's Kingdom on
earth. Henceforth, Maurice said, their previously exclusive educa­
tion would have 'to be conducted upon principles precisely the
reverse of those ... [formerly] proclaimed to be the only spiritual
principles' .')')
Quakerism is thrcarrncd from without OIl two sides--Oll the Evallgl'licd
side and on the Unitarian ... one or the other ... will he henceforth
prcdomin.mr; Quakerislll will have ll'ss and less a basis of its OWIl. All Its
great pretensions arc at all end; its greatest defenders spe;lk of it 1l0W nor
as the ... Kingdom ofCod, but ;IS the best of the sects which compose the
rehgiollS world. Such LlI1gIl'lge call never s;Jtisty those who n-tain .uiv of
the old Quaker spirit. They uiust bolicvc rh.ir there is a spiritual Kingdol11
slllnewhere; if they cannot flIld it 111 the Socicrv of Friends, they will look
fill' it in those opposing SYStl'I11S of which I h.rvc spoken. '00
In the end, Maurice thought, historical Quakerism, caught
between the demythologizing torcc of evangelical dogmatism
and the liberating power of modern scepticism, would succumb
to 'slow decay' and cease to be of account amoug those seeking the
Kingdom of Christ. It was, for Friends. a gloomy prediction and
for a time seemed about to be fulfilled. '01
,)') Frederick J\tlunCl', Kill.~do}// (}{(-'/Iri.ir. 2 vub (London I~.~S; rep. of [,"142 edition). I.
(15-'7·
I()(> Ibid. 1, (17, 7(). 111I Ibid. I, 2Jl
2
Spiritual Rebellion
'A CASE OF DIFFICULTY' IN MANCHESTER
One of the warnings issued by John Stephenson Rowntrcc m
(,2 11 I I/"> crism, Past and Present concerned the precarious circumstances
of younger Friends with improved educations and enlarged oppor­
tunities who were migrating from rural areas to larger towns and
cities. Because the previous experience of these young people had
usually been 'Isolation frorn evil, rather than preparation to resist
evil', they seemed particularly vulnerable to the beguiling snares of
modern city life, and thus presented the Society of Friends with
still another possible cause tor its precipitous numerical decline.'
Leaders of urban Quaker communities were naturally anxious to
provide an environment in which younger Friends 'could get what
WJS needful and usrful without leading them into temptation', but
the average Quaker meeting, dominated by serious, older. and
often wealthy Friends, had little to offer active and curious young
.idults. Edward Vipont Brown (IX63-1055) remembered an
oppressive .unbicncc in meetings of his youth where amongst the
gathered bonnets and broad-briml11ed hats much of the talk was
concerned with 'God's justice and being "washed in the blood" '.
Evrn the most dutiful young Friend might hesitate to choose such
an atmosphere over the alternatives offered by a modern city."
In the late J :-:50s, Caleb Kemp (1 :-:3()~I00:-:) confided to his
journal' a deep concern about choosing companions, especially
as a young man 'living away from his parental roof, mixing with
men of the world ... who know little, or nothing of religious
feeling ... ' Sadly, Kemp's earnest scrupulosity meant that in his
adopted home at Mitcham, near Croydon, he had 'no one with
,J S. Rownrrcc. Q""l.:mSllc, 17()-7.
. Rrrhenda C. Scott, . Authority or Experience: John Wilhelm Rownrrc« mel the
Dtlcnnu a of i orh Centurv llntish Quakerism',JFHS, ~'J (Spring 1')60). 77 and E. Viponr
Brown. 'The Renaissance of Quakerism", Friends Quarterly), 5/4 (Oct. 195'),201-2.
 4i\ British QllakerislIl 1860-1920
whom to take a walk-no one to open my mind to, upon sub­
jeers ... either temporal [01'1. spiritual ... ' He' attempted to put the
best possible face on his isolation, but eventually had to admit that
'my comtorr and happiness much depends IsicJ upon Christian
fL'llowship ... with persons who sec in religious things as I
see .... '3 Where was such companionshi p to be found?
In some meetings well-intentioned older Friends like josiah
Forster (17i\2-1 i\70) might nuke the guiltmce of youth the special
concern of their ministry. But Forster's 'Letters to Younger Mcui­
bel'S', emphasizing such themes as how 'the evil propensities of
the natural heart, the temptations and ailurcmcnr, of the devil, the
associates to whom some are exposed ... powerfully attract to
the unhallowed pleasures of the world that lie in wickedness',
were unlikely to provide soothing balm lor lonely and restless
young souls.:'
Manchester, with its burgeoning trade and diverse manut.n-tur­
ing as well as ~I sizeable Quaker community, \\'as one of the cities
tint attracted mobile younger Friends. When these young people
attended a meeting such as Mount Street In central Manchester,
they were not hkely to be inspired by the rcligiou» services which
have been described as mildlv evangelical and generally stodgy, but,
at the s.un« time, attendance at meeting ICJr worship otiL'red the
possibility of encountering old schoolmates, fnllily II'iends, or even
strangers close to their own age with whom they might socialize.
Indeed, older member, of the Mount Street congregation became
al.mucd when local residents bcg.m rdL'rring to certain public
homes as 'Friends Meeting Houses' from the trcqucncv with
which young QU~lkers gathered in them." The dctcrrnin.ition to
corrcct this situation was, doubtless, one of the inspirations for the
founding in March 1i\5i\ of the Manchester Friends" Institute as a
(- IZ., K., 'JuUl"n,tl ...·, II, (lJ.lll. rS5~ .uu! [II,
I In''l,lh FOr\(CL I.Cf/('/".1 ro \ (ll/II,<-?I'I" .\1t'lIlht''-\ (:( ,!Ie Rcli:\fil'/iS ';()(i('()' (!( I ncu.l, i I oucion
[I S('\lJ). I, )-(l.
Spiritual Rebellion 49
'congcnial place of resort for ... young people belonging to Man­
CIrester
· ' .(,
M eetmg
13y 1 R()o, the Friends' Institute, with its club rooms (including a
special room for young women), its library and its teas, had
become, as one member recalled, 'an active centre of social
and intellectual life', where young people could find convivial
fellowship and also enjoy, in the words of William Thistlcthwaitc
(I i\ 13-1 i\70), schoolmaster and inaugural speaker in the Institute's
.unbitious lecture series, 'the benefits of continued study and self­
culture' whose' inevitable end would be 'the discovery of truth'?
But could this Institute, innocently erected as a safe and comfor­
table refuge from the lurking moral dangers of big city life, also lead
young Friends along paths too dangerous to tread? That question
became the focus of a bitter and far-ranging dispute that for a time
disturbed, distressed, and divided British Friends.
As it happened, the Manchester Friends' Institute embarked
upon its lecture series just as the struggle over the extent and
meaning of changes within London Yearly Meeting was reaching
,J crucial stage. The Institute's monthly course of presentations
attempted to avoid controversial subjects, but audience discussions
elicited by even the most innocent of topics inevitably revealed
two antagonistic schools of thought in the Manchester Quaker
community: 'the advanced or Evangelical', which favoured ';1
nearer approach to the orthodoxy of other professing Christians',
and the conservative, 'which opposed all innovation in practice,
and held [1St to Barclay in doctrine'. x
Post-lecture discussions often ended as heated debates which,
.iccording to one participant, were contrary to the original intcn­
tions of the Institute's founders and the harbingers of 'evil con­
sequences'. One of those consequcnces was, evidently, the arousal
of interest among some members of the Institute in reading con­
-l- J)l'l. rS5(). tUllporary religious literature. When it came to the question of
acquiring a library to support such interests, controversy flared

, 'Notl'''' OIl IlltlT\'icw,,' Sl'COlld 1),1)" MO)"Jllllg .it t):30. tvl~. Box ().)(J), LSF It -hould hl'
noted rli.rr n'l'll though there \\ ,\\ .I]] l'\"<l11gl'lictlly llhplrl'd tl'lllpCLlllt'l' 1l10\TIlll'Il( ,1l1lOl1g
Fricnd.. . , the \ocicry, llLIll)" of who«. movr proinincnr fl1ndic, h.id m.idc rorrune in the
hre\\"illg rr.id«, h.rd never cl'lJ,urcd rhl' n u xicr.rtc uvr nLl1cohol. E\TIl ..,0 plOLh ,I (~ll.lkl'r ,I"
C,tll'h Kelllp IOllg rl'"i"rl'd the cdJ ro m.ikc ,lb,rllll'llCl' .I corpor.i«- rl',rillluny of rhc ')oC1ny,
norillg: " t.tk c bur little of thc«: thing" but l rhink rhar lirtl« dol'.'> me guod ' Onlv in l.ucr
life, w hcu Kemp Wel, rUllning for 10c.11 poiitir.il office, did he r.ikc the 'tor.il ,1b"rllll'llCl"
pledge. Sec C. 1<... K., '[ourn.il-,' I [I, ) June I X('7 .ind v , I X).111. I XX\I.
r, Frederick Cooper. 'J7/(, Crisis in ,\!al/du'stu "'feelin.!?: l1"itl/ il Review (!( the }Jlm/}'Idefs (~(
{\lI'ld OIlIlC,1II <illdjost'p!l Il. Forster (Manchester IXog), 2. Also sec TF, May IXj\I, \14.
Scpruagcnari.in Thomas Tongl'. 'Fifty Ycars Ago', Man.hester City Nru«, 3 August H)21,
Vol. VV /;4, LSF and Wilson, Manchester. 2\1-30.
., The .\t<illc!lcs/t'r l-riend (hereafter AIF), III, IS Dec. IX7I, 7, microfilm copy, Mullins
Library, Univcrsirv of Arkansas, Fayetteville and Joseph 13. Forster, 'Memoranda in reference
to the action of the Committee of the Manchester Fnends Insriture , IXSX to IXog', 2.\ Sept.
I X7D. MS. 130x \1.6 (2), LSF.

50 British Quakerisin 1860-1920
anew. Conservatives objected to the acquisition of the L!fc ofJ. J.
Gurney and evangelicals to the works ofJohn Wilbur. Still, in the
end, these and other books were purchased by the Institute Com­
mittee and read by those who claimed to be less concerned about
the partisan nature of the books than their insights into the historic
ll1eaning of Quakerism. Such readers would, no doubt. have
agreed with Joseph Rowntrcc's pica at Yearly Meeting in 1115 6
that while mere intellect might not fully grasp Divine truths, there
was' a danger of discouraging the employment of the intellectual in
the things of God'.')
This was where events stood in April 18G1 when the Friends'
Institute Lecture Committee, faced with a last minute cancellation,
asked David Duncan (1825 ~-1871), a local merchant and manu­
ficturer, to step into the breach. Duncan, a Scotsman who had
joined Frivnds upon marri;lge to a Quaker and who had once
trained for the Presbyterian ministry, agreed to speak provided
his topic, a discussion of E5.i<l),-i and Reviews, the recently contro­
versial collection of theological studies by seven pron uncnt Angli­
cans, was deemed acceptable. The lecture committee exhibited
serious Quakerly caution even in an enlergency, but the Institute's
General Conunittcc eventually gave its support, influenced, no
doubt, by the high esteem in which Duncan was held at the
Institute, especially by younger mcmbcrs.!"
For a fIgure who ultimately commanded serious attention ;IS
leader of a troublesome band of rebellious Friends, Quaker
archives contain remarkably little about David Duncan's life or
even his physical appearance. His published work, nearly all of
which related to the controversies in which he became embroiled,
is neither extensive or profound, but a brief, posthumously pub­
lished tragIJJent may serve as a summary of his views concerning
Friends' beliefs and practices:
We arc a voluntary movement for the promotion of truth, and we
acknowledge the spirit of truth in each individual as the highest and
ultimate ground of authority ... in the meeting of worship ... all prepared
v Cooper, Crisis. 2-3; Joseph B. Forster, 'Mcmorand.r ... ' MS I30x '}.r, (2), LSF; ,lnd
Josiah Forster, 'ACl"Ollilts of Yearly Mecting. I ~ 5{)', MS. Vol. S. 20, ibid.
'0 Joseph B. Forster, 'Memoranda ... '; ,\IF, III, Dec. IS, IH7I. 7-H and Wilson,
Mal/chester 30--1. Also see Tl, May lHS'}, ,}4. Duncan had lectured previously .u the Institute.
without ahrming evangclical members,
(~~
':, 's'\'
·Y~>.\
,
Spiritllizl Rebellion 51
")
reAeetions or expositions of doctrine ... arc excluded, and the-. ,6fily
recognized teaching IS the expression of the individual, supposed to ·b'2,
inspired by the power and wisdom of God. .. [TJhe Scriptures ... arc
,ubordimtL' to the spirit of truth in the individual, and arc dependcnt on
rh.it spirit for their effIcacious application in enlightening the mind.
We must resist the domination of those who have lost the tradition of
our fathers, who arc sacriticing the gcnuinc principles of Quakerism, and
}'utting in their stead the hollow sounding phrases of a pretentious and
pharisaical formalism. I I
One admirer recalled Duncan as 'a very talented man ... half
worshipped by some who knew him closely'. He was, to be sure,
,lIJ earnest and outspoken Victorian intellectual, sensitive to new
ideas and stimulated by them. Some young people at the Friends'
Institute obviously considered him to be on the cutting edge of
modern spiritual thought, but Duncan's own view of his role never
clearly emerged. He claimed to have no religious contacts or
interests outside Manchester Friends, but, in keeping with a
long-standing Quaker tradition, he took care to have all of his
clrefully prepared lectures and addresses published and circulated.
Perhaps he believed, not without a touch of vanity, that he could
playa useful role in heightening the level of discourse, not only at
Manchester Friends' Institute but among Friends in general. 12
By the time Duncan presented his lecture on 12 April 1861, the
preponderant weight of British Protestant judgement had already
tallcn heavily upon Essays and Reviews. Evangelicals in particular
decried the book's 'infidelity' which arose, in their view, from the
insistence of its seven Broad Church Anglican authors-in the light
of modern scientific and historical discoveries-on treating the
Bible, however Divine its inspiration, 'like any other book' written
I I David Dunc.m , '(~tukerislll P,l-,t and Prcscnt, ;\11'~ II -t-, 15 Marcil [H72. 57- S. In nun)'
\\".lys l Juncan's view'> ,eerned to echo those ofconservJtivl' Friends, but J~ controversy grew,
couservauvvs were often in the v.inguard of those <ltLlcking I )Ullcan and his followers. The
r rucial difference "'.IS that tor DUIlC.lIl only the principle of the Inward light was uuassail­
.ible: he appears to have believed th.it most other Quaker traditions and eccentricities were as
.rrclcvanr .IS evangelical anachruents to the experil'llce of salvation by Etith alone, Biblical
.ncrr aucv or the concept of propiri.itorv Atonenlellt. For a similar view by an anonymous
contemporary, see 'Lover of Truth' to 'lF, I March ISS'), .13-4·
" Tonge, 'Fifty Years Ago'. In the early twentieth century John Wilhelm Rowntrcc ,
while outlining his propmed definitive history of Quakerism, planned to devote an entire
chapter to the 'Lanr.ishire Trouble', but there is no mention oflluncan or the controversy
surrounding him in RufusJoncs' Later Period! l~" Q,ldkfrisffI.
 52 British QlIakerlslll 1860-1920
by human beings. [3 Duncan tl'lt that these so-called 'seven against
Christ' had been unfairly judged and he intended to use the
Friends' Institute as a forum for putting questions they had raised
into proper perspective.
In setting forth his objectives, Duncan noted that his lecture was
first of all, 'a protest against the intolerant spirit' in which Essays
and Rcvicu« had been attacked; secondly, he wished to bring to the
attention of Friends its authors' unanimous 'Testimony ... to an
"Inward Guide" superior to the Outward Testimony-although in
the main concurrent with it'; finally, he hoped to inform and
enlighten those who were perhaps not fully apprised of the ques­
tions that the contentious volume had raised. [4 Duncan asserted
that most cr iticism of the book was based upon the mistaken belief
that Christianity was comprised of a precise and dcfinahlo set of
unchallengeable dogmas. 'If the principle were more generally
admitted that Christianity is a lik rather than a formula,' Ill'
asserted, 'thcologv would give place to religion ... and that pecu­
liarly hitter spirit which actuates religionists would no longer be
associated with the profession of religion.' [I
Early Protestant reformers, Duncan said, had claimed to be
striking a blow for human freedom in matters divine, but while
men like Hu-; Luther, and Calvin correctly denied 'the suprcmacv
of any ccclcsiastir.rl authority in persons', they unwisely tLlllst(.'rred
that authority to a single book and thus instituted the practice of
Bibliolatry which had burdened Protestantism from its inception.
One of the great virtues of Essays and Reviews, he believed, was its
attempt to progress beyond 'the Judicial spirit of worshipper of the
Book to the advanced ground of cri tical investigation'. The
authors' purpose, he said, was not to deny Scripture but to advance
human knowledge in relation to it. Their book had 'been puffed
into a temporary notoriety' which would soon 'pass out of flSh­
13 l~~~sa)'s (md Rcvicu-s was published carly in I xoo but rccl'iYl'd lark .rrtvnnon uuul the
,lppl',1LUHT of Frederic Hurnsonv in thl' ~h'Srl1l1l1stcr Rc/'/'(w under the (Ide 'Nl'O­
d)1111111"IltS
Christianirv' in ()nubl'r I xoo; in April I ~() J Bi~hop S,lI1lUc! Wilberforce pLlbli~hl'd ,1
scathing attack ill tJ1t" (2l1artaJy Rciicu, J00, 2-t-~~305. For the ensuing natiuu.il (ol1tnwer.;;;',
..,ce Desmond 130\Vl·11. 'nll' Idtl1 (l(JI/C Vi({oriall Church (Monrrenl ]l)()S), J()J-172 and M. A.
Crowther, Church hmh,nrl/'a: N..t'h:v.ill/IS COllr((J1!crsy ill .\lia- l 'iaoria» /:.·l1g/11IId (Newtoll Abbot
1 l)70 ) , pussim. Also see Mark Francis, 'The ()rit-,'lns of /:.'SSt1ys and Rcvicu«: An Inrerprt'rJtion
otMark Pattison ill the I~SOs'. H[,a<lnialjol/mal, 17/4 (10N): 707-~1 L
14 David Duncan, 'l;~~s(/ys and RelliflllS: A Lecture delivered at Mauche-rer Friends
Institute' (Manchester IH(,J), /51,
" Ibid. X
Splrltl/ill Rebellion 53
ion', but the honesty and courage with which the authors had
addressed questions that all young believers would sooner or later
have to consider were , in Duncan's view, most admirable. He also
reminded his audience of the curious parallel between the oppro­
brium heaped upon the 'seven against Christ' and 'the attacks with
which our early Friends were assailed,' all such assaults being
'ch,lLlcterized by ... reckless assertions of impiety and heresy.' 1II
Duncan concluded on a conciliatory note, admitting that while
he was 't(.'arful of the responsibility of addressing Friends' on such a
topic, he was not conscious 'of having written a line which could,
or need give pain to any of my brethren, the most sensitive or the
most careful'. [7
After the lecture was printed and distributed, initial responses in
the Quaker press seemed to bear out Duncan's plea ofmoderatiou.
Tl« Friend, a weekly journal solidly linked to the Quaker evangel­
ical establishment. barely took notice of his remarks, at least initi­
ally, and the Brltlsll Fricnd, sounding-board felr traditional
Quakerism, remarked that there was 'nothing in the lecture at all
calculated to create ... controversy, and ... muc]: that meets our
entire approbation'. [x The tone of reactions began to change in late
May at the .mnual gathering of London Yearly Meeting where
Duncan's views were seriously challenged. [') Shortly thereafter an
.monvmous pamphlet expressed deep distress at Duncan's having
made the Society of Friends 'the only section of the Christian
Church which has furnished an advocate' for Essays and Reviews
and accused him of leaning 'towards nco-Platonism, pantheism and
finally ... toward intidvlirv. 20
Duncan's friends at Manchester did not allow such criticism to
go unanswered. Among his strongest advocates was Joseph Binyon
Forster (183 I-X 3), a sugar refiner and secretary to the General
Committee at Friends' Institute. Forster, a disciple of]. S. Mill
Ibid. f)-H. 2.1. 2t)-30.
1(,
" Ib[J, JO.
" LJF. May IX![I. 11(,-17, Both 11,,' iricnd. published III London, .ind 11,t' IIritish Friend,
J"'''lIed fr otu Edinburgh, were established in I ~-t-3·
J') I3F.JUl1C I~()[, 133. Also sec Wilson. J'1lllldlcsrcr, 33. David Dunran was not present to
ddL>nd. hlS POqtJoll as he was not ',1 Yearly Meeting Fr-ie-nd": his involvcrnc-ur III tht' Socicrv
h.id apparcnrlv been limited to the Manchester area.
.io [Anon.]. "Obvrrvations 011 a lecture delivered at the Manchester Friends' Institute by
1Javid Duncan, entitled" Essays and Reviews":' (London J H(1), 2S-y. One intriguing aspect
of Quaker internecine struggle.;; lS the ~pl'cd with which cOlltending <uguillents could be got
1I1tO print.
 54 Brifish Ouokeriss» 1860- 1 9 2 0
passionately devoted to the cause of free expression, might be
described as 'Duncan's bulldog', so fiercely and tenaciously did
he leap to his friend's defence. Late in 1861 Forster not only
addressed a specific rejoinder to Duncan's critics but also issued a
general plea that Friends recognize the creative possibilities offered
by the venting of controversial views:
Is It not to be regretted that we are any of us unable to tolerate, or benefit
by that difference of opinion and earnestness of original investIgatIon
which 1Il literature and sciL'nce are held t o be so invaluable; ... [ have no
tear but that the good sense of our members will ever gu,lrd us from the
evils of controversy, whilst the admission of all questions of Interest will
also serve to broaden the grounds of Christian charity, teaching us that
Lhtterences of opinion ought never to separate men bound together by
the love of Christ. ."
If Forster's intention was to bring ulIdLTlying differences into the
open, he flikd. No responses WLTe forthcoming, at lcasr not in any
public forum. Still, men like Forster and Duncan did represent a
new sort of threat to the largely evangelical hierarchy that dom­
inated Manchester meeting. Louder, better educated, more widely
read than the brooding quietist faction, they were also more
dangerous because, for them, no subject was om of bounds and
no idea unworthy of considLTation. AnothLT of their associates was
Charles Thompson (I H19- 1<)03), a wealthy cotton manuflcturer,
Justice of the Peace and Manchester City Councillor as well as a
recorded minister at Ashton-on-Mersey (Sale) Meeting. Thomp­
son has been identified as a 'vocally active conservative voice' at
Yearly Meeting,22 but his brand of conservatism, while fiercely
anti-evangelical, seems not to have been anti-modern. Neither was
Thompson shy in his assertions: 'Believers were not to stand
still, , .for there was a large, or CPC1/ " laroer, amount ofdiuine authority
and outpouring of the Spirit nou' than there was in the days when
the Scriptures were written. ,23
" J B, Forster, 'David Duncan dnd His Itevlewer', Hf-~ 2 Septcmber I U, I,
'!lrl'ad of Controversy', ibid .. 2 Dec ISOI, 2S7-S.
~2 Sec Milligan, '''The Ancient Way": The Const-rvarrve Tr.idrtion in Ninctcenth
CCntury British QuakerisTll',}I'HS 57/r (1<)\1..),74-101.
'3 Quoted by Scott, 'Authority or Expericnce', 7<).
Spiritual Rebellion 55
At the Friends' Institute these men of advanced views obviously
encouraged the young people they met to investigate aspects of
modern thought, including biblical criticism and Darwinian
science, in their attempts to come to grips with fundamental
questions of life and faith, As Kirk Willis has pointed out, it was
through German biblical criticism that Hegel's religious views,
which 'went to the heart of the Victorians' intellectual preoccupa­
tions and cultural assumptions", were first introd uccd to British
students, including those at the Friends' Manchester Institute,2 4
Most of the younger people who gathered at the Institute were
in their btl' teens or early twenties, an impressionable :lge, espe­
cially for those brought up in the sheltered confines of Victorian
Quaker homes and schools, The natural tendency towards youth­
ful rebellion could only have been cxaccrhatcd by the presence of
outspoken modernists like Duncan and Forster who glorified, as
(;od's srreatest gifts, reason which led human beings to ask ques­
rioux, and free will which permitted them to pursue the answcrs.t"
No doubt these were exhilarating times tor young Manchester
Friends, probing, as they imagined, at the frontiers of human
knowledge while secure in the rightness of their quest, whatever
the cautious or elderly might say,
Thus, although the Manchester Friends' Institute's public lecture
series aimed :11 avoiding controversy and if anything, leaned toward
evangelical presentation, one of its apparent results was to turn the
Institute into a centre for liberal, anti-evangelical religious inquiry,
If lllJny of the parents of David Duncan's young admirers had,
under Gurneyite influence, thought of the Bible as a single, if
heavily fortified, line of defence against lin belief, agnosticism and
despair, their sons and daughters learned at the Institute that they
had a solid spiritual position to fall back upon, Where Scripture
proved inadequate, obscure, or frankly unbelievable, they could
take up the writings of either early Friends or modern theologians
~-I Kirk Willi-, 'The Introduction .mei Critical Reception ofHcgrlull Thouuhr JIl Uriuin,
1~3o-l()OO', j'i((tlridll Srlldies 32/1 (Autumn I<)HX), H7, tj4-). Also "ee, Terry C, Harris,
'M,ltthl'\\" Arnold. Bishop Joseph Burlcr. .md the Found.mon ofRcli~iom FJIth', ibid. 31/2
22..-5 .md
(Winter 1i).'\H), I,sV-20H, For the impact of 'modern thought' on mid- Victorian Friends, ..,ee
Jqchci, 1 "i((011,1II Quakers, 2<)-43 and 'FrOIl1 Stet to I)Cl10111inatl01l Among English Quakers".
in Pattern, (!f Sawril111lSIIJ, edited by Bryan R. \Xlilsol1 (London 1 <j()7) , r 74-()
2~ For all e xprcsvion of the view rhar re.ison was 'the highest talent we possess' and the
means by' which humanity' could put the world to rights, sec letter from 'Philotheorus to
"1'1', Sept. 18('1, 2J(j-7.
 S6 British Qllakerism 1860- 1 92 0
Spiritual Rebellion 57
to find their way. Like old-fashioned Quakers, these young liberals
Friends' Institute. One such flutter occurred at the end of 1862
generally had a strong affinity for the writings of early Friends,
when the Institute's library committee approved, in the [ICe of the
particularly those passages from Barclay's Apo"~I!Y that emphasized
'urgent remonstrances of many well-concerned Friends', the pur­
the saving power of the Inward Light rather than the absolute
chase of books 'of a very hurtful tendency', including Bishop J. W.
authority of Scripture. Unlike conservatives, however, thcv were
Colcnsos commentaries on the books of the Pentateuch, which
also willing to consider modern ideas as a means of treeing them
had caused him to be excommunicated by his superior in South
from what many felt was a stifling atmosphere of ignorance and
fear. 21. Africa. Supporters of this library expansion later called it a victory
for both democratic procedure and tree enquiry since 'it may be
Still, while events would show that some of the mature leaders
t:lirly concluded that the liberal views with which the Institute has
of this simmering spiritual rebellion were tending toward Unitar­
been carried on from its connucnccmcnt have been those of the
ianism or even some sort of vague theism, tcw of the earnest young
generality of its members ... ' Perhaps this was so, but the liberal
'progressive' Manchester Friends harboured any desire to leave the
triumph also had a Pyrrhic quality for it was won at the cost of
comfortable confines of Quakerism; they only wished that their
resignation by three dissenting members of the Institute's Ccncral
religious Society, in keeping with what they perceived to be its
Ccumnittcc , including its president. 2,~
original historical practice, would open itself to tree cuquirv and
A letter of resignation frorn one of the three, James Hodgkinson,
loosen the bounds of doctrinal restraint. No great concessions were
.m elder of Mount Street Meeting, survives among the Minutes of
ncrcssarv to keep the overwhelming majority of callow M;lIlches­
IIardshaw East Monthly Meeting and provides a somewhat differ­
tcr liberals in unity with Friends.
ent perspective on the growing division. For while Hodgkinson
Compromise was, indeed, at hand. One Quaker scholar has
admitted that he could not agree with the policy of simply pur­
identified a group of weighty moderates who were working,
chasing 'allY book ... which is not decidedly im1l10r;11 or a well
largely tr orn within the evangelical fold, to modify more extreme
known novel', a more couipc lling motive for his resignation was
views regarding absolute biblical inerrancy or the propitiatory
the tact that his 'feelings were very much wounded by the remarks
Atonement as a blood sacritlce to appease an angry Cod. 2 7 Unfor­
made on the friends who happened to take a different view from
tunately, these moderates revealed themsdves too late and too
some of the speakers ... I suppose I am one of those alluded to who
timidly to stave off serious upheaval in Manchester. By the time
tries to get through this world in an e;lSY way anxious for nothing
the Friends' Quarterly Examiner was established in U\(i7, partly as a
except getting money, and not fit to judge of what is suitable for
medium to propagate a middle-of-the-road version of modern
the young friends of the present day. '2')
Quakerism, the trouble at Mount Street Meeting had taken a
Other evangelicals protested that books which questioned the
f..1teful turn toward open confrontarion When that contest was
literal truth of Scripture, Old or New Testament, should not be
joined, few, if any, of the moderate f..1ction chose to align them­
conveniently placed to test the faith of young Friends. There was
selves openly with the sort of modernism and liberty demanded by
also a more personal, human reason behind their growing distaste
David Duncan and his friends.
for the situation at the Friends' Institute. Historically, many cham­
However reflective of deep-seated differences among Manches­
pions of libcrry have been demonstrably more devoted to the ideal
ter Friends, the public controversy over David Duncan's defence of
of humane learning than to the sensibilities of individual human
Essays and Revicu« was short-lived. During the next few years only
beings. Perhaps it was the half-arrogant pride of righteous youth
an occasional ripple disturbed the apparent calm at Manchester

sr, Ivichci, ["iClon·all Qllakas, 30, J 5-(); Plln~hol1, Portrait ill (;rq', 212-3; and St-ott.
" Cooper, Cri,'I,', 2-.1 and ;\11',I, 1\ Dec. I~71, 7-~. For Bishop Colcnso, sec Pc'rer

'Authority and Experience'. 7'I-~0. Hinchcliff,I'}1I1 Wl/llilllI CO/fIlSO (London 1<)6 .. ), especially chap. ).
:!.--; Edwin Bronner, 'Moderates in London Yearly MeetIng, TX57-I~7J: Precursors of
av Jamc's Hodgkinson 10 John Hargrave, 2 .. Feb. I S6.1, Mill Illes, Hardshaw East Monthly

(2uaker Liberals'. Church Hisl"ry, W/.1 (Scptember I<)'JO) • .15('-71. Meeting, (hereinafter Minute», HEMM, with date). M ~)/('/)/6. Manchester City Library
(Mel).
 58 British Oualeerism 1860-1920
that contributed, as much as any doctrinal difference, to the grow­
ing distance between the t1Ctions in Manchester. There is con­
siderable evidence that David Duncan, for one, was not only
earnest and outspoken but also prideful and self-assured, A Man­
chester Friend who was largely in sympathy with Duncan's views
noted in J R()4 her uneasiness with the tact that he had on occasion
boasted 'that no one dared to take him to task'. JO
In any case, David Duncan felt that Friends had nothing to fear
from the revelations of any biblical scholar, critical or otherwise.
With other modernist thinkers, Duncan had discovered the
entrancing concept of 'progressive revelation'. Truth, he said,
was eternal and immutable, but God's revelation of that truth to
finite human minds was gradual, As humanity came to understand
more about the nature of the world, so could they more clearly
discern the nature of God's truth. ThLlS, he concluded, a practical,
ethical faith based upon the ever expanding understanding of God's
will must replace narrow doctrines and fC)f]llUlaS devised in times
when the Divine message was less clcar.:' J Duncan took pains to
emphasize this position in J lecture at the Friends' Institute in [8(l3,
subsequently published as Call all OlltlJlard Revelation he Pcricct? He
obviously chose the title to contrast the outward authority of
Scripture with what he perceived to be the more fundamental
principle of the Inward Light: 'The Bible as a whole is a revelation
of the Divine Will ... It is an unveiling of that mystery which has
puzzled and distracted the highest minds; and like the unveiling of
the laws of the natural world, it has be ell adapted to the wants and
necessities of men. The revelation has therefore been gradual and
. '~2
progrcssivc ..
Duncan's views may have been broad-minded, but his style
seemed deliberately provocative. True believers in Divine good­
ness, Duncan said, would embrace those biblical 'principles which
accord with the teachings ofJesus ... undisturbed by the ignorance
and cowardice of those who dare not doubt the letter, because they
have not known the spirit'. The posture taken by 'so-called
"Evangclical " Friends' was, he believed, 'fatal to all spiritual life
\0 Mary Hodgson to Ehzabcth I(;reen). ] March 1 H6+, Port. A 5H. LSF.
.1 r For discussion of this viewpoint sec Isichci, Vinorian Quakers, 33-4-: Punshon, Portrait
in Grey, 212-3 and Brayshaw. The Qllakers. 25 6 - ] .
David Duncan, Catl all Cn.tward Revelation be Perferr? Rrticaion» ['P(l// rill' Claim (~(
Biblica! Illra/lih/lity (znd edll., London 18]1. I5t cdn. 18(3). 23.
Spiritual Rebel/ioll 59
and all faith in God and truth'. 33 Quakers who upheld such narrow
views were 'moving Heaven and Earth to resist the march of
intelligence, which is substituting for a traditional belief, a living
faith rich in results for the future.' 'Are we right', Duncan asked,
'in striving to reduce faith in God to faith in a book?' What was
needed, he answered, was a new reformation marked by 'the
abolition of any authority short of God, as He reveals himself to
the spirit of the individual. This is the only practice worthy of the
name of faith. 'H
Again, if Duncan's blunt and sweeping denunciation of the
evangelical spirit was calculated to draw out his antagonists, Can
an Outward Revelation Be [Je':!(YI? was a failure. The speech elicited no
open response, even in Mount Street Meeting. Perhaps, this silence
reflected the hope of cautious Friends, evangelical and otherwise,
that Duncan's self-induced theological storm would blow over
without serio LIS damage.-n Still, as one concerned Manchester evan­
gelical noted: 'the Committee of the Institute found themselves
... unable to prevent the evil which gradually, but with certain
steps, advanced its sway, largely influencing the religious opinions
of many of our members, especially those of the younger class.'3(>
By IBM the 'sceptical opinions' increasingly expressed by
younger Friends during the discussions that followed Institute
lectures (most of them on non-religious topicsr'" caused some
members to make a backhanded attempt to ban all lectures at the
Institute during the following year. When this minority effort was
overturned at a subsequent meeting, a somewhat larger group,
including all but one of the ministers, ciders, and overseers at
Mount Street advertised their desire 'to promote the harmonious
working of the Institute', by prohibiting 'verbal discussion of
Biblical or theological questions' following lectures. After this
H
proposition was also defeated by a 'considerable majority' ,3
" Ibid.~. 2 5 . " Ibid. L(. 2 5 . " Wilson, ?vla/l(iJcsfe'," 39·
1(' Couper, Crisis, 2.
.n Jl)seph B. Forster's analysis of the content of 13 I lectures presented at the Institute
between I ~ 58 and I H69 indicated that ;I hundred of the-e were 'neutral', twenty could be
classified as t'vongelical and only eleven as heterodox or 'unsound' by orthodox evangelical
standards. Forster lists lecture topics as follows: Science 28, Religion 15, Politics 13,
Ultl(,'Taphy 12, History I I. Travel 10, Literature 9. Bible], Poetry 5, Reading 5. Art 5· Sec
1. B. Forster, 'Memoranda ... " MS Box 9Ji (2), LSF and MF. 1/ I. 15 Dec. 18]1, H.
. J' Apparently. the Friend, Manche'ter Institute dill not follow the usual Quaker practice
of detenllining a sense of (he lneeting without taking J vote.
 60 British Qllakerism 1860-1920
Charles Thompson, in the Hush of triumph, proclaimed that 'the
religious teachings at this Institute were of decidedly more value
than what we heard over the way,' i.e., at Mount Street 1\1eeting. 3 'l
Following this incident, ministers and ciders from Mount Street
ceased to attend lectures at the Institute. Whether that was because
they were, as Charles Thompson believed, 'almost isolated' in the
Monthly Meeting or because they could no longer countenance
the scent of apostasy in the Institute's proceedings, the division
grew apace and could scarcely remain simply a local conccru.!"
In the eyes of Manchester Meeting's evangelical leaders, the
provocations of the Duncanircs continued unabated. In April 1116 7
Joseph B. Forster, with clear reference to recent attempts to limit
free expression at the Institute, lectured 'On Liberty'. Picking up
the threads of David Duncan's previous address on 'Outward Reve­
lation', Forster stated that 'liberty of thought and Bih!c I/lor.'!lIp' could
not co-exist in the religion of George Fox and Robert Barclav. The
'true children of the Early Quakers', Forster argued, were men like
Colcnso and the authors of Essays and Repicll's who understood that
the only way to grasp the filII realization of God's progressive
revelations was III an atmosphere of complete liberty of thought.
Only by re-establishing 'absolute freedom within the borders of the
Society of Friends', Forster said, could Quakers again become what
early Friends !J;lLJ been, 'the reconcilers of Religion with the
advancement of Man in Knowledge of every kind '." I
In this instance, the Manchester liberals did not go unanswered.
Fielden Thorp (11132-[921), an evangelical minister educated at
University College, London and eventually headmaster of
Boorham school in York, published a stinging rebuke to Forster's
'On Liberty' in the l-riciids Qllarter!y Examiner, accusing Forster,
'and those who think with him', of'promulgating substantially the
same doctrines as those preached by the originator of the Hicksitc
schism ... ' which were a 'fertile source of doubt and scepticism'.
Thorp believed that the liberty advocated by the Manchester
dissidents was 'the liberty of impugning the fundamental truths of
1') J. 13. Forster, 'MC1110rand,1 . . " lv1S Box l). () (2); Letter to the Sccrctarv of the Friends
l nstitun-, n.d. [IXMI. HEMM. M S51(,/516. MeL; and .\IF. III 15 ])ec. 1X71. S Also sec
Wrkou, Manchester ]lJ-40 and Cooper, Crisis, 3
.0 J. B. Forster, "Mcmor.mda . '. MS Box <). 6 (2). LSF and Cooper, Crisis. 3
..j .l Joseph H. Forster, ()/I Lihrrtv: /111 ..4ridrcss to the i\1clIlbers (~frhc St}(fl'ty 1:(FriCllds (London
1~(17), 23-32 passim. Also see BJ-.: J [an. ,X6<), J()-20 and r Feb. 1X6<) • ...j.k tor a conrinu.ni.,»
of (he dispute about the views of carll' Friends.
Spirit[w! Rehellioll 61
Christianitv ... .' There could be, he said, 'no safe standing ground
between the plain old Gospel as preached by the Apostles and the
wildest speculations of mystical Deism. If we forego our simple
Bible faith, we mav ulrimatclv find ourselves reduced to universal
scepticism. '42 ' '
Another attack on J. B. Forster was c.trriod into the very citadel
of the rebellious modernists. In January 111611, Thomas Hodgkin
(1113 1- 1( 13), a lawyer and banker who would earn an international
reputation as the historian of Ita!y asu! Her Invaders, delivered a
paper at the Friends' Institute directly challenging Forster's insist­
ence on absolute liberty of expression. According to one sympa­
thetic observer, the burden of Hodgkin's remarks was to illustrate
why every religious body. however tolerant, must 'insist upon its
members not openly proclaiming and propagating views 011 csscutia!
I,o/llts opposed to its wcl] known Principles and Doctrines'.4\
Upon completion of his remarks, Hodgkin was shocked by the
storm of indignant protest that ensued. David Duncan led
the charge, noting that if Hodgkin's view of csscutia! included the
same 'over-strained estimate' of scriptural authority insisted upon
'by tlie Evangelical party,' then he could only respectfully disagree
tor 'as to many things the Scripturcs tell us, it is ill/possihle they can
command our assent'. Gcorge Fox himself, Duncan said, 'did not
hesitate to denounce the high pretensions claimed for the Scrip­
tures as an authority and commLllIication direct from God'. Whcn
,\11 elderly Friend in the audience questioned the accuracy of
Duncan's remarks, he struck back vehemently at what he termed
an attempt to 'sit 111 judgment on ... [my 1 conscience ... You need
not wonder at your low condition as a Church,' Duncan con­
cluded, 'so long as you have amongst you a man with an ill­
educated and illogical mind, professing to preach the glorious
gospc I. '44
~ ~ Fielden Thorp, .'~ Rcr'iclI'(:(,/ Lcaur: 011 Libert}" (London I Sen), ()-7, I()_. 17. 1<). Edwm
Iirouncr lists Thorp among the 'less active Moderates' 111 London Yc.irlv Mccting, noting:
'I-Ie bL'C,lllll' more nioder.irc as he grew older.' Bronner. 'Moderates'. 9·
I' Cooper, Crisis. 4 itJlirs in origillJl and]. 6. Forster. 'Mcrnorauda . .. ' MS UOX (j.C> (2),
LSF. Edw.ird MIllig:111 hdievc~ this ;lJdrcss WdS distincrlv out of character for Thomas
Hodgkin, who was later J leader of progressive QUdker opinion, JIH.i more til keeping
with the VIew, of Hodgklll 's f:Hhcr John, a strong evangelical. Hut also see Hope Hcwrson,
'''Human Progres- and the Inward Light.... JHFS. 56/2 (1<)<)1), IJ.\ for an earlier article by
Thom.is Hodgkin attacking one of the author- of Essays and Reviews.
-14 Cooper, CriSIS, 4-),
 62 British Quakerism 1860-1920
The 'most significant and painful' circumstance of this incident,
said the scandalized observer, was the fact that the young men who
were present overwhelmingly supported Duncan's intemperate
outburst. One of them even went so far as to say that while the
speaker's remarks might have been acceptable twenty-five years
earlier, the influence of the Institute had changed Manchester
Friends and they would never again go backwards despite the
unenlightened views of certain evangelical ministers.
This 'censorious criticism of the Ministry ... quite unparalleled
at any fanner period' took place in the wake of still another
confrontation between liberal youth and elderly authority. John
B. Edmondson (I K3 I-K7), a Friend of some standing in Manches­
ter Meeting (he was both an overseer and assistant clerk of Hard­
shaw East Monthly Meeting), 45 had, in private conversation with
an elder, revealed doubts concerning biblical miracles because he
did not believe God would contravene the laws of nature to per­
form magic tricks. This elder, upon hearing such an unsound
exposition, attempted to block Edmondson's reappointment as
assistant clerk. But despite the elder's assertion of 'heresy in an
office-holder', Edmondson was reappointed. 4 ('
In the midst of these struggles and travails, George Satterthwaite
(I K22--<) I), a minister, formerly in Hardshaw East Monthly Meet­
ing, wrote to Thomas Hodgkin's fathcr.Tohn (IKoo-75) deploring
'the state of things in Manchester ... Both in and out of meeting. I
could not', Satterthwaite noted, 'but be aware of a spirit of oppos­
ition, criticism andfree tliinleino;' obviously reflecting 'the extreme
views of D. Duncan & his friends'. This faction, he said, was
rapidly gaining influence and even threatening dominance at
Mount Street: 'I cannot but state how deeply I feel the existence
and spread of this hercsv], I for I can call it nothing else nO1/! . . . This
is a sad state of things & I trust in some shape the Quarterly
Meeting must take it up. '47
Even as Satterthwaite was writing, a Minute reached Lancashire
and Cheshire Quarterly Meeting asking that it appoint a commit­
.' Ml, I/J 15 Feb. IH7 2. 41-2: Cooper. Crisis 74: and Wilson . .Halldll'Sfl·r. 40. Accord­
ing to E. H. Hankin, 'The Mental Ability of the Quakers.' Stienc« Proorcss, 16 (11)21-22),
6S<;,J, B. Edmundson's father 'devised the present IIY20S] effective system of r.ulvc.iv tickets,
and likt.:"wise invented the machine ... for starnping them.
4(' MF, I/J, I I Feb. I H72, 41-2: Cooper, Crisis H-<;; and George Satterthwaite to Jolin
Hodgkin, I j Jan. IH68, Port. C. IJ6, lSF.
47 George Satterthwaite to John Hodgkin, I J Jan. I H6H. Emphasis in origina],
Spiritual Rebellion 63
tee to visit Manchester to assist 'in a case of difficulty'. Several of
those attending Quarterly Meeting, including John Bright, 'strenu­
ously resisted' this proposal. Bright warned that 'the consequences
would be most disastrous, the unity of the Society would be
broken, its manhood discouraged, its youth disgusted and deadly
wounds inflicted, which years would not suffice to heal'. 4
X
The famous orator's plea notwithstanding, a committee of vis­
itors was appointed 'to render such assistance as may seem to be
required'. Its seven members, not all strong evangelicals,"? began
regular attendance at the proceedings of Hardshaw East Monthly
Meeting. After observing a series of rancorous meetings for busi­
ness, including an unsuccessful attempt, initiated by the overseers
of Mount Street Meeting, to create a committee to investigate
whether David Duncan was professing 'unsound doctrine', the
Clerk of the QM committee, William Thistlcthwaitc, expressed
the view that 'the Friends of Manchester Meeting have far more to
fear from . , . strifes, , , divisions, , , and disputations, than [rom any
errors ill doctrine': 50
Thistlcrhwaitc's comuicuts were obviously intended to shame
the leaders of Hardshaw East into putting their own house into a
more harmonious condition, but it soon became apparent that his
view of the Manchester situation was seriously disputed, At Lon­
don Yearly Meeting in May I K6K, evangelical Friends accused the
Lancashire Visitors' Committee of failing 'to secure, . , the right
exercise of discipline,' even as 'the poison was spreading' among
the young and innocent. A month later at a gathering of Lancashire
and Cheshire QM, Samuel Jesper, an evangelical member of the
Visiting Committee, asked to be removed from that body because
.' J B. For-rer. 'Memoranda", " MS 11,)" 'J,{' (2), lSI'; Xll , I/J, 15 Feb, I H72, 41-2; and
Cooper, Crisis, l). It i" Hot ck.1r if the requt"tlllg Alillllte was sent by Mount Street Monthly
Meeting or by the Quarterlv Meeting of Ministers and Elders.
{O) ,\til/lfte 7, I{) Jail. !,'-:(IX, .\ll11l1tcs, Lancashire .tllL! Cheshire Quarterly Meeting. LJIlCl­
-,l ure Record ()ttICL' (LRO) lisr, the members of the conunittcc a'> docs Cooper, Crisis. l),
with apparent disapproval. Bronner, 'Moderates', name- two ofits members, W. E. Turner
and William Thistlethwaire , in his list of infiuenrial moderates.
\0 Cooper. Crisis, 10-14, emphasis in original and. A1I': II3 1 S Feb. I H72, 42-3. A-limite 1.4,
I.J Feb. I XI,H, .\hl/IlIt'S, HEMM, 1Hlll-I N70, Mel records, without note of thanks or regret.
.J. 11. Edmondson's resignation as overseer and Assistant Clerk. MF, 1/ J, 15 Feb. I H72, 42
noted that Edmondson resigned 'for the sake of peace', But peace was an illusive quality in
Manchester Meeting. In March I HI,H after the sense of the meeting was not to appoint ,1
committee to investigate charges of unsoundness against David Duncan, Charles Thompson
stJtcd that the Mallchester'SelectMeeting'ofrninisters, elders, and overseers, was 'an
1I1mlir(\Zated evil', Cooper, Crisis, 13.
 64 British QlIakerislIl 186o-192()
he did not believe its actions were 'calculated ... to check the
growth of unsound doctrine in Manchester Meeting: I am quite
convinced', he continued, 'that Infidelity exists in that large Meet­
illg ... and that the most sacred doctrines of our holy religion are
treated with contemptuous levity.'"
One observer thought that Samuel Jesper's words made a 'very
serious impression' on the Quarterly Meeting, but he was not, in
any case, allowed to be relieved and the Committee continued
with the same divided membership. When the Quarterly Meeting
assembled again a few months later, the Visitors offered a second
report. The substance of their findings W;lS that while some Man­
chester Friends were 'accustomed to exercise considerable freedom
of speech, at times exceeding ... the limitations which a more
watchful spirit would enjoin, nevertheless, it is a satisfution to
believe that no outward breach of Love has occurred.' Friends in
Manchester, the report concluded, 'with one or two exceptions
... claim for their views unity with the religious doctrines as held
by our Society'. ,2
The ;1IJnounn'ment of this decidedly tepid verdict brought
down a chorus of consternation and derision upon the conunittcc.
One evangelical Friend noted that the report provided 'no light
whan-vcr' on the state of Manchester Meeting. The staunch con­
servative William Irwin called the report 'the most delusive doc­
umcnt ... ever ... presented to a [Friends"] meeting'. When a
member of the Committee referred to his words as 'intemperate',
Irwin replied that he W,lS 'prepared to prove ... that at least six
members of Manchester Meeting hold ... unsound opinions' and
that one had only to read till' published works of David Duncan
and J U. Forster to verify the 'truth and soberness' of his words."
Despite these and other attacks, the Committee's Report was
eventually accepted by the Quarterly Meeting, '+ Still, the issue was
clearly unresolved and the presence of unsoundness in Manchester
W;lS rapidly becoming a national concern, Minute: of both the
Quarterly and Hardshaw East Monthly Meetings, mention the
'I The quotations arc from Cooper, Crisis. 15-29 pussin:
,-! Cooper's quotations ill en·sis, 31-4 dirii-r ill prccixe wording bur nor
the QM Milll/II'S, '7 Sepr. IS6~, l&'CQM, lRO.
'.1 Cooper, Crisis, 35, 3S-4 0 .
54 Jbid., 34-40; ,'v!lmi/t'.', '7 Sepr. IS(,H, L&CQM. lRO; and ,II/-: 1/115 Feb. ,,57 2.43.
Spirit1W! Rebellioll 65
presence of the weighty evangelical leader, Joseph Bevan
Braithwaite at their deliberations during the autumn of J X68. 55
AN ANTIDOTE FOR POISON
Early in 186<) Frederick Cooper of Manchester, an evangelical
Friend who had been among the most outspoken critics of the
Quarterly Meeting Committee, privately published a sizeable
pamphlet on 'The Crisis in Manchester'. Cooper described his
tract as an 'account of the rise, progrcss and the development of
Unsound Doctrine in Manchester Meeting' and he included in it
long extracts troi n the writings of David DUIIC!n and J. 13. Forster.
'Before we call reCOVLT the healthy vitality of the Church,' Cooper
said, 'we should understand its disease, .. and then, under the
guilbnce of the Great Physician, such measures mav be taken as
~vil1 result in the curl' its wounds .... "~I, Woun'ds, however,
(i
conic in various forms. Although Friend Cooper claimed to be
seeking a solution to division in Manchester Meeting, it soon
became obvious that Cooper himself was part of the problem.
For while more and more charges of apostasy were being hurled
at the Manchester liberals, with Cooper among the tlJremost
accusers, he himself was becoming implic.ucd in a scandal with
t;lr more serious SOCIal consequellces.
When former fl'male servants in Cooper's household brought
charges of 'gross immorality' against him, these accusations were,
tor some time, either ignored or swept under the carpet by the
leaders of Manchester Meeting. Charles Thompson, whose hostil­
ity toward the leadership of that meeting had already been amply
demomtrated, testified that 'to the last they had done ;111 they could
to stifle enquiry', '7 Cooper was eventually disowned after an
investigation revealed 'several cases of great impropriety', includ­
ing two instances of 'criminal intercourse with young women in
his service', one of whom became pregnant as a result. There seems
to have been no criminal prosecution brought against Frederick
" ,1/i"I/IC 1,17 Sept. ISM, ,IIIJ1J11es, l&CQM, lRO and .\/i",,'e 1, S Oct. IH6S, MIIIIIII'.',
]Jl cuhctancc tr om HEMM. MCL
jl' .\JF~ II 3. '5 Feb. IS7 2, 43 and Cooper, CriSIS, i.
" ,\filiI/II' 9, 11 Dec. IS70. in A1i"IU,"s. HEM,~1, MCl and 'Notes of Interviews with
members of Hardshaw East Monthly Meeting', 4-5, MS 130~ 9·5 (I), 5 lSF.
I
L
 66 British Qllakerism 1860- J92lJ Spiritual Rebellion 67
Cooper, but it seriously rankled the liberal faction that the officers Ecroyd said, was not discipline but rather 'forbearance, kindness
of the meeting seemed more intent on pursuing heresy than on and consideration'. (,0
punishing crime.>"
For the moment, this view, while hotly contested, still prevailed
When London Yearly Meeting assembled in 1869, the Quarterly
and Yearly Meeting took no further action. Still, the discussion
Meeting Committee's controversial report was again subjected to
closed on a somewhat ominous note as Joseph Bevan Braithwaite,
much critical scrutiny. After Samuel Jesper had repeated his con­
a recent visitor to the troubled area, noted that the decision not to
sistent disagreement with his colleagues' conclusions and described
act should 'not be considered a retreat from the foundation of
the situation in Manchester as 'a fearful heresy', others also
the prophets and apostles'. Even more to the point were lines
expressed concern. Prominent among these was Henry Hipsley
from the yearly Ccucra! Epistle, of which Braithwaite was the
(18 I 0- 8 9) of London, a leading evangelical spokesman. When
chief drafter:
persons claiming to be Friends 'openly disseminate heresy in

printed form' on behalf of the Manchester Friends' Institute, Hips­

ley noted, the time tor disciplinary measures had long since
To claim to be a Christian, and to declaim the testimony and the
passed."
authority of Christ JeslIS, either as to the truth declared concerning
Him in the inspired record of Holy Scripture or as to his right to reign
Speaking for the QM Committee, WilliaIll Thistlethwaite

over us, involves an obvious contradiction, We would caution our

asserted that interviews with persons accused of unsoundness had

members against all writings, the tendency of which may be to weaken

revealed no grounds for disciplinary action despite 'some objec­
their allegiance to Christ, to create a discsrccm . , , tor Holy Scripture or in
tionable passages' written a few years earlier. The committee, he
any other way to enfeeble their capacity for engaging in sober earnestness
said, had met with many members of the Friends' Institute and
on the duties of lif;",'>]
cou nselled them against presenting' certain kinds of lectures'. This

advice, Thistlethwaite added, had been 'kindly received and

If indeed J. B. Braithwaite and his allies intended to sound a final

adhered to' and as a result, the committee believed that 'a better

note of warning to the Manchester rebels, their admonitions were

feeling existed' in Manchester. Another committee member, Wil­

unheard or ul~heeded,('2 During the following winter, Mount

liam Ecroyd (I 79()- 1876), a former clerk of Lancnxh, rc and Chesh­

Street Meeting was visited by James Owen, a travelling minister

ire QM, concluded that 'there had been ... a much greater

from Iowa Yearly Meeting, whose preaching of what one critic

amount of apprehension to the prevalence of unsound views than

called 'pure dogmatic theology' upset both liberal and conservative

the facts warranted, and that the young men were generally of

Friends. An ill-advised, though thoroughly Quakerly, attempt to

sound mind and not disaffected towards the Society'. The need,

reconcile differences ended with Owen proclaiming 'he could

,,< Milllll,. 11. '3 Jan, '070. .\1iIlIlll'S ' j ,11111 1.1, I July "~71, .111I1I1/l'S, HEMM, Mel
provides J detailed description of this 'p.nutul enquiry' .ind the l"<lI11l11ittL'l'\ conclu'Ilon
that there had been ';l case D{ seduction of J virtuous young woman' which required thar
Couper he scparntcd {roIlI the Society of Fricnd«. For a dcrrdclv ~),lrti'iJn account of the
l'(}JltrOvefsy over Cooper'..; private lite. ~l'l' .\1J~ 117, 15 June IS72, 102 which ernphavizcd
'the public fceling arrayed against Ministers, Elders, and Overseers ... on aCcount of the
attempt to shield immor.ilirv beClllse the)' fc'ared that its exposure would hJve sCllldaItzed
orthodoxy ... ' ln lanuarv 1"'70 Coopcr resigned from H,-udslu\\' East Monthly f\,·1eeting, hut
his resignatio» was refused pending In investigation by a committee of the MeetIng. Arh-r
another 'painful enquiry', this committee, believing that the charges against Cooper had
been proven, recommended that he be disowned.
.'<J From a slUlll11ary of Yearly Meeting proceedinb'"'S in TF,june IS69, 121~1(). Also ~ee
BF. 3June 1809. 132-39, Henry Hipslev visited l.ancashin- and Cheshire early in I 070 With a
certificate for religious service. A1i,IlIte 3. 20 Jan. 1870, Minutes, L&CQM, LlZO.
have no charity for anyone who did not agree with him.,. on
the miraculous Conception and birth of Christ'. In addition to a
lack of charity, some dissidents also claimed a breach of trust
when notes of the conference, clearly intended to be confidential,
(,n '/J-':june IShy, 121-2.
c, Ibid.u 2(, and LY.If. 10°9,20, In Iulv I 8r,') Caleb Kemp attended Manchester Mcctmg
'under some tt:c'111lg of concern & think we had evidence that I WJS not in any wrong place.
The (lithful there arc much troubled by the prevalence of unsound rc'1igiou'i views obtaining
I
amongst sornc of their tellow members'. C, R. K., Journals'. July 10(19
(,:: In its final report before being discharged, the ever optimistic QM Committee
reported 'that moderation and rightmindedness are more manifest' in Manchester Meeting
than for sometime pa<t. .lfl/llI'<' 7, ,(, Sept. 1869. '\11,,,,,1'.', l&CQM. LRO.
 6H British QuakcrislIl 1860-1920
were printed and circulated by evangelical members o( the meet­
ing.":'
In the wake of this Ilew upheaval, perhaps partly in response to
it, David Duncan, despite the earlier agreements to avoid contro­
versial subjects, again mounted the rostrum at Manchester Friends'
Institute to present an address on 'National Life'. Duncan's lecture
revealed, among other things, his republicanism (monarchy and
royalty, he said, were 'quite irreconcilable with an advanced rule of
reason'), his social radicalism (there could 'be no national life
worthy of the name until the nation ... means the body of the
people, until simplicity of lifl' enables the workers to take their
ground according to their qualifications, and not according to their
wealth') and his irreverent free-thinking (,Obsolete dogmas will be
swept aside and the bigots, who arc at present prejudicing the
claims of rational religion, will possibly live to admit their fllily.
in the demolition of the whole structure ... ') .('4
One critic, reviewing Duuruu'x lecture in The Friclld, noted that
his views seemed 'calculated to repel' r.uhcr than convincr ,"
When Loudon Yearly Meeting met in May I H70, it quickly
became obvious that I)ullcan 's pronouncements would !JO longer
be ignored. After receiving a minute trom Lancashire .md Cheshire
Quarterly Meeting pleading for assistance in dealing with 'the untnt
of/()1JC' among Manchester Friends, Yearly Meeting Clerk Joseph
Storrs Fry (I H26-1l) I 3) expressed the sense of the Meeting that, in
view of' the gravity of the situation, immediate' steps should be
taken for the appointment of "suitable Friends to visit the Quarterly
Meeting ... ' At the suggestion of the venerable Josiah Forster,
responsibility fllr the nomination of this committee was given
over to the Epistle Committee of which he was himself a member.
This decidedly evangelical body was increasingly dominated by
Forster's protc'gc J. B. Braithwaite, soon to become the Hammer of
Unsound Manchester Friends. M>
,., 20Jm. ,S70, .11i/UIICS, L&CqM. LRO; .\tI·. JI(J, 15 May IS72, SS-<); .md
.11uUIlC I,
Wl!sOIl, i\L11IdW'ilcr. 41.J. B. Forster, tl)[ onr, believed th.it the printmg of these nou:-, \\,h
perfectly <.lcccptable Jl11.1 ill keeping with the prinrrplcs of {rcc speech .ind L'J)l]lllry he
espoused. See J. U. Forster, .\11'1110',1/1</,1. ., MS. Box <).6 (2), LSF.
('-I David ])UI1("m, Nationn! Lilt' (London 1870), lj. ]), 2J.
c, Review of 'National Lite', IF, I July I S70, '70.... r .
"" I.YAf,H7 0 , 16; Harrison Pennev, 'Account otYe.rr!v Meeting, ]S7C), MS Iio x I' lis.
I Sf'; TI; 2 June I H70, ] 2(l; and ;\[J~ 1110, ] 5 Sept. I S72, 152.
Spiritual Rebellion 6l)
Lawyer, linguist, biblical scholar. minister, J. B. Braithwaite has
been variously described as a sort of' "Quaker Bishop" keeping the
Society sound in doctrine' and as 'the towering Friend in the
evangelical stream and indeed in the Society itself' for over hair a
century."? Not surprisingly, Braithwaite was named on the Com­
mittee to visit Lancashire as were Joseph Storrs Fry and fifteen
others, a dozen of whom were also mcrn hers of the appointing
body.6s Ignoring vigorous protests and warnings about the Com­
mittee's possibly disruptive influence, J. B. Braithwaite's 'Journal'
recalled the Yearly Meeting as 'a tunc of renewed exercise and
helping' during which he had been 'much .iwurc the Lord's or
directing hand,.r,,)
Therl' were, however, some Friends who believed that some­
thing besides till' hand of the Lord was at work. One of the most
arrcsnng tracts to appear during this crucial stage of the Manchester
difficulty \\;IS TIIOI/,e,llls 01/ the Toleration or Important Differcllccs or
Upillioll ill the Saine Re/(IZiol/s COllllllllllity . . . Its author, adopting the
110111 de pillllle 'Trust-to-Truth', warned the Yearly Meeting Com­
mittee against confusing 'the correctness or soundness or certain
religious opinions, and the justice or wisdom of forcibly repres­
sing ... those who published the sentiments in question". The
matter of doctrinal soundness, he said, was not so uncomplicated
as some Friends apparently thought; Quakerism lacked a written
credo and thus any consensus as to what was sound. He reminded
readers that thirty-five years earlier the visitation of a similar
committee to Hardshaw East Meeting had resulted in the silencing
and subsequent withdrawal of Isaac Crewdson and his Bcacouitc
followers because they rejected the writings of early Friends and
70
would accept ollly the authority of the Bible. Some of David
"7 A. T. Alexander, 'Yearly Meeting Attcndcrs-e-Famihar Pcrvoualiuc ,jFJ-IS, :'7 (I 'J30),
I ~-(J Jnd Wilsoll, .\f(lIIc1l{'_"fCr, 42.
"r,:-~ '1'1:, 2 JUIll' 1:-\70, 126; .\lL 1/10, I) Sept. [:\72, 1:\2; .1I1d \Vilsoll, :\ftllldlt'\!l'r4 1- 3
()() Jo.;,eph l Icv.ui Hr.uthvvair e . '[ourn.il.. and Commcntancv' (hcrein.lftl'r J. B. B., Jour­
n.ilv, with date). [S(J)-7(J, 2] JUl1C IX70, 153, LSF. Braithwaite glVl"< till' Tl.lI11eS of som«
Comnuttee mcmber«: ,I fuller hut in.-omplcrc list i... given in ..l letter (rom (:. 13rightwell
Rl)\\,utrce to John Nickalls. 26 Aug. 1<)34, MS Box <).1 (2), LSF. Also sec, Mi"'/fc 1, 16JUI1l'
IS70, .111111111'<, L &CQM, LRO and U'M, IS70. 16.
In September and November I ~70, "I11c l:riclld publi~hed J scril's uf .irtirk-s 011 the
'13C.Il"0I1 Controvcrsy and the Yc.irly Meermg Committec of IH35-i, by' Ed\vard Ash,
M. 1)" the l.ict surviving mrmbcr of that Committee. Ash took the povinun tint he and the
other rornmittce members had been mistaken 11l (heir treatment of ls<lac Crewdsou bcc.iu«:
'the nature and st.ue of the ca-;e \\'a~ not surh as to Justif)' either the Committee in sugge"ting,
 70 British Quakerism 1860-1920
Duncan's severest critics, noted Trust-to-Truth, were as extreme
in their dismissal of early Friends as the Beaconitcs had been. 'If
anyone merits discipline,' he declared, 'it would manifi-stlv be the
EvangelicJ1 or Calvinist party;' yet no committee had set about
investigJting them. Nor did Trust-to-Truth advocate that one be
established. The important point, he said, was that the Society had
suffered so grievously from 'this easy cry of unsoundness that it
ought to be scrupulously careful how It employs ... ~1 weapon so
unfair, yet so frequently and effectively used, simply bccausc it is so
easy to wield"."
When the Yearly Meeting Committee gathered at Manchester
in mid-August I H70 to comrncnrc its deliberations, there were no
signs that its members had heard Trust-to-Truth's admonition.
Under the guiding hand of) B. Braithwaite, they decided that
because of their 'confidence in one another' they would forgo the
usual practice of conferring with cI representative group from the
Monthly Meeting as to how they should proceed. Thus, they
were, in Braithwaite's words, 'left at liberty to pursue our own
course'. Some dissidents, however, believed that the effect of the
Committee's decision had been 'to declare martial law .nnongst
Friends ... and set at nought the securities provided in the Book of
Discipline against religious persccu tion'. 72
The Committee proceeded with its charge to c1ssist Hardshaw
East Monthly Meeting by interviewing groups and individuals
chosen to represent a cross-section of ideas and opinions within
the Meeting. By j. 13. 13raithwaite's account some of these
exchanges produced powerful manifestations of ' the work of har­
mony', while others were filled with 'a sorrowful want of
harmonv'.":' The Monthly Meetings' elders and overseers were
'full of anxiety', while several of the nearly twenty groups that
waited upon the Committee blamed local difficulties on the fact
that leaders of the Meeting 'gave no room for thinking minds' nor
scope for consultation between members of different generations.
or the Monthly Mcting ill taking, ')0 C\:[[CI11L' .1 COLIr~l' J\that of suspending thl' l'XlT(ISC of
Sc pr. I~70,
hacK Crt'wdson's nunistrv'. Ibid., I 207-1 I .md I Nov, IH70, lj()-7.
7' Tru't-to-Truth, Thouotn, ... (London IS70). 3. 7--<).12. The .iuthor of rhis ,Irtlck h,lS
not been identified.
7' ). B. 13., '[ournals', H} Aug. IS70, I07-R and ,\11; III, 15 Dec IS7I, 2.
" ). B. B., '[ourn.ils. 17 Aug. IR70 [this date i, probably in error as it follows arier entries
tor 1<) Aug.], 170, 174; ,HF, I110, II Sept. IS72, 152-3; and Wilson, Mal/ciles/fT. 44-5.
Spiritual Rebellion 71
As a result, they said, serious discussion of religious subjects were,
by default, carried over into the freer atmosphere of the Friends'
Institute. 7~
One evening the visitors 'met about 35 of our young friends
under 30: some of whom painfully illustrated the spread of Mod­
ernism and sceptical views'. Braithwaite called the meeting 'a very
painful opportunity'. There was a similar encounter with female
Friends, including David Duncan's wife, Sarah Ann, and Maria and
Jane Atkinson, wherein the Committee discovered that not only
was Mrs Duncan in full sympathy with her husband but that the
Atkinsons were openly avowing Unitarian sentiments. J. B. B. was
'deeply pained'.!'
The Committee found J. 13. Edmondson to be 'loving and
tender', but when J. B. Forster was interviewed, he 'boldly stated
his views [sic] ... that each member of X[Christ's] Church was at
liberty to believe what influenced him'. Braithwaite reported that
'on being referred to our Rules, he said that the Society was at
liberty to change its 6ith'7('
The most important conference W:1S with David Duncan him­
self who, Braithwaite noted, received them 'with openings and
candor' but no repentance. The Committee's notes make clear that
while Duncan wished to be conciliatory because 'the position of
Antagonism in which he had been placed ... had been injurious to
his own mind', he would not alter his views nor cease to speak
them when the spirit moved him. Not surprisingly, J. B.
Braithwaite concluded that Duncan's 'views were not those held
by Friends on the authority of Scripture, on the person of Jesus
Christ and on the efficacy of his saving sacrifice' 77
Another member of the Committee, while admitting that many
younger Manchester Friends had given 'Painful evidence' of
'Socianian, or rather Hicksitc beliefs, also noted the widespread
dissatisfaction with 'the alleged incompetence, errors ofjudgement
and partisan conduct of the Friends in official station'. In the end,
however, these many and detailed complaints 'shared by a
Scc 'NotL'S of Interview,", WIth member" of Hardsh.iw EJ~t Mouthlv Meeting', two
-.j.
runs, MS, Box I), ~ (l)-(2). Wilson. .\1l1l/chester, 44-() provides J ,UI11Il1;lry of the nineteen
llleetlIlg" held by the Conunittcc
I~ J.13.13" '[ourn.ils', 17 .md 1<) Aug. IH70, 16H-70, 173 and 'Notes on Inrcrvicws ..
MS 130x ~) (1)-(2), LSF
7(, Ibid. .urd ]. 13.13., 'Journals', 17 Aug. 1~70, 170, 172
-7 Ibid. 172 and 'Charles Fox', notes', 2(, Aug. IH70, MS Box ~.2 (I), LSF
 72 British QuakerislIl 1860-1920
considerable number', most of whom disclaimed any sympathy
with Duncanite views, were ignored in the Committee's official
. . 7~
commum ca nons.
Withal, the: work did not go well. The Committee found some
solace in the 'very powerful ... manifestation ... of harmony'
among' our Curistian friends'?" but could claim little progress in
bringing youthful strays back into the fold. When J. 13. Braithwaite
returned to London III September, he confided to his
'Journal' distress not only with the 'weight of the Manchester
difhcultv' and its effect on the Society but also with 'this sin
stricken, stonntossed world' graphically reflected by war and
upheavals in 'poor desolate France' where the fires of the Com­
munards blazed even as he wrote: 'Keep me Christ for I cannot
keep myself. ,,()
In October several members of the Yearly Meeting Committee
returned to Manchester, conferring again with both Duncan and
Forster as well as representatives of the Monthly Meeting. One of
the latter, expressed the view that David Duncan 's apparent devo­
tion to the young people of the Meeting reflected 'a strong deter­
mination in D. D. to be the conqueror in this meeting'. This, he
said, was more Duncan" object than spreading truth or establishing
liberty: 'H is heat and impetuosity of mind is very painful ... carried
Oil in a loud tone & a very dogmatic manner while objecting to all
J ,K I
uogmJs.
.J. 13. Braithwaite, apparently recovered from his recent
melancholia, called these llleetings 'favoured seasons' which
further convinced him of the need to deal with the crisis by setting
forth 'the Testimony of the Evangelical Brethren [as] to the person
and character of our Lord & Saviour ... ,K2 By mid-January J !\7 l ,
Braithwaite had convinced the Committee that they should pre­
pare a document stating 'our settled concurrence as to Christian
doctrine ... and our determination to uphold it-as a basis of
future action, if such action were called for'. Clearly, then, the
X of the truths of Divine revelation to be willing, in fear of the Lord,
7 'Impression» on rhc SUtc of Manch cstcr Mecrint-: QV J member of the Connuirree'. orh
month I K70. MS 130x ().4. LSF.
7') J. 13. B., Journal" 17 Aug. 1"70,174, itah", added
So Ibid. 3 Sept. I K70, 17'\-(1 and I K Sept. I K70, 177 f.
" 'Iutcrvrew with lo-cph H King', 14 Oct. I K70, MS 130x y.() (I) .ind ] B. 13. 'journal,',
1(, Oct. 1870, IK2-4.
" J. 13. B., 'Journals' 1(, Oct 1870.183-4.
L _
I
Spiritua! Rebellion 73
committee had decided to proffer this 'Declaration' as a test of
soundness or unsoundness rather than make an further attempts to
reconcile the dissidents in Manchester, KJ As the Society of Friends
had never adopted any formal crcdal statement, this was a novel
procedure, but because the Committee had been appointed by
London Yearly Meeting, there was the implication that such a
document, heavily laced with evangelical views and supported by
quotations from the writings of early Friends as well as Scriptural
references, might henceforth be recognized as ~l doctrinal standard
for the entire Society.
The Committee chnractcrizcd its 'Declaration' as setting forth
'some of those fundamental principles of Christian Truth which
have alwavs been professed by our religious Society'. These prin­
ciples included the Trinity, the sintulncss of man as a consequence
of Adam's t.ill, the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit through
./esus Christ (but always separated from both conscience and 'the
natural ftcility of reason '), the acceptance of the Old .md New
Testaments as 'the authentic testimony of the Spirit', an unwaver­
ing allegiance to the Divinity ofJesus Chnst 'whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood ... ' and who
W~lS 'the Shepherd .md Bishop of Souls ... ' And, finally: 'the
revelation of Cod to man, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is given,
not as material for speculation, but to teach us all necessary truth in
regard to our relation with our Creator, and the means whereby
we may become reconciled to Him.'x.~
Prior to the publication of the 'Declaration', the Committee also
circulated an 'Address ... To Hardsh.iw East Monthly Meeting'
which summarized its proceedings to date, noted its discovery in
Manchester of 'opinions freely propagated, tending to throw dis­
credit upon Holy Scripture' and set forth its views on doctrinal
soundness as supported in Christian Doctrine, Practice and Discipline,
recently promulgated (186 I) by London Yearly Meeting. The
'Address' concluded with a hank warning: 'We entreat those
who, from whatever cause, may have relaxed their hold on any
and in a wise distrust of. .. their finite powers, seriously to review
."J Ibid. () .nid 1 I JlIl. I X7]. l X()-S. J. B. B.'s notes on the meeting Df II jJIlU"Uy
litrongly suggelit his decisive influence.
:-,-~ The Deciamtion \VJS reprinted in LY.\l, lX7.:'., 32-4.
74 British QuakerislI1 1860-1920
their position, both as regards themselves and the Christian com­
munity with which they arc connected.'s~
After this sombre address had been printed and circulated, one
correspondent to the British Friend called it 'truly valuahlc and
weighty ... written under the sweet influences of. .. Christian
concern for the spiritual welfare of those Jl110ng whom the Com­
mittee hJS been labouring'. SI, High praise, from the converted, but
apparently without effect on its intended audience. For scarcely
had the ink dried upon the pages of the 'Address' when David
Duncan delivered still auorhcr controversial lecture at the Man­
chester Friends' Institute. On this occasion, his subject WJS 'John
Woolman", the saintly eighteenth-century American Friend and
abolitionist, whose example of courageously living his faith so JS to
cllJnge the moral climate of his time Duncan contrasted WIth 'the
(;odless condition of feeling' of later men who would 'idolize the
New Testament and at the same tiuic ridicule those who endeavor
to carry out its directions and precepts ... ' Such deluded persons,
said Duncan, would do well to learn from John Wooll11an's ex­
ample that
the grL';lt work of litl: is to live ... to make plc,lS,II11 the duties of the part
assigned to us ... the world will displ'llSe with a rcligi on which exists only
as a kind J rampart agaillSt the artillery of the soldiers in the war of human
freedom. Christianity was not Intended as a system of .rbstr.ut
thought ... it never contemplated state intrigues and court c,lbals as
I11L';1l1S of propagating its principles. '''7
Duncan's provocative words brought new letters of concern or
outr.urc to the Yearly Meeting Conuuittce.i" more significantly, it
brought the Committee to a decision to confront him personally
once more and 'if our interview proved unavailing to bring his case
under the notice of the Mol nthly) M[cetin Jg'. ~<)
s) 'Addrc« troi» the Yearly Meeting Comnntrcc to } Lud:·.Iuw East Monthlv J\1cl'ting'
reprinted III ibid., SH-(JI and ill Bl'~ I Marrb 1':';71, ()5-6. Opponent, ofthe Couunirtcc.
actions pointed out rh.ir the Distiplin», Sl) recently rr.invtormcd rcg,HdlIlg speech, drc«.
m.irriagr customs, etc. W,lS always J. 'working paper', never J fixed creed.
K<, Jlohn] Hjodgk in] to Hl'~ April I X71, <)2.
'[ohn 1Fool/1/ull ': A Papevnt tlu: Friends' lnsntutc .\fal/dlcster', 20 )llllJldfY 18i1 (Lon.Ion
,'17
(H), LSF.
Manchester IH71), 1<)--20,2).
" For example, ,,'C Alfred Brayshaw to committee, n.d., MS Box <) 3 (r ). LSF.
Xl) Braithwaite, '[oumalv', 20 April IX?I, 1<)4-5.
T Spiritual Rebel/ion
On I4 April 187 I the Committee again interviewed Duncan,
assuring him of its desire 'to act in a spirit of love ... to restore the
75
harmony of the Meeting on the right foundation'. In light of this,
they hoped that he might in some WJy modify positions he held
which were 'at variance with the recognized views of the Society
of Friends'. Speaking for the Committee, J. 13. Braithwaite noted
especially Duncan's apparent denial of the 'Divine authority of the
Holy Scriptures & the Deity of our Saviour,' sentiments 'incom­
patible with membership in the Society'. ')0
After a long silence, Duncan responded by asking why, when
individuals made accusations against him, the Committee had not
admonished 'those busy bodies' about the moral dangers of ttalc
bearing and detraction'. As tor the Discipline, Duncan stated that
when parts of it ceased to speak to the time, they should be altered.
Why, in Jny case, he asked, should he be charged with departing
from the views of the Society when, for instance, members of
Hitchin Meeting 'read the Scripture in their meeting,' a complete
departure from Jny traditional form of worship practiced by
Friends. The Committee replied that they were not appointed to
consider the case of Hitcliin but to deal with disturbances in
Manchester of which Duncan appeared to be the principle
author.:"
At this point, Duncan came 'under much excitement' declaring
that there should be only public meetings in these matters since it
was a waste of time to hold private conferences with men who
were 'shut up in narrow, sectarian literal views and could not grasp
the scope of the Cos pel'. He had been called an infidel who denied
Christ but his own conscience convicted him of nothing and 'he
would die for what he felt to be truth'. Furthermore, he could not
repress his views, 'for if he attempted it they would ooze out of his
coat tail'. The Committee, he said, was 'blasphemously endeavour­
ing' to drive from the fold all who did not believe precisely as they
did. With that outburst, Duncan stormed out of the room, leaving
the shaken committee to draft: its recommendations to the Monthly
Meeting.:"
"" "Interview with D. Duncan on 6th ,hy 4 Mo. '4lFriday, 14 April .H7'1', MS Box <)·3
,111(.1
Y' Ibid.
y2 Braitbwaite. 'Journals' 20 April IH7', 1'14-) and 'Interview with D. Duncan ... q
April IH7I', MS Box <)3 (H). LSF.
 76 British Qllakerism 1860-1920
Three days later, the Committee brought notice to Hardshaw
East that it had found David Duncan's views at variance with those
of the Society and added that it was prepared to sec the case
through to final resolution. In effect this meant that the Visiting
Committee, having accused Duncan of heresy, was offering to act
on behalf of the Monthly Meeting in determining his guilt or
innocence.":' Thus, an outside investigating body would serve as
the internal judiciary for the local meeting. although no members
of that meeting would partake in its final determination. This
recommendation was 'very flIily deliberated upon' by a badly
divided monthly nleeting. J 13. Braithwaite noted that twenty­
eight opposed the document while thirty-four or thirty-five sup­
ported the committee 'which the Clerk ... pronounced to the
judgment of the Meeting'. What he failed to mention, however,
was that the voices of the Con uuittcc members in attendance had,
in eflt:ct, overborne the m.ijoritv opinion of regubr members of
the Meeting, an innovation not lost upon the Duncanite flction.'N
13efore any action was taken, however, the Committee presented
an interim report to Yearly Meeting stressing that the situation at
Hardshaw East was still claiming the Committee's 'most serious
deliberation and care' with regard to matters 'offund.nncnral Chris­
tian truth' and, therefore. it asked to be allowed to continue its
work. Response to this request mirrored the divisions that the
Manchester difficulty had exposed. Evangelicals praised the Com­
mittee tor upholding 'the great doctrines ... [that] made Friends a
Christian Church' while detractors, inainlv from Manchester,
accused the Visitors of unwarranted interference in the arfairs of a
local meeting. J. B. Forster went so far as to say that the Committee's
unChristian treatment of some Manchester Friends reflected the
unhealthy state of their entire Religious Society. But this protest
availed him nothing. Because 'the tide of confidence in the Com­
mittee ran sharply for an hour or more', its work was continued in
hopes of bringing some final resolution to the Manchester difficulty
which, in J. 13. 13.'s words, 'seethed like a cauldron' .')5
')1 Alillllr" 4, 17 Apn! I ~7 I, ,\11111""-', [IEMM, MCL.
')4 Ml', 1/ 10 I) Sept. I ~72, I )3; George S. Cib,on (tor the Comnntn-e) to J)"\Id Duman ,
I') April IS7I, MS Box ').3 (3), LSI; .ind Hraithwairc. '[ournals, 20 April IS7I, I')).
,), Charles Fox, "Norcs of vrcrt to David Duncan and hi, Cllllily'. I') M"y IS70 [sic]. MS
Box ').1 (I), LSI'; LYM, IS7I, 21-3;J. S. Rowntrc«. 'Account otYcurlv Mecrinp, IS7I, MS
Vol. S 370, LSI' .md TF, S JUlle I S7I, 12.\-(,.
JoIo....
Spiritua! Rebellion 77
Shortly after the close of Yearly Meeting, the cauldron boiled
over, In mid-June J 13, Braithwaite and Robert Alsop informed
the Committee of a new outrage perpetrated by David Duncan
and his followers, It seemed that the Manchester dissidents had
taken a hand in inviting Charles Voysey (IHzH-19JZ). an Anglican
vicar recently deprived of his living for publicly denying, among
other things, eternal punishment for sin and biblical infallibility, to
speak in their city (though not at the Friends lnstitutcj.?" Duncan,
who doubtless saw Voysey as an embattled comrade in the struggle
for free expression, not only chaired the second of two Voyscy
lectures but also hosted a reception in his honour. The lectures,
characterized by one scandalized Manchester Friend :IS 'awfully
profane', were widely reported in the local press which did not
fail to note the prominent role played by Friends, especially Dun­
can and Charles Thompson."? For the Committee, this was the
fInal straw,
THE RECKONIN(;
On 22 June IS7J,J 13.13raithwaite, Isaac Brown (,SOI-7(l) and
Charles Fox (1797--1 S7H), acting for the Committee, wrote to
I)avid I)uncan assuring him of 'feelings of personal regard toward
thyself', but noting with dismay 'a serious aggravation of the
charge now pending agaillSt thee'. Not only had he endorsed the
views of a man widely known to be 'altogether opposed to the
Divine authority of Holy Scripture and the Deity of our Lord', but
he had also invited many people, including young Friends, to meet
with Charles Voyscy in the Duncan home, 'Painful as it is to our
feelings,' the letter concluded, 'it is our duty to inform thee that the
public countenancing of the dissemination of such principles is
altogether ... inconsistent with thy position as a Member of our
religious Society, "is
,," K. Alsop .uid ]. B. B. to Fricndv, 17 J 1I1le IS7 I. MS [lox '). I (I,), LSF. Ior an account of
\'oy"cy\ c.ircc r. sec ]J/(liollt1ry l![ L""\T,lli{)flll! HiogrilJlli)" '{!I'cmifllt CCI/fllry, 1912-1921 (London
/')27), q\-(l. Abo ,ce Edward H. Millig.ui, 'In Reason'< Ear': Some Qu.ikcr and Anglican
l)tTplexitlcs', rQ, 2.1/S (October I')S4), 3S4-')I,.
'r braithwairc, '[oum.ils'. 13 Aug. IS7 I, 1')7-100 .1I1d K. Alsop .md J. B. B. to Friends, 17
June I~7I, MS Box ').1 (IJ), LSF.
", 1',laC Brown, Chas. Fox and J. B. Braithw.iite to David Duncan, 22 June / S71, MS Hox
')..1 (')), LSF.
 78 British Quakerism 1860-1920
Spiritual Rebellion
Because of these new developments, the Committee travelled to
Manchester to meet with Hardshaw East Monthly Meeting a
month earlier than originally planned. There, on [3 July, 'after
full deliberation, during much of which D. D. was present, the
Monthly Meeting came clearly to the judgment to disown him' y~
In reporting this result, The Friend used its editorial columns to
provide full particulars on the case and to deliver a solemn message
to its readers: 'We earnestly hope that any of our members, and
especially those in younger life, who may haw lost their hold on
doctrines of the gospel in their fullness, will be led seriously to
reconsider their position, for it is only by the exercise of true faith
in Christ on the part of the members ... that the Church herself
can be maintained. [00
It seemed that evangelicals had succeeded in making David
Duncan an object lesson on the fate of Friends who failed to
exercise true [lith, but tcw expected the matter to end there.
Within a week of Duncan's disownment, J. U. Forster published
a pamphlet on 'The Society of Friends and Freedom of Thought in
18 7 I' in which he charged that Duncan had been unjustly and
unconstitutionally driven out from Friends 'in order to gratify
resentment or allay fear'. It was, Forster said, bad enough that the
Society no longer permitted liberty of opinion but even worse
'when it adds to the narrowness of its Discipline a disregard of
the provisions made therein tor the protection of its members from
the unjust accusation of passion or fanaticism'. r o i Many in Man­
chester and elsewhere believed, with Forster, that the Yearly Meet­
ing Committee, in its desire to quell what looked to be an incipient
spiritual rebellion, had by-passed normal procedures to ensure that
nothing was left to chance. Thus, after reporting Duncan's
unsoundness to Hardshaw East, the Committee had arranged to
represent the Monthly Meeting in investigating its own accusations
and having verified these charges to its own satisfaction, it had
persuaded Hardshaw East to sustain its recommendation of dis­
ownment. Duncan's supporters asserted that, by so acting, the
Committee had violated the principles of both common decency
and English jurisprudence, charging Duncan with heresy, demand­
ing that he disprove their accusations and, when he refused to co­
Brairhw.nn-, Journals', 13 Aug. ISiI, I <Y)-200.
'J'J lor) TE
"" (Manchester [X71), 10, 26-X.
T
79
operate, using the C.-I: post facto evidence of his appearance at the
Voysey lectures to sustain the original charges. 102
After his disownment, Duncan claimed that while he would not
fight merely for the sake of his own membership, failure to invoke
his right of appeal to Yearly Meeting would mean that 'no Friend's
liberty or membership would be safe'. A prolonged and bitter
contest was anticipated. 10 3
Then, less than a month after his disownment, David Duncan
died suddenly from an attack of 'virulent small pox'. [04 J. B.
Braithwaite immediately wrote to members of the Visitor's Com­
mittee noting that 'it would be a matter of deep regret and pain, if
it were supposed that any of LIS regarded the event with any other
tL'elings than of heartfelt sympathy with those who mourn the loss
of a much loved and valued friend'. But in his 'Journal',
Braithwaite took a rather different stance. The fact that Duncan's
death had resulted in the immediate resignation of eleven of his
supporters and ended the threat of an appeal was, said J. B. B., 'a
marvelous winding up of D. D.'s case ... How wonderful arc the
ways of Providence! Last year he stood in what appeared to be
proud defiance: now laid low in the dust. How clearly may we
trace the Hand that has graciously guided and thus far protected
our little Society from the inroads of a dangerous scepticism ... that
he Himself may have all the praise.'[O)
While Duncan's grief-stricken family and friends were not privy
to J. U. Braithwaite's private jottings, many would not have been
surprised by their tone or sentiments. For Duncan's sudden death
had clearly 'deepened ... the feding that he had been dealt with in
a harsh and vi ndictive spirit'. Claiming that a dogmatic creed had
become the test fix membership, his wife and closest associates
determined to withdraw from the Society while still believing
themselves 'as fully entitled to the name Friends as the Evangelical
,,,' .\/1-: III. IS Dec [57[,2; 117, [sJune IX72. [01-'2; 1/10, IS Sept. 1572, [S.1-4; .ind
II/(j, I) jun« ISiJ, 101.
"'.1 Ibid. 1/10, 1 S Sept. I X72, 1)4.
"'" S[hipk"j Nleave] to J. H. Braithwaite (copy), 7 August I X71. MS 130x ~.] (4), LSF.
ro, J. ll. Braithwaite to Friends [Yearly Meeting Committee]' X August IX71, ibid. and
J. 13.13., 'Journals', I] August IX71, 197,200-1 Cf.J. 13. 13. to Illy dear Cousin [probably
Shipky Ncavc], I I Aug. IX71, MS 130x 9.4 (I), LSF: 'I have tdt the event deeply ... In
looking back, I can see nothing, substantiallv, that we could have done diJferently;-though
very sensible of Iny own short-comings. Thankfuluess clothe'S IllY spirit 111 the sense of the
I Aug. rH71, 1~)J-4. Cllid"l/t/' which has, I think, been graciously afforded from step to step-riot for our sakes, for
that of the c ausc
i.lo..­
 r
80 British QllakerislIl 1860-1920
party, who consider the most characteristic ideas of early Quakers
j
to I:1e uangerous . '
exaggeratlOll ot trut I1 ' . 106
Besides the fourteen who eventually resigned their membership,
there was another group of forty-two Manchester Friends, who,
while not wishing to leave the Society, signed a letter of 'unquali­
ficd protest' against the 'irregular, hasty and arbitrary' handling of
Duncan's case. They expressed the hope that their protest would
bring to a halt 'the attempt to fix a doctrinal standard of orthodoxy
amongst us and so avert the calamity of further strife and ultimate
dispersion'. I °7
One of the Friends who signed this protest was Mary Jane
Hodgson, an artist and poet. whose brother Joseph Spence Hodg­
son was a prominent member of the Friends' Institute and a close
friend to I )avid I)uncall. The letters of this thouuhtful conservative
Friend provide a candid and heartfelt response to the tragedy that
had befallen her religious conuuunity. She recounted to a friend
that Sarah Ann Duncan, who had been 'out of her mind since
sometime after the funeral' , had received many letters of syuipathy,
some even from men on the Yearly Meeting Committee who
'wrote very kindly'. But J. 13. Hraithwaitc. she said, had written
'coldly, more so than any. He is considered very hard and lawyer­
like by many here'. Mary Hodgson deeply resented what she felt to
be Braithwaite's 'special pleading to get D. D. disowned'. Out­
siders, she said, were 'amazed at Friends scnding persons to
override a meeting to which they do not belong ... like the
Pope excommunicating Dr. Dollinger for not believing in his
"infallibiiity" '. lOS
Hodgson added that while she and ;111 her t.uuilv thoroughly
dis.ipprovcd of the Committee's actions, they would not resign
from Friends. 'We arc bOI"/1 members and consider our rights equal
to those of any in the society on that ground.' But if the Hodgsons
would not leave the fold, they found little peace within it.
I()I, .\11-', I I I . I.~ Dec. IS71. 2 <wei II/(), liJlII1l' IS7], 101 l)fthc rwclve n tcmber-, otth«
mcct inj; who initially subrmrtcd their rL'~lgllatlOJh, thl' otri.cer~ of f Iardsha«: [.b( tv1ol1(hly
rV1t'L'ting Jcceptcd eleven without au CXprL'~;\lOll of regret: Sarah Ann DUllcan';, n..' sigllJtioll
was held ill Jht'Y~lIll'C and rhcn quittly .1Cctptcd. Two others subsequently rcsiglKd For rhc
complete list of names sec .\fil/lile I, 10 AUf(. I S7I, 70, 73, S2 & SS, Minute», HfMM. Mel.
.md 13rJithwJi(c, ']OU[JLJ!S', 13 Aug. 1,s71, I ~n-H and 20 Sept. 1,s71, 2 I4.. Aho sec .\IE 11/(1,
IS Junc IS73, 101.
"'7 Ml~ II I(l, IS June I S73, 101- 2.
lOS Marv Hodgson to Elizabeth Green. 12 Aug_ 1,s71, Port. 5Y. LSF.
Spiritual Rebellion 81
We ... conSider that the whole Society of Friends ... has forsaken the
Ellth of Its forctathcrs ... and gone oyer to other Dissenters .... There
IS no questIon that the Society is narrowing itself to a creed ... it is
Impossible for me to express to thee what a cruel thmg I feel this to be
.md how little hope there is that such action wi]! ever draw us nearer
together or tum the hearts of the chIldren to the fathers .... I fi..'el that if I
went to J. B. Hraithw.ut« ... with a statement ... of some theological
tenets, I should hc told that my notions were 'inconsistent' with my
pmltlon ,IS a member, but that if I went to Christ ... he, the greatl'st
hcrcnr of his time. would welcome me to his society, and not excom­
municate me for what is, after, all but a lu-nd mattcr. .. Oh, that our
prc.uhcr-. woukl leave orf h.irpmg on dortrin.il hl'ad matters .md speak to
the heart &. soul-I feel no s.iristaction in these outward nedenda ... the
hl'st worship seems to be striving after duty, poorly .iud weakly as one
-trivcv, and the best peKe ,1 little quiet alone with Cod where outward
thIngs are but hindering ones. 10')
Mary Hodgson's distraught plea sounded in stark contrast to
Joseph Bevan Braithwaite's triumphant tones ill cclcbr.rtnu; the
victory of righteousness over heresy. From the perspective of
1:-17 1 , it would be difficult to image any other prospect than of
stern evangelicalism marching from victory to victory until the
Society of Friends had 'become submerged ill the rising tide of
"E v.rugclic.rl" sentiment'. Indeed, within two years of Duncan's
death, Edward T. Bennett (183 (-(<j08), after an unsuccessful
appeal to Yearly Meeting in 1873, was, like David Duncan.
expelled from the Society of Friends tor supporting views of the
infamous Charles Voyscy 'which were entirely opposed to the
Divinity of Christ and to the doctrine of His atonement'. Caleb
Kemp found it 'a painful affair', but J. B. Braithwaite recorded his
'humble thanksgiving' that the disposition of Bennett's else had
provided 'a decisive testimony against the promulgation of Voy­
seyism'.llo Another witness to Bennett's disownment also believed
it to he 'a memorable event in the history of ... Friends', not as a
victory over heresy but 'as a blunder we should be glad, were it
possible, to efface from our history'. If the expelling of Edward
lbrd., 12 Augmt and IS Nov. I ~7', Port. A W /'{ 60, LSF.
"0 c:R. K., '[ourn.rls'. IV. 2 Feb I~73; .\1[-~ "IS, IS Aug. IS73. uS; and J. U. B.,
·Journal,. 22June IS73. 223. Als» sec L}'At. IS73, 3-7; .\fF, Il/l. ISJ,lI1. ISn, 2, II 1(" 15
Ju"e IS73, lI2-~ and Il/~. IS Aug. IS73, 127--<); and Milligan, '''(n Reason'« Ear"'.
3V3-~·
82 British QlIakerislII 1860-1 920
Trusted B en n ett w as indeed m istaken , th e mis tak e w as ne ver
rep eated ; h e W 3S the last B ri tish Q uak er to b e disowned for holding
unsoun d views. I I I
Eve n be fo re th e decisio n in Bennett's case , the tragi c outcom e
o f D avi d D un can 's exp ulsio n and dea th see ms to have served as a
wa rn ing to m od erat ely inclin ed Friends tha t furth er ex tre me
acti o ns, in spired by evangel ica ls ze alo ts flush fro m rece n t triumphs,
mi ght lead to di sastr ous co nse q ue nces for their Society. T he fir st
ex am ple o f thi s m o re circ um spect app roach occu rred wh en , at J. 13.
Braithwaite 's pro m pting, an atte m pt w as m ade to censure C h arle s
Fig. 2 j oseph Bevan Braith wairc (1s n~- J 90 5 ) c. r900
Oil .\11', 11 / 0 15 JlI lI C 187.1 . J q and Bronn er, ' M o derates' ,
Spititua! Rebellion 83
T h o m pso n for his co n nec tio n w ith the Vo yscy le ctures in Man­
ch este r. When a Commi ttee of H ardshaw Ea st Monthly M eetin g,
w h ich in cluded J. B. B. and two o ther o u tside visito rs, sought
some sort o f retr action from T ho m pso n, they were gr eeted with
hi s defi an t refusal to ' make 3 co nfessio n of faith . . . ev en ... to save
his M emb er sh ip ' . 1 12 T h e case d ragged o n for m onths am idst gro "v­
in g co m p lain ts th at some seemed be nt o n driving 'a ll in depend en ce
and indi vi du alit y' o u t fro n: Fr ien ds and turnin g the Society into
'the sma llest and na rrowes t o f sec ts. req ui rin g impli cit su bm issio n
to whatever C h urch au thority choose to exac t". Even J. B .
B rairhw airc began to have 'Ilery mingledJeelings' about T ho m pso n 's
unwillingn ess to compro mi se and the m on thl y meeting's o bv io us
reluc ta nce to di sciplin e him . I I J
In th e end, afte r T h o m pso n admi tt ed-b ur o n ly t o ove r­
seers from his o w n m e eting, no t to any representatives o f the
Y early M eeting Com m itte e- that if h e had known that his in vol­
vcm cn t in th e Voyscy lecture wo uld cause p ain to Fri ends, h e
w o uld n ot ha ve parti cip at ed , the case w as removed from th e
meeting bo o ks. C harle s T h o m pso n, w ho left M an chester for his
ancestra l hom e in Westm o relan d in J 874, remain ed a Frie nd and
mini ster o f ' so metimes unco nventional views' until his death in
I Q
1903.
After th e th w art ed atte m p t ro rem o ve C h arles T hom pson, th e
Yearly M ee ting Comm ittee rook n o furthe r m easures agains t indi­
vidu als. B ut whe n it asked Hardsha w East M onthly M eeting to
end o rse an d circ ulate irs previously published Declaration (if SO IlI('
Fundamental Ptincipies oj Christian T mtlz . . . th e proposal w as so
strongly resisted that the C lerk decid ed it co uld not be adopted.
T hw arte d by th o se who th ought th e Committee's 'D eclaratio n
was 'a n infri ng ement of constitu tional usage", that b ody issued a
farewell m essage admon ish ing Friends of Lan cash ire and C h esh ire
Q uarterl y Me eting n o t to 'm istak e the false lib er ty of the natural
' " M I \ [11. 15 Dec. t~ 7 1 . 3, .,.-11 and ] . B. B . [() my dear Cousin , t I !\ ug. [$7[ . M S
Bo x 9.-1 (I ), and J. H. B. to C ha rles T ho m pso n . IS Allg. I X71. M S Box 9·3 (4). LSr'.
II J ME II I, [ S Dec, 187 1. io au d ] . B . B.. ~' o ll rtl a l s ' , 31 Dec. I S71 , 20 S.
II . Sec M S !l ox '/ .7 ( 1- 8) , LSI': .lIillll1'· j . 9 N o v, IX7 1. and Munu, 5. 11 Jan.
1 87~ . ,\f i,llll,'s H EM M . [ ~ 7 o-7 X . M C l; .\I/': 112. I s Jan . 1 8 7 ~ . ~ 7 : an d ·D Q I3'. LSF. M ary
J.lI1l' H o dgson called T ho m pson 'O IlC of the bcst nu-n • . . and mo st ban i \\,o rkillg
p hilanth ro pists I kn o w .. . " M . j. H o dgs o n to Elizabeth C;rcen , 15 N o v, I S7 1, Port . A.
2 4 11. 60, LSI'
 H4 Bri fish Ql/<lRcrislIl 1860-/92[J Spirilllll! Re!Je//ioll H5
will tor the liberty which is only to be known ill subjection to
Xlanchcstev Friend. I I,~ Eventually, they drifted off to Broad Church
Christ and his tru th'. I "
i\nghcanisl11, to the Unitarians or into the vague theism nf SOlIIC
III the wake of this local rejection of the now tarnished 'De­
Voysey-Iike splinter movement, forever lost to Friends. Mount
claration", evangelical Friends leaped to its defence as 'a most

powerful &: impressive address on the Divine attributes of the f

..
Street Meeting, still one of the largest Quaker congregations ill
Britain, quickly regaincd its equilibrium, aided in no small W;IY by
Saviour against what is called Modcm Thollght'. When the Com­
till' arrival of WIllial11 Pollard (I H2H-()3). A former master at Ack­
mittee reported to Yearly Meeting, fc'cling, perhaps, somewhat
xvorth Friends' School and a stalwart, but diplomatic, upholder of
chagrined by the treatment it had received at the hands of sub­
,( rld-Fashioncd Qunkcrism", I I') Pollard was destined to play ;1lI
ordinate meetings, it asked that British Friends act as a body to
nnport.mt role in the future transformation of British Quaker­
remove ',1111' doubts as to the vital importance which the Society of
I SIll.
!.2(1

friends attaches to the acceptance and upholding of these great

Anv uncasincs« that Joseph Bevan Braithwaite and his allies, 'the
truths' by approving the 'Declaration"."!" l3ut a strong current of
'L'lf-col1Stituted high priests of the Society of Friends' as one of
hoxtilitv r.in ag,lillSt that document. When one Friend announced
the Manchcvtcr scccdcrs described them. I 2I InaI' have felt over the
that the 'Declaration" smacked of Calvinism, J. l3. lhaithwaite
rejeetinn of their v.umtcd 'Declaration" docs not emerge from their
responded 'at considcrnblc length' on its foundation in ~cripture
public or private pronouuccurcnts. A recent study of the Genera!
,1I1d the words of early Quaker prophets. Another Friend stated that
J:}Ji.il/es note- th.it after I H70 there was a newly discernible tuud.r­
abvolutclv llothing was to be gained from endorsing quotations
mentalist impul-,c in these annual pasror.il letters whose composI­
trom Scripture and that however interesting scvcntccnth-ccnturv
non was presided OVLT by J. B. Braithwaite while others have
testimonies might be, they were irrelevant since the faith of early
idcnt iticd the iurrcasiug intiucncc of moderate and progressive
friends 'W~lS not in doctrine but in the Lord Jesus Christ'. In the
Frirnds during the Sal11L' period. '22 These conclusious arc not
end, the Committee had to settle for the unendorsed 'Ikclaration'
necessarily contradictory since both describe individuals working
being printed as an Appendix to the Procccdiuos of Yc.irlv Meet­

ing. 117
So ended the brief spiritual rebellion ill Manchcsrcr. The Dun­
canitc remnant, cIIling themselves the 'Free Society of friends',
I .it different levels within the Society and with obviouxlv different
objectives. One disccruiblc influence that might haw troubled the
drc.uns of men like Joseph Bevan Braithwaite was embodied in the
earnest plea of one troubled commentator on the Manchester
met for a time in a rented upper room in Mauchcsrcrs Memorial

I
Hall to worship, quietly and without controversy, according to the
traditional manner of Friends; for two years they also published,
under the editorship of J. l3. Forster, a weekly newspaper, The
DiffIculty: 'dogmatic QU~lkLTism is .utu.rllv a thing inconcciv­
able ... the spurious ... authority of the dOglll:ltist will be super­
sL'ded by the legitimate and permanent .mthoritv of Truth: and the
now difficult and painful question: how best to deal with heretics

I
.md heresies, will never have to be answered, because it will never
need to be asked."2 3
II \ .\lL 1/2, IS Jan. J K72. 27-(). Luuavhir« ,1lHi ChL""hirl' (~Ll;lnL'rly ML'L'[lIlg .L!"n rdLl\l'd
to .idopr rh« ·J)cc!arati"n·. Sn' .lIilllll'· i. 17-IS April l,s72 ..1/11111/1,'. Li\CQM. II~() .1I1e! I,~ Sec I\1.lfY Hodg'>OIl to Lliz.ibrrb (;rl'CIl, 12 Aug. 1.'-:71, PDf[. A )1), LSr ,llld .\/1.: 117

I
j

.1//< !/(, (I) M.Iy I S72). ~3-~. 1,I)Julle 1.'-:72), 0()~IOO.

1[1, L)',\l, 1K72, 20-2, rcprinrcd in .\11': lit) (I) Aug. IS7.2), supplcmcnr.
II') SL'L' Poll.ird. tLILt ()!d-/·',IShltJIICd ()lItlk'CY/SIII lt. ()r(\?IIIS, /(cSII!'s lind Futur« (Phil.idcl­
j I i lbid.. 32-5: J. 13. B .. 'JUlIfll.lk, 2,10; Jall. 11'\72,215; WiliJ,llll R..t)\\-Iltrce o(Sclrbor()ugh.
f'!lI.l I S~~).
SCl' below, Chapter 3.
'YC.IrIy Mc"ting, IX72', 13".\ P 1/), LSF: .I//·~ 117 I) JUIlC 1~72, IO~-IO: .ind WiI",,1. ! 1

121 Jo'>eph Atk incou. 'Inxritution.ilivm. the I.a.. t Stronghold u( Prir.. rcr.ifi.'. M!', II<J
,\!allt!/('s(cr, 4X-C) The i\1,lIldlCql'f ditfuulrv \Ll~ nor 1ll1'1ltl011Cd III the 1ll1'1110lr on (I)

r
Braithwaite publt..:;hcd by hi-, rlnldren , I ls . Hrdir!JU 'll i rl' : .-1 lncnd l~( rill' .\"/I1(,[(,(,lIrll CCII[I/ r
J
i\ug. I S72), 11()

(London I SJO(J) , but Hr.urhw.urc did JLl\\' upon the 'J)ccl.1r.H10!1' fifrl'l'll Yl'<U<., Liter when he 1'-:: Mollie C;rllbb, "Tenvions'. 1[-13 -1nd Bronner, 'Moder.ires'. IS-21.

acted. a'> chief drafter ft.)]' thr Rirhmoud I )CCbLUioll of Faith. SCl' below, Ch.rpter 3 .uid 12; A.U,("D" 'Idl';!l Qu.rkcrisrn or Undogm.ui« Theology'. B}·: I Aug. lK7l, 201.

Willi.un Pollard to lsl, M.l) I SHS, I 17.

'I

1 _

3 distribution' camed deep offence. 2
An Angry God or A Reasonable Faith?
[It I 't'clm.lt k.l,t t"ILT.lbl\· CLTLlill rh.u till' Societ\· oflnl'lI,h mu-r
either Cl'.l\L' to .x ivt J~ ,I \CP,ILltc (:hn\ti,lll . . crt.
\\ith rh« '(lITC' of Iibcr.il opinior: .iroum] It.
.\Jdl/(!/l'.I((f
AI)VANClNC INTELLJ(;ENCE
I hIring YClrly Meeting in 11'171 le~lding consrrv.irivc Friends
joined their eV;Illgelical brethren in supportlIlg the dccision of
the Committee Visiting Lancashire and Cheshire (Jll;Irtcrly Meet­
ing to de,ll swittly .ind tirmly with the Manchester hcrcsv These
old-tashioncd Qlukers rCllJily ;Igrl'ed with eV;Ingelicals concerlling
Christ's Divinity, human siutulnc« and the tin.ilitv of eternal
punishment tor those who refused (;od's orfcr of salvation. I StIlL
agreel11ent as to the presence of evil within did not necessarily
imply agree1llent on the most etlll'acious mcan-, of ovcrcominu its
influence. In the course of Ycarlv Meeting proceedings, CO!1SerV~I­
nvc and evangelical members clashed repeatedly. For example,
after consrrv.itivc stalw~lrts William (;rah;Illl (11'123-1<)11) and
Daniel Pickard (I ~2i\-1 <)OS) I~liled to secure the exclusion of ~1Il
Offending Epistle horu staunchly evangelical Indiana Yc.ulv Meet­
ing, J. 13. 13r.lithwaite appeared to rub salt on the wound by
pointedly repeating parts of the document and elllphasizing their
importance tor spiritually 'sound' Friends. If lklithwaite's high­
h~lIllkdness was irksome, the refusal of the evangelically dorninnrcd
Printing Coml11ittee to appnlVc a Ilew reprinting of Robert 13ar­
clay's Apoh~'.;y, because it did not present 'Friends' view, in such a
[ Scc Edward (;rllbb. 'Sn"cIlty 'r'L',tr:- Agu', I-"(JL',
All AII,'.;l"y CI,d 1'1" A Reasonable Faith? ~7
simple and scriptural manner as to recommend it for widespread
The indignation expressed bv conservatives over this implicit
rejection of their most treasured theological text W~IS a manifesta­
tion of their frnstration over increasingly assertive evangelical
.iomin.ition of Yearly Meeting. AmoIlg the most vehement pro­
resters \n, William Irwin, the Manchester printer. Although he
h,ld been a f icrcc 0PPOIlCIlt of the I)unclliites, Irwin had pre­
'OOIl viouslv circul.itcd a pamphlet ill which he characterized the
or pur it'il,lt'lll h.umonv . ""Fxallgelical" n und as 'so susceptible to delusion on questions
of "Faith and Dortrinc" that it is rcady to cLIss those who tirmlv
lricn.l. '5 Augu\t 11'-;73
.idhcrc to the .mcicnt \'ll'WS of the Society, with Unitari.ins or
l lickvitcs":'
Irwin's accus,ltions \\'LTC .rpp.ucntly COllfirmed a tc'w monrhx
l.itcr witli the public.uion of William Tall.icks (;col;l;c Fox, the
h'imds <11/({ the Larly Baplisl' (I i\(IS). Tallacks book clearly sup­
ported the Bcacouitc position that George Fox h.id bee II co nsis­
tcntly unwilluu; to 'enforce some of till' tlllllLllIll'llUI principles of
the c;OSpl,r and that he Clc'lrly rljcctcd such doctrilles .IS the
'viruious .itoncmcnt .md imputative rightl'ousIlcss'. Thus, Tnll.uk
ncg,Hively confirmed the claims of An u-rir.m Hicksitcs that they
wcr« 'the most t~lithtld followers and rcprcxcntutivcs of Fox and his
llla,ii urors. -I However closely Fox .md IIis c.trlv tollo wrrs idcn­
titicd rhcmsclvcs with 'primitive' Christianity, Talluck SJid, they
l
h.id misinterpreted the real objective of the apostolic prclching of
l',lrly Christians which h.rd not been to reveal an Inward LIght to
humanity but to lend them, through the Scriptures, to flith in the
redeemiIlg sacrillce of Jcsus of Nazareth. Tallack concluded:
I "Tl rc excessive spmtu.rlivm of Fox and his fellow foundcr-: of
(2uakcrism was ... carried to perilous lengths. " . there W,IS in the
thl'ol0t--'Y of Fox, Barclay, and Penn ~l dangerous ddc'ct, a Deistical
tcndcnc»..,
( Willi~11l1 Irwin responded with vigour .md even venom to TI!­
I.lck's 'infamous charges agaimt the Christian character of the
(~LI,)[t"d iIlJulu, S. 1l..ovvntrcv', Accouut of IS71 YM.'. MS. Vol S .17°, I.SF.
! \X.iillul11 If\\"1I1.
1,\1,lIlchc"(Cf I K()7). 2/--2S.
St1111/' SII/J/)f('ssct! Fdo.' R(,sl){'(/il!,~ r/lt' [(('((II!
I WJili,llll T.ll1.lck. (;t'tl/"~(, h1x, rllt' !""I-fcllds, lind Early nlpri.\/s (London IkM':).
Clll!/~'r(,lI((, 01/ Christil111 II 'or/..:
I \.lll1l\cl H. Janllcy .-tll LXdllllll,lf/t1/l t!( "II' Cl/IISCS ldlich
()!-(lJ
Lcd to rhe S([lI1ral/oll l?( tIll' J(d~'(illl/_'
,lIld
(l.2 (1(j2S). JO!-02.
,I
(
\t1["ie[y l~rrri{,l/d~
TJliJL"k.
ill
CCl)f\ZC
.--{lIleri(,l
Fox, ()I.
III 1:\'27-:l$ (PhiLldeiphiJ Ik(),';).
 /1/1 British Quakerism i 860-1920 All Allgry Cod or A Reasonable Faith? /I()
illustrious dead'." Tallacks allegations, said Irwin, rested on no threatened Quakerism was neither investigation of new ideas nor
authority cxcept 'perverted judgment, Isaac Crcwdsons hypercrit­ .idhercnce to old ones, but the insistence, by any faction, that their
ical, Calvinistic "Beacon" and Hicksite sophistry. Irwin con­ particular brand of f:lith represented all that Friends needed to
cluded that Tallack know. One writer in the Manchester Triciu], lamenting the ascend­
.mcv of 'bigoted intolerance' among British Friends, noted that it
exhibits so large,1I1 .unounr of in.rccurarv otdct.ul. ofn\lsoning ti'OI11 (lIse should come as no surprise when 'earnest and thoughtful young
premises, ;lnd positive opposition to the authorized views which the persons, whose aspirations arc towards a higher life than that
Society of Friends has maintained for upw.irds of 200 vc.irs. th.ir it 111;1\' identified with the observance of traditional codes, leave the
be justly placed in the s.uuc category as those works which h.ivc been SOCIety of Friends and join other religious associations.' I I
written by the avowed cncmir« of our Faith: but with this ditllTcnce The f:lct that the author of those sentiments was an American
. he is an enemy ... within the camp Hicksitc seemed appropriate since the Manchester dissidents fl.,lt ;1
strong affmity tor their proscribed Americans cousins. Just as the
William Irwin W,lS a loud and persistent voice of opposition to British 'rational' party saw their mOVC111cnt as 'identical, ill aim,
the expanding influence of evangelical Friends, demanding, not with that of Fox, Barclay and Pcnu, they believed that in America
rdclnll, hut reversion. For him and his conservative .illic«. the crisis this same position had been maintained only in 'the theology of the
of QU;lkerism was not that it was changing too slowly hut that It llicksitcs ... ' joseph Atkinson, one of those who resigned after
had changed at all. Friends of Irwin's stripe had no interest in I )avid Duncan 's death, declared that America was 'the only C011l1­
reconciling Quakerism to either evangelical theology or modern trv where Willia111 Penn Quakerism exists, under what is known in
thought. Rather, they wished to return their Society to what they England by the n,l111C of Hicksism".':'
believed to be its original inspiration while simultaneously insulat­ Manchester liberals were also impressed hy the endorsements
ing it from all temptation to or desire for innovation. S Thus, for all I )avid I )unC1l1 had received fr0111 prominent Hicksitcs, including
the differences between evangelical and conscrvative Friends, what the noted reformer Lucretia Mott (1793-[/1/10). for thciu this
they did have in C0I111110n, according to Roger WIlson, was 'the support reflected the Hicksite recognition 'that Christianity ...
rejection of the role of thought in the lik of the Socicty'.') [was] a litl' and not a creed'. The Manchester Friend believed that
Whether or not this assessment is entirely accurate or t.ur, it 'frcc Friends sh.rrcd with their Hicksite brethren the belief that
certainly reflects the opinion of the 'third torcc ' within Victorian the Atonement was not a hlood sacrifice to appc;lse a vengeful Cod
Quakerism, most obviously represented by the I)uncmites. The but rather 'at-one-ment, 111en becoming, though obedience to the
hrcakawav meeting of 'Free Friends' established in Manchester Spirit of Cod and participation in the lik of Christ, at one with
following the tragic ending of till' Duncan atflir claimed 'to repre­ COlf. 13
sent the Liberal p:lrty within ... the Society which believes Beyond any theological conucctions, the Manchester liberals
in ... perfect liberty of thought and expression ... .'10 Their chief saw themselves as one with the followers of Elias Hicks in 'bearing
means of propagating this view was The ,Halld/ester Friend, a lively .iloft the banner of. .. intellectual and spiritual liberty' in the strug­
weekly, which consistently adhered to the theme that what really gle for hU111an progress. The Manclicstcr Triciu! pointed out that it
was not until Hicks had spoken in defence of liberty that his
t, Willi.uu Irwin, ',--I R{.'!1J/1UIOII (!( If 'i/I//1I11 'j;71/(ld: ~\ rCl/J,lr}.:I' (1/1 JJ(lrd/1}':' Apology tllid tlu:

J !l/lldlcsfl'Y SdlislII (1.\ (OIJt<lIIlCd ill th» h{)(lk ('lItitlcd (;corge Fox. the Friend.. , .ind the Llrly thcological views were challenged 'by the Orthodox party who,
Baptists'. (Manchester: Willi.un Irwin, I S6S) .... hacked by their English allies, sought to bind the Society with the
7 Ibid. 5-10 }Jl1.\sil1l. Cf with .HE 1/1, IS I)ec 1~71, -t. which .}ccli';ed c\'.lngl'hcJI.. ofc!
'dctcfl1llllatioll to nuke c.rrlv Fn.-nds answcr.ibl.- for their new Lith',
" Ibid. 112,1\ j.m. IS72. IS: 1/ ... 1\ Match IS72, (l3; .uid 1/\.1\ April I S72. 7\-7()·
~ Grubb, 'Sevt-nrv Year~ Ag-o', 301-2.
Ibid. 112.1\).111. IS72. IS-I') .md I I I I . 1\ Oct IS72. 170
v WiJ . . on , 'Friends in rhc Ninrteenth Century', .1.'if>.
I .\11< II2, 15 Jcll1. 1~72, 2cr-30 For rd('rl>ncc~ to L Morts support tor D. Duncan see
Hr-:112, II Jan. I S72. IS.
J

Ibid. lit, 1\ Dec. IS71, I.

 l)O British QI/a!.:erislll 186o-19:?o
Il.'tters ufa creed, and lead it captive into the morass of Evangelic­
.ilism". 14
Lite in I X72 the ,Hal/chester Friend began to print a series of
articles by Hicbite Thomas H. Speakman (rX20-Il)O-1-) xvhir h , ill
imitation of). S. Rowntrccs Ql/a!':erislII. Past 'II/d Prcccnt, ,ought W
account for the coutinuu u; numerical decline of British Qlukers. I i
Speakman pointed out that recent development" including the
disownment of both I }I\·id I hmcan and Edward Trusted 13L'lmett.
illustrated how 1:lr 13ritish friends had embraced the "n.irrovv­
minded bigotry and sectarian intolerance' of evangelical doctrine
at the vcrv time that liberal Christian thought wa-, 'undermining
till' foundations of Evangelicalism'. Simibrlv, Speaknlclll believed
th.it conservative Friends, tar from otTl.Ting ,I mc.uringtul altcrn,i­
rive, remained and entirely Ileg~ltive furce, responding to the
n iodcru world by clinging with a dc.ith grip to outworn ideas
~lIld practices th.rt had even k..,.., relevance th.in the cvangclic.il
creed. In ~l long list of 'Causes of Dcclcnsiou" of Quakerism,
Spc.lkman couicntr.rt cd on the rcfirsal of any hody of friends,
save English libcr.rl-, ~md Americ.m Hicbites, to address 'the .idv.m­
cing intelligence of the age'. In its present state. Spcnkman said,
British (~ll;Ikerisnl was ~1Il unhealthy combination of 'popular
thl'(llogy' dL1WIl tron I the evangelical churches .ind 'morbid COI1­
scrvatisui' which turned local meetings from a religious experience
to ~I tribal ritual comisting brgl'!y of elIlpty xiicn.:«. Speakman
rh.uuctcrizcd Quaker ministers .uid elders, regardless of their theo­
logical stance, as persom of 111Iddk age or beyond who generally
,Iddressed younger Friends as if their verv time of Iill' was evil.
insinuating that spiritual undcrsunding could reside only with
those who had 'gotten over' the tcmpr.irion-, of youth. iI.
Evangelical Friends might have responded to Speakman's
charges by pointing to a suggestion in the Yearly Meeting Epistle
on Meetings for Discipline for I X(lX that older Friends 'look all
round and see if any .. ,younger friends, .. in the trcshncss of
religious feding, Illay not perform much of the needed service'. 17
Furthermore, had it not been Mount Street Meeting's attempt to
'I ,\/I-:1/4IsM.lrch I'S72,()Q.lI1dl/.). l.ii\lI~, IS72. 143,
I' Spc'lklll:ll1'<'; articics
were printed II) the .\I'fl/t"/It'_I{a lriciu] trom ()ctobCf 1"'72 rhrollgh
1h'ccllllwr I ,s7J.
", .\Il~ 1112,1\ Nov. IS71, IS6.
'7 Sec LY.\I 1868. II.
I ~l'l' BLIdy'" L1IIIICII Sit"(IIII1,
.--III .--II/gr}' Geld or A Reasonable Faith? l)l
attract and hold young people through the experiment of the
Friends' Institute that had led to disorder and disaster? But,
,Iccording to the .Hol/chesler Friend. the crisis at Mount Street h.id
.uiscn because young MallChester Friends had actually become
interested in new ideas causing the meeting's alarmed evangelical
lc.idcrslup tel respond by expelling or silencing those members who
sought to encourage independent thinking. The British Society of
Friends, said the .\Ial/(liester Friend, had insidiously developed its
own priestly caste. educated on the same 'fJlse basis' as c1erh'Ymen
of churches with to rn ia! hierarchal structures, equally dedicated 'to
the dutv of suppressing all inquiry' and just .IS irrelevant to the
needs ofbelievers for whom thoughtful inquiry was the first rule of
t.utl). To extract itself trorn the quagmire of stunted theology into
whir h it had stumbled, the Society needed 'an educated ministry of
lite .uid power; graduates of the school of Christ, baptized with ;1
missionary spirit, to spread the glad tidings tar and wick',lS
Speak! nan's view \\';\S secondeLi ill page, of the Manchester Fril'lld
bv (;eorge Stewardson Brady (I X33-Il) 13), I <) a scientist and future
fcllow of the Royal Society, Brady accused his Quaker brethren of
'L,tding for
.1 sliglitly (~ll.lkLTJ'L·d version of the prcv.ulim; ev,lllgelicI! theolohry­
llothillg to Justif\' the existl'llcc' of the Society a, .1 sl'paLlte body ... UllleSS
rhis SOCIety ,how, ill comillg veal's u iorc Clp,lcity to di,ccrll the sigllS of
till' time, th.m it Ius rcrcntlv showll, UIlIe" it call be brought to sec that
religious belief ... must ,ldY,1IKL' with ... ;Idvallcillg knowlcdgr, It will
incvit.rblv flll back, eve» turthcr th.m it h,I' already I,dlell, fi-olll Its old
povit ion ill the .idv.uiccd gll.lrd of religious Ireedom.-'o
The central issue tor liberal Friends like C. S. Brady was COII­
tinning cvangclic.rl devotion to a literal interpretation of Scripture.
He believed that their rejection of any tl.JrI11 of biblical criticism
was incxorubly linked to a general Quaker ignor~lI1ce of or disdain
tor modern ideas, During the same time that events in Manchester
were moving towards their sorrowful conclusion, increasing num­
bers of more intdligent, better-educated individuals were ceasing
r >, .\IL 1/3. Ii lcb. 10/2.33-34.
"j For Urad)', see I Lirk iu, 'MCIlLri Abilir, otl..:!u"kers', ()q-(>4,
George S. Brady. ·St.Hl' of the Snt"il'tv p( Fricndv'. .\IL III I o. I) Oct. I ~TL J{)~. Also
(Loudon I S(),"').
 ~J ~ ~_~
';: b
C.)
> ~ ~ r -=
~
~
'..) ,..,
'J:
It C.)
~__
:::
c...~
.­ ~...)
~
'.....I
>­
= ''..). .)
--:
r"'1
"""7j
-..I"":J
,..,
C.)
:; >­
D..~
C/C
'J=
>-"":J '~
"-' ':"":l "-' C.)
~1-2 'C .~ z
,..,>­ I
'...) :;
...,I
,..,
...:.< .­ >­ ...,
'-' ...,
~ ::J
2 ~
...,
~
;::
>,
s.
C.)
>­

-
>,
>­
'./C
.:; :~ 2
~ ::J ~ . . . . "'"G .­ c ~
~~3e-, -r: ~
....) ....c ~
I
'r,-=
[I'
~ :; ~ ~ c-, 6 '---.c .-'" ~ ~
'..)
-t­ ?: ~
8
.,.I
'..)

'I
c
-> "-'
->,:::::~,
;-'
~
2::1
 ().J- British QII<lkerisl/l tS(i,'-1920 .-111 .-II/gr)' Cod or A Rl.'asonable Faith? <})

In thc carlv I ;.)70S amidst the turon. O\Tr the Vatican Council's
BO\'Li Hilton's estimate that the Age of Aroncmcnt ended about
declaration of Papal infallibility, the .\ I,II/,/'('st('r Friend ventured the
I ~('O sonll,\\·hat misses the mark for British Quakerism, but by
opinion that 'Rornanism and Quakerism sr.ind Upon a common
.ibout I ii7 0 Quaker enngdicals had bcg,111 to become seriously
level of bigoted intolerance when thcv tell us, "we have all the
L'ollcerned about inroads of the new liberal rheology. Mollie Grubb
truth nun ... needs to know, and if you doubt our infallibility, it
ILlS asserted that it was onlv in the I ii70S that annual f:J!ist!es began
will be at your peril", ' Nothing, said editor J. B. Forster, 'would
to show a distinctly eV~111~e1ical tone and to 'move steadily towards
induce us to return again to that hedgcd in ground'. Thl' 'fiTl'
[he austere and earnest piety of Lite Victorian En~LJl1d'.n (;rubb
vicw-,' held hy diS'icllting Fruuds were, he 'iaid, 'the direct result of
believes that until about I ~70 these .mnual mcssagcs (which, in her
that spirit of l'nLjlJlrY ~lIld impatience of all outward authority
view, 'most accurately rdJcct the challgcs in IQuakerl religious
which have fl)r vc.us pervaded the litcramrc of this and other
thought') exhibited, not biblical fundamentalism. but 'all .rhuost
countrics ... 'w de'iperate desire to find rcfilge fi'0111 the tr.uu u.ttir year'i of the early
The ,HIIl(/IC.'!lT lricnd concluded that rcadc-rx, e'i~1L'cially inqnir­
part of the ccnturv ill ,1 return to the principles .md practices of
ing religious readers, could learn mor.- tro m the ide~ls of Matthew
c.irlv Friends', q
Arnold, Thomas Henry Huxley and even Juli,! Ward Howl', than
Quaker schoLtr Edwin Bronner has taken issue with Molli,.
trom a modernized version of Jewi'ih mythologv' whos« very
Grubb on the ~roullds of her f.ulurc either to ~lppreci~ltc the
preservation was as great a nur.ulc as ~\l1Y of' the f:1I1Llstie, if
l'\'~lllgl'lic;lk use of early Friends to support scriptllLlI .mrhoritv
captlvatillg, storic-; it contained. The sort of IUITOW ortliodo xv
or to distinguish betwcen the evangelical usage of Holy Spirit in
which currently held sway among QuaklTs. s~lId the .\ lill/'!lCster
the Sl'llse of~l ronvcrsion experience and the tradltiollal Quaker lISC
lricud, W~I'i ~1I1 'unsatisfarrorv explanation of (;od's relation to his
of 'f nw.rrd Light' ,IS consistellt and univcr-ul I )ivinc Indwellillg."
works'. 'Wc know tint we arc the creatures of till' infinin-lv perfect
Still, there is no LJllL''ition that during the I ~70S and I ~:-Ios prom­
.md good, and we think that JeslIS Christ \\'~lS tlu: tc.uhcr who
mcnt ev,lngelicals like J. 13, Braithwaite nude rcpc.rtcd crtorts to
Llught us thus to regard (;od as his Father and ours. , . we fl.'e1 at
sccurc the support of Yc.irlv Meetillg tor sonic standardizcd doc­
libcrtv to S~lV that we arc Christianx out of acknowledgmcnt to ~l
trinal StltCl11Cllt uurroru u; the 'I )l'cL!ratiou ot SOl11C Fundamental
litl' given to thr world by (;od and .. , in its obedience to the
Principles of Christian Truth', issued in rcspousc to the Manchester
convictions given to it, Diville.'" ditficulty. Even before this alleged bel1L'hl11ark tor 'sound doctrille'
\ns rljcctcd as a ClT,bl statement ill I ~72, Br.rithwairc had pri­
v.rtcly set out his 'Thoughts on the Atonement'. perhaps wit]: ;I
I~EASON AND THE WILL en COD vicv,: to ~ldding these to a gnn\·illg canon of sound Quaker doc­
trine, For lawyer Braithwaite, the Aroucmcut represented nor
TIll' new l'lnplLlsis on )l'SlIS ;1\ m,1I1 r.uhcr th'1I1 LImb, on l'L'ligion as ;I viiuplv the literal blood 'iaerificc of 'one altogether IllnOCL'IIt' in
guide to living ,IS wl'11 ;IS ~l passport to 1',lr;Idise, is prob.rblv l"(lIl1lel·ted propit i.iriou tl)r the sius of humanity but also a rcvolatiou of (;od's
with the rise of sori.rl .urion during the sel"(lIld h,llf of thl' I1l1leteel1th wrath. Because God's l.uv had been violated by hUIIWl sillfulnl'ss,
century. )2
the atoncnlcllt t()r such transgressions had to be aecolJ1p~lllicd by
the shcddillg of hlood, '\\ithout which thcrc was IlO rcmiS'iion ';
this \\<1S l1Llt, 13Llith\\';Jite believed, Divinc revcllg e but rathcr thc
,\11-', Ill, J.~ DCL' ISil. ,"I; 114,1.,\ ,1\!1,1ITh IS72, 5(l; ,llld lJl12. 15 J)l'\.." 1:'';~3. I()O.
;1 .\It-: 1/1. r..; Ik'l". IS71. 3 and IlleS, 1) Aug. 11'173. 117. fhe .\/,lIIt!ll'.ifn h-iC}/t/llLldc
JllllLh ()( rhl' t;ld rlur W!lL'11 Juli.1 W,Hd Ho\\"e \'hited !'v1aJll~hl'ql'r, till' onJy rriL'[llt:., th,lt
\\,puld prO\'ldl' Ill'!".\ plJtfOrJll t()r her Ille,\\,lge Ofpl\lCe welT rhL' hrl',lk,I\\'.ly t~Il't]()IL lllltlllg
th,u iJl'r n'llurb. \\"ere pnhap'i not \ulllciclltly 'Scnptur.d' to "'Ill[ the ]c\L'Jl (~ll,lker C\Llhh,dl­ M, Grubb. 'Tcnsion'i', la,

ll1l'lll. ,\IF: Ilk, 'S .Iuk / k72, /2/ Jild I/~, I, Auf';. / S72, / .14-" i..j. Ibid, For J11 opp0'iinl; \'ie\\", 'ilT Wil'ioll. ,\I1111(1/('::u'" -J.-_~.

l-' lloyd H iltol), '/ hI' .i.,IIt:' I..?( ,~I rt1llCII1Cllr. 5, Unpubli'ihed COllllllL'IHS seen by (DUnny pf Prntl'""or UnHlIll'r

i
 (j6 British QuakerislII 1860-1920
'active mauifcstarion of that holiness wholly consistent with His
Love ... '3(' ' Society WJS reflected in an article of I X75 expressing deep anxiety
One Quaker liberal later expressed the view that by such pro­
nounccmcnts evangelical Friends 'not only called 111en back to the
very theology ag~lil1St which Quakerism itself W:1S a protest but
conuuiucd thelllselves to :1 position which brought its own rcrri­
butiou."? And retribution was not long in coming. !-loger Wilson
has cited the proceedings of a widely-attended / Xn Conference
on the 'State of the Societv' to illustrate the L!;rowing resistance to
'timid subiuission to the P:)WLT of routine an'd custo~11'3S
These sentiments were expressed by William Pollard, who had
arrived in Manchester shortly ~lnLT the disownment and death of
David Duncnu and who Ius been credited with bringing a healing
influence to Mount Street MLTting"') During the two decades left
to him, Pollard consistently voiced strong aversion to the 'gradual
drifting of the Society towards Evangelicalism'. He was a k\ldillg
opponent of what he termed the '<harplv defined masses of dog­
marir teaching' contained in the abortive I)edaration of [X72.+() At
the 1 Xn Conference, Pollard elllph:lsized the 'woudcrfiil cdur.it­
ing power' of IJ'LT and open forums 'in promoting cnlightcnmcnr
and useful thought'. At the same tiinr, he took the lc.id in resisting
evangelical attempts to introduce Bible readillg and congregational
singillg into meetings Illr worship. These innov.itious, would.
al'cording to Pollard, 'both disturb the worship and restrict
the teacher' ill Friends' meetings. In I X7-1- Pnllard's view \\'~IS
coufirnu-d by a Minute from his Mouthlv Meeting, Hardshaw
E,lst, to Yc.irlv Meeting cautioning against the reading of Scripture
in meetings filr worship. lest such practice 'weaken our tcsr imonv
to the spirituality and silllplicity of true worship, and the right
authority of Gospel ministry' .,1 1
;r, J. B. Br,llth\\"~llte, "Thought, OJl the Atolll"JllCllt'. II April I ~72. lItlIogLlphll" copy ()(
h.mdwritrcn l)ngill,t1, MS Port Sf r .2(l, LSF. A l{)ll~L'r YCr"IOn of tlll''''C "Thoupln ,' \\ ,I'
pllhlI"hcd I1c:lrly tvvvnt v yc,lr~ LIter III the r<'2F. .2+ (ISl)U). 103-1.20
bbard Crullh. 'Yc.irl. Meeting, IX3(,', I-(2L, (IX,).'). 11('-17,
j,,\ .\I.l/ld/(st/'l", 2(j. A].;() -,cc Wtlh,llll Pollard, 'The Recellt Fncnd, Contl·rl"Jll"C in London
I-Q/;. X (I XN) . .1 ,,'p.lr.lt,,1\- publi-Iicd p.uuphl.-t vcrvion " in llux +NI22, LSF
l') SeT Wilson . .'\falld/csler, 30 ,md the entry t(X PolL1rd III "Dirrion.irv of Quaker
lliugC,lphy', LSI'.
-to William Poll.ud, 'Recent Ft-ic-nrk' Contl'rCllL'c' 13-2.+.
-ll Pollard, 'H..cccnr Fnends Cnl1fl'n~Jln", TO; Minute 3. 15-/6 Apnl 1(';74-, Jfilllltes.
L1I1c"hirc and Che,hire Quarterly MeetIng, bnca,hire RlTord OtTl,e (LRO). Pre,ton,
Abo SCL' Wil'\on, A/t7l1chc.ltcr, 30.
.411 AIIXry Cod or A Reasonable Faith? 97
Pollard's concern about evangelical influences within the
about the uncertain drift of the Society as it broke loose troiu the
moorings of 'isolation and quietism'. Pollard W~IS fearful that evan­
gelicals, as they attempted to steer Quakerism into the Protestant
maiustrc.n». would take as their watchword the old saying that '~l
live Methodist is better than a dead Quaker'. Friends. he said,
should never forget that while the evangelical churches 'declare
... their foundation truth to be the I )e~lth of Christ'. Quakerism,
'not clogged .md mystified with theological verbi~lge', was Il)ulllkd
upon something more substantial: 'the Living Saviour-the same
vesterday, today .md forever ... We have ,1 place assigned for us
,nllollg the tribes of spiritual Israel ... As su.h , we may sal~'ly leave
the propagation of Method isIn to the Methodists themselves and in
.ill frithfulncsv mind our OW11 calling'.+2
Soon after Pollard's cautionury warning, Frnucis Frith (I N22-9 X),
,] retired Liverpool mcrch.uit a Ill! pioneer of Victorian photog­
Llphy,H published a tract which aggressively sought to establish a
clear differentiation between two 'utterly opposed ... pcrtcrtl y
irreconcilable' beliefs. Quakerism and eV~lllgelicalislll. The latter
movcmcur, Frith s.ud. cmbr.ucd a 'manifestly ... extreme creed;
rL'producin~ some of the worst errors of Calvinism, .iud those
fClrful Antinomian heresies, which have at various periods dev­
.istatcd the Church ',"" In setting out these views, Frith spoke from
his own experience and, perhaps, from :1 sense of guilt as well. He
had been a member of the committee of Rei gate friends' Meeting
that had been insrrurncnt.rl in the disownn rcur of Edw~lrd Trusted
Lknnett, the LIst British Quaker to be cast out for heresy.~\
However Bennett's disownment affL'cted Frith, by I X77 he had
come to the conclusion that the evangelical doctrine of salvation
solely through a biblically-based faith, without reference to the
Inward Light, had kd to the drawing of a distinct line separ~lting
the converted from the unconverted. By contrast, Frith said, early
.•.: \X/Jllialll Pollard. 'The Prl'~l'JH C:ri-,i , in the Socll'ry ufFncl1Lh', ((.11:", (I S7), 3 2 3 - ( 1 .
+- For ,I bncf discussio» nf lnth< !ife .1I1J ide.!:'!, ,Ct' Beryl WilhJlll'i, 'FLlIlCl'\ Frirh
(1(';22-IHljS)', rQ, 23/S (October I\)H-l), 3(q.-7CJ. Bill JJy's, ':idIJr;il!/ C'dllu'r,w/(/Il: Fnuui:
Frit]: '-, r "feu's (:{ I~I/ral En,\!',lIId, 18.)0-1 S98 (Newtou Abbot I Y7J) is ;11l excellcnt lIltrudLlctlol1
to Frith's pionecring contribution'. to phorography.
H Francis Frith. . E[I(1I/,~c1i(alistll' FnJ!1I the .")(111/(} PI);I/f (~f llze So(icry (:{ Friel/ds (L0I1dol1~
S,lmue! HaITi, /3.: Company. IXn), X. n-2X.
", See William" 'Franl'I1 Frith', 366-7; Milligan. '/n Reamn'> Ear' and Ch.lpter 2 above,
1_----­
 <)H British Quaker/sill 18(1ll-1y20
Quakers not only recognized the nccc-xirv tor rightl'l)lIS ans to
prl'p,lrc the way tor the coming of the Lord and His Kingdol1l but
also held that the gracc of Cod-the Light-could COllIC to all
'hO\VL'vl'r compar.irivclv dark and ignorant thcy may be (includillg
the llc.rtlu-n , , .)." Furthermore, Frith added, a second corncrstom­
of eV~lI1gelil'~1Iisl1l, the substitutiOlurv doctrine of the atoncmcnr,
whl'ITb\ one ",I1() hclicvcd though pcnu.mcnrlv steeped in
sin, gail1l'd justitication through the 'imputed' rightl'ou'incss of
Christ, was the VLTy opposite of traditional Quaker view, 'fWJe
maintain rh.u thl' hclicvcr is called to the attainment of real holi­
ncss' .iud th.it 'Iwillat a m.m docs" . lias really more to do with
saving t.urh than what he merdy bl'lil'vcs'.~(' Frith concluded by
askillg: 'Will you h~I\T QuakerIsm or EV~lI1gl'licdism? Thl'v are not
hoti: right. Unl.-« tlIl' tormcr Ius hccn throughout ~111 utter delu­
sion and mistake, the latter is so to a very scrio lIS extent, ,~~
This sort of overt .ttt.u], on the continued promulgatIon of
evangelical doctrine witliii, the SOl'll't\' \\as .rlxo nlanitl-sted in a
growing SClISl' of alicu.irion ti'pm l'\'~1I1gelic11 uu nistrv. especially
~lIl1ong ypullger Fricud«. At ~Ihout the rime Fnrl: puhlishl'd his anti­
l'v,lI1gelicd pamphlet, C~llch Kl'l1lp, anmllg the IIIOSt l'.lrnl'st and
.ut ivc of l'v~mgl'hcd minisr.-r«, contidl'd to his 'Iourn.rl' ,I continu­
ing concern about 'the w.rnr of unirv \\'Ith IllY doctrinal teachll1g'.
Some ml'mhers of his oxvn IlIl'l'tillg h.id l"'prl'ssl'd p.rrticul.rr ohjl'c­
rion to Kemp's il1Sistl'ncl' on dl'lI\'ing the pov.ihilirv ots.rlv.rtion to
thosc 'without the hOlISl'hold oft:lith'.~' Although lleepl\- troubled
by this 'divl'rgcncl", Kcn ip was 'pert('nh- clear that ill this, the
Socicty at large is with me ... ' When he visircd]. B. lklithwaite in
London, Kemp was relieved to discover that this 'II'/se (o/II/sellor. , .
who walked with Cod [was] with me 111 doctrinal truth'. Dcspitl'
such !'L\ISSULmccs, howcver, complaints and objeniol1S continued
to trouble Caleb Kl'l11p Jnd othcr cVJngelical llllni'itcrs.~') ThlIS
WlTl' the lincs drawn t()r J struggle to detl'rminc the spiritu~ll
direction of British QU~lkl'rism thJt would continue throughollt
the last two dCCJdl''i of the ninctl'l'nth Cl'nturv.
~(l IhIlJ, S. 10-1-1- . .22. 2:-1, The '''L'COlld-l'XplTll'11CL'' hO!lllc",,,, IlH)\"L'1l1l'llt
IIlHlll'IH.:l' Oil AlillTil".l1l (211,d " l T h lll of PhIl,tdl,jphi,l during rill'
\\'l'\t
Iln'"l'r g.til1cd ,1 ..,(rung t()orhuld .ll1l0llg Bnthh n',lng-dlcd Friend....
" Ibid, 2H
1~7(', I07-{)~ ""d
" C,kh KL'l11p, 'Jolln)"I,', IV, .1' Dec. I,'
L\F,
,') Ihid. 31 Ih'c. 1K76, lOX, ](1J.1I1. IS77. II.2-Ll_ ,l1ld \-,:; Aug. ISX3. 30.
All AII,~")' Cod Ill' A Reasonable Faith? <)<)
An clear demonstration of this struggle was revealed at Yearly
Mcctinj; in I HHo when Hcury Hipslcy, an influential minister of
Holloway Mecting in north London, rose to condemn dallcillg,
drinking, c.ird playing, and novel reading a'i well as to deplore the
growing tendency al110ng younger Friends to depreciate the terrors
of eternal punishment. For Hipslcy, these ominous developments
rl'Al'l,tl'll the spread of 'infidelity' among Quaker youth, cspcrially
those pOS'il'ssing an advanced education. One of these. Edward
Viporir Iirown. a medical student at London University ill the
carlv I HSos, chaffed under Hipslcy's ministry at Hollowav .uid
recalled bl'illg admonished there tor rdi.I'iing to believe ill the
tircs of hell. 'It was not Quakerism that we listened to ill Holloway
mcctim;'. l lro wn coucludcd.?"
AIl](Jng (~uaker youth of lesser education or advantage than the
tuturc Dr Brown, Henry Hipslcv's conccru about young u nmbcrs
losillg the t(:ar of hell-tire may have been premature. One example
of the pcrvi-tcncc of that terror is set out in the 'Reflections' of
l.aur.i JlI1l' Moore (IH70-1<)55), describing her exposure as a
motherless QuakLT child to a 'primitive and dreadful kind of
religion of t~'ar .. " In the custody of an uncle and aunt, character­
IZl'l1 as 'Friends of the prevalent type of the rimc. ;J mixture of old­
flsl1ll)JJl'd Quakl'ri'ill1." and then modern evangelicalism of the
later yl'Jrs of the Lv.muclir.il Revival', Laura Jane was nude abun­
dantly aware of tlu: terrible f1te of sinners. 'Heaven and HcIl", she
recalled, 'WLTl' ever-present rl\ditil's and entered into all the details
of our lives."
Among LIULI j.mc Moore's most vivid recollections were
nightly bedtime readings trcn n a childrell's devotional book called
Litt!e Pilloll's. especially the 'itory ofJolll1, the deaf-mute boy. This
p~lLlble told how Johll, despite his handic:lp, loved and tl)llowl'd
Jesus until olle Ilight, ill ,1 dream, (;l)d showcd this apparent
innoccnt a book li'itillg all his sillS-'so Ilully and 'iO black'-and
let him glnllp'ic thc awaiting hl'll-tirc. Thcll. a'i poor tl'ITitled
John tottercd Oil the brink of de'ipair, Je'iLl'i ~lppl'arcd and
Iud l'J]I)f)lllHh placed his haneL dripping with the blood of the Cross, 011 the
I S7U, ,llld J :--;Slj,. hur
BrO\Y1L' ItcI1Ji..,'dIlCC nt" (2u,lkl'ri"1l)·. FC). (( )ct. 11) -" I L
S~.
BF, I JUl1l' I SSo. 1.2:-'; ,111d E. V
Fe'l,. IH77 li(,. M\ V"I 2CJ2- \. AI~o ~L'l' \Xhl"oll, Tricnd" ill the Nilll'tL'l'IHh CL'lltUfV', 1 ~().
,I . LUlL) Jll1C Moore. -Rd1cetioll';', [-1-1. typc,",cript Jcquirl:d t~l')lll Hcnry Ecroyd ,llld lI\l'd
\\ith hi" PCrIIlh..,ion; copy ,1\",llL1bk cit L\F
......

 A ll A ngry God or A R easonable Faith? 101

10 0 British Quakrri.'I11 1860-1920
book of J ohn 's sins and w ith ' (t]ha t dear red han d . . . blo tted th em
all out' .52
In thi s in stan ce at least, H en ry H ipsley co uld rest easy. For her
pa rt Laura Ja ne M oor e was at pain s to indi cate that she was not an
un typi cal Qu aker child of th e tim e. At age 10 she wa s sent to
Ack w o rth , a Quaker boardi ng school in Yo rkshir e, w he re , she
rememb ered, 'Evangelical and Fun dam en talist religion was rife' .
While at Ack w orth , Laura J an e witn essed an incid ent involvin g a
'mu ch loved teache r' who , up on reaching the climax of the scrip­
tural story o f B alaarn's ass, discreetl y co ncl ude d : ' And th en we are
to ld th e ass spo ke .. .' T his yo ung w omen, Ca ro line W oodh ead ,
had, it seems, com e under th e influ en ce of 'high er criticism ', and,
havi ng th us inadvert ently revealed her secret adh erence to
m od ern ist th ought, was duly rep orted to school autho rities by
zealo us ev ange lical students. Sub sequ entl y, after a m eetin g with
the headmaster, Ca ro lin e W oodhead adm itted h er apostasy to an
assembly of stude nts. She W J S not amo ng the teachers w ho
returned to Ackw orth th e followin g term .53
Laur a Jan e M o or e's disqu iet over th e co nse que nces of un sound­
ness was appa rentl y widely sha red by yo unge r Fri ends Early in 188 I
J ohn William Grah am (1859-1932), th en a student at Univer sity
C ollege, Lond on , wrote to his par en ts with th e o m ino us news of an Fig. 3 Jo hn Willi am G raham (185<)- IY32), leader in th e Q uaker

acquaintance w ho had be co me an agn ostic and resigned his R enaissance

membership: ' he is by no me ans a solitary instan ce. In fact, th e

young m en in o ur So ciety w ho think mu ch are passing through a
very ser io us time of co n flict in religiou s matt ers; a good
many fellows have talked to me w ho have m an y m ost painful
doubts . . . '5 4
A few m onths later, Grah am , rep orted to an older Fri end th at
afte r o ne spea ke r at H ollo way Meeting had expressed symp athy for
th e 'young fellows who are bein g co mpelled to dig up on be liefs
and see what th ey grow from' , H enry Hipslcy had respo nde d by
casting a 'severe eye' upon suc h 'erratic believers' . During th e same
m eeting,]. B . Br aithwaite den ounced all fora ys against ' the tru th o f
" M oore, ' Re flectio ns'. 15- HI.
.'.. Ibid , [10- 121 , I am grateful to Edw ard M illig.m fo r having unc ov ered C aro line
Wo odh ead " id cn titv.
q J ohn Wi lliam ' Graham to his parents. 27 Feb. 1881, Bo x I , Jo h n W illiam Gra ham
Papers (j\,>;IC I'), John R yland s Libr ary, M anc heste r U niversity. Also sec E. V. Drown.
' R enaissance of Q uakerism ' , 203 .
God' incul cated by 't his or th at fashiona ble not io n' which w oul d
soon pJ SS away.5)
John \V. Grah am 's ow n doubts co nce rn ing what eva nge lical
Friends th ou ght to be ' the truth of God' did not pass away so
easily. Immedi ately afte r Yearly Meetin g in 18R3, a deepl y con ­
cerned fem ale Friend adv ised the apparently despa iring Gr aham:
' tho u I11l1st cling to past ex pe rien ce of Go d's lo ve & goodness.' O ne
source of G raha m's spiritual malaise ma y hav e been the 'clear
Ev angelical to ne of. . . do ctrinal teachin g' expressed by th e Yearly
M eetin g Epistle of 1883 in whi ch C aleb Kemp saw ' m uc h cause for
th ankfulness' .5('
T w o years LIter on th e ope ning day of Yearly M eeting, J . B.
Braithw aite co nfide d to his 'Journ al' th at h e had just finished
;5 J. W . Cra hnm ro M r. IRoderic k?] C l.1rk. II) M ay 18S I. Bo x I.J W ( ;I' .
j f, Lucy Linney ro ] . W . G raham , 8 J une l SS3. Box I. J.W.G.P . and C. R. K., 'J ourn als' ,
Vo!. V, 7 J lIlH' 1 ~ 83 . 62-0 3. LSI'.
 102 Britist! C.!lIilRcrislII 1860-1l)ll)
.ill Allgr)' Cod or A Reasonable Faith; 1°3
reading 'the pamphlet A Reasonable J~l1lh-which struck me as a
At that point the book's three authors, William Pollard, Francis
very shallow performance however well-intended. It did nor dis­ Frith, and William E. Turner (1 S3(1-[()T T), rose, one by one, to
turb lily mind. "7 But, in tlCt, J 13. 13. was neither undisturbed nor
rebut the attacks on their coliahorarivc eft<.1rt. Pollard spoke first,
uuconccrncd. For this 'p.unphlcr' had already begun to cast its
noting that the writers had been moved to act through an increas­
slLldow .nnom; British Quakers. Indeed, the little book J 13.
ing awareness of growing scepticism, aIllOng younger Friends.
BLlitll\Y;lite had ;lft\.-ctl'd to SCOfIl became a cause cNdJl'c th.ir
Previous attempts to belay such questions and doubts had been
would not only alter the tone of the Yearly Meeting in I ,"S~ but
f\)1' tlu- movr part rcasscrtions of traditional authority or i(lc~IS, with
would, in time, l1l'COIlIl' a major catalyst fix the transformation of
little disr crn.ihlc effect. Their book, Pollard said, W;IS founded on
British Friends.
the premiss th.it there need not be any contradiction between
Bv the time Yearly Meeting gathered in 1"''''5, .4 RCilsolll1hlc sound reason and Cospcl frith. Its purpose was to bring 'the
Faith, published anonymously late in I was already the subject "'' '-t, \V'llll"krillg om's ... back to the truth of the Cospcl or Christ, by
of COIl sideLl hie controversy in the Quaker press. A reviewer in 'l l«
presl'IIting ... this (;ospel in its simplicity and spirituality'. What­
lrictul had recognized the book as 'an honest attempt to uphold the eVLT xvr.ith nlight fIll upon them, Pollard said, the authors of A
truth of the rl'!igion of Christ, and to show its power to bring
J«',l.<"lld!'!C luith took couxolarion in knowing that they had to
pardon, peace and purification ... ' Some readers of 'l h« lricud
xon ic degree succeeded in giving solace to doubtful believers.
supported that sympathetic assessment, bur most letters agreed
IJoll.lrd himsdf claimed to have personal knowledge or fourteen
with the writer who clLILIl"teriz,'d the book ,IS 'radically unsound
indoctrine'."s . friends vvho, under the intlucncc of the book, had n-rumcd to
'rlJoicing in the C;ospel of Christ'.'"
I )uring the course of Yearly Mccting.}. B. [klitll\Y;litl' delivered
AttLT respollSes to Pollard's statement, both positive .md IIL'ga­
his uxu.il lengthy oration, quoting '[wjiti: great power one Scrip­
rive. the Clerk, Joseph Storrs Fry, attempted to bring the discussion
ture passage .ittcr another', at the s.nn,- time, he 'c.netullv avoided
to a halt, but before this could be done, Fr.mr is Frith rose to speak.
.inv . .. allusion to the p.uuphlcr but several of our dear fi'iends
Frith began by noting th.ir he believed those who opposed the
fc)llowed with pointed .illuxion-; which did not, in lily view,
book WLTe 'C;od-t~';lring .md Christ-loving men" whose faith he
help the n iattrr'. ") These negative rd~Tellcl'S, ill flCt, brought a
had no wish to disturb, but the book had IIOt been written tor
ftIlI-fkdged debate of /~ l(c<I.\('"<1!J1c luit]: Oil to the floor. Sensing
them, Rather, its intended audience was those who wished to
dangLT, J B. B. attelllpted 'to lift the consickLltiOl1 above the arena
adhere to Christian Qu.ik crism but could not accept the evangel­
of controvarsy /sicl to the gre,lt Foundat/lojn of Truth &. Unity,'

ical interpretation of doctrines like the Atonement. The authors,

but his would-be allies proceeded to condcrnn the book and its

said Frith, \\"LTe ,Ittl'1npting to oft(:r all alternative between agnosti­

.monvrnou« authors as heretical, especially as regards the doctrine

cism and evangelic.ll fimdamcntali-,m which was, as rhcv believed,

of the Atonement, and to demand that thcv reveal and defend

tlll'mselves(") . tiIlly in accord 'with the t,'achillgs of the founders ofthei; Society.":'
After Willi;lm Turner also acknowledged his share or responsi­
J 11. 11., 'journ.rl-.' 7 .I 1IIll' ISS" IS,). bility for A RCilSOlldhic Faith, the debate ended with a poignant
SlT 'll. I I)ec. ISS-\-. 303-0-1- tl)r rh« rvvicvv On 1 Jlll. IS,';,\, S-(). l Irnrv Illf"l..,k~ comment from Jonathan Grubb, ~11l elderly and much admired
CUlllkJlllll'd thc uusoun.inc« nt" both till' hook Jlld ,I -vmp.uh.-n; rcvtcwcr ()f \1'\ Ietter\
publJ\hi.:d Oil 2 Feb. ISS5. 32-J(J, tour \\l'fl' L!1lt:l\'OllLlhk .in.! t\\() -upportiv « "llie JIIl'IId
r.r TF « l.mu.rrv [SS5, I-I-J--I-.
rdLl~i,:d [ i l pllhll~hJohll WdlJ,11ll (;r,I1LIJll'~ ddl'11Cl' o(the hook. .'-Jl'l'J\Xl(;P. Btl'\. I t~)r ,) l-(lP~
(,- I"L (l jl1Hl' 1SS 5, 1-1--1-, J, Ormerod (;'Tl'll\\ llod (.,2/1dkt'r I:'I/{(l IIII trrs , \ ol. I. lrivn.i. II/Id
of lu- le-tter. The hook \".l~ .ilso . . trol1gly l-olllk'll111l'd hy l'\'JllgdlCJI Fru-nd-, 11l ''\]]ll'rJl-,I~ ~l'l'
'/lIC C/IJIS!I(III If (lrkcr, .27 July 1~S5. -1-3 I~J.2,
Relicr (York ]()75), [ell), I(lljll llotl'~ th.it lnrh, who h,id III hi, youth "';UtflTl,d ,1 I;l'fHHI;>'
~plntu,d crtvi-, O\Tr 'the kgJli...;tic vicxv of the Aroncrucut ,HId rhr dOl'trllll' of l'tl'fll,li
/1': (,JlIlll' ISS.), 132 'lJ1dJ B. ll .. "JUurl1,lh', 7 J"llC' ISS" I~O, 1<)2.
Plllll~hllll'11t', \\Totl' thl' tlr~r dr.lft of ~--l R.CdS(llldhfc hli,ll \\'hlch \\'.l~ tilL']) rC\'i,'l,d h y' P\)l1,lfLi
('(' IF {I JllllC I~X5. 1-1- 2--I-J .ind ]. l.3, 13,_ '[ouru.il-,'. (lJl111l' IS'~:i. H).2, ()\'IT t~)fr:' Yl'cH~

LJtl'r, nile l')-T-\\'ltlll''''IS to the dl\nl'i~i()l1 rl'Cllll'd ',} ..;trung ~l'll;"l' ()( rl''il'l1tllll'IH' hl'l'.ttl~l' rhl'
,llld W. E. Turul'r. Polbrd'..; "';011 tHer re-counted th,H hi...; r:lthl'L DrlhT dUll Frith. \VfUrl' tlh'

,111tiIor~ lLld not ;.,ignl'd thl'lr \\"ork; (;,11, 13rdit!l\\',llrl' to rr. 15J1I1y ]()27, ()(q_..j.
dl.lptn Oil thl' '!Il\PILltlOIl of the lllbk '. Sl'l' Arthur B. j'o!l.trd tu 7"1', :'.~ July I ~27. 70'; ,tl",
'iel' Fgbl'rt rv10rblld to ibid. 22 July 1l)27, M~, I .

.......

 10+ Britisli QuakerislII 1860- 1920 AI/ .'11/,1;1')' God or A Reasonable Faith? 1°5
evangelical minister, which underscored the human dilemma cen­ in the Spirit, .. the Divine Voice Within" .j which] is and ever has
tral to such theological disputes. Twenty vc.irs earlier, said jonathan been present ... to the human soul as a real experience. although
Grubb, he had, in the midst of despair, found hope in the concept often an obscure and almost unconscious one ' 7
d

of the f()rgivelless of his sins througli Christ's Ato nr-n n-nr. but now Beyond cvnugclical attempts to replace the warm spirit of the
'he could not but feel that an attempt was being made to sweep Inward Light with the cold hand of biblical literalism, A Reasonable
aW;lY the ground of his hopc.":'
l-aith singled out another 'false teaching' of the evangelical creed
What tenets of jonathan Cruhbs belief did "'1 Rmsol/ah/c which drove 'logical .nid thinking minds" .jinto] a region of
l-aith ,lttempt to undermine? Its authors would have denied allY darkness and despair': the substitutionary or propitiatory doctrine
such negative desigllS. They claimed that the book's message of the Atonement which required the shedding of Christ's blood
W;lS intended for those who desired 'a Faith ar once Scriptural f(lr forgiveness of human sin. The authors agreed that '[mien IIll/S1
and rcasonnhl..' in contrast to an 'emotional' evangelical have a personal Saviour', but insisted th.it jesus's suffL'rillg and
creed which they viewed ,1S a modern f(lrIn of the Calvillistic death were not to atone lor the sins of humanity or to impute
theolo~'Y against which the toundors of Quakerism Iud initially righteousuess to them but to illustrate 'Divine pity .. , .md . " Div­
rebelled."!
inc f()rgivencss' as well as to provide a 'perfect example, a true
The Reasonable I-'.lilll envisioned by the book's authors cxplirirlv ideal' tor humau beings. 111 other words, jesus had not died merely
rejected the Ilecessity lor accepting ;1 creed hased Oil htcr.rl tor the S111S of Mankind: rather, He Iud lived to give humanity
interpretation of the Scriptures. They r,'cognized the Bible as a hope by His example, The Cross saved trom sin all those whose
divinely-inspired 'Rvcord of a Progressive Rcvealing of hearts were touched by Christ's sacrifice, but it did /101 represent
Spiritual Truth' but denied that it was the sok source of Liglit simply vicarious sut1LTing to atone for sin. l nstc.id. Christ's passion
along the path to salvation. If It were, they said, those human .ind death W;lS 'a supremc declaration of Cod's infinite love for sin­
beings who, by accident of time and place, had no access to strick ell souls. , , d,S
Scripture would hav.: no possibility of being saved. Smce 'sound l n the post-Nicbuhri.m twentieth century, the views set out in
reason and common sense' dictated that a loving alld merciful .4 RCilso/lilh/e Faith may leave an impression of 'feel-good"
(;ud would not withhold from any person, Christian or Clmst i.mirv, promising much .uid demanding little. l3ut among
hc.rrhcn , 'some measure of the same Divine Influence which late-nineteenth century Quakers, the book's Ct1l'ct seems to have
"inspired" the religious clement of the Bible', there must be been ekctrifying, cspcei;Jlly for young people. Over two decades
some other means through which all humanity could have hope
after its publication, W. E, Turner, the LIst surviving author,
of salvation."

recalled:
The means prescribed by A Rcasonabl« Faith was the Inward
Liglit, the most distinctive and distinguishing of traditional Quaker
beliefs, Through the Divine inspiration of the Light, all hum.in During the Eightlcs we had m.mv letters of a dccplv cncouraging
beings could gain ';Il'cess to the s.unc spirit which inxpircd the nature. tidl of gratcful n'Cognition of the help the book had b,','n ...
under Providence of winning them back to Christ & Christianity
sacred writers. , .' and receive the 'primary source of all religious
trom whom rhcv had b,'cn driven by the distorted tcaching which
light and duty'.M 'The reasonable Truth,., is that Cod's revelation
\\'as so popular ycars ago ... I h.ivc lived to sec still grcatcr progrl'ss
has ever been a continuous and progressive one, and the stlge to III the march of our intelligent grasp of divine truth, & the education
which it has now developed. , . is that of Cod more fully rlldnifest of a brge part of our people along the Iincs", of... the 'Rc.isouablc
,,' Tl, ('Julle 1KKS. q~.
Faith'.
('4 -I J(c</sol!ab!c FaitII. SIlllr! L,\.'dYS}ll' the Time, /Jy Three 'Friends' (London I SS(). rn'j'-cd
edition). 3. 7· Hen-aficr Cited as .~RI' with page.
r" .4RI' I~, ~3-~. IO~-S. rrr, .~Rl: II, ~3, 100-101.
~/n~ _1Y-~0. " .~RL 2~. 31-.1. H-s, ~K, ,IY. ()~ .

.....lo..­
 10(l British Q//akerislII 186,l-19 2(l
Mor.- than fitty years attcr its publication, the book \\c1S still being
credited with saving 'the reason and faith of that gCIlL'ration of
k yout I1' .(")
QualT
Early in I R~(l, with the .ontrovc-rsv over /-1 Rt'd",l//dhlt' Faith
cont1l1uing in the Quaker press, john William Craham told his
parents of his recent correspondence with Ed\\'ard Worsdell (I ~ 52~
I <jaR), who had been one of his tea ch crs at 1300tha m, conccrni ng ,1
hook Worsdell had just completed. Crahal11 thought well of the
result but believed the title, 'The Cospel of Divine Hclpfninc«.'.
was too bL1I1d to cHch the attention of the casual reader. (;Llham
had a point. Worsdell\ slim volume, which appeared ,I fL'\v weeks
later with a slightly altered title, apparently did not even catch the
attention of Qu,lker editors, lor none of the Societ\·\ 111;~Jor jour­
luIs reviewed or even ga\'e notice of the book's publication. -" Still,
despltl' this L'old official reception, 'll« Ct'.'/iCl o{ J)1i'iIlC Hclp was
warmlv read hv a considerable LlngL' of Friends. The Anu-rir.m
Quaker poet john (;reenleaf WhittiLT wrote to tell Worsdell that
the book had hccu ,1 great joy to him: ,1I1d Laura jane Moore, who
surreptitiously received a copy as holid.iv reading 6'om a sYl11pa­
thctic Mount School rc.ichcr. remembered th.it Worsde]]'s work,
,dong with A l-<ciI"ollilhlc Faith, had hccu 'vcrv hL'!pfiI! to me .md
cleared l11y douhts wonderfully tor some time'. ~ I
Edward WorslklJ\ recollection of his own doubts had, in t;lct,
been his chief inspiration lor writing Flit' (;ospcl of I )l/'i//c l lcls».
AttLT experiencing the classic n',lngelicll conversion experience in
btl' adolescence, Worsdell had spent the t()lIowing decade in a St.HL'
of spiritual distress, overwhelmed hv human depravity and lu-Ip­
lcssncss in the flce of an angry Cod del11anding hlood sacritice and
eternal puu ixlum-nr of the wickc'd as satist;lction tor sin. His grO\\­
ing sense of despair \V;lS exacerbated not only by his inahilirv to
find solace in the Scriptural dogmatism t1LH seemed to prevail
al110ng evangelical Fnends but also trom the (lct that there seemed
W. L Furm-r to J J (;rCL'IL [J Aprrl r1)07, Port. (: 27, LSf· .un] Egberr (,
("J
"II'. 22.1lll\ I 'i27. ('~O~~ I.
C;r,dl.llll to ln-, pJrCllr", .20 i\.1.1rd1 ISS(l. Bux I. J\Xi'C;P; \Xhl"OIl. ',~'lllL'tCl'llth
-, J. \)./.
(\']HUf\ lrund-,'. jor ; .uid Wor-,dell'. l"lltry in '1)ILtlo!ury of (~ll.lkl'r B]()gLlpll'~.· LSF.
(~ll,lkcr j()lIrll,d:"l IIU) h,l\'c bee-n nlll1ll))~ for covvr .uicr rJH' contnn'er"y C,lLl\ed by .4
J?l'il.il l li d !JI t' rll/!II
.E. V1POIlt 13nnvn. 'Rcn,n""JIlCc Dt- (~L1JkCrt"lll'. 203 and Moore, 'ReflectIon,,', 113­
I
14/. Whittier wrute a prct:Itory 110t(' to thc \ecolld cdItioll of 'ilu' (;t1_ijld (!( 1)/1'1111' Ht'll
(Lo])do]) I k~k). '
"-Ill "-Illi;l')' Cod or A Reasonable Faith? 10 7
to be no older person with whom he or his friends felt able to
chscms their tragile spiritual condition. As a result, Worsckll had
seen many of his own small circle otfricnds drift into Uuitari.mism
or agnosticism, 'largely through t;liling to distinguish between the
teachings of Christ and the assertions of thcologians'v"
Worsckll's own deliverance from mental and spiritual anguish
had come as a result of a sudden insight when 'he saw in Christ
"the revelation of the Father of Lights in whom there is no
darkness at all" '.73 Furthermore, his subsequent contact with
voungcr Friends at Bootham had convinced hiiu that most of
them still suffered from the S;1I11e sort of lonely travail through
\vhich he had passed and t()J' thr same reasons. This ;lt1inity tor
\loung people was apparently reciprocated; over seventy years atter
Wop;ckll's death, Horace Alexander recalled that he was the i uiu­
istcr young Friends 1110St liked to hear at York Meeting. Alexander
remembered Worsdcll calling the Society of Friends a ship that had
remained in dry dock too long and exhorting young people to
ensure that Qlukerism again ventured out into spiritual depths not
navigated since the days of (;eorge Fox.7 1
Because Worsdell wanted nil' C;ospl'l o{ Diriu; Hell' to speak
<pccituallv to the conCLTl1S of educated Christians torn between
the demands of biblical literalism and the revelations of l110dLTII
thought, he concentrated on (;od's saving gift of Light as the
u ic.mx of reconciling religious tairh with reason and conscience.
In this effort Worsdell set out along the trail already blazed by the
authors of A Rcasonnblc luith, but he proceeded further and pro­
duced a more effectively realized statement of liberal theology.
Worsdell believed that since all higher religions WLTe informed
by the Idea of I )ivine Goodness and since reason prescribed that
what W;lS virtuous tor human beings must be a reflection of that
I)Ivine Goodness, Christians could be assured 'that truth, justice
and compassion' arc the same tor Cod as for hununity.7' Such a
view was, however, entirely contradicted by the two chief prem­
Morl.uu! 11l
ises of the evangelical creed that dominated Protestant Christianity.
17r(' (;tJ.ljld o! Divin: lid/)' or
(lll ....; (l///c lir« Pril/c/IJles
J'lhl/l,I!.IIf,1 (.'Ilri,\"ti,lIIirr (Loudon
ISS(l), pp. u i .md ()S-71, hcrc.irrcr CDll, wrth pJ~!;c. Also vee Rowclla Lovcrancc, 'Ed\vard
Wlmdl'!! (l~,2-II)<),S)·. f(J.. 23/~ (October lY~4), 3,S2-~ .
\Xii],,!))). "Nlllctccllth Cl'lltury Frlcnd,,', J(li ,md \):./ur"tkJJ\ \..'Iltry, 'I)(~lr, LSf
Illt\..'n·IC\\ with HOL1Ct' Alc'\:,l11\..kr, Kenctt Sqll,JrC, p/\., Novcmbcr lljXO,
(;/)11. ')
 IO~ British QuakerislII 1860- 1920
For if unquestioning faith in the literal truth of the entirl' corpus of
scriptural texts was in f1ct, the necessary means to salvarion. then
not only was salvation utterly denied to the 'uncnliuhr« ned con­
xcicncc '. however morally and ethically sound, but even the
'enlightened conscience' which was forbidden to applv (;od\ gift
of reason to religious experience. Thus. any attempt to interpret
even the Old Testament in other than a literal sense wa, etll'ctively
a refutation of the taith required f(lr one to be saved.
Furthermore, the evangelical insistence th.it jcsu-, 's Au lllillg act
required the shedding of blood in order that Cod should be
propitiated tor the sins of humanirv incant that Chri,ti ans WLTe
worshipping a Divine Being whose code of morality wa, (Jfa 10WLT
order than that which He demanded of HI, toilo wcrs. Tln s seemed
to Worsdell to involve a fimdamcnrnl logICal contradict ion, one
that ;my thinking lulicvcr would ultim.rtrlv find n11p(J"ible to
tnainrain. On the other h.nid. such ,I suhsriturionarv doctrine.
which according to Worsdell. had '110 place at all in early Christian
theoloh'Y" until the tourrh rcnturv, h.id the advanLlge of i mpurinp
rightcousnc«, to those who h.id undergone the saving cx pcricnrc
of conversion. Thlls, even though their lives subsequently
remained 'ungenerous, unlovely and unprogressive', Iivilig not in
imitation of Christ hut in outward coulormirv to a rigidly legalistic
concept of I)ivine law. cV;lngelical believers might con tinuc to
assume an aura of spiritual xuprrio ritv that inevitably led to aITO­
gance and st.ignation. ~(,
Worsdell bclieved that this evangelicI! version of the Cospel had
he en explicitly rcjcctcd hy first generations of Friends, 01 jly to be
revived on the wave of early niuetccnth-ccnnn-o cnt husi.is m. Hav­
ing insinuated Itself into the Quaker couununion , l'v;mgcliclhsm
had created serious tensions between 'rcfori 11 cd . fIJllo\,:er, and
traditional Friends and even raised questions as t o the n'lev;mce
of their Society as a separate religious conuuunirv. A, the ccnrurv
drew toward a dose, Worsdell said, evangelicalism, illlTclsingly
flTblc and inadequate in the tacc of new rehgiom and scientific
revelations, was in its dotage as a spiritual force. With in their
Society, however, a still powerful evangelistic influence \us threat­
ening to drive the flower of QlIakLT youth away from Fricnds and
perhaps from Christianity altogether. Since the purl'0,e of
-r, (;])11. ()2. lOS, J 12-13, J 15,1.21, J "I
All AIIXry Cod or A Reasonable Faith? lOt)
Worsdell's essay was to speak to the condition of those Friends,
especially the young, who WLTe troubled by both the content and
spirit of the sort of teaching that predominated in their Society, he
desired 'to promote trill' thillkillg as well as trill' )l-elillg' while
remaining 'in entire agreement with the ... spirit of Early Quaker­
ism.'/7 For just as George Fox and the other first publishers of the
truth 'spoke as ... they WLTe moved by the Spirit, not ;IS schooled
by theologians'. Worsdell wished to consider religious ideas with­
out 'accepting as authoritative any asserted teaching of Scripture'
that contradicted 'the testimony within' or violated Cod\ gitts ot
reason and conscience. ~"
Early Friends had understood. Worsdell said, what many latter­
day Quakers. had forgotten, i.c., that the Bible was not 'law
delivered ,1S .m mflllibk document Ior the goVerIn11ent of men's
lives, but ;1 series of records desnibing successive stages of Cod's
self-revelation,' which W;lS continuiug and providing progressive
or 'gLldual spiritual disccrmncnt ... '~') 'From VLTy rever­
ence ... we musr not allow His gitts of reason and conscience to
he overborne bv accepting ;IS authoritative any asserted teaching of
Scripture which coutradirts them.' Reason and conscience, Wors­
dell said, must ah\'ays he taken into account in order that the
DIvine hclpfulnc« revealed by the Christian Cospcl might operate
undeterred ..",
Wor,dell believed that 'the only essential dement of Christianity
to which norluru; analogous is round ill any other religion of the
world, is this pOWLT of the Example of Self-Sacrifice ... 011 the part
or a Divine Olld cvcriastino Bciuo', It was, therefore, Jesus's lite, not
His death, that was central to the Christian experience. The faith
that brought salvation began, not in adherence to certain needs,
but in human striving to follow Christ's example. 'IM [oral ClrI1­
cstncss.' Worsdell asserted, 'is to the individual of more importance
than accurate III oral perception.' Because Quakerism was 'less
fretted by a creed ... than perhaps any other religious body
which accepts the Divinity of our Lord', Friends had not only ;1
special advantage but also a special responsibility in the work of
creating Cod's Kingdom on earth. The spirituality and universality
of this Kingdom were clearly revealed in the New Testament
ClJH. II, 1.1. " CDH. q. 17, .10 , CDH, 42. (>.\.
-, CDff, 2<) • .1 K• .\ I
 1 [0 Hririsli QllakcrislII 18(lIJ-/ L).!(J
accmlllts of Christ's litc , not by the 11c1ITO\\' and negative creeds
subscqucnrlv developed by theologians, Quakerism. Worsdell said.
was tirst and foremost an experiential religion based not UpOI1 a set
ofdortrincs but upon the hving, growing presence of(;od in eHTV
human person and the example of Jesus Christ as to thr best
inc tl
means of - cxprcssnu; t tar presence. ,S I
One Friend who had hccn young whl'n FI,,' COS1)C! Divin: or
Hell) appeared, later rcr.illcd that Worsdell 'found his wav to nLll1Y
of our hl'arts and helped us to realise that God is not onlv to be
loved but .icruallv 100'Cable", ·'c If Worsdclls book got little
public nuticl' from his tcllov,: ~1J;\kLTs, it sce111S to h;IH' made
s0111cthing ofa splash among ot hcr uou-conton uisrs. In II)0s the
president otthc Leeds Frce Church Council l10tcd that 'Jill' C,J"j'cI
or Dii-iuc Hell), which h.id hccn 111ade required rl'.lding at his
theulugicll training cullegl', vvas 'one of the grcatcst things ~U;I­
kcri-i» had givcn to the Churcll's, Despite such praise. WorsdcIrs
little book continued to he viewed bv II];]]IV Orthodox cv.mgclicals
;IS SY111ptu111atic of the radical fl.)]'n's bent on further di\'iding the
world-wide (2lLlker counnumon. Its author received little crcdit
.md less support trom influential courcu ipor.mc« The storv persists,
though appJrcntly unconfirmed by any hard l'\'idcncl'. that the
book cost Worsdcll the Hcad111astership uf LJnc;\ster l rirndx
Schoo].' I
Within L.ondon Yearly Meeting, modr-mist thinkers likr Wors­
dell and the authors of.i RCdSO,"/hic lnitli, ,1dhering to an l'll1ergil1g
liberal plrilosoph-,', wcr.: determined to h;lrInonizc traditional Qua­
ker principles ;1I1d prxtices \vith thc 111ail1 CUITl'lltS of l110dcm
thought, In the United Sutes di\'isiom among orthodox A111crican
Friends L1I1 In ;1 dilfLTcl1t direction, There was, ;lS 111 Britain. a
n;lsccnt hbeLd ele111ent and PhiLIdclphia Yearh' Mecting ITuillcd a
strong f1;l\'our of Wilburite conservatis111, but during thc pust-Civil
War period thc nl';lrly ulliversal triull1ph of revivalis111 in \\'c,tCnI
al1d southcrn Yearly Mectings had given risl' to a str;lin of(2uaker­
iSll1 which non-cv;]])gdical British Fricnds fl.)]ll1d to bc ahcn and
,'>r (;/)/1. [-l-. .2>-:-3.2/)/1.1.'1111, 5()-(l!. 12.2.
H,'rold J Morl.<I"i to 'IF. I () Juh I <)C7. (dq,
~l (~L1ntl'd hy J h1pl' Hewi",o!1, 'TIll' \X/.1y h)l"\\".lnr. J.Q, .23/'<"; (ek( /():-;-t-), -toe,
:->-1 SCl' Lll"hL'l, I "I-rllrirlll (Jlldkcr.i, -to ,11ld PUIl"lhoIL !\lrlrdil III Crc)', /1).2. A~~I\ln'ntly,
Wor"dl'11 Illm"df belteved til,lt \ll..' \\.1" dellil'd till' PP<,itIOIl dll account of the hl)(lK. "l'l'
L()\'l'LIIICC, 'Fdw'\rd Wop,ddl', 3'''-+
.1
.-11/ Allgr)' Cod or A Reasonable Faith; I I I
even d;1I1gerous," Some digrcssion is necessary to explain the
impact of American developme-nts OIl actions and dispositions of
London Yearly Meeting.
TH E IU C H MONJ) DECLARATION
As Amcrir.m Friends l11igL1tl'd wcst\v;Ird both their physical nr­
CUI11,tal1l'l', .md the example of their f1.ll1daml'nuh,t Pron-sranr
neighbours led nL1I1V of them to adopt Ilovcl practices that pro­
duccd interesting ;1I1d, tl.J]' S0111e, dislJuieting rl",ults,'" ()nl' ot rhc«:
innovations \va, the rcpl.ncincnt of silent meetings by worship
SC1'\"IU'S, \vhich, thllugh they might bcgin with a brict period of
<ilcncc, incorporated ;111 the accoutrl'lllCnts of Protv-r.mt dcuomin­
.rtioual \vllr,hip-rcadings hon: thl' Bible. hvmn sing1l1g. and pre­
parcd SCrJIllll1S based on biblical tc"ts, In time. revival I11cctil1gs.
emphasizing the spoken word and rhc l'''pnicncc of immediate
convcrxion. ,pLm!--,: up .uid included \vlLIt more traditional l-ricndx
cllmidcrcd un(2u;lkl'rh dispby, of extreme cinot ion. The results
\HTl' ottcn imprcv.ivc with n-spcct to bringing ncvv shccp into the
fllld-ncHT. since the scvcntccurh Cl'l1turv, oric llr Quakerism 's
strong suits, Such soul-saving, soul-gathering uicthods had a price
and, nlrim.itclv. ~IS congrcg.uious grl'\V in size and cOl11plexity, that
price. tor must Amcric.m Friends wcst uf Phil.idclphia. was the
LIving .isidc of the tr.uiitiou.il (2lLlker admonirion against hireling
111ll1i,ters ami the gLldu'll cstablisl1l11l'l1t uf J P;1StoLll system. and
'prugLln1l11Cd' 111cctings wherl'in ;1 paid pastllr beclI11c thc ~lllthur­
ity figure to whom 111cmbers )llokcd fl.l!" guid,ll1ce tlJ thc probable
l'xc!lISion of ;111Y kadin!--,:s tl"OI11 thl' Li!--':ht.
A, the rc\"iv;ll 111ove111ent cxpanded. SlllllC Holiness Fricnds, not
cOl1tcnt \vith merch relinlJui,hing traditiol1.!! pLlcticcs. sou!--,:ht to
nukc optional cvcn thc prohibitilln Jgainst vaill outw;lrd fl.JrI11S.
espccia!h thc S;llT;1111e11ts uf '\\';1ter lbptis11l' ;1l1d partaking i11 thc
Lord's supper. both llf which appcarcd to havc Scriptural
~LT Thulll,I" 1). H,1l1l111, thl' Trllll);lf1lldtlI1/l1.1('-lIlItTit'.l11 (..!Jllik/,ri:i/ll (UI0l)11l11lgtOII [(j~t-\),
1-+(1-7 011 till' lll'.lrly <,lljll:.lry IllOdlTlll"lt Ih)'i1tl01l ()f Nerl'lb Ml'J1lklllull ,llllollg ()rt!lodox
{1l\HI-llJd.,"llte) .AllllTll·,lll rTh:lld". tVlelllknll.lll, ,11) l,duc.ltor from Nonh Cctrolilu, privatdy
hl'ld \'ll'\\'<; J1l thl' [S()(J'i thcl.t \\'l'rL' <,i1l1iLlr tU th\J~C of 1)Jvid 1)LllI(,lll .tlld Ill'i fc)llowl'rs,
~r, \Vlut folio\\'<' OWL" llluch to H',lllHIL Fr,IILJ;)I'}//iltitJ/I, Pll.\.11111 ,\Ild PUIl'ihon" fJortrllir il/
erc}', I (j()-.20-l- .
.
 112 Brifish Quakerism 1860- 1 92 0
sanction."? The challenge of this Ordinance or 'water party' led
modcr.rtcjv evangelicl] leaders of Midwestern and Western Amer­
ican Ycarlv Meetings to summon an international ContlTence of
all Orthodox Yearly Meetings, including Dublin and London,
which conVL'Ill'd in Richmond, Indiana in September I :-\:-\7, The
proceedings ofthe Richmond Contcrcnrr, although not tree from
controversy, upheld the traditional Quaker rejection at' outward
sacraments. But, tl)r the organizers, its crowning ,lChievement W~lS
the promulgation of a I kclaration of Faith, setting out a corpus of
Quaker !wlids in the hope of halting the tendency among Friends
towards dIssension, division and, pcrhap«. ultirnatclv, disintegra­
tion. Seeking both weighty authority and broad COllSl'nsus, the
Conference turned to Joseph Bl'\'an Braithw.iin, attending as one
of till' delegates ti'om London, to ti'ame its statement of spiritual
principles. J B. B. 's theological views mav have been unpopular
among progressive British Friends, but he was widclv recognized as
~l world spokesman for ()rthodox Quakerism of the sort repre­
scntcd at Richmond
Swiftlv and almost single-Iundedly, ss 13raithwaite produced
what he described as 'simply a gathering up trom existing authen­
ticated documents of the testimony of Friends ... to the tiIllness
which is in Christ'. J. B. B, held that, fl!' trotn lwing a novelty, such
'ckclaratory statvmcnts of Christi:l1l doctrine' had lx'en issued bv
Friends ti'o!ll the earliest period of their history.") A century late'r
some Quaker historians attest to the validity of 13raithwaitl"s view,
charactlTizing his I kclaration as 'a clc.rr, scripturallv based state­
mcnt othclicf. .. fIr more traditio n.i] ... than its critics often allow'
or as 'a 1ll01Himellt to the impact of evangelical thought in the
Society'.'N Rcccntlv, one American Friend cllled the J)l'claration
'a valiant effort to bring unity among the then largest segmellt of
~7 For .ru il1uIIIin,ltlng dl~d[\''iiolJ of the :-,o-l,dkd ()rdilJ,lIllT l\)JHr<,)\·<..-T<.,Y. '>l'l' J 1.1111111.
Transtonn.uion, 13 0-37. AJ\o "l'l' tbrbour alld Fro-r. 17/t (..!lItlhT'·, .20J-I,s .md JllllL'\ H.
[\!lOOl1, lib)' lrun.i, r(..!II(71..:('J~') do Illl! nl/lfl::(' u-itl, fl'ilfl'( (EIJl<;lIlgrOll, PeL I <jO()).
,,~ J. B. BLlithW.litl' \\'.1.'> .l\'il\tl'd bv JlllIl''l E. RhU.llh, Prc.'lllkllt of Bryn rv1.n\"J' (:olkge.
.uid j.l III C'l (~Jrl'Y Tholll:l S of PhiIadclplliJ. hut It 'lecm, clr.ir rh.ir the !)CCLlLHil)ll \\'.l\ brgely
cOlk'eivcd bcfl)rc the COllfl'rl'llCC bl'gJIl JIHi that it owed more than .l little to thl' I )cc1.1r­
.uion produced fiftrcll Yl':lrs earlier b~' J 13. 13. .uu! other nu-rnbrr s of rhe LlIll',l~hJrc
Corunurrec ill the wake of the! )avid I )ullcm arfa ir.
~') J Be-van Braithw:litc, 'Norcs on the Rlt'hllllmd Confcrcm«. I SS7', FQI:' (I SSS), 272-­
XX, see especially 2XO. 2X).
')0 Punshon, Portrait ill Crey, 203 ,1nd Halnn1, Trlll1.~F)fn/(/!I·()II, I J 7,
All AII,~ry Cod or A Reasonable Faith? 113
Friends in America ... ' containing much that could be affirmed
'on sound historical grounds'r'" Contemporary critics were, how­
ever, likely to sec the document in a more partisan, less generous
light. In his Lifer Periods (!{ QuakerislII Rufus M. Jones, who became
the leading American spokesman tor liberal theology, recalled the
I kL-Luation as 'a relic of the past ... [which 1 made no effort to
inrcrprct Christianity to this age, .. [and] reflected no sign of the
prevailing intellectual difficulties over questions of science and
history'. The distinguished Quaker historian Thomas Hodgkin
called it a 'goody, goody, determined-to-be-orthodox, vapid and
dirfus« Confession of Faith ... '<)2 Certainly, it is of interest to note
that while the I kdaration confirmed that the Holy Spirit dwelt in
the hearts of believers, it denied any 'principle of spiritual light, life
or holiness inherent bv nature in the mind of heart of man, .. '
etkctivelv denying the Inward Light.
The Richmond Declaration was endorsed by most American
Yr.rrlv Meetings although Ohio, 100ya and Western rejected it tor
v.irviuj; and sometimes contradictory reasons; Philadelphia (Ortho­
dox) would not even consider it. When J. U. 13. brought his
'creed', as critics iuuncdi.itcly termed it, back to England tor cer­
tification. he stirred up a nest of opposition which would eventually
prove to he :1 decisive tactor in the overthrow of the evangelical
oligarchy which dominated British Quakerism tl)r half a century.
I hIring the t~J11 of 1 :-\:-\(), in till' period between the publication of
Tlic e(lS/iC! 0( Diviiu: He!p and the opening of the Richmond
Conference, J. 13. Braithwaite's 'Journals' recount a trip to Cam­
hridgc to meet with 'our undergraduates, of wliorn there are 10 to
I 5-among them Rogl'r Fry, , . ")3 There is a certain irony in this
apparently innocent passage, for while Rogl'r Fry's Quakerism did
not long survive his Cambridge experience, other young Friends
who came down from Cambridge or some other institution of
higher education were thereafter almost certainly hostile to the
brand of evangelicalism that J U. 13. undoubtedly offered in his
'," Wilmc r A. Cooper in (2RT, #7X. 2.1/4 (July 1<)<)2),43; Cooper add, th.rt for ,\II it,
virtues. the Derl.irarion w.i: "les~ rh,m a dcsirabl« sratcnu-nr of ~1ith fl)r Fneuds'. The fullesr
convidcr.ition of the Richmond Conference and Declaration is Mark Minncar, R.it'/IfIHll/d
1887:.4 QII,'ker Dravia l'II!(J!d, (Richmond I'.)X7).
'}.2 Jones, Later Periods. ; I, Y3 I' T. Hodgkin to jose-ph RO\\.TlltfCC, 17 May 1888. in Louise
Creighton, Llk .md Letters or 11""1l,l.i H(Ji{~kill (London 1'.) <7), 337.
'J) J. 13. tl. 'j,)urnals, 1883-IX'.)C), 31 Oct. IX80, 21'.).
 An A I/gr)' God or A R easonable Faith? 11 5
II4 British Quakerism 18 60-1920

in evitable mnu stry to their m eet in g for wo rship.?" Ge ner ally

spea k ing , w hen yo u ng Quak ers returned from U niversity to th eir
local m eetin gs, the y b rought w ith th em not o nly an extraordin ary
sense o f co nfidence but also ren ew ed dedi cation to mak e exp licit
the so rt of Q uaker faith th ey had learned fro m th e lik es of Edw ard
W o rsdell and th e autho rs of A R easonable Faith.
Late in 1887, befor e]. B . Braithwaite had return ed from Amer­
ica, J o h n W illiam G raham , B . A. Lo ndo n , M . A. Ca m bridge . and
new ly appo in ted tutor at D alto n H all. M anchester. ex pressed con­
cern to his parents abou t ]' 13 . 13.'s ' trying to give us a aced', ' It
w ould be a gri evou s calam ity and w ou ld split th e Society if carr ied;
but everybody is again st it, includ ing Evan gel icals such as W . S. Lean
and J. 13 . H odgkin, so I think th er e is no t mu ch fear . Still, the
Y. M . should be stren gt hened by ge nuine Friends go ing up .. . It
w ill mean a presidenti al defe at w hen Bevan return s.").\
H o we ve r confident of vict ory for th e forces of progress , G raham
w as d eter mi ned to leave no stone un tu rn cd, A few w ee ks pri or to
the gath ering o f London Yearly M eeting, he w ro te to R oger Fry,
still at C am b ridge, asking his help in enlisting th e suppo rt of,
amo ng othe rs, his fathe r Sir Ed ward , th e renown ed jurist, 't o strike
a blow for religiou s freedom at the approac hing Yearly Meeting' .
Fig. 4
Edward Grubb (1854-1 y29), with unidentified women at the
Scarborough Summer School, TYOI

we III1ISI exert ourselves if the battle for truth and progress is not to be lost.
It is terrible to think that the sublime carelessness of dogma, and most
potent insistence on spiritual liji ' that Early Friends exhibited should be
lost, ju st at the time when a crccdlcss Fellowship for J higher life is so
much the one thin g needful for the Jge.\i()
W hen the yo u nger Fry passed G raham 's lett er along to his
fath er, his co m m ent that 'the cree d . . . wo uld be a death blo w to
Q uake rism in its pr esent form . . , ' add s to th e accumulated ev i­
den ce that w ell- educated yo u ng er Friends forme d an ob vio us and
~I Sec ] . W . G raham , 'R em iniscences o f the Begin ning otCambridge M eet ing ' , HI', Feb.
1 Sl).\, 31-2 and March, 51)- 00 and Lau rel P hillipson . ' Q uakerism in Ca m bridg e lrom thc AC I
of Tol eralio n 10 111l' end of th e Ni ncrcc nth C en tury ( J(iX ~ t y()o)' , J'n l{)'eJjl( ~-' '!( the C III/­
hri,I>!" A l/liql/ari'lII $. I(;cr)', 77 ( l \i S ~). 1- '3 .
." J. W . G raham to !'alenlS, 5 N ov, and .1 Dec. I SR7, Box 7. JW C I'. W illiam Scarnell
L"Jn (I S33- tl)oR), prin cip.•1o f fl o u nde rs Institute, I ~7 0'-9 1) is listed as an "active m oderate'
in Bro nner. 'M o dera tes', 307; j onathan Back ho u« Hodgkin ( tS43-1\i20) was an infl uential
evan gelical minister and autho r, o flen associ ated w ith J. B. Braithwaite .
,'" J. W. Graham 10 R oger f ry, 3 t-h y ISSS, Tem p. M S~, 5X7/ 3, LSI'.
vo cifero us clement of oppositio n to th e R ichmond Decb ratio n.
C ertainly, me n lik e]. W . G raham an d Edward G rubb ( 1l)54- 1939) ,
M . A., London, have subse quently been given co nsiderable credit
for finally co nvincing London Yearly M ee ting that the D eclaratio n
sho uld be reject ed. But it may be that a bit o f Quak er
mythology, partl y self- co nstructed , has give n th ese you nger mem­
bers more celebrity and accla im for the decisiven ess of their con­
tributions than th ey deserve, at least inso far as th ey have b een
depicte d as leaders o f a beleagu ered minority ro usin g th e forces
o f progress in a do - or-die struggle against evange lical reaction . In
fact, resistance to th e adoptio n o f any so rt of cre do ap pea rs to have
been br oadl y based from th e beginning and to have in cluded , as
G raham no ted, man y o lder and at least m oder atel y evangeli cal
Friends.
In th e spr ing o f I RX R Rich ard W estlake ( J!~27- 19 1 5), ed ito r of
th e Friends Quarterly Exa111; I/ Cf, published an edito rial w arning
 I 10 Sri tislt Quakerislll 1860- 1 92 0
All Angry Cod or A Reasonable Faith? I 17
against approval of the Declaration which, in his view, might be
or to the holding of any office in connection with the Church'.
less a basis tor doctrinal unity than a blunt instrument I'll!" 'enforcing
And, indeed, after Richard Westlake published J. 13. 13.'s article on
the claims of orthodoxy'. 'Let us ... be cautious', he said, 'in
the Richmond Declaration in the Friends Quarterly Examiner, he
adopting such precise terms of belief as would unduly limit
acknowledged that Braithwaite had gone a long way toward
minds that with all reverence and humility arc reaching out I OO
relieving his own tears. Joseph Rowntrcc was not so easily
[through the Scriptures) to the infinite love of Cod as revealed
therein. ")7 convinced. Noting that Braithwaite's article had presented the
I)cclaration as a bulwark against 'unsound and dangerous doc­
Joseph Rowntree (r R30-1(2)), the York chocolate manutac­
trines' in a world where the Church was 'in a state of discipline
turcr, also published, at his own expense and in a time of tinancial
.ind warfare', Rowntrcc asked whether the professed beliefs of any
uncertainty tor his firm,')S a 'Memorandu111 on the Declaration ... '
Friend that went outside the doctrinal limits of the Declaration
setting out at considerable length the reasons to r his opposition to
would cause that individual to be reckoned unsound or accused of
'elaborate dogmatic creeds'. Noting the considerable historical
joining with the forces of the enemies of the Church?lol
ditkrences between the development of American and 13ritish
The tate of the Richmond Declaration in Britain was decided by
Quakerism, Joseph Rowntree made clear that he wished neither
London Yearly Meeting in btl' May r RRR. John W. Graham
to deprecate what the evangelical American Yearly Meetings had
provided his sister Agnes with a lively description of the proceed­
done nor to comment adversely upon those actions. Rather, his
ings: 'The Creed Debate was a glorious success, and my mind is
desire was to illustrate how the endorsement of such a documcnr
immensely relieved and really quite jolly! There were, on my own
by London Yearly Meeting would excite controversy and create a
counting, r roo people of both sexes, crowding every seat & aisle &
'stumbling block to the faith of. .. an influential minority'. The
doorway of the large Meeting House.' The debate lasted tor
1()2

I)Cclaratioll, dealt 'with questions of solemn and trelllendollS

over five hours and more than sixty individuals 'made definite
impact, relJuiring the most careful thought ... ' yet it seemed to
speeches', including Graham himself who spoke for
h.iv.. been 'adopror] with less discussion than is given to the Articles
of Association ofa trading company.' As an example of the 111llller­
ous points that were 'either strangely presumptuous or misleading'. .ibout 10 nuns ... and ti-lt iutcnvrlv relieved & much backed up by fl:cling

Rowntree cited the I )cclaration 's judgement 'that the pnnishment rhl' sympathy of all the younger people 111 the galleries round. My voice
of the wicked and the blessedness of the righteous shall be ever­ \l'emed to till the Meeting easily... At intervals the Clerk [Josl'ph Storrs
Frvj stopped the men .uid asked sonu- bdy to speak. On the whole till'
lasting'. Would such a statement, which was unacceptable to many
women speakers helped us: & their presence certainly did. The minurc
good and pious Quakers, hencdllrth become 'required of all,
\V.IS most satisEll·tory. It gavl' no shadow of sancnon to the document &
and ... those who could not adopt it should not presume to be
Friends?")') -.ud whY-(I) Wl' had never decided before the deputation went [to
RIchmond I th.it we wanted a creed. (2) We arr not allowed to change
Joseph Rowntree acknowledged J. 13. Braithwaite's attempts to rhis. (3) Many Friends object to its contcnts.l":'
dispel fears about the effects of the Richmond Declaration by
noting that it had never been the purpose of those who drew up
the Declaration to make it 'a preliminary to Church membership, Graham's exultation at his personal success and that of the
progressIve cause obviously contrasted with Joseph Bevan
'07 'The Rlclullolld COIII"rellce', H.2L, (1555), qs-<).
J', jo\cph Rowntrcc. .\tCII/Mil/lilll/ll. 10 !\1Jy- I XXX; J. 13. Br.iithw.utc. 'RKhlllond COIl­
"s AIIII Vernon, .-'1 QlIa!':er BlI.'IIII'.'.' .\/,"1. IIII' LIlt' oljo.>'l'l'iI ROlI'lIlrce, 18j6- 192 , (Loudon
J<jSH), 0-1--100 and Roger C. WiJ"OIl, 'We ~hall never Thrive Oil IglloLlllce', Ill.--I (JI/llker
rlTCllCC', 2S5: and [Wc)tLlkc], 'Ruhmond Conference'. 1511l.
.J[ joseph Rowntrcc, '.\lfllltlrL11IdIlIlJ', 10 May IX.'lX and J. B. lIr.uthw.ute , "Richmond
:\li3(l'//l1l1y}n Edu-ard fl. .\!ilh:t(llII, e d. J)Jvld Bblllirc'i, jercllly C;recnwood .in.! Ale-x Kerr
(M.lilehes!er 1<)55), 15J-('0. COllrlTcllcc',277-X
'N ;\[emo/<llIdlllll Oil IIII' Dl'rI<I/"IIOIl or Christian Doctrine ,s.>'lIed 1>)' the R,rlllIl,'lId C'II!t-rClI(e. , J. W. (;rahalll to A[i!ll" [Grah.un], 31 May 1555, 130x 7, JW(;P.
18i11 (York 1555). Ibid. At thi-, time fCllUk Friends usu.tllv met "l'parately trorn the regular Yearly
'v1el'till[i. See Chapter () below
 I r:-l British (J1I<1kcrislll 1860-1920
Braithwaite's rcaction to rlic debate. but not so sharplv J' might
hJ\T been expected: 't hcrc were S0I11e!,I to me, very p<1illtid cxhib­
itions, trorn lV S. Lean, Jno. W. Graham. Edwd (;rubb &: ,OI1IC
orhrr«, yet wc wrrc helped through better th.m 111ight hJYC been
expected. Thl' prlJudicc h~l' been stuuulatcd in J high dcgrcc
agaillSt a "creed": the Dccl.ir.u iou is printed in the bodv of our
proceedings, but 110JUdgll1Cl1t is made uporl it.'lo~
But J judgement 1];1(1 been made and It ch'lllgcd the British
Society of Friends forever. The Al1gry elld of the Agc of Atll11C­
mcnt Iud bCCI1 ushered out of thc Llrgc Mceting ro orn at Devon­
shire House .ind replaced by ;1 kinder, gCI1t1cr but il1til1itely more
elusive Dcity. Tl«: process by whirh this transformation rook pl.ic«
WJS more gradual .md less trauni.irir thun has sometimes prc viouslv
been dcp'ctcd. It wa, natural rather th.m rcvolurionorv, ;1 product,
110t llf st;rrt!il1g thclllllgicli innovarious. but of chal1ging social and
cducltillnal stand.ird«. Thc portrav.il of ~1Il isolated and embattled
vourhrul minoritv swayillg the-ir cldcrs thrllugh thc eloquence of
their word» and the dcpth llf their sincerity ;l]SO needs to be
modified. The young WOI1lCIl .md IllCI1 who opposed thc Rich­
mond DccL!r;ltiOI1 mav h.rvc been 011 slLlkY histllrical ground, but
thcv \\'lTC OIl the Willlllllg 'ldc, and, tor the most part, thl'y would
cont inu c to be insofar .is the thclllogicl! and social driti: of British
(Juaknislll W;lS concerned. The successful struggle of liberal
l-ricnds ;lgJil1St rlic imposition llf;1 ncdJI ,tJtellICIlt, J pJstllraI
,y,tClll al1d llther l'\'allgc!icr! il1110V;ltiollS ;IS wcll ;1, thc cxpalldillg
illtlllCllCC llf 'llllldcl'll thllught' g;lvc progrcS'iivc YllUllg Fricnds
illerc;lsillg ;I-;SULlIlCC tlLlt thcy werc llllt llldv ill tul1C with thc
tilllcs, but ~Jiso with thl' tllturc of 13ritish (Ju;lkerislll.
J B. 'J"llnIJl~, I SS3- r !'\l)[i',
]"1 BLlitl]\\"lltl..'.
JO.lll M'lI)' I Ty (1 S(l.2--! ()."'\ -;1 '..l~'llJg ..,Ill' tL'!t rC.11...'l'(1011 u(the Rllhllllllld lkll.lr.njllll \\.\, \r111111
dtluhr tlll~il Willi,lIll S. I.l·.lll L'xpn:\\l'd Ill" PPP().\H!llIl. '!lren'in\" \\ nil l::.d\\,lrd !\ljlli~,IIL 2()
J J!)l1~l·. I \)]]LlOIl"
M.1Y (1)()...j., Fnl'Jl(f...
4
Prophetic Vision
HOME MISSIONS AND HIIULlN(; MINiSTERS
Younger opponent'. of the Richmolld Declaration always ch.irac­
rcrizcd its ddc',lt ;1' a dramatic turning point in their own lives ~IS
\\Tll as ill the history of the Society of I ricud-; I Supporter, like
Richard Linkboy (I ~ 1 ()-<))) were, on the other hand, deeply
,ll,lgrilled by its rejectioll, Lirtlcboy tc'ared that sinrcrclv held,
Illllg-,clllding belid-" wcrc '1I0W stigllLltized ;1' do gill ,I' by proPOll­
ents Of~l new rhcologv who could 'hardly bc ;IV';;1re ofthe lbngn ot­
.lggressivc .utio n ill propag;ltlllg tcnets which ~lppc,lr to strike at the
root of our fJlth, which tend to ttlster doubt. ;lIld givc rise to Llsh
judglllellt ;llld unsettled oplllioll'.-'
No doubt ni.mv Frie!ld, who wishnl to retain a biblic.rlly based
(Ju~lkn t~lith shared Linkboy's anxiety, but. ill fIn, the rejection of
the Rjrhmond ()ecbLltioll did not siglla] the tinal overthrow of
l'\';lllgcliClI illtluellcc, The machinery of London Yearly Meeting
\V;IS ,till dfectivcly COlltrolled bv eldcrly eV;lllgelicri Fricllds who
wne ill no ll]()od to cOlllprollli,e \yith thc propollents of the IICW
liberal theology.' 1)urillg tllC btc 1:-1:-10-; JIllI carly I :-I <)os, the strug­
gle bct\\TCll liberal ;lIld evallgelica! QU~lkers cOlltillucd alld ttHllld
its tt.dk,t cxprcssion, not over questiolls of Highn Criticislll or
21 JUlll' J <"lSS, .2 ,"I lj. I.\F ll'd j\1tlhg,1Il rCl.dl\
l)~lnvini;lll ,cicllce, but with regard to the Friellds' HOllIe Missioll
MovelllCllt. the most dYllalllil' n IJllifcstation of l.ltc Ilineteenth­
celltury (~uaker soci;d ;lctivi'Ill,~
[ Fd\\",lrd (;ruhh ,h"cncd llIl "l'\'l'ul UCC\'~lOJl'i th,lt he \\"{lldd IJ.lVC len thl' \uliery it" thl"
IZ.IChlll()lh~ I )l'c!JrJtlOIl hJd hCl"n elldnr'icd hy Ycarly Ml'l'tin~" '1'1:, 27 ,l.U1. 1030, M, ,IllLl
Illtcrnl'''" wHh H.ichl'Ilda Scott, 30 J\1,ly !<)7(I, Fril'nd'i House, LOlldon.
P,rclurd Li"kbll\, '[he Nc\\' Theol",:'.'. I{JI: (IS,!I). YlH. ,'7 1
\Xlli~oll, 'J he }\o,td to M,lllchl,,,tl'r', J...j.7 ;tlld Crcl'll\\,l)(xL h"wl/d.\' dUIII<clict: 1 ()C)"
-1­ Prot"L'"..,or Ridl,trd lJrJIth\\'Jitc, gLllld,n]) of). Ik",1l1 13rJith\\',\itl', nude tht:' point t1ur
the "t[uggk bet\\"l'Cll hheLtI ,llld l'\'.lngdic.tl Fricnd" W.l'i"il'r!uu.'ly juined for tbl' tlDt tillll' Oil
thc l"~L1C off {(lille Nli~~lOn,. Illtl'f\'ie\\" WIth Rtch,ud 13rJlth\\'aite, C'l111hndge, AlIg;lht Il)".;(l.
 120 British QuakerislIl 1860-1920
The impetus that g;]ve rise to the establishment of the Friends'
Home Mission Committee in I HS2 was connected to an carlin and
highly successful Quaker experiment, the Adult Schools. As noted
above (sec Chapter I), the Adult Sc hool Movement was founded
in Birmingham during the I H40S hy Quaker reformer and
philanthropist Joseph Sturge. The concept of Adult Schools was
simple and the aims modest: ;] Sunday morning meeting to tCICh
reading and Christianity to the unlettered working classes using the
Bible as primer. Adult Schools, whose teachers were predominantly
but not exclusive Quaker, thus combined leaming and religious
instruction in a rather undiffcrcntiarcd t]shion and sometimes
featured ;ll·tivities, illcluding formal readings from Scnpture and
hymn-singing, that were outside regular Quaker religious practice,
although they IlLJ doubt helped to put working-class .trtcndcrs at
case. Whatever form it took, the Adult School movement sel'lllS to
have provided considerable spiritual stimulation to (~uaker teachers.
Beyond giving young, middle-class Friends sOlnething to do and
affording them the opportunity to meet working-class people on a
regular basis, the Adult ScllLJols had the ;]dded virtue of providing
Quakerism with a unif)ing vchicl« tor Christian witness. In I ~47
the Friends First-I )ay School Assorintio» (FFDSA) was eSLlhlished
to co-ordinate the work of Quaker volunteers. By I H70, 1,200
QU;Ikn Adult School teachers were instructing over 15,000 pupils
(a larger number th.m was in membership with the entire British
Society of Friends) in the rudiments of literacy and Christian
doctrine. The first national FFJ )SA Conference was held in
conjunction with London Yearly Meeting In I H72. Thcrcnttcr,
the FFDSA met concurrently with Yearly Meeting .ind annually
reported to it while remaining independent of its direct control.
This arrangement provided FFI )SA Friends with a convenient
means for directing and exp;llJding their endeavours while keeping
their organization clear of possible questions by or debates with
conscrvnrive Friends about the un Quakerly methods employed in
some First-Day Schools.'
London Yearly Meeting had reason to be proud of the FFDSA's
accomplishments, but for all its success in attracting students for
whom practical as well as spiritual services were provided, a n;]g­
<Wilsou. ,\-!,Ulc!It'ster. 43 JilL"! 'Ericn d-, in rhc Nincrci-nth Century', 3SS. Aho ~l'l' Edward
Grubb, (Juah.·fl)·11I ill EII,I!.I'lIId: 115 Pn'_\C11l P(Jsltioll (London IYOI), 1.2.
Prophetic Vision IZI
ging question remained: Why did so few Adult School pupils join
the Society of Friends? Many Quakers would probably have agreed
\\ith the reason given by a young lawyer, Joseph Gundry Alex­
.mdcr (I H4H- I l) I H), in the early I H70s. Friends, Alexander said,
were failing to attract new members because of a 'radical unsound­
ness' which permeated their Religious Society. Its defects were
reflected not only in 'the want oflife and freshness in much of the
ministry heard in our meetings' but also in the frct 'that we .irc not,
,]S a whole, a Christian Church, but a great club-professing ... to
.idvocatc certain principles, hut exacting of those who grow up
.unougst us [with J no indication of personal allegiance to them' ."
Alexander's criticism was more social than theological. He
believed that the Adult Schools should provide something more
than an outlet for youthful energ;y. Rather, they should be a means
tor drawing souls to Christ through the unique and consoling
message of Quakerism. As Caleb Kemp noted in I H7j, 'unless
their [si«] is a change in this respect we shall lose our place of
usefulness in the Church &. in the country .. .'7 The first apparent
step toward the sort of change Alexander and Kemp h.id in mind
occurred in J H75 with the appointment of a Committee on Gcn­
cr.il Meetings. s The idea of the Ceneral Meeting was an American
import, a product of the Revivalist Movement among western
Friends.') The spirit of these gatherings W;]S frankly evangelistic,
In occasion for teaching, preaching, and discussion which would
involve 'vigorously evangelical younger Friends' in the sort of
spiritual outreach that might not only rekindle the fire in local
meetings but also, as in America, bring substantial numbers of new
nu-mbers into the Society. Certainly one major influence on the
appointment and subsequent activities of the Committee Oil Cen­
cral Meetings was the nearly continuous preSell(e of travelling
American evangelical ministers in Britain.!" Conservative Friends
" Jos"ph c. ;\In,lJHkr. 'Our SOL"" S"'tl·lll·. ['(.11:. ( I S 7 1) . 43')-4 1 .
C R. K .. '[ourn.il-,'. 1\. I') Olt. ISn. 43. LSf. Abo 'IT l i.rrcl.rv. 1",,0 L,t" 5SJ-4·
Th c nn-mlu-r- of till' C()Jl)l1littl'l' ou CCIIlT:d Mel'tlll!!:", origill:dly 23 ;lIld illLTt'J'iL'd to
.2~. "'LTC rhictlv l'V,Ill~l'li«d minisr cr-. they ,Irl' lI~tl'd [iv Makoln: J. Thom.is. 'Till' ('\)111­
I11HtL"l' Oil (;l"lll'LIJ Ml'l'till!:--f\. I S7~-S.". ill ,--1 (!//(lkcr .\ li.\(f!l'lII)' tor Edw.m! MilligJIl, L'd".
I )c1\'ld Bl.umrcs , Jl'rl'lllY (;n'l'!1\\,opd ,ll1d ,'\1('x Kerr (Manchvxnr I t)S ~I, 143·
v The bl'r.;t di"cll""icm l)f till' Rl'viV<1li"t Movcmcur is Hnmm. It,11/~1;)nllllti(l1l, 74-1)7. Al"n
-cc Isnhri. J '/(f(lri,1II (2"d/""< T_' , 1)3, (){) who inrorrcrrlv Crl'(i!ts the N1oody-S.ll1kl'y revival tour
ill Hrir.un (I~73-5) ,1" the ill"piLltinll tor C;elll'rJI Mel,tillgs
j(J Edwin Bronner nor c- that thirty Amrrir.m Illilliqer" carryillg L'lTtiticJtl''l trcuu their
horne meetings vtcited I ondon and Dublin Yt'",nly Meeting" during the [~7o". Sl'e

122 British QUi/kerislIl 1860-1920
were apt to he offended by the aggfl'ssivc. biblically-based ministry
()f 111:l1lY of these American visitors and. as in the case of James
Owcus visit to Manchester in the latr 1 ~()os, local diHiculties
lIlight be reignited or exacerbated by their brash. undiplomatic
approach."
Still. Ccncral Meetings were attended with some success in
England, :dthough the Committee's .un iu.i] reports to Ycarlv
Meeting iuv.rriublv asserted that while (;eneLd Meetings were
attLlcting souls. they were not keeping them within the Quaker
told. In I ~71J, tor cx.uuplc-, the Committee on C;eneLII Meetings
reported
numbcr« of pl'oplc JU\l' been trulv convcrrcd to Christ through thi-:
instrumc-ur.ilirv " IJl sC\'l'r,d C,1Sl'S. liowcvcr. through thne helng 110
provision for shephndlng the H()ck. 111.111\' ILI\(' joillL'd other lklhllllill;l­
rions: hut \\'l' fl'ar th.rr m.uiv h,I\(' ,lls() gOlle h;l(k to th.: world that Inight
have been prncrved, /TJl1L'rl' :lppl',lrs to hl' a scnol!S nced tt)r thc
sustaincd ettc)rts of ITielllk"
Supporters of the aggrl'"i\'e e\',lllgl'!islll m.uiifcstcd in Ceneral
Meetings believed that some more plTnl.lI1ent arrangcmcnr h.id
to he nude to buttress the work, On the other lund. traditional
Friends, suspicious of the prepared sermons, Bible reading, hymn­
singing .uid emotional atmosphere that inl'vitably :lccomp:lIlied
C;eneLd Meetings, expressed the fc:ar, not, pcrh.ips, unmixed
with l11iddk-cLISS snobbery, that Quaker worship sl'rvices might
actually deterior:lte into something along the lines OLI Moody and
Sankey revival. In 11\1\2, Yc.irly Meeting ckvi,ed a compromise of
sorts by cre:lting the separate Home Mission COlnlnittl'e, (The
Committee on Cl'nl'LII Meetillgs was officially hili down in
111113.)' 3
Smaller in size but mort- ambitious in scope than its predecessor,
the new Committee's urc mhcr-, incorporated several stalw.irt evan­
':'\Jlll'flCJIl Irrcnd -, ill Tr,lll~i[J()I1, A~ Vil'\\ni Through Brinvh (~lI,lklT I'l'rludl,'Jk 1 S(I"­
1 xxo. in }JIC liunb's rr~lf, 13S .uid Ihl.\_I/lIl.
)l'C (:h.lprcr 2 ,lbO\T.
1'\ The C0Il1111irrel' dnuhtk ...., ,IPPfP\Tti l)t" S,lyCL' '.., dOdrinJI pu~itiun. The' J)(.2 H l'ntr')' fOf
C211 0 t n i by' Thollla"" '(~cllt'L11 Mct'ting-,,>'. 13~
"'U\"(l' notl"'> hI" bclict- 'tll.lt thl' Bibk I" tt) bl' ~1L"(l'p(l'd ,1" a \Yhnk, Jnd from it there i" Ill)
II Ibid, I 30--t-1, John Pun\holl notL':'> thJt 11L'c,lu"'l' Bflti . . h FriclJO'" teJlLkd to L'(llllC t"i:-uHl
'the upper rcache\ of ,1 stLltifled \ociL'ty" ,lthL'Y) WL'fe p,lttflul Lither th,lll COlllLldely III
thClf Jppro,KhL''i to the ullchurched'. !Jortrtlir ill Grc}', 1~)2
P/'()phetic Vision 123
gelical holdovers hum the Committee on General Meetings,
including J. 13. Braithwaite. Caleb Kemp and Richard Litrlcboy.
()ne of the c.irlicst objectives set forth by the Home Mission
(:omll1ittl'e W~1S to provide monetary and other support which
would allow Friends 'having a gift in the Ministry' to settle in a
promislIlg area and to devote themselves on a full-time basis to
l'\.lllgelIstic work on behalf of the Society. This work might take
rhc form of reopening meeting houses that h:1LJ been closed or of
.itrcmpnng to establish entirely new meetings ill places where
(;eneral Meetings h.id produced hopeful results. I +
One of the first mission workers to apply to the H011le Mission
Committee t()r support was Willi:1l11 Jasper S:lyce (11I57-11J4(J) of
London. Upon cx.nuination of Sayee's application," the Commit­
tee agreed 'to aid, ' , ill his desire to devote himself 11I0re fully to
eungelistic work than is .rt present possible' and to provide xufli­
.icnt 11Iailltl'll.lnce 'so :IS to liberate him for visiting the poor c'Y
undertaking other missionary work under the control ut- this
COl11l1littee', No one cuuld c011lpLJiIl, as had sometimes been the
l,l,e with Ccncral Meetings, that Sayce's labours in LOIlduII WLTe
not sufficiently supervised (he was under the scrutiny ut)il'l' older
l'\',lIIgelicI! Friends).'(' Still, from its inception. the op.-ratiou of the
HOIl1e Mission Committee proved to be ':1 fruitful source of
tiiction'. [ 111 this case. the oppovit io n was IIOt so much concerned
xvith methods ofproselytiziIlg or even added cxpcusc. but with the
n iorc fund:l1I1eIlLIl point that the COI1llllittec's paid Mission work­
ers represented a direct threat to the tr.iditioual Quaker proscrip­
tion ~Igainst hireling ministers, au especially sensitive issue ill light
of the gn)\\'th of a pastoral svstcm a11loIlg A11ILTicaIl Friends,
Supporters of the Home Missions concept justified the pavnicut
of spiritual workers on the ground of results. Not only did the
unssiou.rrirs briIlg new recruits to the fL)ld. but they might also help
rrviv« defuI1ct meetings, as in the usc of William Hubson, a Horne
I I Thl' COIllJ1lIttl'l', with tell .ippoinrcd memberv, rir« Iller on I JUIle' [XX..:'., Sl'l' .'lillllfes,
1rli,'Jllh HOI1le' i\1i ...... iou Conuuu n-r (I+HvlC:), ISS2-ISS-t-, [JUIle' ISS2, 1-1+, l Yl- AI"o -, l'l"
'\" There Not J C,Hl\l'? The Sl)l-ll'ty of Friends .uid the La«: ~lt)llle i\11"'iIOll (:ollfcrellce'
[I krl'ill.llrLT ITN/\C1 (Loll dOll I S'n), \)-1.1.20 ,mel Wi},oll, 'Ro.1d to M.1llchc,t,T." [+(l.
"1'f"..11· ,
.\ 11111"(".'. FHMc. I SS2-S+, 23, LSF
Grubb. Qlldf.!erlSIIJ ill Efl~/t1l1d. I"~,
 12 4 British QuakerislIl 1860-1920
Mission worker in and around St Ivcs, who was instrumental in the
reopening of Cambridge Meeting in I ~t\-1-. rx
As Home Mission work expanded in scope (there were six
workers receiving support from the Committee in I ~~()), some
advocates began to see this type of proselytizing as a compelling
new raison d'hre tor the entire Society. In I ~~() Henry Stanley
Newman (I~37-Il)I2), a member of the Home Mission Commit­
tee, commcnrcd: 'Ourjmtitlcltion for continuing to exist does not
rest on the advancement of any theory, h owcvi-r good, 13UT IT
RESTS WITH THE PRACTICAL WORK WE ARE DOING,
and when that work ceases, it will be time to set our house in
order, and die'. ['J J.13. Hodgkin, one of H. S. Newman's colleagues
on the Home Mission Committee, while clLItioning that the
fundamental reason tor Quakerism's separate existence was still
'its practical testimony to the reality of the guidance of the Holy
Spirit', agreed that 'the evangelization of the world is the J!lilll,lry
work of the Church, and ... all other church work will be better
done by being placed m it, proper subordinate position'.co
There were other Friends, however, who wondered if the
separate identity of their Religious Society was not being subordin­
ated to the vision of an aggressive element bent on transforming
Quakerism's historically unique message into a warmed-over ver­
sion of mainstream Protestantism. Progressive Friends, of course,
believed that their Society had been and should remain a 'living'
flith, able to incorporate the most up-to-date discoveries ofSCIence
and history into its structure precisely because it did not require
adherence to any te)]"I1I of dogmatic creed. John William Graham
caught the spirit in a somewhat jocular letter to J. 13. Hodgkin
urging him to 'give up the mechanical non-literary artitlcial quasi­
miraculous theory oflbiblical) inspiration &: come over to the view
for which we arc now called heretics, .. ' Graham's advice to a
younger sister was more serious: 'we shall have to gIve up the idea
that the Bible was intended as a manual of science or of History.
That sort of thing we have the brains to study for ourselves .... 13ut
j~ Ibid. .ind Phillipvon, ·(~llJkcr', Il1 CJI11bndge'. 27-tj. Abo set' John V·./. (;rJlul1l,
'Rl'1l1Il1i-;cl'l1cl''i of C'll1lbridge Mccting', 31-2. YJ-()O.
'" Henry Sr.mlev Ncwm.rn , 'C'hpcl Mimvr rv, 1'<)1:'. xx (ISS(,). j2('-37.
'0 j. B. Hodgkin. n"t'<' Phases o(<),,"/'cr'-'ll1 (London ISS'.I), 3. 5. 11
Prophetic Vision 12 5
we may well believe Christ, and obey what he says about God ...
[csus we can understand & love." I
William Pollard warned that while arrangements for a paid
p.istorarc might sccm innocent and even practical, the experience
of the early Church showed that a separate ministry was 'poisonous
tl'uit' which inevitably led to 'the establishment of a separate
clencal Order, that arrogated to itself the name and authority of
the Church'. 22 Pollard's former collaborator Francis Frith enlarged
upon this same thcmc in an article published in I ~l)2, Ostensibly a
plea for tolerance and charity among those who differed in their
interpretation of Christ's saving message, Frith's essay was more
fundamentally a defence of those 'more liberal and rcasonnhl«
views' which, tar from tending 'to undermine, .. the foundation
of Christian t~lith', had in many cases,
s,l\Td from an almo-t total wreck of Elith, those who have been repelled
by the 'iron creed' of some of the Churches. Our souls' pe~lce docs not
depend upon the ,1CCl'pLl11ce or rejection of ccrr.u n intellectual dcfinirions
of religious truth, but upon 'repentance toward God, .md t:lith towards
our Lord Je'lIS Christ'~ upon the persistent devotion to His will and
person, and Elithfulness to the interest' of His kingdom.";
Opponents of the new thrust of Home Mission activities per­
ceived an ominous developmcnt in the Committee's apparent
determinatioll to build up a nC\N form of Quaker ministry, pro­
gralllI1lcd, premcditatcd and paid, waiting not upon the Light but
upon the fashions and fancies of an alien religious tradition, In an
article entitled 'An Evangelical Ministry', one concerned Friend
noted a disturbing tendency among HOllie Mission cnthusiasts to
'cast upon any who speak in our mcetings for worship, a respon­
sibility of ev,lngelising, or preaching gospel sermons, which their
Lord and our Lord lIIay not have laid upon them' .2~
-cI J \1../. C, to). B. Hodgkin, 25 AllgU -,t IS()O, Box J . .loll to l.cn.i , 2:-1 May' loSS7, Box 7,
IWCl'­
W,lli:llll Pollard, U/d'h",I"olled <)1I"kcri.(J/I: Its ()rI:~jIlS, J<.eslIlts ,"I/I I'll tilfe. (Philadclplu.r
ISS~). ~2-3.
FL1I1l'" Fnrh, 'Un Inrcllcctu.il Difference' Among Christians. I'QL, (I Sl)2), I [5- 21 .
12 3.
'4 Edward Pc.usou. 'An Evangelic»! Mmistrv. ibrd .. (ISS(,), 44 6.

 12(, l"3rllls// QII<lkcrlslIl 186o-19l(J
Pickill~ Up the S;l1lIL' theme, Edward Crubb noted that Illauy
existing Illl'l'tiu~s were bilill~ to hold the alle~i,lIlce Of';l consider­
able portion of the more thou~httld of our yonngcr members'.
This siruation had anscn. he said, trom two t:lctors: 'the cxtcnsron
of, . ·lJuantity at thc expeusL' ofqualit\', as if the number of speak­
ers at worship services W,lS the bL'st reflectiou of J lueetin~'s
spiritual couditiou; .md the (Ict that conscientious members \\'CI'C
spendin~ too mucl: time and eucr~JY OIl Adult School and mission
activities. 'It is liard to sec how the inner litl' of Quakerism is to be
maiutaiucd without a large share of cucrgy bcin~ devoted to our
OWIl meetings. '2j
Despite such objections, discussion .rt Yc.irlv Meding ill I SS7
srcmcd to reveal, ,IS Johu W. (;r.J!U!l1 reported to his parents. that
the HOl1]c Mission Committee had tilL' preponderant support of
tho«, attcuding. But the t(JI10\\'l1l~ vc.ir, dllrill~ the S,111IL' Yc.ulv
Meeting which rdllsed to cndor-«- the Rulunonr] I)cclar.ltloIl,
(;r.lhal1] noted th.rt thc t(Jrccs ;'ttackiu~ the work of the Co nin iittor
were '~rcatcr than ever hcrorc: and therc \\'as ;I decided rn.ijorirv
a~aillst the couuuu.uuc of the Conunittcc ... '2(' eL1ILlm's sellsc of
;111 anti-I lome Mission COUSl'!lSUS was ccrtaiulv biased. lor support­
ers of the Conunirrc.. succcsstullv dctl-Ilded its activities .ind pre­
served its influcllCc. Still, ycar b\ vc.ir, cv.mgclical Friends tl.'lt the
heat of ,I ~rowin~ opposition led by well-educated. sdf-colltideut
youn~cr UICU like (;raham .i nd Edw.rrd Crulsl», SOl1]ctuucs evan­
gelicd rcspOUSL' to this courcru \V,lS ovcrrlv hostile as in au incident
(;raluul recounted to his parcnrs. While spc;Ikiug ill Maul'hcstcr
Mcetin~. hc was Intcrrupted by au oldcr \\'OlllJU (Crah'1Il1 cdled
her ';1 t:lIlatic sort') who said she would Ieavc the gathcring unless
hc desistcd froIll dCIl\'ing ChrISt's redecllliIlg SJcritlcc. (;r;J!l;ull sat
dowu IU thc iutlTL'st of pe;ll'l'. discLJimiu~ auy wish to 'tickle the
EV;lIlgL'lica]s', but his fricud, E. Vipont Brown, \\',lS apparelltly
spoiliIlg tl)r a showdown. He 'wrote a ktter of ITmoustrJnce' to
the wom;IU who h;Id attacked (;nhalll (Mrs IkllSou Woodhl'ad)
believing that thL' time had COlllC to de;ll \\ith such re,lctiou;HY
ch;Illeuges wheuever ;lIld whercver thcy ou·urred. 27
-" EdwJrd (;rllhh. '()n the Mll1i~tr~ III ()Uf 1\1t'l'tlllg~'. 1{21:", (I~SS),
Wij<,oll, 'FricJ)d~ III NlllCtl'l'lHh Ccntury', VI}
J W. C (0 pJfCllt." 2(1 [\.,1Jy ISS7 ;nHl 2C) rVby ISS~. lJllX 7,J\'./(~P
J W. C;, to f',lr"I](', 2.1 ,Ind 2') Oct. ('<)0. Box J.,rW(;1'
PrLlphetic Visiol/ 127
The \\'idening gulf between evangelicals and liberals on the
quesno» of H011le Missions was reflected in an article written for
the American eV~lllgelical journal The Chrislli/I/ rllorker in 189 1 by
frederick Sessions (1836-1920), one of the pioneers of the British
Home Mission mnvcmcnt. Noting an increasiug 'prejudice agaimt
.iidcd ministers tor the good old tcaching of Christ and His Apos­
tles', Sessions \\'as anxious lest individual members who telt called
to preach the Cospcl as a 'resident labourer' 11light not become
dlscourJged or inrimidatcd by attacks on Honlc Mission activity.
Hc w.1rIJl,d that unless the bias .1gJimt missionary work could be
OVlTCOllle and individuals of high olibrc induced to t.ik c up the
hurdcus. 'the Society vvill never be built up Oil the only posxihlc
lines on which it can be revived in these lLlYS'.2"
Here Frcdcrirk Sessions touched upon .1 vital question that
would cnga~c British Quakers for the nc xt two decades. NC.1r1y
,J!l Friends. excepting the sr.umchcst survivin~ conservatives,
scclncd to a~rec that their Society needed rcviving. But what, in
t.ut , were the 1JIL';UIS to its revitalization? Ev;mgelicals believed the
.ui-wcr lay in the s.unc rcdccmiru; C;ospel11lcssa~e that h.rd rescued
early nineteenth-century Quakerism from the dC.1d end of torpid
quietism. Propnucnt', of the New Thcology also belicvni that
Qunkcrism, properly ch.mncllcd. could achieve boundless growth
.uuong a spiritually destitute population waiting, as scventl'Cllth­
ccnturv Wcst11lorcland SL'cKers had awaited Ccorgc Fox. to hear
the simple . ',Iving 11lessage of prin ntivc Christianity. But, they
;Isked, how could their Society survive and grow by casting nsidc
cvery principle that \vas uniquely Quakcr whIlc si11lulLlllcously
(knying cvery propositioll that was cxplicitly InodcrIJ; The battlc
lines werc c1carly drawn alld, t()r a tinle, thc HOlllc Mission
question was the major frollt upon which thc struggle would be
f(JUghL
At this crucial juncture proponcnts of 'liberal ;llld rC.1sou.1bk
views' gailll'd .1 significant lJL'\V tlJrum t(Jr thc propagation of their
llless;lge. In IS(jl William E. TUrIlcr, a co-author of A Rei/sOl/aMe
Fi/ith, bL'cline owner/editor of the BritHI FriClld. Thc trallSf(Jnll­
ation of this long-standing organ of conservative Quakcrisnl into a
voice t(Jr advanced opinion was clearly reflected from January I S93
Yl()-(). AI"n "l'l' when its masthead verse was altered from Jercmi;lh 6: 16: 'Stand yc
21' Fred Se.. . "wl1s. '(Jur Ll'uer fnHll EllgLmd', CJlr(sri,lI/ fl'or!-:cr. 23 April ,1'\1)1, 2jlj-(IO
I
...lo...­
 128 British QIIl1kaislII 1 S6,J-1920
in the W~lYS, and sec and ask for the old paths, which is the good
way to walk therein' to I Corinthians 4: 20: 'For the Kingdom of
Co'd is not in word but in poweL '2') , Perhaps the most authoritative and certainly the most ominous
Advocates for change were not slow to take advantage of the
opportunities offered by the rdiJrbished British Friend. In April
1 1\(j2 J W, Graham warned his parents that they would find the
latest edition of that journal 'very full of meal' ground bv the forces
of religious progress in preparation for the impendlllg Yearly
Meeting. Graham himself provided some grist for the mill in a
letter on 'The Paid Pastor at Work', attacking the 'flimxv and ...
egoistic crcarurclv ministry' which had grown under Home Mis­
sion auspice until it encompassed fllrty-two 'workers' receiving
annual payments of nearly £:3,500. 'It is in the way ofdognLltism',
Craham said, 'that meetings have suffered ... from the Pastorate.'
The .irtack was joined by William Tallark who complained of the
'great and p.iintu] prominence given to "hell", "hell-fire" and
"ciamnarior," in the prclching of Horne MiSSIon workers, 'even
amongst chilrircn '. ,,) The fiml stinging critique \US offered by J. B.
Braithwaite, JL, the eldest son ~1I1d namesake of the Home Mission
Committee \ most infiurntia] member. Characterizing the Com­
mittee his flther had xponsori-d and directed for over a decade as
unrcprcscnrativc ill its nll'l11bershlp, 'a I.ulun-' In its work, and a
danger in its methods, the younger Ihaithwaite proposed that the
fllrthcol11ing Yc.ir lv Meeting summon a special ConflTence to
reassess the place of Home Missions' work in the Iif(- of the
Society.3 I
The succeeding issue of the Hriri.,Ii l-/imd published a series of
articles and letters which depicted the work of the Home Mission
Committee as a source of 'increasing disunity and estrangement'.
Correspondents characterized the growth of a paid pastorate as a
'most noteworthy departure from precedent", a 't:llse step' Ie~lding
inexorably toward the creation of a separate class of prcachim;
;:") The reasons tor the rcvisccl ScripturJ] lllL',)~,1gl' III the m.i-rhc.rd wrn, l'xpLlIllCd JJl Hr.
j.uiu.irv 11'103, I. It should be notcd rh.ir the British lncud, COll~l'r\·,lti"lll \\',1" rhcnJl)gJC.lJ
r.irhcr rli.tn \ociJl or pohtir.rl. Martin Cc,ldcl, '!1H' ()r~i!ills l!l rr;n Prrrcntron (()\.f()rd I t)lj(l) ,
3 2 2-3 note" that the L'.lrly lJF 'treely c"pou"cd libcr.i] and 11l0LlJ-Lldic.11 C,lU"C';", cvc n
endorsing appc.rraures by the 111iIiUIlt Amcric.m .ibolitionisr William Lloyd C;.lrri"OIL
;0 Bl-, I April I K')2, ')4-<J0; J. W. G. to parents, ') April I K')2, Ho x 7, Jwel'; and
'ITNAC:", 2,). T.llbck was enL·etivc!y ,I defector trorn the ,'vJngehc,11 C.llllp. Sel' Cll.lprl'r
2 and Bronner, 'Moderates', 3(l7, ]70.
l' !JF, J April TK92, ')3-4.
Prophetic Vision 12<)
Friends, and an innovation that threatened the 'very existence of
the Society of Friends as we know it', 32
warning concerning the direction in which the Home Missions
Committee seemed to be taking British Friends came from a
highly-respected American minister Joel Bean ( 182 5- 1() 14)· Of
moderately liberal views, Bean had been hounded out of Iowa
Yearly Meeting (where he had been Clerk in 1877) mainly on
.iccouut of his opposition to revivalism and a paid Illinistry.13
British Friends, said Bean, should consider whether they wished
to follow their American brethren in an arrangeillent whereby
titncss for the ministry was determined, not by the spiritual
(ondition of the minister, but by tormal training of selected
individuals in Bible Institutes. It was difficult to contemplate,
Bean said, 'how such a transfl)f]n~ltioll on take place ... without
a total change ofbase, and the tacit ronfcssion that Quakerism itself
has been a mist.tk c". '4
When London Y curlv Meeting gathered in late May 11\()2,
strong sentiments for c;I1ling a special confl'rence on the lines
proposed by J. B. Braithwaite. Jr. were expressed, but weighty
evangelical Friellds drmurrcd. J. B. Hodgkin. for one, warned that
any disruption of the Home Mission Committee's work might set
the Society back fifty years. J. W. Grahalll responded by implying
that such a reversion might have merit since the theology which
had come to be connected with the work of paid Home Missioners
was narrower rh.m that of the Society at large and seemed not to
encompass Ill,1I1y vital aspects of traditional Quakerism, let alone
modern thought. How, he ,lsked, Llcetiously. would the Commit­
tee react if one of its paid preachers felt the need to remain silent
for six months? In the end, a Conft-rcncc on Home Missions was
duly arranged for the autumn, its attcndcrs to be determined by
each Quarterly Meeting, Thus, victory seemed to lie with the
proponents of reform, although defenders of Home Missions
won a concession in the fact that members of the Committee
" 'Thl' Ycarlv MlTring .uid the Horne Missior: Couuuittec. !JI', 2 M.lY I H')2, ')H; Alfnd
H. 13 rown , 'The Home Mrvsion Comnuttcc. ibid. 115; and Willi~ln1 Ht-at on , 'The P,lid
Pnsror. ibid. 11]-1).
For JIl excellent '1Un11113I)' of 'Bean Case' and its infiucncv on British JS well ,1<;
American Quakerism. 'lee Hamm. Transtormation, 130-46. Also see below Chapter 5·
H Joel Bean, 'What is True Preparation ft)r the Ministry", !JF, 2 May 18')2, 10.1-7·

 IJO British Quakeris/II 1860-1920 P/'llpller;c [';si,l/l I JI

wcr« automatically included as dclegatcs, "irrcvpcctivc of the rcprc­ ordiuarv members of the Mecting, <o that they may be kept ill
scntativcs of thl' QU~lrtcrly Meeting'.." their right pLICl', ,llld prcvcrvcd from the danger of constituting a
Whcn the JOO delegates selected tor the Coufcrcnr.. gathercd in separatc cbss'..")
c;lrly November I Sl)2, their discussioll centered on whether paid While the Conference's scrtlcmcnt appeared to OttlT something
misviou workers were pcrf(JrI11ing ;1 sl'rvice vital to the \\clI-being to both sides, john Willialll (;LdLIIll would nor he' appcased. III ~I
of 13ritish Quakerism or whether their nove] torm of nrinictrv 'was letter to joscph StOITS Fry l'itillgjC'iUS' advice 'to attempt a private
at v.uiancc with xomc of the most cherished principles of ullderst.lIldillg if \\'C h~IYC ~1l1\'tlIillg ag.lillst our brother'. (;raham
friends ... ' and ought therdl.)IC to be rcstraincd or even abol­ expressed the opinion this longtime Clerk of Yc.irlv Meeting
ishcd.!" A summ;lry of the procl'cdings kept bv J W. (;rah~ml (I S 70- 7 5 , ISSI-~()) who had foruicrlv hccn OIlC of (;]';llum\
rcflcct.s th c dccp thcological, .in d to sonic degrec gcncLItion;l!, idols, \\'.1S
divisions th.ir had .uivcn over the Horne Mission issue. In Grahams
view. opponcnts ofa p;lid ministry were f(lrccd to struggle ,lgail1St
1111l'Lju,d t(i the mor.il xtr.un put UpOIl .t (:lnk. I honcvrlv «.uinot
not olIiy the argulllents of Home Mission advocates but ,I]SO
,'])llCei\'l' lioxv ,I Clerk who-«: JII11 \\',\S to mtcrpr.-r rlu: \\'I,h (if the Ml'l'l­
'agaillst the Clerk !Joseph Storrs Fry], \VIIO behaved most unl:lirh'. IIl~, rould tho ill thl' t.u,: ot such ,1Il ])\'np(iWerJI1[.': l'XpreS'il(i1l ])1' (iplll­
An'ording to (;r;!lLlm, Fry committed the ultimate Quaker hrc.rch l(ill ... A qlLlkn ,1'S"I11hl\- i, nor ,llLlptl'd t',r ,I COil Rid with it, Clerk. Alld
of trust by ;ll1owillg his pcrSUIU] opinions to UVL'ITidl' thc scuxc of de,trudi\'l' to QUJk'TI'i11 ,I, I hehe\'l' 'I p.lld I'J,tOLltl' to hl" I tlunk it i,
the Mccting, thus 'preventing the m.ijoritv ... Irom gctting a nor mor.: d",trudi\'l' of our lnvrori. totu: th.ui it w(iuld Iw if \\ l' ILld to
1
minute ... dccbring ag;linst the ... Resident PastoLlte'. CLlh;ml .rb.uidor: our rruxttul pl.m of ,k'·Jdlll[.': m.rtnr-, hv 'pel'che, .ind J (:lnk. "
W;IS, however, consukd .md encuuLlgcd bv .in "outhur-a of true

(~lI~lkerislll' from ;lIIlOngst the YOUllgl'r opponents ot the ll omc

Mission Committcc.;~
I.S. Fry's rl',l'uIlSC to this screed is IIOt c xrant , but however
woundiuj; it muvr h.ivc bccll tor ,I trib.il cider to bc thus chastised
The otlici;Ii report of thc Conference pl.rycd down the ditfcr­
by ,I cocksure vo uthtul upstart, I rv Illay have r.ikcn cUllsu!.ltioll ill
cnccs that h.id clllergcd, silllply Iluting th.ir \vhik m,llly Friends
the t:ll't th,lt l'\'l'll as (;r.I1LIIll ,,-rute the HUllle Missioll (:olllmittcc
were not elHirdy satisfied with the actiollS of thc !-I0!1lC Missiun
",IS cOlllillg illto posscssiull of all L I 1,000 leg.ICy fr'olll the Quaker
Cummittcl', 'thc Cuntl.:rcncc feds assured tlut it has becn their
illdustri,!list johll HOrIlim,lII (I SOJ-l)J), SI1L'l'itic;dly carl1urkcd f(lr
l';lrIlCSt conccrn tu uphu]d the view uf (;ospd truth which has
thc COlltilluatioll of HOlllc Missioll actiyities. Sigllitic1l1tly, tliis
distinguishcd our Socicty'3s The upshot uf thc Cunll'ITlICC'S
Lm.2;css .IITi\'l'd ~lt ,I timc wlil'll the clllb;lttled (:Ollllllittcc's books
dclihl'r~ltiuns W;IS a Quakerlv sort of cOl11prolllisc by which 41
sh('l\ycd a dctrcit ofL100.
HOl11c Mi.ssiuns wurk was preserved but its organiz,Hiona] structure
trallSfl.)rInl,d. A ncw Conll11ittcl', cOlllposcd entlrl'ly of indivilhuls
nominated by the sevcntecll (~uarterly Meetings, was created ,llld "\/ililllt'"I'I11\1(' [sV3, ..::--~ ,Illd \):,/11'.;(111, '!Z{),1d ro MJlllhl,,,tl'I' 14."0· Ml'lllhl'r..; of till'
lIL'\\' l\llllIJlIttl'L' \\L'fl' ortlcl.Illy ,1ppilllltcd hy thl' 'r\',lrl~ ~ikdJllg ,ltt-lT IhlllllllJtio[} h\'
assignlllents of p;lid workers werc to bc subject to thc approval of
(!ll,lrtlTh ,r...1Cl'tlllg", ,It(HIll.lllt\, ('1,1ll"I"[('!][ \\!til tLlditlt)]].
the loca] Friellds 'alllongst wholll they Llbour, as If thl'v \VLTe " J. \Xi. (;. tll.Jmcph St"n" Fn (coP\'). 1(' M,l\ IS'!1. B(" 3. .JW C 1'.
II .\/illl/(C.', HL\1.(" I ''\<J3, 15. JOiIIl I IonllllLlIl\ l'IHr\' 111 t11L'!)(.)H(LSI:j li"t\, 1I1.lddltl\1l1
tn tlIL' I 1Ullle 1\1IV,]l)J] ~LIIH, rill' fl)lll)\\'lll~ I I OrJ 11IlLl.I 1 legal'il''':
SCL' Hi'. 3Julle I ,>.;() 2 , 127-321(lr,l \LJlllilury O(thl' di\Cll',,,iOil ,llld .\1/1111(('_ FHt'vlC,.27
M,lV J S1)2, 20 I.
Pl'.lCL'''\( )Cll'n' L "DOD

1(, ITNAt.:, ~-(), 2() ,llld Wd . . Oll, 'l{.o;ld to M,ll1chl''ltCr', /.+S.

JTll'!H.h Furl'lgll [v\j""iOll A""UCUtIOll
/: [2,~()0
'Note, Oil ) ,S')2 IIMC COIlILTCllll", !los 3, JWCP. ~~Tl,1Il rvh.,"IOIl" L )2.,;DO

1)-.. .\.fil/llfC:~, fHI'v1l:. ISCj3, 1-2. AI.'iO "Cc 'ITNAC', 0-7 tl)r cI 'iUlllllury uf"ratl'11lcnr..; h~ lkdt()l'd In"titutl' A,,"Ol..i,ltJP/l l. \,000

COlllmittee ll1l'mbcr\ 'todl\pel the al.um' Jh()ut 13riti~h Fncnd\ f()l1owillg jn till' p,lth n(rhl'lr ~Tll'IHI~ Flf\t-I )Jy Schon) A,,',oci,J[](11l L 2,000

AIllCric.ll1 cou,ilJ\ to ;l p,ud 11l1lli,try', FnL'lld" Chn..;[]JIl Fl'lll)\\"\!lIP Ullion l2,(JOO

 [32 Brirish QlIl1keris/ll 1860- J 920
Nearly concurrent with the announcement of the Horniuian
bequest was the appearance of' Is 'lucrc ,'\'or A Cause>: The Socictv
or Friends and rile Il1Ic Hom: Mission Co II fiTCl/CC , , an anonymous tract
attacking the activities of the H011le Mission Committee. The
author has not been identified, but both its style and content indicate
that it was produced with the knowledge and complicity ofjohn W.
Grahan r. Consisting of carefully arranged extracts from the
statements of various HOllie Mission proponents, the pamphlet
implied the existence ofa master plan (or conspiracv) to lead London
Yearly Meeting ill the direction of a paid and separate clerical
establish mcnt. The pi(~ce de I'(~sisrallcc wa, a long excerpt from an
article by /)1' William Nicholson of Kansas suggesting that the
pastoral system represented 'the torcsccn transformation of Qua­
kcrism .... The Rubicon has now been passed ... The eaglet is out
of its shell and will not return to it ... ' Nicholson .rdmincd that this
drastic clunge was 'a great trial to many' but counselled the troubled
ones to 'keep still and S\VCL't and obey the pastor ... '12 Whether these
deliberately chosen, highly provocative words represented any sort
of couscusus .unom; British evangelical Friends, their coutronm­
tional tone set the stage tor the momentous Yl"lrly Meeting of
I ~l)3, wherein the control of the machincrv of British QU~lkerislll
by a clique of elderly evangelical Friends was decisively clullenged.
NEW FACES, A NEW THEOLOC;Y
As I ~l)3 Yearly Meeting approached, J. B. 13raithwaite noted in his
'Journal': '[ have for several YClrs P~lst been desirous th.it some of
my dear voungcr Friends might be ... introduced into the service
[ofthe Epistle Commirtcc]. , . it is very important that a fresh mind
should be trained I)]undn this important servilT.'-+3
Whether these thoughts were merely coincidental or whether
J. B. 13. had actually begun to tL-el uucomfortablc about growing
pressure for change, it became clear, once Yearly Meeting con­
vened, that some younger Friends could no longer be satisfied by
soothing promises of being permitted to sit at the fl'ct of tribal
elders a, a tolerated but permanent minority. Beginning with an
-l-! 'ITNAC, 3.s-4'1.(, quoting trom the iricnd; Rcvicn-. 24 November
'Thoughts Oil the Atonement' published in F()L:.', 1 XI)O, 103-20
t' J. B.
B.. 'Journals. lK<)o-I<)O)·. "S Ma\ [S<)3, 93
4" Tl-, 2 June 1 S'13. ]4',
Propllcric Visioll [33
unusually lengthy and heated discussion on 'the State of the
Society', which the Friend:' Qllarrcrly Examiner called 'J remarkable
occ.ision", many young and some older members expressed
the 'feeling of unrest and insecurity which haunts so many spirits
in the present day ... that much of the teaching from the gallery is
out of harmony with the experiences of the younger minds of this
<1gC'.44
Willialll Tallack , whose vouthtul eV~lllgelicalislll had moderated
considcrablv with advancing age, began with a statement of his
concern about the delicate condition of British Quakerism. What
truly threatened the Socicty, Tallack said, \vas not the nascent
agnosticism that had temporarily gripped some conscientious
vounger members. Such doubts were the normal expression of
,111 earn est search for truth. The real danger, Tallack believed, was
rooted in pcrsixtc nt attachment to outmoded 'orthodox' principles
'based upon old theories of Roman legalism, and not upon that
which answered the craving of the human soul. , , .' What modern
Quakerism need cd was not some obsolete form of Calvinism, still
obsessed with saving humanity trorn the wrath of an angry God,.j'
but ,\ theology which would evoke the honesty and courage
necessary to deal with 'the grcat qucstiouv'. i.c., the right relation­
ship between God and man and the right understanding of the
Divine message to humanity. Surely, Tallack said, the great spiritual
Issues with which Friends were grappling could be further illumin­
ated hy the light of modern scientific and historical knowledge. .j('
The atmosphere w.irmccl considerably when J. 13. Braithwaite
responded to Tallack 's attack upon the core of his doctrinal pos­
ition with a ringing declaration on the indispensability of a faith
founded upon the Rock of Christ's atoning s~\Crifice. But before
J. 13, B. could receive the endorsement of evangelical allies, 24­
year-old John Wilhelm R owntrcc (IH6~-'Il)05) rose to deliver an
ardent plea that marked the beginning of his emergence JS 'one of
the most potent influences in the life of the Society of Friends'. In
nelrly all standard accounts, this scion of the York chocolate family
is credited with providing focus and vision to the restless, often
negative protests of younger, reform-minded Quakers and is
H 'Thoughts 011 Ye,HI\" Meetinu'. FQL. July I S,i.1. )24
-l~ T.dLtl'k III .iv, in fllt, h.ivc been rcfcrrmg "pccitlcal!v [0 J. H. Hraithwaire's kg,l!J,tic
I XI)2, 27 S
 13.+ Britisl, QU,lkerisllI ",,60-/920
remembered as the 'leadcr and spokesman tor thc nC\VlT htl'
embodied in the QU;lkLT Rcnaissancc in Brit.lin'.~-
The crux of Rowntrcc's mcssagc wa« that tor all the obvious
sinccrity and apparent spiritual contentment of the Society's lea­
dcrs, thcy could not continue to Ignorc ,I dccplv disturbing 'want
of spiritual lifc amongst young Friends". This void, hl' s.ud, was
bcing gcncLltcd hv the gcnLT;d belief of youngr-r Fricnds that they
WlTC 'not able to receive the truth as it was uttered trorn the
minister's gallcry' of their local Illcctings, fvLmy young Quakns,
hinlSl'lf includcd , tt.'lt 'bound hand and foot. so that thrv could
!UVl' no service in the meeting hccaus,: there: seemed to be no onc
to whoin thl'y could turn tor understanding or symparhv. Rown­
trrc insisted th.it he h.id no wish to cause p.uu to beloved and
rcspcrtcd eldcrs who \\TIT spiritually .it case, but hl' plead cd with
them to Iwgin to COIllC to grips with the issucs rh.ir troubled
his gcncr;ltion.~'s
At lirst the rcsponsc to Rowntrcc's plea was more puzzled than
pained. Willi,1Il1 Whitc (I S20-1()OO), t(mllCr Lord Mavor of Hir­
mingham and a SUIW,lrt pio nrcr in the First I)ay School Movc­
mrnt, .mnouuccd that hr had c:\plTll'nccd gn'at ditlicultv in
t(lllowing what young Rownrrcc W;IS trying to s,IY. Tlking this
cnc trom the apparc ntlv bC\\'ildercd Whitl', Willialll Ch;lrll's
Br.urhw.rin- (I S(l2-I<j22), .urothcr of J. B, Br.utliwaitc« SOIlS,
responded that thl' inability of SOillC oldlT Fricnds to grasp thc
mcaning of J. W. Ro\Vntrcc's protcst spokc volulllcs ;lbout thl'
rC;lsons why young pcople. who werc 'no longlT ... scclude'll tl'olll
thc influcnccs of thc world ... Inor) thc scicntltlc spirit of thc agc',
might COllll' away frolll thcir IOClI Illceting t(lr worship tl.'eling that
thcir religion h;ld bccolllc 'a burdcn rather than ;1 help'. lkcausc
thc gcncrations h,ld sOillchow lost thc abIlity to conllllunicatc with
onc another, 13raithwaitc said, thc nccds of thc Jay 'nllght
rClJuirc ... a trcsh costUillC ttlr thc ttmll of truth' which cach
group sought to i1luminatc.~')
This blunt criticiSIll of wh;lt W. C, 13raithwaitc considercd ,lll
incrcasingly irrckv;llH Quakcr ministry was supportcd by sCVlT;11
older Fricnds. A VCl1l'r;lble conserv;ltivc Fricnd, Joscph Anlltield
l~ IhHl J-t(). Tht' quoLHil1!J h t"OIll flti-id,l Vlpont fFnuld\l. 'fhl' Sfor)' (!(jH,JI.. 'tTl.lI/I, (2JlLl
edll. RichlllOlld 11)77) . .234- AJ...o \I.'e A. Nc,l\l" ULly'''']U\\', I1lt' ()lIdkcr,- /j/(,lr ,""!Ol")' Imd
.\I['s.\{~~(' (London 1l)2 I. ,nd cd. rcprlll[cd IfjS2). 3 r 3 Jlld \X/il~()J}. 'Road (0 1\'Llll(hc~tl'r·. LtV.
jS IF,.2JUllt' ISVJ.350. -l'J Ibid.
Prophetic l 'isiou T 35
(T\\21-V.+),notmg the youngcr men's allusions to Barclay's Aptl/O.'U'
;lgrced 'that adhercncc to the ancient doctrines of Fricnds W;IS
ncccssarv to meet thc needs of the prcscnt day'. William Scarncll
Lean concurred with the need for new ideas and nL'W ttlnllS of
Lmguagc in the Society's meetings tor worship. Others, however.
includingJoscph Storrs Fry who had LWL'n Clerk of London Yearly
Meeting cightcen rimes between T\\67 and T:-:S<j, were less sympa­
thctic, In Fry's opinion the problem was not necessarily with those
who muiistcrcd but might lie with those who 'WlTC not sufficiently
opcn wirh the mini,ters as to their feelings .uid needs and persona]
.. • 'i()
convirno ns .
Frv. p;Jtronizing adillouition W,IS too much for Silvanus P.
Thompson (TS51-!()I(l), a distinguishcd cducar or , physicist, and
tuturc Fellow of the Royal Sorictv. What many 'revered' ministers
of the Socictv did not Sl'L'11l to undcrstanr]. Thompson said. was
th.it the \'oung people who qucstioncd them, while they might he
in ;1 stare of sniolls spirirual disquiet, were not speaking out of
either ignorancc or lcvitv but from the conviction that they could
not base their rcligious livc-. on priuciples rh.rt were nc ithcr com­
patiblc with reason nor rcvcnlcd by k;ldings II'OlIl the Light.
Thompson oHt.'red the spccitIc cx.nuplc of (~lI,lker ministers who
told young pcople that they could not bc Christi;m believers unless
thcv ;lcCl'ptcd till' Atonement of Christ as the actual 's;lCriticc ofthe
innoccnt ttlr thc guilty ... dnpping with human blood' to satisly
thc fl,;\rful vcngl'ancc of an angry Cod. This 'uotion of a bloody
sacritlcc', ThollJpsOU dcchrcd, 'was a piccc of hcathcnislll
Iwhich I simplY rcvoltl'd thcir whole naturcs, and raiscd cvery
tlbrl' of thcir bl'ing, saying this was not thc truc Cospcl." I
After Silvanus ThollJpsou's rljcct!on of thc cv,mgchcll vision of
thc Atonl'mcnt, W. E. Turner, cditor ofthc l3ritish Fricl/d, cxhortl'd
older Fricnds, 'upon whom God had laid much of thc travail aud
care of thc Church, to kccp thcir hl'arts opcn in sympathy' to
vounger pcople who wcrc bccoming morc activc citizcns of this
Ihid 35J-2
'IIbId. 35 2-3 Ft)r TlllHllp<;Ull. 'Il'l' JIIK Sllleal ,ltld Hl'lL'll (;. ThulllP~OIl, Sil'·,IIIII.1 Phili/l\
fIL, {,if!' illid Lall'r.' (Llllldol1 I V.20). Tllllothy Nichol<;oll. ,1Il AllllTiCJll rriclld. told
['I!(III1/).\'OIl.
J_n. l3r.lidl\\',litl' he dllHlglH TholllP'lOll \ l'xtLl\,I~,I(lt 1JngLla~c. including hI'. (olllpJring the
doetrilll' ot~ tilL' AtOJ)l'llll'IH \\'ir!l till' .lL'\\ l'lh ntl' o( l'lrClllllCi\io]), \\',}" 'ptlil!fid but !l('illt!!/id'
~illCt' lllurl' (llOdCLltl' pn"Oll<; of the 'Rc,\<;o!ubk Fairh' t:ll'tiOIl rl1l~ht l'~chl'\v .\s~{\ci<\tioll
\\'Hh '\llch c:"\trcmi..;t \'Iews. TllllOthy Nictll~OIl to JoB.B,. 4- July IX\JJ. MS Ponf()lio
I -IS,) LSF
 1 3() British QII'lkerislll 1860-1920
world in order that they might better prepare themselves and other
members of their religious Society for the next. ,2
In later reflections on his participation in this intense exchange,
John Wilhelm Rowntrcc W~lS encouraged by the tJet that he and
other young people had been 'heard with wonderful charity' by
older Friends.'3 But if there was, in tact. good will between
generations, there seemed to be little depth of understanding.
J. B. Hodgkin, another pillar of the evangelical cstahliclnm-nt,
noted that while one might have sincere sympathy for the pleas
of younger Friends, 'he could not, when speaking of his crucified
and risen Saviour, minimise either the value of His sacrifIce upon
the Cross, or His power to come home to each individual as a
present living Saviour to gnide and govern his lifc '. '+
I)espit" continuing diriicult ics in opening ~l Illlltually profitable
dialogue between evangelical Friends and their liberal brethren, the
discussion initiated hy John Wilhelm Rowntrcc in 1 X<.n ILlS been
marked as the beginning of the ProCl"S through which the pur­
veyors of modern theology eventually achieved a doctrinal realign­
1I1C1lt that tr.uisformcd and revitalized British QUJkerism. In what
remained of his brief, dyn.unir lik, Rowntrcc assumed the mantic
of titular leader of the fl)rCeS of spiritual progress. Still, he was, in
m:l11Y ways, an unlikclv prophet.
When John Wilhelm R.owntree began to take an active part in
the atl~\irs of the Society of Friends, kw would have seen him as
'the leader and spok csm.in of the newer lik'." Although his family
had impeccable Quaker credentials, John Wilhelm had not been J
promising youth. Sensitive and temperamental, he grew increas­
ingly deaf a disahilitv which undoubtedly contributed to his gen­
crally iudirfcrcnt performance in school. Furthrrmorc, as :\
teenager he was di:lgnosl'd with retinitis pionicntosa. a degenerative
eye disease which causes gradual deterioration of vision.
After leaving school at seventeen, John went to work in his
father's t\etory where he began to show some aptitude as a man of
,c Tt, s JULIe IS~3. 353.
" J. W. Rownm-« tU.l mend. 30 M,ly 1.s~)J, quoted in}lJIIl If'ill/1'llII Ri 11l'II {fl 't' " [;"SS,1YS LI/ld
.'iddn'.iscs, edited b~' joshu.: R()\\"lltJT(.: (London 11)0:'), p. xxiii. J krc.1ttcr c[(l,d ,l~ Lss(I,'s
III/d A.ddft's.'{':'.
q Tl, x luu« jS~3, 353-4,
.,~ Mauru c A. Crc.rsev JIH.l Hurold Lnlkc", J7,C .'·:ex, hi')' It.'ins (Lon don Ilj)(l). v;
Ilray,haw. The Qllakers, 313; and Rufus M. Junel. ),,111, Il'/Ihellli R,'"'II",'( (Plul.rdclphi,
")42). III.
Propheti,. Visioll 137
business and a leader of men, By the time he reached his early
twenties, the eldest Rowntrcc son had achieved modest success,
bccorni ng, w: th his younger brother Seebohm (I X7 1- 1 I) 54), a
p;lrtner in the family business, .IS well as a husband, father, and
.ictivc member of York Friends Meeting. His easy charm and love
of fun attracted a widening circle of mainly Quaker friends,
including Constance Naish whom he married in 1 X1)2. Their
home at Scalby ncar York became a centre of social Ii tc among
\'ounger Friends in the vicinity. John Wilhelm had also begun to
blossom intellectually, reading widely in theology and philosophy
as well as pursuing a serious interest in art, particularly the work of
the German Rcforiuatiou artist Albrecht ])tirer.,r,
Despite the apparellt success and stability of his lifl', R,owntree
was a spiritually troubled man who seemed in danger of collapsing
into agnosticism under the .rccumul.ucd weight of doubts bred by
modern scicutit«, and historical evidence as well as frustrations
provoked by his inability to fillli solace within the Quaker COIll­
munion. As he told a friend in 1 Xl)3: 'For two or three years I have
been on the verge of resignation, and had it not been that I was
Elvourably circumstanced, should no doubt have lett Friends. '57 At
this critical juncture, under the influence of a visiting American
Friend, Richard Thomas (I XS4-1 l)04) IK of Baltimore, Rowntree
experienced a spiritual catharsis which purged him of personal
doubt and convinced him that a major part of his life''s work should
be "mak ing the Society of Friends ... a real and living force in the
world. I don't see why, if a more earnest spirit is stirred up ~1111ong
our younger members, we should not fill the largest hall in a town:
and I do believe ideal Quakerism is the religion for all who arc
drifting from orthodox Nonconformity.'?"
So, it was with the zeal of the newly reconverted that Rowntree
presented his appeal on behalf of young Friends and, further stirred
,I. Allotr.Jrl'R. I~I [ .uici Vernon. (Jlldl.!n Hlisil/('ss .\},/I/, 7(l--(j2 provide iuto n n.ttion ,lblHll
John Wilhelm Rowntrve« (hl'rl'.lftlT J.W.R.) c.u-Iv c.irccr .md !lPllll' bfl'. AI,o "il'C L\-:1I)'.\ .uu!
,·lddn'.isc.\, pp. ix-xXI\·.
,- J. W. R. to a friend. ItS Sept. IS\)3. quoted ill }:.'3.lY.'; r!lld .·Iddn'_.;-,{'~', p. xu Also SCC
Rutu-, M, Junel. FI,e Frdll ,,( Lit" III C"II(~e (New York I ')2~). '~3,
,.-': llichard Thoma. WJ~ p;wof the mo« outspoken t()L'~ nf thi.' pa -,toral '.;y"tclll ill
Amcric». Sec Fricl/ds RC1'iclI', I J and 20 March 1 Htjo; for the import.n«c of Thom~h\
influence OIl the leader- of rilL' lJuJkl'r RCllai~'.;<llllT, Sc C JOlIC'.;, Later Period», II, ()22 11., V70 .
") J. W. H... to J fnl'nd, IS Scpt. I,slJ3, in FiSil}'5 and Addrcs,it's, p. xii. Also '.;L'l' A. NCJVC
Bravshav,'. 'Young Friend. Movenu-nt" 111 .')1/II1IJ1l'id,', 19/ /, 5 Jnd Rllfll'.; M. JL1111'S, J~l'R,
[~42). [3-('!
 13:\ British QlIllkcrisIII 1860-1920
by the surprisingly powerful impact of his message. he began to
seck the means tor remoulding Quakerism in such a \\';I\, as 'to make
possible, al1long young Fric nds]. I a deeper sense of responsibility
and a warmer interest in the Society's ;If'Elirs'.('O
Shortly artcr Yearly Meeting in 1 S<)3. Rovvntrcc set out to
secure realization ot- his earnest. if somewhat flIZZ\,. vision Ior
transforming British <.~uakerism. In a 101lg letter to members of
Meeting Ior SutTl'rings, he reiterated his belief that among the most
distressing circumstances withu: their Society \\,;IS till' distinct
'Want of Harmonv lx-twccn generatiol1S. John Wrlhclz11 believed
that this lack of comnuuuc.uion arose tl-om the f1Ct that much of
the m inistrv in lOCI] mecrings was delivered ill 'dL'.ld language'.
contlning itself 'too narrowly to the Bible' and ignoring 'the .irtu.rl
problems of our lives'. As a conscqucnrt-, he said, young people,
particularly tho-«, who were hcttcr-t-dur.ucd, tended to dril] ,\\\;1\
from Friends .md even those who staved out of t:lI1lily ]oyalt\' or
soci,Ii pressure cxhibited Sigl1S otvpiritunl lukcwaru uu-ss" or 'much
worldliness'. What W;IS nCl'Ckd-in addition to ':1 liberal ml'<ISUIT
ot Christian tolerance '--\\',IS ;1 ministry that was 'direct. practical,
thoughtful, and from the hcnrt' :IS well as opportunitics tor an
urtivc Iik within the Socicrv rather than outside of it. 'fWjc w.uit
to stir up young Friends ... to rouse from -piritu.rl torpor those
who slecp. ,I"
John Wilhdm's plan may have LIcked detail, but hc \US 1lL'\Tr
ddlciel1t in energy. Nor was he ;J!OIIC. In the wakc of events ;H
Yearly Meeting in 1:-1<)3, Rm\,ntrec came into contact vvit h a
number of reform-minded Pricnds who had. perhaps tc.)r the tlrst
time. bcgun to take him seriously. One of his most important allies
was Willi,lI11 Ch.irk-, Braithwaite. the eighth child ofJoseph Bevan
Braithwaite who hJd roiiowcd his f;lthcr into the legal profession
but not into the cvangclirnl camp. Like Rovvntrcc, W. C.
13LlithwJitc had been gre:Hly influenced by Richard Thomas.
who w.ix also his brothcr-i n-lnw." Following the I :\l)3 Ycurlv
Meeting, Braithwaite joined with John Wrlhchn RmvntlTe in
organizing what they rather gralldiosely called 'the Yorbhire
(HI John Wilhelm ).tll\\,)Hfl'i.', 'A Fc\\" Thought" Upon
ItelJtloJl to the SOCIl'ty'. J (rSlnJ. rypc\cript ill LSF.
(01 lbld. 4-.~. I 0- J 2.
(,.: Ann T!JoIln.., .llld Eliz,tbl:th B. Emillott. rril/idlll £.'1',11'1£,.,' Ih"itJ'lI'11I{C: .\In/Ill/I" dnd Plljlcr,,;
(I oilriOil 1~31). iI'-17· ~3.
Prophetic Visiol/ 13<)
,v1 ovcm en t. a campclign unrirrtakcn by anum bcr of Northern
Fricnds aimed at devcloping ;1 more vital, practical, and up-to­
lLJtC ministry which might hrcatlu- new life into languid local
InL'l'tings throughout the North of England. Joining in this effort
were John Wilhelm's youngcr hrothcr Sccbohm, later to achieve
tr.unc for his study of poverty in York, and Edward Grubb, :1
persistent critic of the 'poor and thin" ministry in most Quaker
I
Mectings. ' ,
A disrincrlv insider's view of this collaboration has been prc­
snved in the correspondence of W. C. Braithwaite and his tlancL'c
JlIICt Morland (I :-1(17--1 1J3(l)."+ Like her future husband, Janet Mor­
Lim! was committed to the task ofnlOdernizing the Society, but her
e.ulv letters to 'Mr. Braithwaite' hinted that m-ithcr of them
-;ccI1led entirely cnuill whether the RowntreL' brothers were
sutTlcicnth serious or mature to lead such ~I crusadc. But as the
Yorkshire Movement continued its progress through northern
meetings, from York to Harrogate to Newcastle and Sunderland.
Willi,ll11 Charles became incrcasingiv ililpressed with John Wil­
hchus ability to inspire young people .uid litt local meetings which
he visited 'to a higher plane'. Br.uthwai«: also s~1I1g the praises ot­
Ldwurd <. ;ruhb, ;IS 'a tl'lIo\\' of high soul wrought out of much
questioning &: trial with a strong consciousness of the reality of
the spiritual world (" Janet Morland, who had not been
impressed with Crubb's reaching at the Mount School, believed
that his L-oI1ling into his own owed much to the iuspir.itiou of his
present company: 'lfJollll had half;1 dozen supporters as carncst as
himself it would be different, hut every meeting he holds is prc­
paring the ground. He SCClIIS to me to be more wonderful each
time I see him, one is almost trightened with the Llpidity of his
. (,I,
growt I1.
fl, (;rllhl,. 'r\1111htr~' . 3()(J.
r'-< TI1l' ,ulll'dioll mrludc- ovc r thirty lcrtcr-. l'"\lh,lll~L'd hetWl'l'll j.uut Morland ,1I1d
\\'. t' Ur,lithw,lItl' frolll 20 M,ly I ~()3 to S N()\'l'lllber I S()"~. rill" (OITl"p0ll(kIlCe \\.1"
11r" . . LT\'l,d by thl'ir \011. the LUl' ItIch.lrd Ur,IHh\\',litl' (11) 0 0 - 1 ()S()), \vhn l'lllkd J dI,tillg1l1,hl'a
.l,"Jdc.'lllH- l',lrl'l'f at Klllg\ Collq..!;l'. C,1l1lbfH.1gl' ,I" Kilight"bndgl' Pful~'';',()f of 1\1(H.ll Philo­
thl' Po:--!tJPl1 O(YOUllg tTll'lllh III ... uphy. I <lIll dCl'ply gLltdld tCH hI, kindnL·:-,.. ill ...luring thc\c lettCfS ,1, well .1, hI) wi,donl ,llld
11l';'lghr Oil '1thef J\Pl'ct" (~tUklTi\lll.
'" J. M. [() ·Mr. llr.lItIl\\.lItl'·. 30JlIk '~'n ,1llrl W. C. ll. [OJ. M, I, .11le! 2~ Alig. 1~'!3.
lJr,lith\\",lirl' F.ll11ih- !',lPl'r' (BFP).
,,.. J. M. [I' W. C LJ .. '+ Sept. 1,~')3 ,me! 's M.lflh I~~+. IlFI'

 14° Hritish Qlli1kcrislIl 1860-1920
Such praise was, most assuredly, a tribute to Rowutrccs spark­
ling, magnetic personality. It was also an early contribution, pri­
vately ami sincerely given, to the Quaker mythology of St john
Wilhelm, the wise and good. There are, in truth, two John
Wilhelm Rowutrees in the lexicography of Quakerism. The first
is a thrice-blessed knight errant, the lost leader cut down in his
prime just as he seemed about to discover what one historian Ius
s~lrdonically termed the 'Quaker Holy Grail' .(" According to
standard accounts, the radiant John Wilhelm not onlv inspired
much of the Modern Movement among Friends hut, had he on Iv
lived, Inight have taken the Society on to yet un.rtraincd heights.
The second J. W. R. is ~l somewhat less glittering young dynamo
who prodded and pushed sometimes reluctant British Friends into
vigorous action in the year, between I ~(J3 and I<)05. This more
human and more vulnerahle John Wilhelm died before he had
formulated ~I tully-developed view ofhistory, of religion, ofllIodem
society, or of the role that Quakerism should play withiu that
society. Too often the striving young leader IS shunted on to a
side track in t;IVOl!r of the Quaker Superman ready and ~Ihle to
overcome all ru.uiucr of disputr. and difficulties that bedevilled
friends. In this version the difficulties conccrnillg the ministry, the
etft:cts of biblic.il criticism, the c1Llllging attitude, toward social
pohcy, the traun mrir tr.uistorrnnn on of the peace testimony, and a
multitude of other problems hut awaited fulfillment through john
Wilhelm Rowutrccs amazing vision and a,tonishing pcrspicarirv,
Untorrunatclv, such a view tr.insforms an attractive young man
into a plaster saint, robbing him of most of the very human qualities
that made him so appealing to so many of his contemporaries.
Following his premature death in 1<)05, John Wilhelm was raised
to the exalted status of tull-blown Quaker Saint, the White Knight
who rescued the Society trom the dead-end of out-dated
evangelicalism and set it on the path to modemity. Whether or
not this rapid canonization was fully deserved, Rowutrcc 's
presence 1001lIS sufficiently large in the history of the Quaker
Renaissance to deserve singular attention. However difficult it
has become to separate the man from the myth, john Wilhelm
Rowntrcc was, in truth, a creative and dynamic force for British
('I Sel' H. Ln-rv Ingk\ prO\'OCHI\"l' l'S~J)' '()Il the Folly n( SCl'k1l1g rllL' Quaker Holy
Grail'. (,2R.l, 2,/1 (Mav [(NI), '7-2'),
Prophetic Visioll 14 1
Quakerism throughout his brief public ministry and an inspiring
role-model long after his premature death.('S
J. W. R.'s seriousness of purpose ami sense of nllSSIOl1 are
reflected in ~l sombre and rather awkward letter written late in
I ~<)3 to his cousin Arnold S. Rowntrcc (I R72-1 <) 5 I) on the
occasion of the latter's twenty-first birthday. Correctly predicting
that Arnold would tind hi, place in the public sphere rather than in
religious affairs, John Wilhelm nonetheless admonished his
younger cousin never to forget the work that needed to be done:
'to lift up the cross of self-denial and make Christianity more than
ever hctorc a living and rc.il force ... ,I,,) According to Arnold
Rowntree's children, John Wilhelm always rcm.uncd one of his
heroes. Certainly, as ~l Liberal M P (I <) I0-1 R) and High Sheriff
(1<)3 1) for York, Arnold Rowntree was as serious and diligent a
politician as his cousin could have 'wished.
A case nnght also he made that, even from the beginning, John
Wilhelm Rowntrccs influence was corporate as well as pcrvort.tl. It
seelllS plausible, tor example, that his message to Yearly Meeting in
May I :-1<)3 provided the incentive tor J group of Friends who in
July of the same yen protested against the rcappoiuuucut
of Howard Nicholson (IX43-llJJ3), an ev.Jngelical minister and
member of Meeting for Sufforings. to the Ackworth School Com­
mittel' on account of his propensity for approaching startled school
children with questions such ,IS: 'Arc you saved)' Such a query, said
23-year-old Samuel H. Davies (IX70-1<)25), was not only traught
with danger for impressionable children but also ILld 110 place in
'true Quakerism, where. , . liberty to worship Cud without priestly
intervention and where nori-jntcrvcntio n with Cod's own
methods of dealing with tender hearts had ever been recognized'.
A young female Friend called Nicholson ,I man 'almost entirely out
of touch with a large section of the Society'. Others, including
E. Vipont Brown and John Willialn Craham, joined the attack,
(,<~ Srq,hl'l1 Allotts Jolill fI'III,t'lJ/l RlJlI'lIlru' bl'gll1\ rhe pnKl''':-' of ,\l~ill..,tillg the ~Jilltly
tf)r J more bJLlllL'l,d Pl'p\IK'Cti\T. For COIHC11lrOrJl1l'lHI,\ (lHll111CIlLuy' 'il'l' Silv.mu-, P.
lI11,lgl'
Thompson. 'John W,lhl'lm Row'ntree', 1'(.JI', 3'J (April H)DI), 2\S-(,S. Abo sel' Kennedy
'Hivtorv .uid till' Quaker ReIU;'S,lI1Cl", }l-'l-IS. \ ,/, -2 (: 'JS\-X(,). 3,-S(' and How.u-d
Hnuto». Fnelld.\')~)r .100 \('11r" (Loudon ISlS3). pp. viii-jx.
''') John Wtlhl'iIlI Rownrrc« to Arnold S. Rovvnrrce (copy). ~ December 'S'!3, Rownm-«
FJIlll]Y Papers (RFP) ill pO''ic'\''iol1 ofJcJI1 Rowum-« and use-d with her permission.
 1-+-' British QIlLih'ris/II 186(1-19-'0
l1otil1g that 110 one 011 the School Committee ,11OUld be 'out of
h.umouy \\'ith the tr.iriit io ns of the Sociery'.-u
Nicholson was 110 r.mdorn Urget. The producers of the pamph­
let 'Is There Not A C;lLlse?' had singk-d our his dctl:llce of a
separate paid lllillistrv-'hl';ld .ind <houldcr-. aboH' the people'­
.ir the RicllIllolld COIIIl'ITllCC .IS p.irticul.irlv hl.ir.int example of
how extreme l'v.lIlgelicll, intended to use the paid pastorate to
uudrrn n m- (~lI,J!,er principk-s and tLlditiol1S.~1 III this instance. the
protest t:liled and Nirholvon \\,;IS rcappoinrcd. hut the disselltillg
lllessage \\'.1' unmixr.ikahlc and would be repeated with illLTC;ISlllg
IreqlIl'lKy and. cvcutuallv, to cOllsldeLlhk ctkct. ()II the last d.iv of
J ~l)3, J. W. (;Llh;llll wror« to his \\'ill' pledglllg 'a IITsh con­
secLltiOll of lill, ... to (;od .uu] His WorK' durlllg the coming
year and explTssillg thanks l(lJ' 'lessellil1g cv.mgclic.ilisu.' ,1I11OIlg
rricllds.'2
III the meantime, the Yorkshire Movcmcnr continued Its et1(lrts
to produce ,I 1110IT thouglltlLI1 and stilllULltIllg n un txtrv III
Northern 1l1eeti11gs I()]' \\'or,hip. Jallct Morl.mci h.id joined the
Cllllp;ligll c.nlv 111 J ~l)-+ ;ll1d her letters to W. (:. Uraitl1\Qite reveal
.1 sellSe of cx h ilar.it ion at the rcxu lt-; rhis -piritu.il gil1ger group
seemed to he ac!lIevil1g. Much -rill needed to he done. ,he
recounted i n llIid-March, but 'I have 110 1,:;11' .rhour this York-drin.
Movcmcnt . " sonuhow with Johll it seellls IllOIT possihl« to do
it'. ,;
Other young Friel1ds h,id -u nilar respOllse to the reslIsc!t,ltlIlg
po\\'LTS ofJohl1 Wtlhl'!l11 's e11lTg\ and pcrsou.ility. Alllollg these
was L1\vrcllu' Richard,ol1 (I ~(){)-I())3) of Newcastle UpOll Tvpc,
011C of J. W. R. 's closest II'iem1s. While still il1 his I.lte teel1S,
R.ichardsoll 1lL';ml thc editor of '['he Fnmd (Joseph Se\\'l'!I) npLlIl1
the Atolleillellt to Nl'\\Clstle Mcetillg hv llotillg that 'a, Cod's
justicL' elL-lllalldcd pUllishlllellt Illr AcLllll's Sill, (;od's love ll];1(lC
hilll illtlict tlnt pUllishIllellt OIl his SOI1'. Youllg R.ichardsol1 \\'as so
rn'olted by Se\\'ell's depictioll of (;od .IS a sort of vellgctlI! flc'lld
tin the \\'amlL-red il1 a spi ri tLul wilderIl css fllr sevl'LII \'C'ars ;ll1d
'r\l'kworth (;CllL'Ltl Ml'l'tlllg'. nr, Aug-wlr IS(J3, 223--+,2.2(1
-I 'ITNA( ", 2.2. Burn III (:UlllbcrLllld. t-fu\\'Jrd Njdl()I~()n ]j\"n! jn (.,llud.l .md till'
Unitcd St.ltco;; (rolll r ~()2 to I SKS. rcwrning tn EngLI1Hi in il1\ Illid-fortll'-' 1\) llJllkrukl' Ilol1ll'
Mi""IUJl wurk III l:kthll,d (;ITCIl. ~lT f)(}lJ l'lltr\', LSF
~--' J. W. C;. to hi" wik, ~I J)l'(ClllblT ISl.n, 13()\ ~. ,\Xl(;P
Sce the rL'l1l.lrks ot" Willulll Ed"'Jrd TUrJllT in BL JUlll' 1 SV-+, I ()~L Mcmbe'rs Jrc li"tcd
~j :,.1Ilt'1 MorLllld In W. 'c. ll .. I~ M,lrl'i1 il~')-II. llFP
ill the' Fricnd" I-IUlllL' ]\;1i-;"iolJ COlllllllttcc, .'/il/l/le Hook, 1--+, LSF.
Prophetic I 'ision I-t3
might han' lelt Quakerism hut tor his tricndship with John
W ilhclm Rowntrcc.i '
Bcvond thi: ability to inspire others to work 1(11' change within
the Society LIther than to despair of its challging, Rovvntrcc, in
contrast to liberal .ictivists like Craha1l1 and Viponr IJrown, also
seemed tel be adept at conciliating those whose ideas and practices
he sought to trallsllJr1ll. According to Jalll't Morl.uid. he did not
dLI\\ distinctions of ;lgl' or theology but insisted that all Friends,
\'oung and old, stretch their trcqucntlv underemployed brains by
n';I<;Jng to arrive at ll1eeting for worship with closed or ell1pty
mi uds.:"
J. W. R. told Lawrence Richardson rb,« his chid' objectivl's
\\TIT '\\'aking up the SOCil'ty to thought' as well as producing a
'more uu dcrst.mding spirit and s()Jlle small 1l1L';ISurl' of spiritual
-timulatiou. Another of the 1l1l"lIIS he choose for att;lillillg these
gO'lls \\'.IS Present /)<1)' /),I/)('rs, a pcriodic.il he established to try to
deal 'with pressing social .md theological questions'. The material
Sl't out ill this JOUrI1.11. he explained, would he 'perfectly straight'
and aill1l'd especi;llly at 'those who are IspiritldlyJ out of
touch ... to try to get them to energize their ideals III positive
. ~()
.icnon .
While Rowntrcc was m.ik ing pLIIlS to launch the I'/CS('I/t D(1)'
Jl.1/)('rs, <orne of his ;lllil's were preparIllg the W;lY tor what would he
a dl'l'isive episode in the broad-based Cllllp,ligll to dr.iw the Society
of Friends inro the modern world, the Manchester Conference of
I XC)). Ironically, the impetus tor this effort came frorn the ucwly
reorganized Home Mission Committee. This seems doubly odd
con<;Jdering th;lt mallY 'progressivL" Friends had been disappoillted
in the (let that tllllv a third of the new COlnlllittee's cighty-Il.)llr
IllL'l11 lwrs \\'ere holdovers fl'olll the prn'ious body, implying ;1
cOlltilluing evallgdical domil1.111Ce in its proceedillgs./7 Whell the
Ill'\\' Committl'C Ilrst Illl't ill October J ~C)-+, SOllle of the more
Illlpatiellt liberal rdl.Jr111LTS ill its ranks did Il0t wait to test thL'
--I- LI\\Tl'll(l' Rll'h,lrd"llIL "Nl,\ye.!,>tk'-upOll-I'yllL' Fnl'lld" ,1I1d Scil'lltltll Thought:
RClllllli"Cl'lll'l'''·.jl'-H>;, 1/-+) ISprillg Ith3). -+u--+-+.
- J. M. In W. C. B.. IS M.lrc·h .1Ild -I Aprd 1S')-I. llFI'­
-I, J. \J.v/ lZ.. to L,1\\Tl'lll-l' Rtdl.lrlholl, '7 ()l'(llhcr ISSJ-+, quutcd in E,.\,)}',\· (7IId Addrc.'",,/'s,
p xxi; In J. Ll. Hnelgkll1. 13 lkcc'Jllhn ,S<J-I. MSS Pnrt -I2/5(), LSF; mel/F. 17 M.lrch
Ilj05. 1()2
 144 British Quakerism 1860-1920
waters but plunged in headlong, calling for the abolition of all
monetary support to mission workers. This bold thrust, probably
conceived by John W. Graham, proved to be a serious tactical
error, for it produced a forceful expression of the Committee's
obvious consensus that it should continue 'Jssisting Friends with a
definite, religious concern to reside ... in given centres ofwork'7 s
After this initial set-back, outnumbered reformers adopted a
more amiable, and subtle, appraoch which. given the make-up of
the Committee, proved remarkably successful not just in restoring
harmo nv but also in tr;msforming this mainly enngelicll body into
an instrument tor change. The events leading up to the Manchester
Conference received careful attention from Roger Wilson who
gave major credit tor this success to the Couunittcc's Acting
1-I001Orary Secretary,j. Fyfe Stewart (1IL.j.5-I<)oX). an unsung hero
;llllong Quaker' cm.m cipa tors'. 7')
When the Horne Mission Con mrittcc met in late February I X<)5,
there were no contentious or dIssenting resolutions. The Commit­
tee concentrated almost exclusively on the practical artJirs of the
'mission stations', recording two dozen non-controversial Minutes
with regard to their operation and oversight.'o Late in the day,
however, the meeting took a distinctly dirtc'rent tone. Minute 25
departed from the mundane concerns of day-to-d.ry Horne l\1is­
sion .urivitv with ;1 sweeping suggcstion that the ensuing Yearly
Meeting take up the question of the gUllTal 'ijmor.mo. and mis­
conception which exists around us as the Society of Friends' and
furnish SOl11C guidanCL' as to how to aid the Committee in making
their Icllow citizens of every station and class more aware of 'our
distinguishing views'. Having posed the question, the Minute also
suggcsted an answer, noting that if Yearly Meeting should decide
that 'a special Conference" was needed properly to inform the
:-I Ft IMe: . .\fillllll' nl(lk, 30. WiJ~OII, '!to.ld tIl tY1JllChl'~tlT' /41)-) I llnrn that till'
pr(lpo~Jl t(Jr l"Jlding rlll,lllt"U] ..;uppor( (,II11e 6"OIn [\\11 Lux-avlurc numbcr«.
7') Wi!-.;on, 'l~(ud to Manrlu-vtc-r", 140-)4 .md private lilfonll,ltloll.John Fyt'l> Stcw.irr W,1,
rhl' von of JohlJ Stewart, proprietor of the LdiI//JI/lXII HCI'/t'lI' and ..;kp\on of Louis.i
I topper S(CW,lrt. Tr.rine d ,1"; ,111 cnginccr, ilL' "PCIH 11I~ \\'t)rkmg lifc ill Loudun. III I ~()2
S(CWJrt W,l<; the 1111\ll((C..;..;fld l ibcr.i] candidarc tl)r the Parh.nncnt.irv sc.u .u Hack ncv
Celltral. He \Vas ,1 n u-mber of Stoke Nev,"ington i\1t'eting .md ,1 rl·L·ordc-d nunixtcr. SCL'
{)QH entry. LSF.
xo An earlier minute SUggL'stll1g that 'a Illl'l'tmg lor worshtp Jfter the manner of Fncnds
should be held elt lcJ<.;t once ,1 week in evcrv mission W;l'i obvioll . . ly a rctlCl"tlOll of conCCrn
about 1I1lQuakerly practices by 111i'SlOn workers. It may have rankled, but eVJngelical'i could
hardly disagree. See FflMC, ,\[i'"l1e5, ,895, H Februarv, 77.
Proplzccic Vision I45
larger community, 'the Home Mission Committee might be the
convenient bodv' fix arranging l b
such an cvcnr." I L
This Minute was too singular a departure from the normal
business of the Home Mission Committee to have been a spllr­
of-the-moment inspiration, The initiative for the proposed Con­
ference most likely came from Fyfe Stewart in collaboration with
W. C. Braithwaite. s o It was Stewart who received a special tribute
from his colleagues on the Committee after the Yearly Meeting
had endorsed the idea of a Conference and accepted the invitation
of Lancashire and Cheshire Quarterly Meeting to hold it in Man­
chester. '3 Fyfl' Stewart was also selected ;IS a member of the small
sub-committee .ippoiut cd to make arrangements tor the impend­
ing Co nfcrcuc«. Surprisingly, this group included no prominent
rcprcscntati vc of the evange liral majori ty on th c fnll Committee.':'
As the sub-Counnittcc began laying the groundwork, propon­
cuts of change launched ;1 prupaganda campaign regardillg the
topics to be addressed at the impending Conference. Edward
Grubb published an article on the theme 'Yearly Meeting, 1 X3()'·
In the liberal Quaker tradition, the E]Jist/c of 1 X3(l, with its endorse­
urcut of the supreme authority of Scripture and its virtual dis­
ruissal of the Inward Light, marked the beginning of evangelical
douunanrc O\'LT London Yearly Mcctinj; (sec Chapter 1). Grubb
used th.it occasion as a frame of reference tor P;lst damage done to
the Society through 'the narrow intolerance and want of sympa­
thctic insight by those who confused new ideas with 'unsound'
fJlth. 'Happy are they', Crubb concluded, 'who ... em see through
the forms to the truth that lies beneath them, and have t:lith
enough in the vitality of the Truth of God to believe that it is
'II Ibid. 25 Feb. ISl):,\, 77-K. lhc Mlilutl' i" ,11"'0 l'\lurch reprinte-d III 1<-(flllYt (!( tll('
f>n1(('t'lIiIl.I!.i: (:{ the .\ /(lIIdlt'sft'r CtJ/l!i'rcl/(t' (f tlu: SO(iCfY or FW'/Jd_i, 1895 [l Icrc.itrcr .\-lillle/iester
(>II!{'n'I/(t'j ([.ol1dOI1 I SI;(I) , [1-12.
,,~ The yl',lr .itrcr Fyfc Stc\V,lrt\ dc.ith in November I ()oH, a p.unphlc-r reprinting his
obltllJf)' trom '/he Frielld .ind l"L'kbr.ltlllg hiS role III proposing, pLlllllillg .uid st'lging the
ivLlIll'hc,tl'r CUllt~Tl'lICl' \\',IS issued. Scc 'John Fyfc Stcw.irt: Christllu<;, I (Joe;', S----y, Box I HI,
LSF
" FHMC, ,Ilioolc.'. JO Mav IH9\. 110-12.
~-l In .rdduion to Fyt~, Stl'\\"~lrt, -ub-couunirtce nu-mbers included W. C. Hrauhw.ute , his
older brothn J. Ll. Braithwaite Jr. and W. E. Turner. with JO.dlll;] Rowntrce ;]< chair.
FHMC, .Jfiwlfcs, Ex('wfi,,(' Co/wHittec, 31 M:lY IS9), 134-6. Wilson, 'H.. oJd to J\1anchestcr',
154 bdie\'l·d tlLlt JO-;hU,l H.. owlltree W,l"; tht' key tlgure III shaping the agcnda for the
COllfl'rcllce.
 14() British Ql/al..:cri.(1/1 1860-1920
not in (bnger eVlTV time it has to assimilate new addltlOIlS to the
stock of kI;(1\vkdg~'.'~i
More dir.-rrlv to the point was W. C. Braithwaite's long l'SSa\' on
"Sonll' Present-Day Aims of the Society ot Friends' published in
the SUIIIIlllT of I S()). If their SOCIL'tv was to nuke ;1 ditIlTencl' in
the spiritual development of the modern ,Ige, s;lid Braitl1\nitl"
Friends, moved bv 'the breath that vitalized carlv Ouakcrisiu ' ­
i •
the indwelling spirit of Cod-lIIust uudcrst.ind and embrace the
three 'new occasions wlurh were conlnul1lling the attention of
tlwughttltl IKopk looking t~lrward to the twentieth ccnrurv: 'the
growth of the scil'lltitlc spirit', the pressure of social LJuestions .md
till' "mll'i/~~ niter rmht)' ill religion .uid Iitl,'.'S(,
Quakerism was, Br,lithwaite's s,lid, "the least unreal of the
Churchr-,' and theref(llT, spiritu.illv, the hcst prepared to create ,I
true 't<-lImvship at work tor Cock Killgdoln' on earth. Bv ;ISSUlll­
ing ';1 tl'arkss and opl'n mind ... to\\;lrds modern thought'­
whcrlicr in biolog\, geologv, or historical criricism of the Bibk­
as 'the revelation which the living Spirit of Christ is m.ik im; to the
world toci.rv. Friends could orlcr a spiriru.il homc to 'm.my honest
doubters ... driven to .nrnovtirism or atheism bv ... illSistence on
the externals instead ot" ~he spiritual rl\lhtles of r~'ligion'."
With rcg.ird to the sccond dcvclopuu-nt , the pressure tor social
change Br.ur hw.utc pointed to the long-standing Quaker tradition
of social ;1l'tIOII, personified by John WoolllL1n's struggle ag;llnst
SlaVLTy but also warned th.ir ill the ncvv century it would have to go
deeper than 'xcntu nrntul philanthropy' or 'transient cnth usi.tsrn to
;1 systenutic polirv basl'(] on stewardship. Finally, lh.litl1\\;lite said,
it" Quakerism W;IS to t.ikc lull adv,lnuge of its .irtr.uuvcn.-ss to
modern seekers after ;1 spiritual horne, the Society must ahandon
the 'ring-tl'ncl' of conventions' sUIToullding it ami couc cntr.uc on
'the spiritual baSIS of truth'. The power of Cod Illight he "rClil'd!cd'
bv historical kno\Vkdge of the Bibll' or by an intcllcctual gLlSp of
theological ideas, but it could only be '1..:11011'11 by ,I true-hearted
admittance of the hving Spirit of Christ within'. Thus Quakerislll,
whik elllbLKilW ~
the new knowled"e t"'l
tlLIt was lKin"
~
revealed to
hUlllanity, should continue to seek spiritual cnlightenlllent through
,\, Edw,}ni Crllhb, 'Y'l'.Irly rv1t'l,ting, r KJ{)', J J -,-j()
St> Willi,llll C Br.lirhW;llt,,', 'SOlllC Prl'..,CIH-] ),l\' .-\llll;" of rhl' SOlll'ry
(IS())), 322-5 IClllplu~h ill ori~11L1JJ.
Ibid. Pi-H, 337.
Pr'll'hctir I 'isiou 147
the l nward Light xvhiic labouring to reveal to the wider world that
rhis I )ivine gift \\',IS available to Seekers of every stripe. Such,
Br.nthwairo concluded, was the historically unique message
through which Ouakcrism could fulfill its historic misviou in
\\'orkiCng t~)r the KingdOln ot- (;od on earth."
While readers contClllpLlted I3raitl1\v;lite's plea tor ret Il'\\';) I and
, modernity. plans t()J' the Coutcrcnrc took definite shape. Uy early
July a special tuud h.id been established to help dctl";ly expenses and
O\'L'r thirty individuals had been invited to make presentations on ;1
s
list of topics dcrcrmim-d by the Conference sub-coll1l11ittee ')
Clclrh', then, the agenda tor what nllght possibly be the most
import.mr gathcring of British Quaker, in two centuries W,IS to
hl' decided upon 11\ ;1 tiny group ot thcolouic.illv liberal Friends.
\Vh,lt is surprising about these dcvclopmvuts W,IS not just the LIck
of rcvist.mcc to the process by the evangelical members of the
l l omc M ission Conunittcc hut also the LIck of intorm.rtion nudl'
,1\',liLtbk to them. For cx.uuplc, on 3 August a minute ofthe HMC
l.xccutivc noted that rhcv h.id received 'No further report' regard­
Illg the Jist of topics to be discussl,d at the Conference, hut shortly
rhcrc.ittcr. the August edition of the British lnctu', whose editor
W. E. TUrJIer was ;1 SUh-COII1I11lttee member, printed ;1 cOlllplete
.md 11L'.Ir1y .ucur.itc livr of the (:ontlTl'IH'L' progLlnll11e which was
nor printed in the Hornv Mission ,\lilll/tes until early Octobcr.""
lhc only signitlclllt change in the tllLd progralllll1e W,IS the addition,
.it the request of the l Io mc MIssion COlli mittel', of). B. Braithwaite
t o a session Oil "The Attitude of the Society Towards Modern
Thought'. Obviouslv, this W;IS ;l sop to the l'\';lngeJicals, though it
h.ndlv produced ;1 dortrin.il balance, tor .Ill the other speakers Oil
Moderll Thought had revealed decidedly liberal propcnsitics.:"
ProgrL'ssive Fricud-, lllight well tl'el pleased that ;1 Conferel1ce
ostcnsiblv ;lrLlllgcd by a prcdominantlv L'v;lIIgcJical body could
produce a list of overwhelmingly liberal speakers to represent
t~u;lkerisln to the British puhlic. Furthermore, all presentations
to the Contl'rcnce would be widelv dissell1illated by the "I)aily
" Ibid ..~2()-.f \ /'(1.':':/111.
,,) I L\1(' F\"!dlfll'(' .\/,11111(':\, 3 July J ~I)_~, 1)2 .11ld .\IIIIIIll'S . .f July 1St)), I..'.(J-J-t-. The b,l"j"
Iq~\\11 \\ hll'h ill\'iLltl011~ \\'lTl' l""ucd \\ .l" !lot "L1tl,d 111 tl1L' l :O!lHllittCl"" 111 111 lItc'\.
llf rril'IH.i,,", 1-"(.,21.:.'.
) Hf Aug. J;-\I)): HM(:. I:'xI'lIJfil't' .\/il/llf('S, J Augu'a, I:,S ,Illd 5 Sl'ptcmbcr, 17S-(): ,1Ild
J ()etobl'r lSI)". 1-1-.f-). Al..,o
.\1/1111.1("', '-;L'l' 'W'I!..,OI1, TlOJd ttl f\tll1l'hC'itlT', ':,\:,\-(>,
" IImL q~-).
 qS British Q1/l1kcris/1I 1860-192(1
press' who were especially invited to attcnd.:" In early November
Janet Morland wrote to her 'Mr. Braithwaite' expressing a sense of
satisfaction that the impending Conference revealed most Friends
were no longer willing to leave Home Mission work in the hands
of an cvangclically-dommatcd Committee:
J tl'cI ... the Conference .. ,was a llL'cessity. that the srrivings .iricr th c
ideal of Quaker worship &: n unistrv which arc obvious in manv mind, all
oyer th« COUll try had to bc expressed. Wc do need. as ,1 SOClcty. to be
reminded of our special work .. , If we vvcrc ;111 hOI1lC misviou.mcs. the
work c!ouljd cnrainh' be done better than it is at present. /'( am' gro\\'ll1g
sense that we cannot put all work onto orlicrs or pay then: to r.ikc the
rcspon-abilitv of it, IS a hopeful sigll,'J'
TilE MANCHESTER CONFLR.ENCE. IX')5
In late November IS<)5. Henry Stauky Newman, long-time
honorary secretary to the Friends Foreigu Mission Association,
wrote to I~ufils Jones. editor of the AII/C/H<l1I FriClld, enthusiastically
expressing his belief that the recently completed Coutcrcnr«
will m.irk an cr.t in the history of our Societ\, in Ellgland, Wc h.1\"c round
tor som« Years p;lSt., , that our Church was I,'sillg gr.IS/' of rh« highlY
educated /'( lIltclligellt youllg men and women bclonglllg to our 11L'st
old (.,2uaker t.uuilic-, who were rcrcivnu; tirst C1.1SS curriculum at College
/'( tlicr: dnfting thcologlc'llly, If our SocIety was thus to lose its bcst. a fl'\\'
Yl'ars might settle our fIte, Evcrv Christi.u: Church II1I1S[ flce modern
critirism &: modern scicntiflc thought ... This Conference is the ct1()rt/;'/
tliciirst time ill our Society to}I(l' this Cl11ergcncy &: I want thee to quietly
m.ik c the bcst &: fullest usc thou r.ui orthe double ICollflTenccjnumbcr
of the [Lo ndon] FriClld.'J·
What had transpired at Manchester to make even solid evange­
lical Quakers like H, S. Newman feel that their Society h.id taken a
decisive turn? The announced objectives of the meeting had been
'J~' IIlv'l(:, ExccunvcMinvtc«; 3 Aug, ISv5, [r(j.
';1 lmet Morland to W. C. lknth\\".llte. H November [IS'!5I, IlFI'
", H. S, Newman to R, MJOI1l". 25 November [XVI. Box 1. RMJI' Tlie [-"nell,!
,1 ~pl'ci,l1 edirion to the Contcrcncc Oil .2() November ] s')5.
Prophetic 17isioll 14<)
to 'to dispcI ignorance that .. , exists in the public mind' concern­
ing the Society of Friends and 'to strengthen the attachment of
younger members to its work". The Conference's introductory
speaker Theodore Neild (T S,n-T <)2l}), a teacher and athlete of
some renown. noted that if these objectives were to be achieved,
.ill in attendance would have to put aside their fear of discussing
social issues and modern thought. Younger Friends, Neild said,
would have confidence in the usefulness of the Conference only if
cOlltrovcrsial topics were seriously 'grappled with'.')' Such senti­
merits from a goml, grey Quaker like Neild may have puzzled or
even alarmed representatives of the Free Churches of Manchester
\d1O had been invited. as Christian 'comrades', to participate in
Conference. Indeed. 'An Address of WcIcome From the Free
Churches of Manchester' had taken special note of the soundness
otPricnds" 'testimony on the essentials of the Evangelical faitli' and
expressed the hope that such principles would be maintained.')('
lhc first speaker in the initial session on 'Has Quakerism a Message
to the World to-dav?", Matilda Sturgc (IS2<)-I<)03). did, in fret,
begin her discussion of'Early Quakerism' with a rcvpccttul bow to
the nineteenth-century evangelical revival within the Society,
crediting it with rousing Quakerism from 'apathy and ftmnalism'.
But for the remainder of her address this venerable septuagenarian
miuisrrr, temperance worker. and author set the tone for the five­
day meeting. putting forward the entire agenda of liberal, reformist
concerns about the decrepit condition of British Quakerism. Evan­
gelical attachment to dogmatic principles, Sturgc noted, had gra­
dually obscured and even undermined the unique ideas and
practices to which early Friends had borne witness. She was parti­
cularly critical of the 'blind. almost idolatrous faith in the Bible and
Bible texts' which threatened to fIX modern Quakerism in the vice­
gnp of the sort of dogmatic principles from which the first Friends
had sought to escape. Concurrent with the danger of theological
rigidity, Sturge said, was the threat of social ossification. The same
laudable virtues which had contributed to Friends' success at busi­
ncvs had tended to lead them to f.1lse assumptions about the right­
ness of the existing order and, thereby, produced a general failure
'J' Rept)rr ,:f t!le Pn1({'ClfiIl5?.i 1:( tlu: c'IJ/!fI'rcl/(/, t!{ .\1cl1Ilwrs (~r tile ,I)t)c;cry l!F Friends "dil, hy
Dircoi()f!t1{rhc )t'drly .'[atillg, ill .\/dlldICS[{'/'frt1111 tile I:"//'l'('nrll to ,II(' F{licClltll (~r Elcl'Cflth Month,
devoted 15Y5 (London I Kfj()). v, 1..1.--1), [Hereafter .\[,1111"lcstcr Cl1J1f~'n)I/(C wtth page(s).]
)1, Ibid. 22-.:;. .
 ,-,,0 Britisl: QlI(l!<crislII 1860-1920
to .iddrcs the root CIU,L', of social and economic coudition-, which
fovtcrcd injustice and inequality. If Quakerism was to meet the
clnllellgL's of the twentieth celltUr\', Sturge concluded, both its
theology .uid social assumptions would have to challge with the
. ()­
tunes.
Neither evangelical Friends nor their gue,t, trorn the Manclics­
tcr Free Churches could have been pka,ed vvirh Maltid.i Sturge'.,
lIIe'sage. They WLTe no doubt relieved when Frederick Sessiom,
an evangelicd minister and pioneer HOl1le Mivsi oncr prevented a
corrective rejoinder hy .rxscrting the irrcfurablc .ruthoriry of the
13ibk .md cllItioning ag,linst the modern tendency to r.usc private
illtnllinatioll above the lessons of Scripture')"
However heartened by I rcdcrick Sessions' restatement of their
tund.mu-ut.il prinriplcv, ev:mgelic,I!s would soon realize that it \\,IS
not to be their day or their Conference. I )urillg the question tunc
that concluded the opening se,sion, ])r Edward Vipont Brown of
Manchester ch;lllenged the scntirncnt-, n:pn"'L'd 1)\ Sessiom, not­
ing that rradirion.il (~uakerisl1l W,IS not b,l,n1 Oil the outward
authority ofhlbliu! tL";(S but UpOIl 'the hre~lthillg ot ,I living spirit
into the heart of man . , ,")') With this starcmcnt Brown gave notice
that proponent, of change would no longer quietlv acquiesce ill
wh,J( they regarded as ohdur.ir« Calvinism m.isqucradinr; ,I, true
Quakerism. III the day, that t()llown1, a, liberal theology clptured
both the rhetorical initiative .md the high moral ground, the
dominant theme would be the compatibilitv of modern ideas
with Quaker trudinon.
Nowhere w.is this more obvious th.n: during the third day'.,
ses,iOll on 'The SOCIety of Friends ;md Moderll Thought' whell
Joseph lkv,111 l3raithwaite wa, lett to bear the evangelical ,tJlldard
~llone against an array of libeLII Friend" includingJ Rendel Harris
(I i\ )2- 1<)4 I), newly appointed lecturer in palaeography at Cal1l­
bridge, Silvanll'; ThOIllp,on, the di,tinglli,hed physil'i,t, and John
William Crah:lIll, halllnlLT of the evangelicak Long ;l ,pokesil1an
f()r alld hero of ev:mgelical Frienlh, J 13. 13raithwaite, at hi, age alld
in ,uch cOJllpany, was clearly out of hi, depth. It wa" indeed, a
bk,sing that 13raithwaite's indispositiun Illade it neces<;ary t()r hi,
'F"' IblLl. 3 [-3. ;~l"~l "l'l' M,lrg.lrl·[ Alkn, °M.mld,1 Slllr~l': "RCl1cll""',IIlLl' \\t'oIlLm"
11·()}//CI/'.i J/i ..:./OfY J(tTU'lI'. 7/2 (ll)l),s), 200-2(>. I ,WI gLltl'fLlJ tn Protl'''\Or Alll'll fur .tllo\\mg
llll' to fl,<ILl lll'r t'XCl'llcllt l'''''',l:-'' ill IIlJIllhlT1Pt.
,):-i .\Jdlldlt'S(t'/' CtJ}!ti'rCI!(I'. yl-t) 'I') IbId. 5 2 - .1 .
Pn1phctic Vision 1) I
lecture to be read by hi, son-in-law, Richard Thom.is. Perhaps the
most conspicuous ~l'flL'ct ofJ 13. B.'s address was a lack offreshness,
starklv underlined bv an admission that the substance of his con­
cludin[!: remarks had been 'written nearly tlfty ycar, a[!:o': 'If we
dulv consider the uncertainty and the shortness of life, we shall
think it needful to put a check upon m.iuv curious but unprofitable
cnL/uinc, ... and be even cont cnr to remain ignorant of many
things because we have neither rime nor opportunity here upon
earth adcquatclv to ,clrch them out.' I""
The t~lCt that Br.iirhw.iitc's speech followed h.rrd upon all clo­
qucnt and ermine lecture by Thomas Hodgkin, further magllitlcd
its uiuvtv, ,Irchaic tone, The predominant r hcmc- of Hodgkin's
.rddrcss had been the advantage which (~uakcnml provided by
pcrmirtiug Fricudv to come to grip, with modernity without the
d,mger ot' ,uccumbing to the 'cnerv,lting and malarious' O;Cl'\Sl', of
ninllcrtu.rllv f1,hionablc movc mcutv like ~Iesthcticislll, pessimism,
,ciL'Iltisnl, and xoci.rlism. 13v w.iv of cx.u up]«, Hodgkin ohxcrvcd
that the carlv QlLlker view of'UnivLT,al and s;lVing light' provided
a Elr more etTiclCioU<; antidote tor pc'SilllimI than C~II\-inistil' prc­
destination. And, .1, tor science, Hodgkin contcudcd that Friends
h.id surely been 'divinely guided' in their rr.idition.il refusal to call
the Bible' '1 lie r I 'ord ()( (;otf' a, it had become increasingly clear that
()Id Tcvt.uncut words spoken 'by the nnscicntific Hebrew ,age
I\\LTCI no essential part of Chrivt« message to the world today'.
Indeed. he noted, nearly all thoughtful Christians had followrdsuit
.md ce,l,ed .mv attempt 'to hem in the scientific rnquircr by
limitations derived from the ,upposed necessity of trying to tit
the wordv of those old Hehrcw scribe, illto the discovLTies of
Illodern scicnl'c'. I " 1
Thc rcmaining speakcrs 011 modern thought put a ks.' mbtlc
gloss on thc nujor pOillt, of Hodgkin'., prc,entatioll. Thc tlrst of
the,e, Rendel Harris, took all uncoillprollli,ing position in
'ldlllllni,hing those Friends who continued to show an aversion
to the 'dazzlillg light of 'L'icntiflc knowkdge'. What sueh
ill(bvidual, t~lilcd to apprcci;lte, Harri, ,aid, wa, th~lt they could
no longer detach religion from 'eience. Thc 'doctrinc of cvolution
[was I a, applicable to ScripturL's, to Churches, and to SaLTal1lents
... as ... [to] thc study of the lowe,t fonm of animal life.'
IbId. 217. lid Ibid 2 ° 4 - (1, 20S-t).
 152 Brifish Quakcrism 1860- 1 92 0
Therefore, he concluded, Quakerism was obliged to set itself in the
'right place amongst the intellectual forces of the world' by incor­
porating modern ideals into its collecuvc vision. /(>2
In addressing the question 'Can a Scientific Man be a Sincere
Quaker?', Silvanus Thompson emphasized that there need be no
conflict bet\Veell science and religion since the voice of Cod spoke
to the soul, not to the mind of men. Modern science, he said,
might demonstrate what was intellectually ElIse but only the 'guid­
ance of the divine light' could reveal what was 'spiritunlly true' and
lead hunLlIlity hack to a way ofhlc' that was the lidle,t revelation of
Christ's teadling. The gre;lt gilt shared by all Friend" Thompson
noted, was the knowledge that 'creed is not separable from con­
dun [and] that a mans religion is not that which he protc.. xes, but
that which he lives ... '/01
The final speaker on 'Modern Thought.' John W. Graham, rook
the ot1ensive against bihlir.il literalism, noring that the supposed
inEtllibiliry of the Scriptures rested on nothing 'but the ill-informed
view of bishops of the early centuries ... ' On the other hand,
e;raluI11 asserted, 'when we cea"'l' to he afraid of the competition
of other books with the Bibl«, we shall find out how much ir excels
them all.""·'
The rhetorical triumph of the New Theology in the session on
principles 1I0W either commonplace or passc./ 07 Still, there were
'Modem Thought' was long remembered as a decisive victory tor
notahlc developments at Manchester which reflected the direction
the f()rces of mudcrnitv within British Qu.rkcrism. Certainly,
upon which the Society had set its courxc. The first of these
rhere was 'widespread symparhv ... especially amongst ... younglT
concerned the place of female Friends. The I;lct that nearly a
Friends' for the sentiments expressed by some of the Sociery's
third of the speakers at the Manchester Contcrcnrc were women
leading modernist thinkers, but one disquieting et1c'ct of this liberal
was in itself unusual f(l/' ~lllY mixed g;lthcrJng at the tunc, religious
victory was the revelation of wounds inevitably inflicted upon the
or otherwise. On the other hand, it was fully in kccping with the
still sizeable evangelical wing of the Society. J. 13. Hodgkin, I()r
tradition of a strong Quake'r female ministry and, of course,
example, protested that if everything that had been said in the
session W;lS represented to the general public as a consensus of
Quaker views, 'the position will be exceedingly serious' and
could only add to the distress of those who were already deeply
disturbed by what they had heard. Furthermore, n ianv Friend"
particularly evangelicals, wen' upset by the ElCt that the presenta­
tions on Modern Thought had gone on so long as to prevent any
j()-'. Ibid. 21,s-2() passim.
rn; Ihld. 23Sl. Abo :'Iec D;l\'!li MurLly-Ru"it. "The M,lllChc"iter C()llfl'fl'l1CC ,111d cl Memoir
l,fSilvanm P. T!JO/llP,oll',jrll.';' 5712 ([~~5), I~S-207.
j()-I;Hlll/cheSler (:o/!j{-rclIcc, 22(l- -t-() Jl,l.'siln.
Prophetic Visioll 153
discussion of their contents. As chairman, Thomas Hodgkin sug­
gested that the Committee on Arrangements 'provide some time
lor those who are burdened with what they have heard .. .' But, in
the end, dissenters got no satisfaction. The Arrangements Com­
mittee resolved 'to avoid entirely a discussion ... which in the
nature of things could only he partial and unsatisfactorv'. 1("
Evangelical clements were, perhaps, somewhat mollified by the
Elet that, in keeping with a suggestIon of J. B. Hodgkin, the
Conference gave no endorsement to any of the papers which had
been presented. Srill. as Caleb R. Kemp, Clerk of Yearly Meeting,
groused to his 'Diary': 'They [the papers/ required so much time
th.it none was lett I()r any discussion. The subject was treated
"hruadly"-lllore so than I fClt to be edifying. Indeed, I had always
doubted the wisdom of including it I Modern thought] ill the
progralllme.
.[o()
The Manchester Conference was conceived ofand long rctucm­
hned as a seminal event In the evolution of modern Quakerism
hut fiom the per,pective ofa century, its Procccdill.!:s, especially those
dealing with 'mode-rn thought'. sec III rather tame. No doubt, this is
because. a.. one Quaker historian ILIs noted, nearly every bold idea
which emerged from the mcctinj; W;lS concerned with theological
women still represented ;1 clear majority of the membership of
London Yearly Meeting. Quakers naturally tuok pride in having
had, unlike most Churches, the benefit of seeing 'the work of
Cod's spirit when he speaks to the women". But Guliclma Wallis
Crosfield (1 S5 [-1(45) chided Friends for the complacency inherent
in such self-satisfaction. Crosficld reminded the Conference that
while 'a large share of the forward work of the world, in moral and
rcligious questions, fall [sic J into the hands of women', Quakerism
I()~ Ibid. 24 0- S.
',d, Caleb Kemp. 'Di.irv'. 7 Dl'cl'mbn IS~5. 2(,(,-7. MS vol. S7. LSF.
Greenw()t)d, Quakers EII(o//llfl'rs. l: lricnds (Illd J(l,!i{/ 170-71,

 154 British QII<1kcrisll1 1860- 1 920
W;1S t:liling in its rcsponsibilirv to the world by doing littl« or
nothing to advance the position of women in the social and
political realm. One of the things most needed, she said, \Y;lS
'sound judglllcnt and rightcollSncs,' in rea'i'iessing women's pbce
both in their own Rcligious Socictv and in thl' larger <orictv they
were attclllpting to infl:lence. lOS ' ' "
No dramatic conclusio.« were reached with regard to the tllture
role of women in the Society. Still, when, in thc midst of ;1
discussion on 'Qu;Ikerislll's Me,sage to the World', Ellen Robin­
son (11\4 0- I l) 12) called upon the Clerk to 'kindl\' silence the men a
little bit' '0 that Friends. in hearing the words of their WIH'S .md
sisters and mothers, nl1ght receive more light and less heat, British
Quakers were put on notice of another serious question with
which they would Ix- tllrL"ed to grapple during the impending
century. llJ<)
Another vcxationx brush with the tiitur« th.it elllerged .it
Manchester concerIled what was osrcnsiblv a centLl! theme of the
ContlTencc, Friends and Social (~uestions. ()ne scssiou on rh«
second day was given over to consideration of social problem,
and their posslhle solutions, but most presentations on social
rctorm and reconstruction WLTC little more than pious personal
sunu narir-, of phibllthropic deeds illllStrating ho\\ Friends with a
tl'w hours or a tl'w pounds to sp,lre could make mcaningfu] coutact
with the working classcs. for the most part, the discussions of
SOCIal problems .md respo!1Sihilities gave off .in aura of complacent
[)f miscouccptions on the part of the public' and 'the strellgthcllillg
,c1f-s;ltisElction. Dut there were uncomfortnl-l.- moments.
of the .ittacluncut of youllg Fricn ds ... WLTC promoted by the
In till' midst of the tirst day'., mecting one incident threw a
glaring hght not only on the tepid quality of (~uaker ideas uhout
social reform but also on the nature ofQu;lker attitudes toward th.­
eL[uality of believers, at least in the sight of man. I )uring a discus­
sion period tllllowing the session on Quakerism's lllessage to the
modem world, Kenerie Ward, a barely literate t.mu labourer, rose
to relate how, after years of vainly seeking tor spiritual comfort, the
silence of a Friends' meeting had hcc om.- 'the starting point in my
life'. But lest Friends wax prideful at the conquest of this humble
sou], W;lrd, whose accent must have struck all odd, even discordant,
note ;llllongst solidly lniddle-cbss Quakcrs, wcnt on to dl'scribc
how he had been treated while seeking closer tics with his tl'lIow
I()" .\111/1dll'srcr (:O}!!i'(CI}d', (lS-70
lbid. ()-l-. Sl'l'
I",)
fJ/'op!u'ric Visi'l/l 155
worshippers, 'I went to that meeting tor five months, and only one
man, .. ever spoke to me.' Years later, Ward said, even after he had
been admitted to membership, sonic of the meeting's elders had
<rill not uttered a word to him nor even recognized his presellCe.
'All these things keep people away from )'01/1' Church,' he point­
edly concluded.' ,()
The iiunu-diurc response to Kcucric Ward's rebuke must have
hccn stun ned silence, ;lS assembled Friends perhaps recalled siuular
incidcnts in their owu local meetings. Two speakers replied with
r.ithcr l.unc accounts of their personal liberality towards the work­
ing classes before the discussion shifted back to more spiritually
edit~'illg, not to say more comfortable, COllCLTI1S.'" This trouble­
some moment set the sClge for ;1 session 011 the long-standing
question of why so tl'w of those who attended Adult Schools or
I [orne Mission meetings joined the Society of Fril'llds. Sonic
practical solutions were pur torward;' C but the crux of the
problem still seemed to be, ,IS one speaker noted, the belief of
lllany working-class people that while their presence lllight 'be
good enough tor the Lord', they suspected that it might not
he 'good enough lor friends'. "3
If the Manchester Conference did not place the Society ot
Friends in the vJnguard of the uiovcnu-nr tor social equality, the
Contcrcnr« Arrangements Committee did report its ,l'IISe of satis­
t~lctioll that the two major objectives of the gathLTill~, 'the removal
Conference to ,1 somewhat unusual dcgrec'. I q Almost to a nun
(there \\'LTC no won u-u), liberals on the Arrangements Couuuittcc
had reason to tccl gLItitlcd that the tone of the Confcrcnrc, while
llL'\'LT startlingly original or innovative, had run strongly in tlicir
direction. Doctrines long in decline-biblical literalism, the pro­
pitiatory Atonement, absolute human ckpravity-sel'lncd to be
rapidly t~1dinginto the shadowy periphery otmodcrn British Quaker­
ism. Still. the waning of evangelical dominance might as easily
Ibid. Sj-l) \l·111ph,1.'ih Jdlkd) I II Ilud. S()-(j2.
I I ~ ~l'l', for L'\,llllpk,J. B. BLllthw.lit\." Jr. '. , pl.ui ror dr,l\\-illg work ing-rl.i», JlH:mhcf'i into
[J r q 1,l L l t l \ 'C i\1Cl'(1l1g:-. ,1'> ,} prcludl' tll tLlil MOllthly' rv1L'dillg 1llL'lllbcr...hip, lbJd. 113-19.
Il~ Ihid. 12). Thl' \pl"lkn, IIJrril,t (;rCCll, \\,1'> fL'pl'Jrillg the word" nt'.1 \\'orking-d'l\\
lllClllh,'l" ill her 111l'l,till~
114 fH\.'1C. [xccUri\:l' CtHlll11 . .'lillllfes, .;, I)cc. ISV). 211-12. Aho 'iCC TI': 21) Nov.
(:luptLT he!()\\".
(J
[SVi.~S.
 15() British Quakerislll
have implied spiritual drift as spiritual renewal. That it ultimately
did not was the major arhirvcmcnr of the Quakn Renaissance.
The Friends who had conceived and planned the Manchester
Conference used the momentum created then- to work towards
:1 new spiritual consensus based upon a revival of the 'mystical,
practical and experimental nature of Quakeris1ll' which, as they
believed, had been diminished, and in S01llC places nearly cx­
ringuislu-d, during several gcneratio!lS ofcvangclical dominancc.' J,
But if the much-vaunted session on Modern Thought was the key
demonstration of th c triumph of the Ncw Theology within
the Society of Fricnds, m.u iy who recalled the Manchester
Con flTcIICe fixed upon the addrcss of J ohn W iI helm Rowntrcc
as its decisive moment. R.ownrrc c. while dcprcciating \Iuggish
sclf-complaccnry ... spiritual pride jmdl f:llsl' respectability' of
coutcmpor.rrv Quakerism, also cnvisioucd a revitalized Qluker
Elith 'rlc cpcr in its basis, clearer in its VIsion, broader m Its
charity ... and as warm in its love' rising out of the 'secming
chaos' of the modern world. 'Friends arc not bound by a heritagc
of creeds. .iud need not hrc.ik with their grcat past to put
themselvcs ill touch with the present'. Rowntrcc noted. Therefore.
he concludcd, IlCW ideas and lICW challclH!;CS should be ,[ source of
strength, 1I0t weakness. [[(, John Wilhelm' Rowntrce W,lS only 27
when he spoke at Manchcst.-r and in the decade of life left to him,
his display of 'Christi,lll passion ... intclligent im.unn.uion and
business ... skill' in the cause of transforming both the inlage and
reality of Hritish Quakcrislll would make him the most celebrated
friend of his time. [[7
II~ R. Scort , 'Authlnay or EXPl'r1CIKl', ,"I(l-7
III, ,\llll}(!'t'\/cr (~(lllkJl'I/(" 7l), ,'1,2
11-- Wil -,o u, '''\\/c Shall NCWT Tln-ivc UpOIl
,\'I'XI ftlf)' )i"lr_l. ()--5 -" fltl.lsilll.
1860-1920
5
The New Quakerism
TRANSATLA NTiC CONN ECTIONS
Quaker conununitics in the British Isles and on the North
American routincnt evolved along dirfcrcnt lines, but never in
Isolation from one another. There was always a dvnamir interac­
tion between them. SOIllC of the 1I10st Illonwntous developments
in American QuakcrIsm. including the sowing and flowering
of evangelicalism ,11110ng American Friends, the controversies
leading up to the Hickvitc Separation and the establishment of
(;urncyite tenets as mainstream orthodoxy in most American
Yearly Meetings. were in large part responses to initiatives
brought by Britisb Quakers. Influence did not, of course, move
in only one direction: from John Woolm~1l1, to Hannah Barnard
to a stream of nineteenth-century cvangelicds, tr.ivclling
American Fricuds had c011Siderable impact, both positive and
negative, on events in London and I )ublin Yearly Meetings.
Not surpris1l1gly, such transatlantic conncctiollS were vitally
important to the origins and evolution of the Quaker Renaissance
in Britain.
When John Wilhelm Rowntree, on the invitation of Rcndcl
,llJd Punvhon. Hl/trdir III (;rt'j'. ~[O
Harris,joincd a w<llkillg tour at Murren, Switzerland 111 July IK()7,
1~IHlLlJll'l''' r)) ,1I1d Cn.." l"l'Y .in.i l ouk,«. he had already established himself as a leader of the British modem
movcn rcut. Another member of the parry at Murren was Harris's
t()J'111l'r ElClilty colleague at Haverford Collcgc in Philadelphia,
Rufus M. Joncs (I K()3-1<)4K). At thirty-scvcn Jones had attained a
cOl1Siderable, although not uniformly positive, reputation among
American Friends, By a conjunction of fortuitous circumstances
and skillful negotiations, Jones had recently arranged the merger
of the moderately Curncvitc friends Rcvicu! with the Christian
vVorker. a Mid-western publication with strong holiness leanings.
The fruit of that combination was the American Frimd, a journal
which, under Jones' editorship, gradually assumed a progressivc
 15~ l3ri fish QII,71,erisllI 186(J-192<l The ,,\'('11' Quakerislil 15<)

theological stance, much to the constcrnarinn of m.mv Mid­ European mysticism and its influence Oil the ideas of early Friends
western ho11l1ess Friends. I and that J. W. R.. would begin work on J dcfinitive history of the
The trip to Switzerland marked Rufus jones' introduction to a Society; second, that they would meet yearly to evaluate their
circle of British Friends who would confirm and cnrourugc his mutual progress and consult on the ways and means of carrying
increasingly liberal theological convictions. L3ut the influence \Y;lS their plans to fruition." This historical scheme, which both men
more th.m one way. jones was IHl shrinking violet, hclving alrcadv believed was a critical ck-mcnt in the rcvit.rl iz.iri ou of Quakerism,
become involved in a number of controversies as he sought to hold provided the crucial tic that tirst bound them together; and their
bar k the twin tides of holincs, Quakerism .ind the pastoral -vstcn: ti'iendshlp, deepening In personal aftl,etion and intcllcrtual
while simultancouslv inculc.lting progn'ssive theologICal principles iutcnsity until Rowntree\ prcm.iturc death in 1<)05, would also
in the n und-, of American Friends. With his obviou-, <inrcruv .urd be of critical significancc in the evolution of the Society of friends
simple New England charm, reinforced bv ;1 gift for storytelling, on both sides of the Atlantic. 'Out of that partnership ... was to
jonl'S made ;1 great hit with his British cousins, especlalk john come a modern interpretation of the very mcaning and univcrsaliry
Wilhdm R.owntrcr. jones and Rovvntrcc were dr.rvvn to e;lch of spirit of the Quaker Faith ;lS one of the dynamic tlJrll1S of
other pcrson.rllv by a <h.ncd sense of tun and spirituallv by theIr mvsticul religion, the rdigion of Iitl, .... "
recognition of a common mission ns regards the tutur.- of (~u.lker­ When Rufus jones returned to America, his exposure to the
ism . .J. W. R. ILld :dreadY eSLlhlished close relationship with older ideis and encouragcment of like-minded English Friends sccmcd
American Friends like Rrrh.ud Thorn.i- and Allen JI\' of l ndi.ma." to i nspirc a new and bolder vision. He W;lS convinced that pro­
hut in I~uti."joncs he tound a m.m of ideas cIS wdl as a svmp.uhctir gressive British Q1Llkers had LlCed up to the intellectual .md spir­
fi'iend of his own gcneration to whom he could open his heart as itu.i] clLlllengl's of I )arwini,m science and Higher Criticism 'in a
well as his mind. tl-arlcss spirit'. The COULlge of their .ouviction-. in jones' view,
For his p,lrt, jones W;IS impressed by Rowntree's 'forw.ird­ contrastl'lJ most unt1;lttlTingly with American intellectual timidity
looking vision" and 'inuucn-«: tl,rtIlitv of mind. jones r.unc to and spiritual impotence in the t:lce of attcmpts by holiness Friends
regard john Wilhdm ;\S 'the unique impiring lc.idcr of that to reject not oulv modern ideas but also some fundamental doc­
epoch ot- our QILlker history .... r Ic did not come as ,1 rebd ... he trines of Quakensm. A p.irtirul.irlv disturbing example of jones'
cline ;IS a prophet who reveres the pJst, lin's in the present concern was the .ibovc-notcd' tcn-vc.ir 'inquisition' against two
.md t()ITCISts the future ... '3 Accord1l1g to jones, hctorc thcv parted respectl'll ministers, joel and Hannah Bean (I ~30-1l)0<)), carried
in th.it summer of I ~<)7 he and Rowntrcc Iud settled on two out by holiness Quakers in l ow.: Yearly MlTting. During the I ~70S
impurt.mt desigllS: tirst, that jones wouh] cmb.rrk UpOll ;1 xtudv of .uid carlv I ~~os, joel Bean became an outspoken oppoucut of the
hoi mess-sponsored revivals. gcneL11 meetings .md pastoral system
I Uudcr till' cour t-u] o!"]. Walt cr ~1.d()lll· ot" l,'[nTLllld, tlu- (Jlfi.\/iilll I r (Jd'('/ h.ld (OJ1­
which appeared to be t.ik im; Midwestern Quakerism by storm.
-,i.k-r.rblv LlrglTcnc ul.mon rh.ur till' /"1'1('111/1 an'/I'II' whidl JOlll'''' lr.rd Uk-CIl (}\IT III IS(n L3ean believed that such activities were not only unseemly .md
JUIlC"" 1C1llLI! ccitr oti.rl .1)'pnuch 1Il 'rill' .-IlIftT/lillI lrun.l \\,1'" [0 h,tl'llll"L' i uodcr.uv Id'lT,l!I"'lll unQuakerly but, more sign ific.m tly, that they threatened the Cl'n­
wHll ot ln-r pOlllt" 11t' \'ll'\\. hut (!"l1JJ) till' lWgll111l11~ Ill,lIly ,r-..lld-\\"l'"rlTll ln.ud. \\'l'1"C
.livrurbcd bv \\,11,11 c1le~ 'i,l\\' .I" ,I L,k ll('fl',IL "pirirLLlI. !JP!llll'''''' COI](cIH III dll' I1l'\\ J0111'11,tl
trality of the Inward Light in Quaker litl' and worship." As the
Sel' I Llllllll, 1',.,/JLlj;lr1lJ,lfiOIl, [-l- ---\ .Illd John C)]jnT. -.I, \V,drer ,r-..Ldolll': 'I li(' .·lllltTI1'<l1I I:flold holmes> Lletion bcclIlle increasingly influential in Iowa, the L3eallS
_\lld.lll fV,lllgl'lil-.',l! (~\.uker\ \ulul ,A,l'Ylld,I', (.III. Sol..:>. (f',lll I{)I)I), (17-() \\')h1 ,Ir~lle" tl)r ,I
di"[Jllni\'l' Ch,lJlg" ill Jonc,,' rhl'(l!()gi('J! P0l.,i[l(ll) olll~ ,Ifrer hi" fL'[urn fi-Ulll ~,L1rllpl' III 1 :-'()-,
JlOlll)~ tlut fro!ll I ""(),t to I SV7 ./0I1l'" l-.'dlturul" 1I1 tlh' .--:1 III ('I"i1"d11 1:!"It-lid Iud rdkdl'd 'thl' ~,lll1e I JOllc" . .!lJ/III 1['rllli'llIl RlJII'lIm't', Ivl
C\';lllgelil-."l! Proteq,lIlt urthodoxy dl,lt l'!l.lLlltl'rizl'c1 hi" \\Tltillg" 111 thl' I'n('IIc1.1 /<.('I'ICI/" '. SIr C;l"Orgl' NC\\'llun'" rl'llIJrk" 011 Ruftl\ JOlll'~' '\c'\.'CIHil'th birdh,by, ljuoted by FII/,I­
, Sel' Alkll J.IY\ --lllfllh/(!l.!l'dflh)' (jJI)[LH..Idphu IVIO), ~_~ 1-.2 ,1l1d 31)/ .f,l~ \\-\\ 11l0d'T,((l'l~ l1L'th C;L1Y Vllllllg, !-"t'icud l)/I"U~' 'n/{, ni(!'.?rll/J!I)' (,l(/?/!/iIS .\/,./{)//{'." (New York It),"S), 2J7- S.
l'\',lllgl,Jjl'cl1 h\' AlllerIl'Jil "ulJd,lrd" cllld ,I Cllhl' frielld to I, B. BLlirll\\',lltl' I, Sl-.'l-.' Cluptl'r J.
1 IZ.UtLl" f\,'1. JOIll-.'''. en/c '1'1,111 tJ{ '-!f;' ill (.'(I//(:'>!..( (Nl'\\-' York jl)2{)1. Il).', 11)-:--,,", ,llld .1[1/111 ~ Fur,l ~UI1111ury ot'jod lkan\ l()mpLlillt~ 'lgclill\t thl' inHul'llCe ofho1il1c~", f,'\'lv.lli",r:-., ~l'l'
11',/;',./1/1 POll 'III,.,.,., [I] hi, ,miek 'The Imll", JJI', Melreh I~SI, 4<)-5
',
 160 Hntisll Qllilke/1'SIIl 1860-1920
sought refuge with hke-minded Friends iu San Jos':" California.
Unfortunately, their San J ose monthly meeting was under the
~llIspices of an Iowa Quarterly Meeting controlled by holiness
Friends who were unwilling to allow matters to rest. After a decade
ofharass\1lent, both Beans were dcpo-cd from their ministry on the
charge of holdillg unsound views. For Rufus Jones. the persecu­
tion of the Beam was a disgraceful and ominous illustration that 'it
was Calvin and not Fox who was dominant ... among Quakers, in
America ... "s
Liberal Friends in Britain, somewhat inaccurately. perceived of
the !leans' trc.mucut at the hands of extreme evangelicJ!s in Iowa
;lS ;1 typical ox.unplc of the uct.nious intluence of till' sort of need
implied by the Richn1l)1lC1 Decbr,ltion.') In ;1I1Y event, the IJcln
C1SC was undoubtcdlv a LTnci:J1 clulyst to growing conCl'rllS in
London Yearly M"L,ting about the extremist nature of Amcrirun
l
cV:lIlgehcJlislll. <>
In the n icaut i n u-, Rufils jonL'S' SCIlSL' of commitmcnt to a
renewal of Arncrir.u: Quakerism along modernist lines had been
cnbrged and deepened bv a year otgraduarc study in philosophy at
Harvard under some of the leading AIllLTIC1I1 thinker, of tlu­
period. J,mL-,s \\,;1\ prob.ihlv most intluL'nced by josiah RoycL''s
(I~SS-I<)I(J) ilk:ls concerning mvstirism 'lS ~l road to spiritual
rl',llity; Royce's nco-Hegelian thought was closely .ikin to tlut of
the Oxford idealist T. H. Crccn, whose ideas h.id inspired leaders
of the British Quaker R.eluislance. Franns C. Peahody of the
Harvard Divinity SchooL a pioneer oftheioci'll gospcllnO\Tlllcllt,
also nude a deep impression on jones." The star of the Harvard
philosophy dcpartmcnr , William James, was ill Europe throughout
J o IlL'S ' tenure, but they had prcviouslv met at Haverford and Jones
used James' ]Jrillcip!es (,( ]Jsydlol,'gy in preparation tor ;1 psycholo~'Y
-' l-l.lItll" M. })]ll'\, '111t' '('dll of (,f;' iu \ lui.l]; ) {'<I1'.\ ( Nl'\\ York [ (n-t-I. .\ :,-(ll Ild,I,lillJ. Abu
'l'e 'Till' AllllTll'JII l k-cl.u.uron ot-I',l1th A Rl'\ulr', HL Nov. l~I)J, JO.~-7 ,1IJd JUL·] Bc.tu
.uid 10\\.:..", ibid., l Icc, Ic"ll)-t-. 2)).
'J SL'c- t()r c x.u'up k-. 'I)lS0\\,IHllCnt ()(.!ol·l lk,lll .md ()dllT", 1$1', Ike ISVS, 3~j:\. The
,IIlOI1YIllOlll, author o( thi~ piece hehn\'d r!J,lt Friend, III Al1lLTIC,1 \\"LTl' 'Llpldly hl'COnlll1g
t\VO di:-.ti\Ju bDdIL'~, with diverse iutvrprcr.inon, of (~Lukl'n'>lll'
I" (ntcr"iew \\'ith Edw.ird MilltgJl1. 2,() Mav l l)l)-t-, Fril'lld~ HCH1'\t', london, III
lhomas I Iodgkill org,mlzed ,1 campaign to prote'it ag,ltll'\t the Beans' trl',ltlllC~H: SOI11L' -1-00
Bnti~h Fricnds scnt kttcr~ of suppnrt ,llH1 L'IlCOUra~el111'nt to Joel ,1I1d H,lllll,lh Ul'<1Il. Thc',>t'
letter..;, :dong with l"Orre\pOlldl'IICC bt·tWt'CIl H(ldgkill clUj Kufu..; Jllll('\ (UtlCLTlliJlg rile'
BCJils' C:l~L', :1re in Box Uly, LSF.
I I Sec Vining, Rl!IIIS )(JIICS, ?-;6-7 .lJld I LmI1l, rnlll~"lZmllilfl'ol/, '-1- S- ),I.
'fhe Nell' Quakerism 161
course he Introduced into the Haverford curriculurn. Later, he and
other liberal Friends were deeply impressed with James' treatment
of George Fox and early Friends in his Varieties of Re!(((ious llxperi­
C/lCC (I <)02), not least because James' work seemed to confirm Jones'
own ideas concerning the spiritual origins of Quakcrism.
12
Well before he met John Wilhelm Rownrrcc , Rufus Jones had
developed a theory which traced the ideas of George Fox and
other early Friends more or less directly to ;1 brand of Christian
mysticism Imported to Engbnd from the continent at various
stages of the l-leformation. Jones particularly stressed the thought
of the German mystic J ar ob Boehme (157 'i-I (124), some of whose
works had been translated into English by the I (14oS and thus
would have been available to early Friends. a ElCt earlier noted by
the Quaker historian R.obcrt Barclay .md confirmed by William
james.":' Jones' research, guided by his anti-Calvinist theological
propensities, led him to believe that the attractive power ofQuaker­
ism lay in Ccorgc Foxs recognition of the universal and saving
Inward Light of Christ which eftc·ctivcly demonstrated his rejec­
tion of the doctrines of absolutl' human depravity ~lIld predestina­
tion. Such J view also rcficctcd JOlJL< absorption of nco-Hegelian
idealism, strL'ssing the iun.itc goodness of liuruan nature JS well as
the infinite clpacity of reason, properly uudcrsrood and applied, to
lifi: luuuaukind on to the highcr spiritual Icvcl in concert with the
exalted phvxic.il xt.itc toward which the laws of nature, expanded
.uid clarified hy I)arwini;\Il science, seemed to be taking the human
Lice. Thus, Jones saw Quakerism not as a radical spin-oft'tronl
Puritan Calvinism but rather JS J thoroughgoing rejection ofit-:l
life-enhancing spiritual religion fully compatible with the most
challenging discovcricx of modem thought and science. For him
the Aroucmcnt did not represent the .rppcaxcn rcut of Divinity
thwugh the sKriticL' of innocent blood but rather 'God Himself
t:lklllg up the infinite burden and cost of raising men like LIS into
sons of God like Himself: this is the revelation in the fKe ofjesus
Sel' M. Carhcrmc Albnght'>; cnrhusi.isnc' I ~IYIClic..; l~1 Rt'I(~I(\lf':- 1~"\·Jl{'fi('ll!t'
fL'V1C\\' nt' '}'/It'
ill J>rr.it'l/f })(1)' P.l}Wr5. \//)0 (1) Sept. \lJCl2.), 2t'h)-(J2, Albrigbt rallcdl.uucs work ',1 trCJSLlrL'­
1 Sl)3---()-t­ h()Ll~C t()r ··Frielld,,", Ju.,tIt~'illg DlleL' more. "theIr own belief in the "I11I1('r 1,1ght", ' 2\)2.
]3 13arc b y, llll/er L(!£" 21-1--\::; ~lI1d Jlilll'S, Flu' 1;mcric,1 (!{ Religiolt..; ~',\P(rit'll(t' (NL'W York
rev. edn. Fj02), 3l:) n. SrL'phclI A. Ke\lt beliL'\'e~ tiI,lt JUIIC"S first iludl' the L'(H1IlL'Ctl011
bet\\L'ell Fox Jlld Boehme (rol11 reJlhngJaI11e,' \york JIld only later rLad 13ard<ly's IIJlICr Lilt'.
Sec Kent, 'PlVcho!o",,' dnd Quaker Mysticism: the Legacy of Wlllwl) Janll's dnd l~utt\S
Jonc~', QlIllkcr Hiitll1}', 7(Ji\ (SprilJg I<jX7), [-J7·

 I oz Britisl, QuakerislJI 1860-1920 Tile :'\'('11' Quaker/Sill 1()3

Christ'. Thus, the jesus of the new Quakerism was a loving, implicit, but widespread, belief that Quakerism, centred on the
witnessing God incarnate rather than ~l bloodv sacrificial victilll.'-1 powerful doctrine of the Inward Light, was a mystical as well as a
Jones did not deny the existence of evil in the world nor the dynamic faith. Under the influence of such a faith modern human­
human propensitv tor it, but he believed that he wa, one with irv might cut through the accumulated clutter of coutradictorv
Fox .md early Friend, in asserting that all human beings possessed ,1 religious ideas and speak directly and me~1I1ingfully to Cod, not as
l'~lpacity tor goodness which, as a reflection of the Divine Seed in vengefid Patriarch but as loving Father, and to human beings not
all, might, if rightly dircrrcd, become the prn narv motivation tor as depraved sinners but ~)S exalted sharers in Cod-given Light. jones
hU111an action and the d-lc,ctive means of salvation. I, believed that early Friends had experienced, in the gathered silence
13ritish Quakers of a liberal persuasion cnthusiusticallv embraced of their meetings tor worship, a new and vitalizing form of 'col­
.lone';' notion of Qll.1kerism ;lS a mystical taith buttressed by t r.id­ lective' mysticism whcrciu members together sought and touud
itions of Quaker litl' ,1IId worship and dlrecth influcuccd bv lead­ the guidancc of the luward Light, a torm of spiritual authority
ings from the Light. For them, the Light opened the way to both which surpassed the authority of the human-tainted I ~ibk. 17 Car­
the severance of tics with the harsher ,lspects of ev,1ngdical the­ rving the weight of prevailing theological thought, buttressed by
olo~ry and the pursuit ut spiritual ;JIlSWlTi entirely within the the SCCUrIty of;1 direct pipeline to the I )ivinity and proven hy
intcllcrtuallv respectable context of modern. opt imisnr liberal historv as well ;1S eXpLTICnCC, liberal Friends believed that this
thought. For those who sought and embraced it. the LIght of dvnamic NL'\\' Qu.rkcrism could carryall before it. No victory i.s
Christ provided not only a n'cogmtion of sin but also illun nn.uion c()]]1plete or irrcvrrsihlc. but this genLT:ltion of rd'JrIJJL'rS had a
ill those 111~ltters lett unclear or incomplete hy SCripture. Placing rllrInilbhle .md timclv mL'ssage, gn';lt sincerity .md a stL\teglc
human progrL'ss ill the vanguard with mystical (lith in Christ (thcv ;ldvantagc; such W;I, their apparcnt success that the historian of
remained stL'adflstly Christian), lihcr.ik in th,. era of the (2luker Virtori.m Quakerism has noted the 'rapidity and c01l1pkteIJL'''' of
Renaissal\ce seelllni to have an unbeatable combination-e-n wav the accepClllcL' of liberal thcologv among BrItish Friends. 1S
open not simply filr the survival of Society of Friends as a vital RufusJones' co nviruon th.u Quakerism originated in contincn­
rcliuiou» comlllullity but tor its much expanded influence in tal mysticism was the most innovative theological concept adopted
British, American .uu], indeed, world societv in gener.l1. [(, bv liberal Ouak crs. Nc.irlv. ;lll of the other idclS associated with the
, ~

JO!llJ Wrlirclm Rowntree and ll..ufilsJones became titular leaders renaissance of Quakerism had been set rllrth in the previous gen­
of reformed Quakerism on either side of the Atl.uiti«. WILl( cr.t t io n bv the authors of.~ J.(t'o.\oll<l!,/t' J;ili,II, by Edwa I'd Wors(k 11.
RowntreL' brought to the movcrucnr was L'nergy, direction, .uid by J oh u Steph cuson R ownrrcc, bv Ca rol inc Stephen's Qlldkt'r
vision; Jones added the sCL'lllingly au thorit.itivc couf in n.uion of an S,rl11l!.?"olds (I xoo) and even by the moderate evangelicl1s who

I I Rulli" I'v1 . .I01ll''''' Flic ."1/11I/t'll/cl/! (Yorkvlurc !l)05 ('olllml![Cl'. Il.d.l. sr II, #s. V(l1. 2.

.l,)!ln PUll . . lion bl'lll'\ l'\ th.u uiv . . tu-rvm \\·,1-, I110l"l' fuud.uucnt.tl ch.m till' Light ttl ]]l.!ll:
Yorkvlun- PJmphk'h, I sr

(~l1,lklT lJhlT.lh hl't·JU . . c Ill~- . . [ll·I';ll pcrunncd thru r to l·:--.:prn\ Tl'ltgIUlI . . idl',l . . III prugTl' . . . . ivr,

I, For ,111 dlllllllllJtill):.!, dl"l'lI""!OIl (If Ruru- ./0 11l''''" l OlllL"pt nt""lll, "l' ..... \X/JilllLT A. (:lh)Pl'L
lH1Il-hlhIIC,1l tlT1I1'" ,lud tu ,1l-Tlrlll rill' . . tnIl\, C.lp.ll'i[\, tllr tIll' I )\\'IIll' III \\ ,Iy.. . th,1l \\ l'!Y buill
'I"lll' IIlHlIl'nn' Ilt-RutthJUIIl·.. . llil [Ilc (~lukcr VIC\\ (lf~ill ,Ill.! ~,\'lr, C)J~'I: ()(l. 221-J. \f-tll l'llll)(I01Ull) . . ,ltl't~·lll~ .\lld Llt!UJl-dk "ll'lTuhk Ill(lT\'Il'\\ \\'ithJollll PIIII\!l(lJ}. /\L1gll ... t [(j,"\(l.
1 (j."i-'). 3D-()
Lxcll'l"
['hi . . dl . . nl ........ lull O\\t' . . 11llll-h tUJ)!Jll PUlh!lOIl ..... Ide,l ..... 1.. . "'l't out III jJIH1rdll 1/1 (;/(')'. 22(1--\) I ' I . . H Ill'], {'il-{lln,lll (JlldJ.:n., , 31). <,'f till' IT\pOI1\l' nf Rll·!l.lrd BLlith"',Utl', \V. (:
Jlld Jll pn\'.ltc l'utWlT"',ltlOll Al.. o . . Cl' I \1l1ll'1 1:.. B,I.. . . uL ·IZuttl.. . t\1. JOlll" ,llld ~1y . . ticl . . lll·. Ih,\ltll\\.lltl, . . . ,'ld,·,t \(Hl. t,) thc id''.l of ,j r.lp1l1 hhlT,l1 Tfllllllrd) '( )11. No! Nu! ~T\llll I ,'-;lJO
171 -J. (Sllllllllcr I Vi""). (-2() \\'holwlin'l'd th,H ·Jonc.. . I1Utk hl\ rl'llltcrprl'ut]OIl ()f(~l1,Il',l'n""lll to \\1'11. pI) til till' \()2Ch ,md Ilj30.... .n tlHlk .lIUJl~ tillll'_ You "'Cl' Fnl'lld' ,1ft' VlT~'I()llg­
illklkctu,dly rl''''pl'nahk by ,1ttl'lllptlllg tll grJfi Jt ,lllto thl' (;rn'k llll'Uph\·.. ll·,d (r.idinOIl llt' h\-l'\1 ,Illd till' F\'lllgl'lic,d FriL'lllh dldll't Ch.lllg\' tlll'lr \·Il''' .... · Illtl'T\'ll'\\ \\'Hh Pn)tl' . . ,,(ll
llly.'iric]-;Ill ~llld by lI~)l'Ltlllg: illto It ,~rllnll,ltlD1l\ uf pO.. . irt\·l' rllIllklll g ,llld of the . . tKicll gu . . pd, RICh,lrd Br,llth\\"c1Hl', Aut-:li'it lljS(I, C,Llllbridgl·. AI"ll . . l'l' Brun I ),Ivid Phillip" 'Fril'lldly
thu" bnnging it 111(0 lillL' \\'n11 Lltl'llllH:[l'Cllth (l·I1tUry rdipou . . hbt'uIr . . lll· (23), Chri topcrJ [),lrr1otl\m: Brin.. . h (~ll.lklTi . . 111 ,illd tl1l' llllpnl.ll N,ltll)ll. [SljO-[()IO'. Ph,I). thc . . i'i. Ullivcr­
I Iu\ds\\orth\ "pkllliIdly illCi . . l\·c e'i.. . .lV 011 ·f\·'ly.. . ric . . ,wd Hl'rL'tico; ill thl' J\;11ddk' Age : Rut!.\'> . . ity ot- (~,llllhndt!;L'. 1()S(j. \yJ1O ,Irgul''' tlut till' (~ll.lkl'r RCI1,lh . . ,lllCl' \va'> l'phcllWLll ill ih
JOlll''i !(l'Coll'ldercd·,JJ."j!'\, 53/[ (I (ji.2J. 0-3C1, is Il11Hl' . . ymp.lthtt]c to\\,lrd . . JOlll'o; but ,11 . . 0 lIlHuClll'l' JilL! riLl[ '-l)('i,l1 ,md politic.ll l'\)I)"l'f\'Jtl"llI rl'IlLlII1Cd thc dri\'ing t~)rCl" in BntJdl
rl:)l'Cr'i thc IdC,l rlLlt llly-;tjt'I\lll 'iignitlc,mrly iIIHul'llCt'd \n'clltCl'IHh-(l'lltllry Frlcnd . .
(~u.lkl'ri""111 untl] till' Flr-;t World \Xl,1L

_l~ _

 J(LI British Quakerlslll 1860- 1 92 0
recognized the need for change and growth in British Quaker­
iSIl1. I') John W. Graham, Rcndcl Harris and other English Quaker­
were pioncers in the reforming effort, but John Wilhelm Rown­
tree and n.. ufiJs Jones were chiefly responsible for shaping a theo­
logical consensus, They took the lead in convincing a generation of
British Friends that the progressive views they espoused were in
harmonv with the substance and spirit of early Friends whose
revival of primitive Christianity could he replicated if twentieth­
century Quakers matched the [lith and inrcuvirv of early Children
of the Light.
What, then, was the doctrinal consensus embodied in the Quakcr
lz'cnaiss;lllcc? If reformers had hccn asked to set out the most
important aspects of the renewal, they might have differed with
rq.';;lrd to details, but the S;1I11e lour or five prcrcquivin-« tor
renewal would geneLllh- have emerged. Leading most lists would
be the revival of the Inward Light as the 'great and Fundamental
Truth of a living and present Saviour underlving all that carlv
Friends Llught .. .'2" At the Manchester ConferelllT both W. E.
Turner and the American Richard Thomas emph;lsized the neces­
sity of this 'divlIle impulse' to aid Friends in their special work of
rl'soling souls from 'the dark pl.rccs of the earth'. What W;lS
needed, said Thom.rc. was 'a church that knows that Cod is with
it, not one that knows he used to be with it',21 Messages f()r the
new century from both elderly Joseph Edlllondson (born I ~ 3 I)
and middle-aged Edward Crubb .rlso emphasized that the 'founda­
tion principle' of Quakerism was the 'routinu oux and abid­
ing. ,. indwelling of Jesus Christ in the soul".' Crubh added,
'this conception of the dignity of man in the light of Christ's
spiritual presence bl'collles a great mor.il Iorrc, not only in the
sphne of heillX but also in the sphere of action': 22
Another nearly universal theme was the restoration of the Dible
to its propn relationship with the Light. Writing f()f Present Dil)'
I') (:Jrll!JIIL' \(\.'pl1cl1 (IS34-[{jO()), L1.I11g-IHl'r ofSirI.um-, Stl'phl'll .n rd -tvt c r otSu:
lllll\Trtcd tl) Qu.rk crism m IS72. SrCphl"n\ 111(l'11"l', qU.I"l-lllY\'[Ji.",ll vicvv Uf(~ll,lkl'n:-'Ill \\J"
"',lid to h.ivc \trDllgly IJlAUl'lllCd ,I who]« gl'lll'LItJPI1 of Fricndv'. but her vi-ron llt-(~Ll,lkl'n'i1l1
prob.iblv Iud 1l10lT intllll'JlCl' ullhide the Society th.m witiun it.
~(, Wilh.un Pollard. (.)II,l!,,:cr I(,C/;)fIII1/ti(1/1 (London ] ."lSI)), 7-lj,
21 ,\Iallcllcsfer (.'\l/!/iT(,f/c'('. .2)..J.-7, 2SI-J.
joseph EdI11011d"UIl, "lh.. E""t'lltLLI B,l\i" ()( (~Ll.lkL'ri-;lll ,Ind It" 1l01l-]tl(LI,Ll C)rigill'i',
H1L, (IS'i'i) . .1.\.1-5 .ind Cmbh. 'The Mi"'"11 of the Socu-rv of Fr.cndv. 1'/)/', I (I:;')S).
35-7·
The ""Cll' QUl/kerlslII I()5
Papers, Edward Worsdcll argued that because so much of spirituul
disquiet had arisen from attempts to confer upon Scripture 'a
miraculous immunity from error', critical biblical research, by
revealing the Iallible, human qualir ics of Scripture, should lead,
not to unbclicf but to 'a more thorough appreciation of the Dible
as it is, and not as we imagine it to be'. Friends could be confident,
said Worsdell. that Fox and Barclay would have welcomed schol­
.irlv research into the Scriptures since its purpose was not to
disprove Holy Writ but to remove from it 'the veil of misundcr­
sLlndlllg and ignorance which lor so many had obscured its mean­
ing .... ,2, William Charles Braithwaite continued on this theme,
noting that once Christians grasped that the Bible W;lS an 'expres­
sion of the divine with the help of the human ... ' the right under­
standing ofprogressive revelation would lead to a 'moral perspective'
Lither than an infallibh- creed. Thus, the critical study of Scripture
could provide 'knowkdge of the nature and the will of Cod which
shall inspire our lives .uid service'. Even if 'the inspired writers
often misunderstood the (;od they were revealing', modern readers
might lc.irn to embrace rather than to fear the Truth of Holy Writ.
lz'eiterating this same point, the authors ota I<)04 pamphlet written
'to promote the more systematic reading and study of the Bible by
children and young people in Friends' families' noted: 'We must
teach our scholars to hold fast by the vcry highest dictates of their
own consciences, and never suppose that the Bible when rl\!htly
understood will lower their standard, although they may often h.ivc
to account f()r what is be low that standard hy the progressive
receptivity of man ... .'2~
A third point constautly reiterated by liberal revisionists pro­
cl'cded fi'om their longst.Inding belief that the future of Quakerism
depended on maintaining its tradition of eschewing hireling minis­
ters while developing a ministry that was dynamic and modern as
well as 'frcc. Such a ministry would draw its inspiration from the
Scriptures, as seen through the filter of modern biblical criticism,
1.c,,11('.
and its strength from a thorough knowledge of the most up-to-date
Edw.rrd Wu",!cll. "l hc P..c<["r,ltio]) of the Biblc, 1'/)/'. I, (1:;\):;). 5\-('4. AI", "'c'
Crl'J"l'Y .u id Loukcs. .\:cxr Fiti)' }('lW', I J.
2~ 'v./. ('. BLIH!l\\,lltL', r//(' bLI/)Jr,ui(lll (!(tl/c Hil'/i". (Yorkvhire Itj05 Coumnrtce p.unphler.
[()O)), 1-] [ Ihl.{.iilll JlldJu,llll\!\Jry' Frv. Alfred Kemp Brown, ('t al. '111(' TCI1(hil/.'.! {:(tht' nih/e ill
lilt' F'lIIl1"fy, (Loudon ] ()0..J.) , [ ] - I J. AI.;;o \('c.J. W. (~rJh,l1n. The ,\IC,1IIil1~ d' (.)lIllken'_'11I.
(London n.d.}, 5.2 'Su Jp.Lrt are vvc- trorn BihhL'JI lircr.ilism that our Chld' divl'I~_'Slln'';;
trorn other Chrrvri.ms look at Iir . . r ,ighr like di\Trgellcn from the Bible .tho.'
 ....
'~
~
~
'"' C/. ..; ~ 'f
2
::: .~ .r: ~' "::;1
.....
::.... 9:- 2
.... :;
!'""'-
"....J
---r:::J
'J: £3 jx
v: ..... C >-"
~ I
_ c-
'-'~~~ :£ .....
..... el
el
~
~
~~~rJ~"....J r- ~ ;::
- '""':J 'J 2 2 "
'~ ~
':..J 2
~ 2
~ ~
~
.....
'""':J
""""'J ~
..... :... -r. '-'-....:::: :., ~ J 3"
:.:"-:::;
c, "...J '­ '"'"':
:L'~ 'J:
'f
:.; :­
~ ;..
~f.J . ..) J
'f. '-. ~
'""':J >..: ~
~ ~ 'J ~ J
~ ~ ~I ~ >
= :;;.. z
;",~ S']
...... 'r.
~
~ ,~
:" ~ ~I z
'6 ~f., >..
'" ~
3~~
-.~
 I()~ Britis// Quakerislll 186,J-1920
brought forward, to abolish the practice of recording ministers, was
opposed, for different reasons, by both the bding enngelical
patriarch J. B, Braithwaite and the 'leader of the new life', john
Wilhehll Rowntrcc. Braithwaite wished to continue recording
ministers because he It,lt that 'IlO essential change is required in
our existing arrangements', R.owntrcc believed it would 'unsafe
and premature to do away with the practice of recording, lest the
office of minister be further damaged at ;1 crucial tunc 111 the life of
2
the Society,3
What R.owutrcc and his allies wanted was not a change in the
system but ;1 systematic d1angl' in attitude towards the ministrv and
preparation tor it. Thcv bclivvcd that the weakness of Quaker
In iu istry arose from ';1 deep-seated indolcncc ' cncou Llged and
comforted by the view that what 'was moved by the Spirit
could entail no labour of the intellect'33 Such Quaker anti­
intcllcct n.rlivm, Rowntrcc noted, W;IS 'closely associated with that
strange ILlziness which characterises the mind of the average Friend
when questioned as to the historical .md spiritual significance of his
Church, Our ignorance, both JS to tile flcts of our church history
, , , and the want of Jny adcqu.itc conception of our spiritual
heritage, is not likely to develop the gifts latent among us"q
The problem, then, \\;1, a, much educational ,IS spiritual. Its
solution WJS institutional in the sense that the Society, rather
than simply admonishing individual members to do their duty,
needed to establish soruc permanent means tor producing a min­
istry th.ir was iutormcd and inspired ;IS well JS free. The two most
important educational innovations introduced through the rcIorrn­
ing zed of john Wilhehll Rowntrcc and his collaborators, the
Sl11l1111L'r Sd1001 Movement and Woodbrooke Institute, arc dis­
cussed in some detail below, A third educational concern, the
rediscovery ofQuakLT history, was nearly as important. Reformers
came to believe that ;1 comprehensive historical studv of Quaker­
iS11l would help Friends, JS ignorant of their past ;IS they were
complacent about their tut urc , to understand and appreciate the
;~ John \\/Jlhl..'!Ill Rowntrc«. "vlcmor.unhun Upon the RCl'(nding of Muu-rc-r-,", j\1SS
Port fohn. 231.+u. Lsr clIldJo~l'ph Bn',lll Br.u rhvv.u n- to <:ontlTCllCl' 011 Mini . . try. York. no
d.uc, MSS Porttolro, 20/2(1, Ibid.
i\ J \\/. H... .. 'Till' RI,c orQu.ikerism ill York-Iurc. III E'\d}'" ,7IId .-iddrt'_'·_'(',I.
J W. R. to R. M. J, I I J.1Il. IS~~, Hox 2, RMJI'
,'-I- J. W. R. 'Probk-m of FrLT Muuxrrv. '.23--+_
o
Flie ,Veil' QuakerislIl !()9
significance and continuity of their faith, So informed, they
might begin better to appreciate the importance of a modern and
dvnarnir Society to the impending century, which, having
.nhicvcd unparalleled material advancement, would be searching
tt)r more abundant means of spiritual fulfillment. The eventual
production of a modern, romprclunvivc study of Quakerism,
based on original sources and placing the Society of Friends into
its historical context. also deserves separate trc.umcnt.:"
13y late r ooj john Wilhelm Rowntrcc had determined to devote
most of his time to the production of the projected history of
Quakeflsm, His progress was slow, however, interrupted by
bouts of illness as well as continued involvement in various aspects
of the renewal movement. One such project, completed just
before he left: for the journey to the United States from which he
would not return, was an essay 011 'The Present Position of
lz'eliglOus Thought in the Society of Friends', subsequently. and
posthumouslv, published in both the FriCllds Quarterly Lixatnincr and
the ,"-III/e,-i(Illl lnvru]. This article may serve ,IS ;1 spiritual last tcsti­
11}()Jly of Rowntree's views about the problems and progress of
British Quakerism,
In the decade since the Manchester Confcrcmc. Rowntrcc said,
the Sorictv of Friends had begun to recognize the debilitating
qualities of much of the spiritual b;lggage it had acrumulnrcd
OVCf t wo centuries, But while acknowledging past deficil'nciL's,
the Society, as a spiritual fl'llowship, had not subsequently .uccptcd
the responsibility for developing ,I coherent set of ideas and a
comprehensive plan of action that would prepare the eillcrging
genCfation not just to save their Society troru cxtinctiou but to 're­
assert its positive claim, now so largely historical, if not, , , myth­
ic.il. to share in the constructive spiritual work that is afoot in the
world' J(' The reason for this abdication of responsibility, Rown­
tree believed, was a lack of sufficient imagination 'to realize the
intellectual chasm which separates the young Quaker of 19°5 from
the Quakerism of", even, , . fIfty years ago', The flscinatillg
world of knowledge that had opened to youthful inquiry only
" Sl'C bc-lov,'. AI," vee R. M. j.,)ollll II'dl,ellll ROII'II",'t', 1~1 .uid T,,"1 0/ Ut,' III c,tlt'~t',
IlJ5----{)(l; Kc-nncdv. 'Hi-rorv .ind the (~llJklT Ren~ll.,;-',lncc', J 5-5(l: ,1Ild Sl'otr, . Authority or
()(l-7. Aho \l't' ExplTicIlCL".7S- l ) ) .
;1, J. W. R,. "Ihe [Jrl';.,t'llt PO"ItIOIl of Religious Thought III the Society of Friends',
.-ll//er/eml Fnl'l/d. 25 i'v\.lrch [ljo5, [{).2-J.
_1 _

 17 0 British Qli<lkCrisllJ 1860-/920
underscored the 'de.ldh- dulll1l'ss' and 'torpor of undeveloped
inrcllcctu.il pOWl'T" which seemed to characterize so much of
Quaker life. Too m;my Friends. he uorcd, still regarded their
religious flith 'as a collector regards his spccirucus .uid could not
or would not comprehend its philosophical content or its spiritu.rl
impact. At a time when the means were at hand tor their SOCIety to
move the religious lilc' of the England of Edw.ird VII as the
'primitive giants' of Quakerism had moved it dunl\g the tunc of
Cromwell and Charles I I. the a\Trage Quaker seemed contcut to
remain a largely 'unintelligent specrator of the grcltest revolution
in religious thought since." the Rd,m\\atiou'3~
If"(~u;lkLT principlr-, \\"LTe vvort l: ,1Ilyrlllllg: If the tlrL' th.it li\"L·d ill l ;L'()rgL'
Fox. Edw.ud Burroughs, .uid ... Is,1,K I'elllllgtllll \\',IS t o hL' rc'kllldlL'lL itit
llllly cO/lld he rck indh-d: itQu.rk.-rivm woul.! onlv .ui«: ti'LlI11 t lu- dllq .m.!
speak ro men 11\ LlIlgu,lge ()t" t hc rwrnricr l: l'L'llturv, r11L'rL' ,lmulLl he ;1
shakillg ()f drv h()l\l's ,IS had nor brcn tc,lt betl)]"L·. <'
As a result of their Society's ineftl-ni\'l' rL'SpO!1Se to the I\l'\\
world of ideas. Rownrrcc said. \'Ollllg (~lLlk.l'rs \\L'rL' tll\dll\g
spiritual .md intcllcctu.il guid;ll\ce ti'o!\1 norr-Qu.rkcr sources .uu]
outlets t(lr coustructivc .ut iou ill uon-dc-uon rin.ir ion.il or Il\tLT­
dcnomin.uional 1\ iovrn: ems. He predicted rh.ir if such a rrcnd
continued, the onlv possible rcxult could he the extll\l"tl()ll of
Qu,lkLTislll. Still, he believed the situation \\";IS ti';lllgilt with great
hope ;IS well ;IS grclt peril. The loss of the Bihle as tile spiritual
court of last resort had, perforce. thrown I ricud-, h.rck UpOIl 'the
l nxv.ird Voice as the ultimate arbitLT-evell ofthL' Bihle. It IlU\'
well be that the loss of all iut:dlible book is. , . illtCllded to dn\'e us
at last illtO real alld eftc,ctive union \vith Him,' The prohlem \\'as
that at this IUOl1\eut of I\\OI\\eIltOUS possihility, Friellds had uot
COllle to grips with the historical or theological meaning of the
Il1\vard Light alld \VlTe, thus, ullable to brillg its s.l\'iug illllluina­
tion to a waiting world,3'!
Ibid. [ljJ--I-: 'Thl' W,lgl'\ o((;OJ1lg ()n', J)f)fJ. 51.~o (15 ",qu.
in Ecck'ii.l'>tic.li Polin", IbId. 5/:) I ([ _~ ()c(uhn I Y02). 30.2- 3
,~ Sik,lIHI\ I) ThoIllP;"OJL 'John \Xhlhclill !ZO\\l1trl'l" 1"'(.21:". (IVO)).
1:-- ThOlllp"OIl\ pJLlphLl<.,C of RO\Yl1trlY''i \\·ord<.,: l'lllph,l\l'i III origill,d
,') J. w, R., 'Prl''il'l1t Plhltioll', J lJ-!--5.
Tile SCI/' Quakerislll 17 1
The viral point is our b,ISIS of belief our intcrprcr.rrion or the l nw.m]
LIght, of lite. Sill, dc.irh. .md our rcl.uionship to (;()Ll. ThL' rrur li. L'k,lrly
gL1Sj1L'd alld passiomteh' believed. will overcome where the 111LTl' tl'IKtS
ll[" ,) Sl'Ct, .irrophicd bv lllllg divorrc trom the rcnrr.il ]it"l', fIll lI11hn'dnl
lik.: th,: dcad tonn.tlisms they han' .rlrc.idv bL'L'llllll'. WL' h,IVL' hn'll
.hlivcrcd trom the sl.ivcr-, ot drnonun.irion.r! ILllTOWIlL'SS. But if till'
Sllcicty llt rriellds IS to have .t wid.-r ... <crvirc. it it IS to hold ItS y"Ullg
I,ellpk, itindeed. it is ro have ,I cOlltillued L'XIstL'llce;1t ;111, it musr producL'
,1 modern inrcrprct.uion ot its llrigilul cllllceptillll, JllLl "'ad rh..
.vorld ... to ;1 deepLT ulllkrstalldlllg lltJL'SUS Christ.~"
TilE SUMMER SCIIOOL MOVEMENT
I)uring the Manchester Contcrcnrc. (;emge Cadhury (I SJl)­
1')22), the Birmiugh.un chocolate nugn,ltc. known ;ll1long Friends
.it least ;IS nn uh t(lr his piety as his business acumen, voiced his
l'llnCnll ahout 'the dead torm.ilitv' of so mallY Quaker I\\el'tings,
QlLlkLTISlll would never again flourish. Cadbury asserted, until its
mcmbcr-; espeClallv' the elders who bore rcxponsibilitv tor main­
t.iinim; the uriuistrv, 'realised the n\\portallce otcarncst, litc'-giving,
l'lluc;lted Cospel ministry'. II A number of Friends responded to
Cadhurv'x earnest plea, but. at Manchester, as in other settings,
pious platitudes about the importance of the miuivrry WLTe more in
c\'ldelll'e than concrete suggestion.s tor improving it. Still. while
(;eorge Cadburv may have lacked the imagination to devise his
0\\'11 scheme I'll' rcfiuhishuu; the Quaker ministry, he had both
irrepressible fervour and tinaucial mc.u is to throw behind any plan
he believed might accomplish this aim. Cadbury's strong will and
large purse \\'ould. l'\Tntually, be ofcollsidl'Llblc signilicml'e in the
tLlIlst(Jnl1ation of British (~uaknism,
Early in I SLJ7 Ceorge Cadbury received a long IettLT in which
John Wilhelm R.owlltrl'e set out his scheme tClr con ling to grips
with the spiritual ,\I\d intellectual weakllessl's of Quaker ministry,
'If \\'l' could get a hand of Friends, old and young, together at
some country pLlce ICll' a week, 10 days or a f(lrtnight,' John
Wilhelm noted, it might 'do 1\1llCh to widen the imagination and
J()O.2!. 2~5: ,lI1d 'p.. \tlld~
2(q. Till' qUOLltiOll lhld, I<)~-()
II \ ldl/t'!I[','(('/" ( '(JII/;'/('I!(C, ~ ]-2. Fnr (~l'()rgc C,ldblJry \l'C A. (;, C;,udiJlcr, '/1/(' Lilt' t!{( ;('(Jt:l.!c
(;ldhllfY rl.l)ndt)Jl. 11.d,1
 17 2 British Quakerism 1860-1920
to stimulate a desire for greater spiritual power and more ability to
give it expression.' When Cadbury responded with a promise of
monetary support, these chocolate Quakers launched the Summer
School Movement, the flrst sustained dramatic development of the
Quaker Renaissance. F
Within three weeks of]. W. Rowntrccs initial letter, Edward
Worsdell, J. W. R's spiritual ally as well as manager of the Rown­
tree flrm's office staff, sent Cadbury a fully developed plan for a
'Summer School of Theology', naming the location (Scarbor­
ough), the theme (Quakerism and the Bible), possible speakers
('names of the first rank') and a list of prominent (and maiuly
non-evangelical) Friends who might assist in carrying out the
enterprise. Fearing that Cadbury might feel ;IS if he \\'as being
swept into an aud.nious scheme over which he had little control,
Worsdell concluded with ;1 cautionary note, via John Wilhehn's
cousin Joshua Rowntrcc. 'ISltress', he said, 'must be laid on the
educational side ... as bearing on intelligent First day School
Teaching than avowedly on the Ministrv lest Friends be f1'lght­
cncd. '-1.1
Obviously impressed, Cadbury extended his 'almost entire
agreement', suggesting only that a fl'w n.uncs be added to the
committee and that 'two or three, .. who arc considered rather
"advanced" in their opinions' he left ot]. He also expressed grati­
tude to Worsdell and the Rowutrces tor joming the struggle 'to
save our Church, which was f.ist going to destruction"."!
Uy the time London Yearly Meeting gathered in late May 1~l)7,
a publicity Hycr, signed hy over thirty weighty Friends, announced
a two-week course of studies to be held at Scarborough ill August.
The programme, including sessions on the Old and New Testa­
ments, hiblirul exegesis and church history, was designed to 'stimu­
late thought, promote helpful reading and study, and ... to awaken
in the Society a fuller conception of the place in the service of
1-' J. \Iv'. R. to c. c.,
Feb. l:-;(n and C. C. toJ '0/. R ..
10 II lcb. lSI)!, (;corgc C'ldbuf':-'
I'Jf"T' (CCI'). Wo",lbrooke' l ibr.irv (WI.). llifllllllglUlll.
11 Ed\Y,lrd Vv'or\dcll to C;. c: I M,lrch IS<J7. eel', WI.
-H C. C. to E. \X;'or\ddL 2 MJrd1 I S()7, \X;'L. "I ill' Excrunvc Comunrtcc cl\'il'lllhlcd to
pl.in the Sunnncr School h.u! ,1 lkcilkdly libcr.il, .uid Rownrrc«. flavour llll"]udlllg John
\X;'i1hellll .md h« cou-in JO'illlU ,1\ \\"c11 ,1' \Iv' C. Br.uthw.ute .iud J. Rl'lldl'l Harris: (;l'orgc
Cadhurv, IIHlTl'\h, .uid hi-, lllolley, \VlTl' rl'prl'\Clltcd by the rrc.r-ur cr \\/dlul1l Wlutc (1.'\20­
14)00), touudcr of the Binningh.un Adult School MOYl'111Cllt .md J \L11111ch CY.lllgCltCtl
minister.
The .'\'1'11' QuakerislIl '73
Christ of the trained and consecrated in tcllect'. -I, lnforiua tion
concerning local arrangements, special railway f:lres, cheap lodging
and meals and free afternoons for seaside recreation was also
includedY'
Eventually, over six hundred Friends attended the Scarborough
Summer School where featured speakers were about evenly
divided between Quakers and non-Quakers. Some of the latter,
as one participant recalled, shocked Friends who retained 'old­
t:lshioned views on the literal interpretation of the scriptures .. .'
Professor R. W. Rogers, an American 'authority on AssyrioI06ry',
and G. Buchanan Gray, Tutor at Mansfield College, Oxford, each
gave four lectures on aspects of the Old Testament; 1'. R. Glover,
former Fellow of St. John's College, Calli bridge , presented a series
on church history; and Professor R. G. Moulton of Manchester
University spoke on 'The Literary Study of the Biblc'."" In addi­
tion to these lun nn.tricv, the bulk of the Quaker speakers were of
decidedly advanced opinions, at least among their co-religionists.
The most learned of these,]. Rcudcl Harris, University Lecturer in
Palcaography at Cambridge, proved, by general consensus, to be
the star pcrtoruu-r. According to one admiring participant, Harris
was 'delightful to listen to at all times'. Whether he lectured on
'The Growth of the New Testament' or 'Armenia', Harris was 'the
backbone of the whole aH:lir'. Lawrence Richardson recalled that
after listcuiru; to Rendel Harris, he no longer felt like a fish out of
w.ucr among Friends. Another young Friend, Laura Jane Moore,
was deeply moved by Harris's contributions and 'ramc away tre­
mendously encouraged ill Illy views, partly owing to a private
interview ... with Harris which confiruu-d my "Unitarian"
S
opinions about Jesus '-I
Laura Jane Moore undoubtedly misread Rcndcl Harris's mes­
sage. He was never a Unitarian, but her confusion was indicative of
-l-' '~c,lrb{lrollgh Sunnucr Sthool". -t- pp., \\/1.. Twcnrv-fivc of the thirrv-thrcc IlJl11l'\
\\ ere rrum rill' oru..';llul h-r -uluuittcd to (;l'Orgl' C.ldhuf\ bv £:d\v,lrd Worvdcll.
-l-r, 'Sclrborollg]~ xummcr Srhool, C;clll'Lli 'ArLl1lg1'111:'11 t\-', Vv'L,
r Filllt' "l;l!J!C, Scnborollgh S11111Il1lT School fell' RcligiOl1\ Stud)', I oS ')7 , WL.
-I" Dorothy Crowlv l irown , )Ollfllll!, 'Iu.prcsvion-, of Sc,lrborullgh Summer School',
Wcdncsd.iv, -t- Allgu"t-Vv'edllc"dJy, IS Allgu\t , S()j: L. Rich.irdson. 'NC\VClstk-llPOIl- Tvn«
lricndv, -t-3--t-: .uid LJl1rJJ,lI1C Moore. 'Reflections', [[ 7]. -1 here i v no biogLlphy of Rende!
Harrtc. but H. C. Vv'ood g,lVe;) briet",lccollIH ofl I.trr i-," btl' .uul ide.is in Robe-rt l)aVl, (cd.),
t "t1(lIIhw(lkc, 19°3-1953 (I ondon 1l»)3), J()-JO. Also 'Cl' rhe priv.u.-lv printed All'1!1oyies (:1).
RCI/dc! 1I.1I1i.'. colle-ned bv Irene' Pn-kard (no pl.uc or dJte' or' publir.itiou},
 British Ql/llf.:enSI1I 186(J-} <).?(1
174-
why sornc evangelical Fricudv, alw~IYs WJn' of ope n-cndcd diseus­
sinn-; of theological ideas, rete'rred to the Scarborough Summer
School (SSS) JS 'Satan's Sintll1 SlIare',4'J As another participant
noted: 'I wish thou, ;:...' ,111 Illy tri.-nd«, could hJ\'L' hL'L'11 at the
SU1l11l1n School. ()f course lIlany things were s.iid th.ir \HTL'
xtarrlinj; ;:... that OIIL' could not hy ~lIlY means cnrirclv ,ICCL'pt-hllt
the reHTellL'L' &. the deep spiritual voice of .ill the nleL'tIllgs \V;lS
such as vvlio llv. "disann-; the prejudices with who IsiclllJal1\' muvr
h.ivc appro.ulud the kctures,' i"
I )orothy 13n1\vlI of Manrhcsrcr, ;l voullg wik and mother whose
husband h;ld taken p.iins to cnxurc rh.ir she could arnnd tor the
entire t()rtllight. lett Scarhorough hellnillg that the g~lthnillg had
m.ukcd ~1I1 epoch in the history of friellds ,IS \\'L'I\ as pinnacle of hLT
n\\'11 spuiru.i! growth, giving lur '~l niorc ret! . , . ;:... true kllowledge
nf( ;od , ' , the spiritual life has ~Ig~lill IWL'ollle Olle vvith the ordin.irv
II tl", i l
Lest the impetus of such s;lluLln' !'L'spOllses he lost, ,1 SlIlIlIIllT
School Continuation Couunittcr \\',IS tlJrlnL',i, cOllsisting of two
dozen maiulv lihcr.il l ricud-; Whde preparing the W~I\' tor a self­
perpetuating series of SllllllllLT Schools, this Couunittcc ,Irrallged
courses of' "tlldy .uid rL\ldlllg circle" ill 10c~11 (~ll.lkcr 1IlL'L'tillgS,
Edward (;rubh W,IS .rppointcd SecreLII'\' to the Cour inu.itiou
COIll1l1ittL'L' .ind trom r hi-, posit ion he could e\:LTcisL' consid­
cr.iblc iurlurnrc ~\S rL'g;lrds the de\'L'lop1l1ent of this IIL'\V cdur.i­
tional init i.irivc. (;ruhh li.id also rcccntlv bccom,: de /;1(/<) L'ditor of
the British !"I'Iel/d and durillg the lIe\:t' dec;lde ~lIld' a half he \US
ie
prohahly the 1lI0st prolIfiC puhlicist tl)]' liheLd (~lLlker thL'ology ill
(;rclt Britaill,' ~
The SUllllller School C:olltilllLltlOIl C:Ollllllittee's illiti,l1 state­
Inl'IIt of ohjectives, 'to prolllOtL' the rn'crellt historical study of
Rlllh Ll\\dl,)(l!lll .\1,,1)' 1-1)' (i Olllh.ll! 1(J5I)i. ~_~
I (;. Illlligk.1I1 [()JJ (;rlT1L ,() (),[Obl'r rSl)-. ,~1\ 1\11'( HI.:.. 1\1-.
l)l)J"ot]l\ (: UrO\\lL)t1/ll"lld/. \ll!ld,\~, 3 (ktphl'J I,'\(j- 'Jill' pr,ll'L'l'dlJlg\
L'lICL" if QU~lkLTISlll was to be llIore t(lr it.;, 1I1ellllwrs thall 'all
t~TClkl' \\ ,'fl' l'olkl'tl'd III 1>//0('., hWII .";1<1r!J(lf(lf(,<:h , 18,;,- rI OIlt!{lll 1SqS)
(;ruhb rCpLlll'll \Xldli:lIll fd"",lrd IllrJll'J". ,\"Ill) "",l' r.lpJlily lthlll~ hi, cYl'\i~hr. III
i\llgLht II)OJ ,llld rCLlilll,d u"iltor,hip Ullti! till' JUllrJl.lll'l'.l'l'd plIhlIl,lt]{)1l III 11)['0
, Sl'l' "J"/-, 27 Jill. ](JYJ. (IS .llld n/-~ ()Lt" ISl) ..... 2()J ...A.I\o \l'l'.J.lJlll" l)lIdky" Fire L!/;"
(!( I:'dli'dflJ (;rllbh, 185-1--1Y,N: 0"1 '\'/Jlflflldl I)if~rilll,l.l!(' (lulldon I ()-l(I) ,md t,,",) (,)f 111\ (1" 11
.lrtlcle', 'Thl' UhlliliHOll\ f-ril'lld' Fd"".lrd C;rllhh cllld rhe 0.1odl'rl1 Urni,!J [Jl'.ll"l'
MOVClllcllt', I)(,d((, I~C'Cd,.dl, [7/2 (MJy [l)S5), [-10 Jild 'EdwJrd C;ruhh', ill I)II~~/,l/)jll(dl
IJioiol/df)'o{.\J()r/(,1"I/ jJ(,dU LCddcr.' (Hl)i\lPl).l'lL I LuoldJo\l'p!l\Oll (\X,il'"rport. ("{)nll" J():-;~!,
J()(I-(I(j"
The Sell' QI/<If.:crlslII 175
the Scriptures', seemed modest enough, 54 13ut]. W, Rownrrcc and
his collaborators had a more ambitious ~lgenrb which W~IS reflected
ill rhc word« of]. W, R,'.;, estccillcd uncle john S. Rowntrcc who,
.it Scarborough, had admonished Friends to begin to provide SOIllC
more IIIcllIingt'i.J! contnhutions to 'our national life'.
\VlTC' \\'c' ,lble to ,et f,nth th,' rl.iim-, ()f[h,' spiritu.I! killgdol1l of Christ, by
cx.unpl« .I, hv speech, , ,It \vould c.lny with it the s.ivour of its OWlI
.iuthorirv .uid our 0\\'11 people, .md the world, .md the Chur.h. would ~dl
tl'el rh.u the 111e',\.1ge \\',1' nor .I ch'illg echo ofSl'\'l'lltCl'llth CL'llturv voices,
hut ,I \'lTluhk (;mpel, li\'illg, dvn.uuic. catlllJli,'-illlp,lrti.1l1v .1ddrL'ssing
ItSL'lfto ,IiI, ,,\\'hether \'(1llng or old, rich or poor, lc.irucd or unlearned,
,1~lH)\ti(' or ritluli-;r.~"
This \\'~IS a drr.un worrhv of the ambitious, imparicnt , optimistir
group of rdl)rIllerS tor whom john WilIIL'iJlI provided the spark
,llld (;eorge (:,Idbury the means. While these two benefactors were
.ir ~l considerable distance 011 the theological spcrtrum , the prob­
leurs rhcv were addrL'ssillg had 1II0re to do with conuuuuic.ition
than with doctrine. Why did the (~uaker ideal of a tree, opell, and
spolltalleous lIIcetillg Ior worship so orrcn result ill cmprv silellce
or ill spoken words so n.urovv!v Cllllceived or so lacking ill intel­
lectual content ~IS to leave 1II0st of the audience wishinj; that silence
had prevailed; Suuu ncr Schools could inspire lukewarm or ap,l­
rhcric Friends to a lIL'\\' xcnsc of spiritual awarcness or need, but
that illspir,ltioll ottell flrled whell they returJIcd to local lIIeetings
\vhcre the atlllosphere relllailled illsipid or irritating or worsc,
()lwiously, the sltuatioll tellded to be lIIost tryillg tllr YlHlllgcr
pL'Ople searchillg t(lr sr)]lIe l1Iotivation to dirL'ct their pL'IIt-Up
L'IlLTgy trJ\urd the t'i.dtllhllent of spiritual goals, If such illspiratioll
dId Ilot arisL' trOll1 lIIeetillgs tl)f worship, trol1l whellcc would it
~l1'ISC; As JOSIIlU Rowlltree had 1I0ted ~It the M~ll1dle,tcr C:OlltLT­
nt"thL' ('llll­
'-I COllllllitrl'l' Illl'lllbLT'i llh"[lllkdJ V.,/" !Z.t)\\"lltrlT, V.i" (' BrJlt!J\\",lltl', Ed\\".1rd Wor"dell
,tlld C;L'(Jrgl' (.:JdhLlry, ,,"111.) L"O!HlllLll·d rll pn1,"idl' lllu"t or" rill' funding" In clddinoll to Ciruhh \
clPPOlll[J1Jl'IH et\ Sl'lITUr), \X/llli,llll \X/I11 t\..' n:LlIIIl·d hi . . po,itloll .1'> Iiollo!".lry rrl'aslHlT .
Sl'l' SUllllllL'r School (:olltinu,ltll)]} (:Ullll11irtl'l' (SSC( :), .\ lil/llfl'" hr"t AIlI111JI Rl'port,
1'\tjS, SU111l1lCr ~ch()()l COIHIIlLIJril)Jl Cl)]11l11I\tl.'l', \\.'L.
" ]Uhll S. Rowntrl'l', File P/il(t" I~" rhl' ,l.)t1(ic{)' (!( hit'IIJ, ill tlu' Rch\:iolls Li{e (!( EI/gldl/(i
/Thrl'L' p,lpL'r\ rl'eld .lr SClrborough Slllllllll''f Sl"lll)O!. ISt)71 (london II Xlj71), ()o, ()2-3·
176 British Quakerlslll 1860-1920
insurance society, by which they can secure their own personal
safety', it had to perform some function and accomplish some task
that no other religious organization could or would undertake.
Such was the burden of the messagl' that progressive Friends
aspired to spread throughout their Society. The agency for accom­
plishing their aims, the Summer School Continuation Committee,
gathered momentum slowly while planning for the second Sum­
mer School which eventually materialized at Birmlllgham in Sep­
tember I X!)!).
The Birmingh.uu meeting drew a larger crowd th.m Scarbor­
ough, the majority of whom were women who had not attended
the earlier conference. The second Summer School had a similar
cast of lecturers .md ,I comparable inspirational effect, Dorothy
Brown, who had hccn so moved at Sc.irborough, spoke at least
as highly of the Birmingham assembly:
The seulI1d Summer School is novv ovcr . I fl'c! it to have been a
woudcrtu! time ... [ h.rd got into a con n uo n place rut &. all spiritual
growth sl'enll'd h.ird '1I1d slow. and now [ fi..'c! [ have had such a help
on the upw.ir.I ro.id . Ol: for more of the spirit of those mvstic souls
who lived .rlw.ivs so close to (;od ' ... As Ted IE. Vipont BnJ\\nj \\,IS
s,IYlng. it r.uscs one's Ide,ds to live in such an .runovplurc. ",
During the following year an attempt was mack, at the instiga­
tion of Rutu« jones, to transfer 'iuch an atmosphere KrO'iS the
Atlantic. In the sununcr of I!)OO. john Wilhelm Rowntrcc, W. C.
Braithwaite and Rcndcl Harris spoke to the first American
Slimmer School at I Iavcrtord College, ottcTing a dose of the sort
of liberal theology that Rufus jones hoped might provide an
antidote to the evangelical ton e and pastoral system which con­
tinued to dominate Quakerism in the United States.
In the interim. the Summer School Continuation Committee
had gathered in the spring of 1<)00 to consider a question raised by
john Wilhelm Rowntrcc in a series of articles in Present O<J}' Papers.
Given the success of brief gatherings at Scarborough and Binning­
ham, Rowutrcc asked, why not establish a 'permanent Summer
School' where, under the direction of a 'peripatetic lecturer',
~() Dorothy I3rowll,jollrllll1, 'Birnnngh.im SUl111l1er School', 4-10 September I~l)l). ThLTl'
were 730 .itrenders at Birmingham as ,lgdln~t ()5lJ at Scarborough.
The Nell' QuakerlslIl [77
Friends could undertake systematic study of the Bible and church
history, 'with the definite intention of giving clearness and force to
our spiritual message'. 57
WOO])BROOKE
One result of the Summer School Continuation Committee's
deliberations in 1<)00 was the appointment of a sub-committee to
investigate the idea of a permanent Quaker Settlement. Nothing
was forthcouring, however, until mid-November 1<)0 I when
George Cadbury wrote to E. Ernest Boorne (I II 5(1~ 1<)2 I), Secretary
to the Quaker Central Education Board Re-Constitution
Committee, recounting his sense of frustration upon waking one
morning to a realization of Quakerism's miserable failure, after
more th.m two centuries, in disseminating the truths preached by
George Fox and early Friends. These discouraging rcflccrions
pursued Cadbury on hi-, usual morning ride until 'the thought
had been strongly impressed upon me' to dedicate Woodhrooke
(the estate in suburban 13irmingham where his eleven children had
been born and raised) for the training and guidance of the 'children
of our well-to-do Friends ... filled with the desire to do real earn­
S
est aggressive Chnstian work'. 5
Mistakenly assuming that Cadbury wished to endow another
Quaker preparatory school, Boorne suggested that he hand Wood­
brooke over to the Meeting tor Sufferings which had overall
responsibility for religious education. Somewhat irritated, Cadbury
replied that he had not the least interest in some slow-developing
scheme for a Quaker hoarding school. Indeed, as he later com­
plained to Edward Grubb, Cadbury felt that existing Quaker
schools provided inadequate preparation for the sort of 'active
aggressive Christian work' that needed doing. What he envisioned
was an academy where dedicated individuals would engage in brief
but intense study of Scripture and the principles of Quakerism to
,- J W. R .. 'The Problem of a lrce Ministrv'. Sept. I~l)l) Jnd 'A Pica For ,I Quaker
Sctdclllcnt'. !)ec IXC)~, Prescllr DilY Papers, reprinted in Rownrrcc, ESSllYS and Addresses,
1 I [-50 .uid Third Annual Report, ,\lillIlICS. SSC:C:, WL.
" George Cadbury to C. E. Bourne [vic], I ~ Nov. Il)OI, George Cadbury Papers ((;CP).
WL. A. G. Gardiners Ceo~~e Cadburv, 179-203, give>; ,1 sorucwhat different version of
Cadbury's impulsive decision to nuke Woodbrooke a Quaker centre tor religiolls studies.
!7 S British QuakcrislJI 18(1()-1920
prepare them Illr apostolic service on the highway, and bvwav-,
g~1thering sou], fur Christ and the Society of Friend" The only
place where Quakers were doing anything like this Cadburx told
Grubb, was at the ncwlv established Qu.ikcr BibliClI Training
l ustitutcs in the AnlenCUl Mid\\T,t,"!
Thoroughly alarmed at the prospect of Cadburv impetuously
"'Llbli,hing a watered-down thl'uloglCll ,el11inary to prepare pro­
il'ssional Quaker pastors, C;ruhb replied that Frirnds schools
should not he held .ucount.ihlc t(lr 'the condition of thing,
which at present seem, to be geuer,lI ~lnl0ng most educated
people', ])uring his own rr.ivcl-, In Amcric.r, Grubb s~lid, he had
I(H1l1d th.it the' ,1ggrl'"i\'e (~uaknisl11' of the middle .md \\e,terIl
<t.ucs was g,'neL1lh of a 'suprrtui.il ch.ir.utcr .md that tec1Ching ill
their Dible sclwuls \\as "mostlv ofan cxtrcmcl, crudl"\ igllOLlIltly
dogmatic tvpe' tending to "extremes". lie lxlicvcd th.it the best
lesson British lricuds could lc.iru 11-0111 tlu- Arucric.u i pastoral
svstcm was to ,IVOld it cntirclv. On the other 11.IIld, Grubb tclt
that Woodbrouke l11ight ]Ll\T ~l11 cnormou- impact if it could he
organized to addres<; the Ill'l,ds uf \'Ollllgn people 'vvho«: minds
" , seem to be developing at thl' expellSe of their souls', Gruhb
agreed that Friend, should l'llgagl' in 'earne,t mission.irv l'I1(lrt':,
but such .rctivitics could onlv be succes,fill, he said, if thcv involved
\'oullg (~uakn, who \\'erl' capable of combining 'llT\Tnt zc.il \\lth
cnl igh tc ned spi ri tu :1 Ii ty d".
The exdl~lIlgl' between Cadhurv and Edward Grubb not o nlv
h,ld il11port,IIlt illlpliCltium I(lr the future of Woudbruoke, it also
ITvClled ,1 I(ll abuut the directiun Briti,h (~lLlkLT"11l \\',lS uking and
who W,IS ICldillg the l11~lrch, Georgl' C,ldbul\', ,I thoroughgoing
evangelic.1l, h~ld, ~1t best, only a nodlhng ,lcqual11t,1l1Ce with early
(~lI;1ker history and thl'ulogy, What he wanted was action, the
Word aggressivelv prl"lched to Friend and llun-Friend alike,
Assertive, self-assurl'li, theologically liberal Friends like Edward
Gruhh were prepared to take the sort of bold step, C~ldbun \US
,,, F. Ernt'\( to C;. C,.20 No\". 'yOlo C;. C tn 1)PPfllL·. 21 L\ 2(, ~l)\, ]()dl, .ind
IkHHlll'
(;. ('. tp Fd\\',lrd Grubb, 2lJ No\. [l)OI, G, (:. P, \\'L The "CdIU)) Oil \\'lhldbrlloKl' III rhl'
}lllIldhl)(lk. )(\n1r .\leCtlllg, ly08 (13in1l1l1gh,u11 IljOS). J.22 \uggC'it..; rILl[ (:,ldbllry \\".1" lll'>plrcd
hy.l pJIlIphll..,t dt'')cnbing (he Schuul tex R..l 'llgiolh Studic..:. l'..;ubli"hcd hy l'\ ,11lgl'11CJl rnl'lld"
ill CkVL'LlIld. ()hio ill I ~lj2 (Ilo\\' M<110IlL' CO]Jq..~L' ill C<lIltUI1, ()hio).
I,u E. l;. to C, C., JO No\'. IVOI, ibid.
'lYIC .\'1'11' Qu(/kcrislII [70
demanding, but above all cl «: they wished to avoid activirics of the
'crude and ignorautly doglltatic type',
Although Crubb« reputation as an 'advanced' thinker did not
re(Oll1l11end him to most cvangclirnl Friends, Cadbury may have
tl,lt that Grubb possessed a bolder vision of dynamic Quakerism
th.m hi, more orthodox brethren were willlllg to consider. In any
CJ'l'. Cadburv told Grubb that dcrision, rq;ardill~ Woodbrooke
.hould remain in abeyance until john Wilhdl11 Rowutrccs return
trom holiday i n the West l ndics. Obviously, then, the key clement
ill Cadburvs gLldu~11 vleldlllg to the Illrces of modcrnitv WJS 111s
grm\-ill~ c:m li:knce iI; J oh 11 ilhell11" opin ions all d j udgel1lell t. 1"
W
I or the next two ye:lrs, while the Woodbrooke ,cheme slowly
ripened, John Wilhehll remained George Cadhury's chief consult­
.uit. One of the mo-t important results of Cadburv's app.rrcntly
limir lc-s confidence ill hi111 wa, tint the m;IJority of those: who
l'I.I\l'd a si~nirlc111t role ill Wo(,dbrooke's t(lrlllatioll were !Z.OWll­
Irl'e', hand-picked allies (;eorge C~ldbury did have a select hody nf
.i.ivisor-, with distinctly evaugelictl 1e~\I1111gS,('2 but nearly all of the
111110\',ltive ideas about the nature .uid purpo,e of Woodhrooke
\\l'I'l' drawn troiu ~1 dccidcdlv advanced element, including (;rubb,
\V, C, Braithwaite, Rcndcl Harris, aud joxhu.: Rowntrc,' a, well as
the long-disL1J1cl' ~llhuC1CY of Rufus jones. Because Cadbury WJS
\\-Jiliug to ddlT to younger. bcttcr-cduc.ucd .uid pn'dol1lill:lIltly
libcr.il Frirnd«, Woodbrooke eUler~ed as a hreedillg groulld of the
New Qu.ik crism, with :1 portrait of Johu Wdhdl11 Rowntrcc
greetiug e,lch Ilew generation of youll~ Quakers who eutered
it, doors.'"
Woodbrooke took slnpl' with due deliberatioll, ,1S [z.owntree
t( lid RulllS JOlle" ,0 'that Fril'ud, lIlay uot be alarl11ed , " We are
"'ekillg to prmide a spiritual rn'ival hy 1111'(/11.1 scll/CII/CIII Lither or (/
tlLIIl the settlel11ent dS <I rcslI/1 ofa rdigious revivaL' For J W, R" JIl
IlllporLlnt aspect of this illlpendillg revival was the role he hoped
t]1.ltJune, would play ill it. III thl' spring of 1002, he made a direct
,Ippeal to his fi'lelld: 'We kel the in1l11edi:1te Illture of Quakerism is
(I (;.(' roF.(; .. J I)l'c. 11)01, (;CP, \X./L.
(:,ldhufy .... c!uw..,( nllltid,lllt..:. \\'LTL' hh \\·Jtl, EltZ.1hL'th (EI..,iL'), hi..:. ..,011";, (;L'orgL' Jr. Jml
I,h\,lrd. ,llld hI" tt-lL'lld..; Hcnry Lloyd \X/il..,oll JlldJo"cph HoyLllJd ;t..; \ycll ,I;'; JOhll I iL'llIJ' Jild
.\Llbcl C,l"h lLtrll)\\' \\'Iw \\'CfL' !J\'ll1g ill thc !lOU";L' .It Wo()dhnh)KC \\'hilc pLlIl":' \\'LTL' bl'Illg
!(\rJllllLnL,d. Sec l;. C. coJ. 'V.i. It., 10J111. Ilj02, IbId,
ItO\\"lltrL'l' .... pOnLl1t rCllLllllcd J viVid rc(olkniotl nf\f../. l·. l~rJi(lJw~ll(c\ :-.nll ItId1.lrd.
[llflT\'in\' \\'ail Protc'"..,()r Rll'ILlrd BL1Hh\\'Jirc. AlIgu:-.t I()~(), (:~l111bndgL'.
IXO Sri fish Quakerislll I ~60-192(l
critical and that earnest and strenuous labour, under the guidance
of God and the Spirit of Love can alone save us. "Come over into
Macedonia and help us". '('4
Under Rowntrcc's urging, George Cadbury sent a similar plea
asking jones to become Woodbrooke's first I)irector of Studies, if
0111y temporarily. Apparently, John Wilhelm had convinced Cad­
bury that ifjones would come to England for a year or two to lend
his learning and prestige to the \Voodbrooke experiment, Friends'
contribution to the revival of vital Christianity might be 'a thou­
sand times greater ... than ... Iit is] today'. Cadbury told jones that
his sole desire was to lift the 'dead weight of formalism" from their
Society so that it might become a vital bctor in 'hastening ... the
coming of that time "when he shall reign whose right it is" '. Signs
were already present, Cadbury added, that hIS labours were bearing
fruit: 'Iast Yearly Meeting showed ~l rcmarkahlc change in the
gener;ll tl.'eling of the Society.' jones' presellLT in such an environ­
ment, he thought, would insure an even more abundant harvest."
Rufus jones was seriously tempted, especially since C;eorge
Cadbury included the induceme-nt of a considerable rise m salarv.
In the end, he decided that he could not, in good conscience, give
up his work at Haverford or the editorship of the American FU('I/d,
Cadbury W;IS sorely dis.rppointcd. not only because he believed
that jones W~IS exactly the man who was needed to head up
Woodbrooke but also because of problems he perceived with
reg;nd to possible alternative choices.
A number of n.uncs had been advanced during the tL)rmative
st;lges of the project, but the only candidate, besides jones, upon
whom there was anything like a consensus WJS another American.
Richard Thomas of Baltimore. Thomas, the husband of
joseph 13eVJn 13rJithwaite's daughter. Anna, was respected by a
broad range of British Fricnds.?" but John Wilhelm knew that he
was even less likely than jones to accept the position. Therefore, he
suggested that the post be offered to Rcndcl Harris, with Edward
Crubb as chief resident teacher. This recommendation received a
mixed response. First of all, there W~IS, on theological grounds, 'a
somewhat decided expression of opinion against Edward Grubb
being ... resident at Woodbrooke '. Harris, shining light of the
''" .J. W. R. [I' 1(. M . .J., n.d. ILltc April-carlv M,I\" rooz ]. ill" 3. RMJP
\)lIt ofthe t'()py of the letter IJ1 the C,Id.bllry Papers.
". G. C. [0 R. M. J .. 1.1 Mav .ind 5 June i<)02. Box 3, RMJP.
- C. C. ro ]. Rcndel Hum (J. R. H), 12 Dcrcrnbcr 1<)02, ,1IIdJ. R.II. t()(; C, 31 I)l''''
e,
c«. Minute, ':( th: Scrl{Cl/lt'lil l /II /Il i n ce, :' I )ec. 1<)02. WL.
[')02. (;CP.. W. L.
The Nell' Quakerism I XI
Summer Schools, touched a more responsive chord. In tact, Rcn­
del Harris had been independently recommended to Cadbury ;1
vcar earlier by Henry T. Hodgkin (I Xn-I<J33), a Cambridge­
educated medical doctor, who believed that a world-renowned
«holar like Harris 'would be exactly the person ... [to attract I the
educated young men of the Society ... '('7 Cautious Friends
expressed some concern about the soundness of Harris's witc ,
Helen, who had twice left the Society on doctrinal grounds,"s
but, surprisingly, there was little opposition to Rcndcl Harris
ti'0111 evangelicals, despite his prominent work in historical and
rcxtual criticism of the Scriptures. Cadburv himself believed that
Harris was 'thoroughly evangelical' and that 'undcr .« strong i v
local couunittcc] ,I Friends would have 110 fear of his learning
clrrying him astray with regard to Higher Criticislll'-''')
Filially, in I)ccember 1<)02 Cadbury approached Harris directly
[lleading with him to resign his position at Cambridge and become
Woodbrooke's I)irector of Studies. The prospect of Harris leaving
,1 prestigious post at a world-renowned University to take charge of
,I somewhat nebulous Quaker cducarioual experiment seemed
remote, but before the end of the year, Harris had accepted the
[losition and effectively wrrttcn his own ticket as to the role he was
prepared to play. To begin, Harris noted that once he was 'adrift
rroru Cambridge', he would lose several sources of income. In
these circumstances he thought his salary 'should be ;1 liberal one'
.md that his witt: should have 'some liberty of choice' as regards the
house that was to be provided for them, outside the Woodbrooke
grounds. Secondly, 'ill view of the international position I now
occupy in critical science and the importance of keeping LIp with
the work', Harris w.mtcd a definite limit as to the time he would
he expected to devote to the Settlement and its studcnts.?" George
It 1\ not dl',)r if Hodgkin'. onu-vron nt'\\'ullll,'I! \VJ" purpo\cful O[ mridcnt.il. l lodgk in
II) C. C .. f> J)ec IlJOI. C;CP, ibid.
I Iclcn Il:tlk\\'tllI l.u n- (I S41-1 ') 14) h.u! n"lblll'd trcuu the' S()ell't) otlricnd- III ISl)S. She
'.\ "I" ,d'io uncic r somcrhuu; ofa cloud for \Uppl)\cdly lu\'ing developed too cosy J rcl.itionslup
\\ rth 1I11lJury .mrhoritic-, during the Bocr \'(.t·'.lf \VI1l'1l "he visited South Afrir.m l"OIlCCIHratioll
\ ,11l1p" lIll"o-opcrJtioll with the vvo rk otrhc Pnrnd-,' South Afril":l1l RclicfPuud Conuuttrcc.
\!Jl' rcr nrned to the Qu.ikcr fold xvhen lu-r hu\band took the posinou .It Woudhrookc.
\ l ' l ' l lopr H.lY Hcwison. }!('{~i!.{' t!( If "ild AII//(ll/tis. (London r ()~()). 210-1 [.223. 34 oS •
c:» (;. C. to 1Icurv S. Newman. 6 Ike". H)02, (;CP, WL. The quou-d p.1<;-;,lgt' \V.lS LTds"L,d
 ,S2 British QlIllkerislIl 1860-11)20
Cadbury app.ircntlv did not blink at these demands and within two
weeks, Harris was expressing gr:ltitude for 'the cxtr.rordin.rrv lib­
erality' of the tiuancial and other arrangements proposed to him.
'lilt will LlL' strange', he noted, cnthusi.isticallv if sorucwh.it
iuuuo dcstlv. 'if something good docsnt come of it both to the
Church .u rd to the world,'71
With Harris 'Jfl·ly in the fold and plaus well underway to l.iunch
the new Sl'ttll'1I1L'llt with a Summer School,john Wilhelll1 RU\yn­
tree told Cadburv he tlnally kIt 'as itsornc light were breaking on
the horizon', But dawn dol" not ncccssarilv bring smooth sailing,
At its next nlel'tillg the Woodbrookl' Committee learned that
Rcudcl Harris would be on ~111 arch~leologicd expedition in Ar­
mcni.: during the projected Woodhrook.. Summer SdlOO!. III
addition, sOll1e cv.mgclir.il Friends had bl'gUll to express serious
reservations about the tlicological tenor of the entire project,-C
Undeterred, the organizers ~IIlIIOUIlCl'd ill carlv February that
Woodbrooke would co nn ncurc opcr.inon-; with all extended
Sunuucr School (23 julv to 3 Sq1tl'111ber) tl'aturillg a coursc of
lectures by RUtllS jones, The Summer School would be tollowcd
by the official opening nf the prnn.inrnr Setrll'nll'llt III Ortobcr.
comhining opportumticv for studv, worship, .md Cluisti.in cudc.iv­
our with ~I view to \kq1l'ning and strengthening", religious
Iitl",73
The final step in prep,lring the w.rv tor the Quaker centre of
religious study and training was ~1 conference in Birmingh.im.
hosted hy (;eorge and Elsie Cadbury,7 4 In April IlJO3 ~I group of
weighty Friends of every theologicI! stripe g~lthered at the Cad­
bury,' Northtivld manor house to hear (;l'orge Cadbury's dcsrrip­
tioll of the spmtlul objectives ~lIld practical arrangl'll1ents of the
Ilew Settlemellt. Acknowledging the ~Ibsl'ntjollll Wilhelll1 Rown­
tree 'as the parl'llt of the schl'llIl", Cadbury depicted Woodbrooke
as a collective rl'spome to deeply-troubling trends in British
Quakerisll!. hrst, CJdbury SJid, there was the growing spiritu~d
indittlTencl' among Friends repelled bv their own 'untrained,
" JR. H. to c. C, 13JJIl. 1<)01, CCl'. WI..
J. W,R,tll(;.(' ,iJIl1.Ilj03;,\l/1I1/fCS,SCttiL'1lll'IHCOlllI1Uttl'l'. I.+JlIl. IlJ03:,lIldC; C'
t" Ie, C, 7 Feb. 1<)03, WI.,
-I FI< 13 Fd). 11)°3, Al"n 'Cl' l1l.HlTul 011 ·Sl.lIJll1llT S(hool for Rl'll~i()ll'i Swd\' 111
W()odhrODkl' LlhrJr\' Tlll'fl' Iud heL'Il J third Unti'ih SUlllJllcr Slhuo] ,It \x"llllknlll'r...' III
the "ummer Df r lj(J2
74 Se,' J W, R. to el.llIe1,' l,I\lm, 2S M,lreh '{jOj, WL.
Ti,e Sell' QllakerislIl l~3
uIll'ducatl'd' ministry; sccoudlv, despite the dfl)]'tS of (2mker
HO!1ll' Missionaries Jnd other earnest souls, 111~lny Frir-nd« were
[roubled that their Society was contributing 'prarticallv norhim;' ill
[he struggle 'to SJVl' our country frorn hcnthcnism , , " W]Llt was
Ill'l'dl'd to rescue Quakeri'iln trom this combination of debilitating
,1p;lthv and humiliating impotency was not only the realization
'r h.it our voung men ;lIld women should have the opportunirv to
['rql;lrl' tor Christian work' but al,o ,OllIe ~lgellCY through which
[hat preparation could be ,\,telll,ltlcallv aL'L'olllplished, This was the
mle he hoped that Woodbrollkl' wouk] tl11 7 '
To set this proce"> into 1I10tlOll, the Cadburys ottici~llly donated
\Voodbrooke ;lS ;1 pcrm.mcut Quaker Settlelllellt to be maintained
.I[ their expen'L', III .rddit iou , l~I 2,000 worth of prl'kITl'd shares
ill File Dilil)' .\('11'.", C,ldbur\"s national ncwvpapcr.?" would con­
-titutc .m cndowmcut in support lectureships .u id scholarships,
providiru; tuition .md L',,!lCllSeS ttlr a term ill residence to ;1 number
"fYlHlllger Fricud-; Alvo, ,1S;1 1l1l"U1S orputtun; Quaker cdurational
invtitutions in t o uch with 'the best htl' .uid aspirations of our
tl-lIm\,hip', ~1Il ;lIlll11\'1I10US Northern Fncnd (probably joseph
Rowntrcc) ottl'fed to support teachers from Friends' schoo!s 'tor
Olle tcrru during the cxpcrimcnt.tl year',
Ihe discussion that followed Cadbury's prrscut.rt ion W~I, chieHy
,I tl"tiYal of unitv .ind good-tl'elillg, Willi~ull Charles BLlitll\Y~lite
"dled Woodhrooke 'a n.rtur.rl cxtcnsiou of." our SUlnlllL'r
"lCllOOIs' .urd Rufus jonc«. iu a letter read by Elsie Cadbury, looked
to Woodbwoke as ,1 InCIIlS tor 'spiritualising Ellglish QU;lkerislll',
There were also cautionary statements on the dallgl'rs of dogma­
tivm , lest the nC\\' Settlement become ;1 theological scmin.irv
L'spomillg ,ollle new 'speci;]1 orthodoxy', Cadbury responded th;lt
\\hdl' SOllie of the local Woodbrooke COllllllittl'e, hilllself
11ll'luded, Illight be charaetcnzed ;IS 'ultLI evallgelicII', ;I11 of its
Illl'lllbers, rl'L'ogllizing the cblIlage previously illflicted by 'bigotry
,lIld ullch~lrit;]blelleS'i', were illlbued with the prillciple that 'where
-, 'Report nfthl' COlJtL'rCIIll' ,H ~tlll()r Ilol1"l'. NOft!ltit:ld'. IX Apfll Il)03, (;(:1). WI.
r, 1)uriIlg thl' 1SlJO'i (:,Idbury Iud Llkcli c()mful nt' t(Hlr \\"l'l'kly 'llbllrbJIl BIrmingham
11l'\\'ip,lplT,; 111 IljOI. during till' Sputh Atrlclil W,lf. ill' pllf,,:lu'iCli rill· L)dily ;\'('11':', hl'i tJr"t
\ l"11tllrc illto till' lutlOILll prc'i'i. III ()rL1n tIl L'IJ'illll' ,Ill .1l1ti-\YJf \'ll[ ..."l· JIIIOIJg l.nlldnll daily!
11C\\"'i}'.lI1L'r', Sec (;,lrdillCL C('(l~t!c (:.JdhIIlJ . .20'+-.27,
- Ibid. For cl 'illlllllLuy of till' tlll,lIKi,d .lrLIJJg-l'llll'llt'i. 'il'l· (~. (' tllJ(~bi"ycr, 7 MaJ' 1003
,llld (;corgc ('.lclbury\ dccd t',ublJ'dllllg rill' \\/podbfookc Scrrlc.'llk'IH, ,~ ()ct. Ilj03, (;(:p,
WI,
TX4 British Quakerislll 1860-1920
the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty'?' Birmingham Committee
member, Henry Lloyd Wilson (soon to be installed as Clerk of
London Yearly Meeting), affirmed Cadbury's vision of Wood­
brooke as a place to 'bring the spiritual, the intellectual &: the
experimental experience together ... in saving men, in building
up Christian character and in strengthening ... [the] work that
the Society of Friends has branched out into in the last 30 vcars. '7')
The long-waited Woodbrooke Summer School W,1S to consist
of three two-week sessions, the first two anchored hy Rufus Jones'
ten lectures on 'Present-Day Ideas of God and the Spiritual LifL".xO
Then. suddenly, the atmosphere became shrouded in melancholy
when word was received of the death of Rufus Jones' SOlI Lowell
while the parents were ('1/ 1'01111' to England.'s [ Despite this stagger­
ing personal tragedy, Jones determined to deliver the first set of
lectures hctorc returning to Aiucric». His decision had a deeply
moving effect on those attending, but III the circumstances it was
x2
hardly an auspicious beginning.
When the Sunuucr School ended in September, the opening of
Woodhrooke's tirst regular term was on lv six weeks away and a
number of important questions rcm.iiucd unresolved. First, a last­
minute crisis had arisen when Rendel Harris received the offer ota
Ch.iir in Ancient Christian Literature from the University of
Leyden in HoILmd.,s3 After Harris eased fears by' rcncwim; his
. ,
conuninucnt to Woodbrookc. the Continuation Committee
responded with a pledge to 'widen the scope of the Setdement'
and 'to reserve ~1 certain number of places for those unconnected
with Friends'. During Woodbrooke's first year. three theological
students from Leyden became the first of dozens of Dutch
Reformed 11liniste;s who eventually studied there.'s.+
'lZ.l'pon of the (~ollfl'rl'llll .it f\'tlllOI I l ou-,c. Northfnld, I ~ Apnl 1')03, (;CP, Wi..
I bid.
,\" Sl'l' the kLtUfl' progLlllHnl' ill "vuuuucr Schoo] t()f Rl'lIgioli'. Stlldil' -,". \\/L.
,'lr l.ovvcll JOlll'~, the oulv L'hild Ot'jtHll''''' tirst llUrrlJgc (S,lrah .I one- dll'd ill [?\')()),
good health lu« I.ttlicr .md ~(l'p1l1{)thL'r left: for EngLllld but dlL'd ,l wee-k l.ucr ,1:-. rhl'
\\,11l'11
result of rc.ution to a diphrhcn.i vacr in.iriou. Sn' B,\fblHlr .ind Fruvr . (Jlldk'('f_'. 227.
~. See SCI'Clllb AIIIIII,i1 Rcpor), 1\10.+, SSCC, W L .md Catherine Albright to RMj. , AugLh[
[\103, P..M.lP. HCt~C
~1 In 1 1('1~l!,l' t~( I r 'ild ,4/1/Iolld.', 22J, I lope Hl,\\,i"OIl Ilot(,:;,; that rill' otfer "'J'l at ka'\r P,Ht]\, ,1
result of Harri:-.' out..;pOkCll oppo'\ition ro tht' B(k'f \'(./,Lf,
l'-1. .,\!illlltI'S(!fthc Ii'ood/Jrl1ol-!e COl/lllliuel' . .2(, AUgll'it I<)OJ. WL ,md PIck-lrd, .\!C11l0r!C.\ l~(J.
R('I/{iel Harris, J 1~12"
The !\fell' QIIIlkcri,(1I1 IXs
While the Committee were assured of Rcndel Harris's presence,
they had yet to determine his chief associates. Since Harris was to
reside outside the Settlement and he available to its students on
only a part-time basis, the institution required a live-in Wardell to
act as co-ordinator of events and chief spiritual advisor. As of mid­
September, no suitable candidate had emerged, Edward Grubb's
u.nuc re-emerged and he was once again passed over as 'associated
with views to'o advanced lor many' Friends'.s, Another widely­
mentioned possibility was Joan Mary Fry (IX(l2-lljS5), a daugliter
of Sir Edward Fry, who had been active in the SU1l1nllT Scliools
.md was also a member of the Continuation Commirn-c. But whcu
the Committee decided against 'a lady warden", the position
tc.'11, temporarily ,I Ill! almost by default, to Jolin Wilhelm
Rowntrccs cousin Joshua and his \.vifc, ls.ibcllu. sr, As a
torrncr Mayor of Scarborough and Liberal Ml ', Joshua Rowntrcc
\\~lS surficicutly respected and weiglity to dispel opposition on
pcrvoual or thcologcial grounds.
Woodbrooke opened on [3 October Ilj03 with twcntv-six
students, ten of whom were in residence. Lectures on religious
subjects were to be gin'll by Rcndcl Harris with the assistance of
Alfred Ncavc 13raysluw (I X()I-llj40), B.A" L.L.B" a former teach­
LT at Boothh.un and outspoken liberal reformer. Brayshaw pos­
<csscd a singular dcdic.uion to the revitalization of Quaker ministry
.md a passionate, outspoken distaste for cv.mgclic.rl ideas and prac­
tucs. Noone could have been more sincere, more earnest, nor, for
s~
-ornc , more annoying.' /
Not long after the beginning of Wood brooke's first tCrIU, Ncavc
Brayshaw dispatched a somewhat alarming report to Jolin Wilhelm
Rowntrcc: 'joshua and I arc anxious,.,' he said, we arc
'\ Jo..;hu,l RO\\'IHfn' to I lcnr-, Lloyd \X.lil"OIl ,\IlL! 1\11, (:" Albfi~ht (copy), Ie) Sept. Il)CJ3,
(;(:1'. WI.
,,(, Ibid. Al-.o "l'l' Fawcll, J(lllll .\1111)' hT' JllL\_\'IIII ,lI1d ltlclll'lldJ Scott\ '\"(lfchool-!, 'The
\\/()()dbrOllKl' Pcrm.uicnr Sctth-uu-nr. ,1 gitt trorn Ruger (: Wilson in PO""l''l''}OIl or" the
\\",1'1 ill
,llltlh)r
BnY'llu\\' h,id not bCl'll ,l ";UCl'L''\" ,I' ,I (l..... ichcr ,It either ()livl'r\ Mount (I :":''';<)-<).2) or
Hl1llthluill (! K<)2-1 <)o~), BCCllhl' l)f 111\ rClIlh'llcy, when rrustr.ucd or othvrvi«: II111\TO, to
l!l""Ll!\ 1".' into tcar-, llll:-'yIllpathc[ll' vtudc-nr-, h,td rhrrstcncd him 'Pud.llc-.'. ,1 11,1III l' th.u stuck.
I i c h.u! J strong mt crc-« in Gorhi,-' .mh ncx tun- .md Iii- cxr-ur sious with ~l·hoolboy-, to VIC\V
L'Jthedral'\ III the Engh~h counrrv-ndc or ill Normandv hcc.uu« Elinolls. FOf the ll11port,1llt
role he pLtyl'd ill tlw Ed\\".Irdi.lll ,1Ild \\ ,ntiIlIl' pcriod~, ~l'l' Chapter;.; H & t) bl'1ow. AI..;o Sl'l'
/\. Ne,l\"C 13r,,·,h,l\\ . .Ilm"'ir ,,,,,I Scln(cd J]"ririll~.' (IllfJl1l1lgllall1 1\1.+1) alld A. .J. I'. Taylor ,4
1)(,I".\llI1L11 Hi.ifIJr}' (Nl'\\' York IV"';]), +l)~5 r"
 I X(, British Quaker/sill 186o-19,!(J The Sell' QllrlkcrislIl I X7

disappoillted in Rende] so In.' The chief complaint seemed to be .ilso apprcriatcd Ceorge Cadburv's continued efforts to make
BraysILl\v\ perception of a casual. C\TII careless Director of Stud­ Woodbrooke attractive, 'sending down tennis balls & rackets &
ics: 'He seems to h.ivc nude no preparation at all-but drifts ill and LJying our a golf course ... it is wonderful'. Despite his uneasiness,
asks o nc or two ljuestions~alld from the ~lJlSWlTS he gets he just Ihavshaw n-maincd confident, if slightly subversive: 'We are going
plays around tor the rest of tlu- ti111e."" Furthermore, bee.ruse to win, but I should not like certain social and intellectual classes of
Harris rdiJscd to be pinned down, it was lett to Bravshavv and hi ends to know us just yet. "J"
jo,hua !(OWlltlTl' to 'hammer out ,1 scheme tor a more substantial john Wdhelm R.owurrcc conveyed Bruyshaw's reservations
curriculum. Whell Br.rvshaws knurl'S 011 (;eorgc 1-'0'\ .uid c.nlv .ibout Rel1lkl Harm to Rufus jones, but it is unlikely he said
(~uakl'ris111 went badlv, Harris' well-intentioned attempt to inter­ .invthing to George Cadbury. Certainly, nothing untoward loan
vene apparently made matters worse. These dcvclopn u-ntx not onlv he detected in Cadbu ry \ early rcticctions on Woodhrooke. From
trustr.rtcd BraY';]1,IW hut also, bv his account. frcqucutly put jO'ihu,1 the 11l0111l'11t the Settlement opened, Cadbury spoke of it loftily as
Rowntree into a 'state of annoyance'. At the s.n nc time. souic of '.I school tor prophet,' that would bring 'fresh lifl:' to the Society.

the students wcr« proving to be less than satis(lctorv bv BL1\'sh,I\\'s UndLT the ministry of sound Friends and 'the guicLmce of the Holy
criteria: 'Sims the u ussionarv is a violent Ch.unbcrl.iinitc ... just a SpIrit', the 'dry hones' of Quakerism would be mused up and
conventional jingo .. , ,:s') other Woodbrookers showed .iu 'al.mu­ 'nlembers of our Society [turnedj into channels of practical work
ing tendency to collect together to sing hymns ... ' ,1 proclivitv on hehalf of the ungodly around thciu'.":'
deeply disturbing to Bra\s!LI\\\ ,eml' otacccpt.ibl» Qu.ik crly wor­ After the first term, the Rowntrccs were replaced ,1S WardellS by
ship.?" William Littlcboy (1 X:i J-I ()3(l) and hi, wil«. Margaret. The change
On the other h.nul. BL1\'sILl\\' perceived hopeful signs as well. h.id been prl'-arrangCLI .md had nothing to do with joshua's appar­
(;eorge SILlJ1n, whom Neave identified as 'one of Edw.m] Cad­ cut reservations about Rel1lkl Harris. Still, if the Director of
bury's helots', c.uu« in ttl teach cconouur« .md other social sub­ Studies had bCL'n an occasionally distracting irritant to joshuu
jeers. Braysluw did not attend Siunn \ lectures but h.id on rcli.iblc I(owntrel', he would prove ~l much heavier cross fl)r the solid
.nu horitv that there was 'some good stuff and ,1 lot of it. He ")I .uid serious Willianl Litrlcboy. Thcologic»! as well as tcmpcr.uucn­
t.il dilll'rellLTs between Harris and Lirtlcboy were illustrated by an
A. N. Il. ro]. W II., 2() (Jet 1'1 ")()J. (c()!H),II.\\JI'.Il,,, 4. IIC()C, In 1i"1,, ol'tI"·,,
" earlier incident during the planning for the tirsr Woodbrookc'
I LIITI" dl'\lT!ptioll ot hi" [l'dl"hlll g ~)llllo\()phy 1\ ,d"!Il(Cl'C)t: 'TIll' \\ h,dc .trt l)t'
l 01111]1l'j\(".
Sunllller School. Rende! Harris, fl)r all of his apparently serendip­
kdLlrlllg ]\ to h" 1'1/ 1'ljJ/JtJr( \\ uh ~()l1r ,Hldll'll'l" I l.u-n-, lwll"\'cd t h.u ,I [t'.Jcll,T li.n! Itl
fl'l'ogill7l' till' [i.tc kgrotilld ,II III illt'Tl'',f" U(hl\ \tudl'Ilt" bv ,1"~IJl~ 'lllc'''null'' ,llld dl'\Tl(lpillg.l itous approach, always projected 'a strong streak of Quaker u ivs­
(1IIlllCL(JOIl hy 'llh\\'crillg the-m LHhcT t h.m h~ \tlcklllg to <onu- rigid thrnu-. Sl'l' 1),1\1\, tirisiu'."! With Rutus jones and others,')i Harris had been dl'eply
r ~ '(I(ld/lj"(l(lkl', .27-S JIll1 ('Il k.u-d, a(I/I/I,1 l t.nri., 15.
il11prl'ssed with William james' psychological CUl11 mystical inter­
,,' i\ N. H. ro]. W II. (cuf"),'"() ()d, I'Jo1. Il()~ 4.11\1.11'. IIC()( . .Iullll .urcl ,",nih
"1111'. \\'Cfl' Ill\'ohTd III thl' Fnl'lld" I orl'lgl1 !\:ll"'''!Oll ,'\""llll,l[l(lil (f-rtv1.A.) pr(IJl'l till ,\tld.l­ prctatio n of early Quakerism in the l~nietics or
Rclioious LxperiCl/(e
g,b,',lf f()f on'!" ttlfry Yl'.lr" ..")l·l' (;rlTll\\,O\ ld. f r '/11'/1('1'.1 (l( 'I'Wf/l, ()4-5, So ,llld I knr~ T. (I ()02). Whl'n john Wilhelm Rowntree broached the idea of
IlogdkIll, 1:,.il'IIt!., l~t')'(l/lil,""t'd., (lllIJdoll !()J(l), [OUll
lllviting William James to speak on thl' psycholoh'Y of religiun at
'j" Ibid. '1 hl' t:lCt t11,!t (;l'orgc t:,tdhllfy Iud pn . . nll,dly JlHfodu,'ni hylllll- . . inging III
Bourll\'ilk Fnl'lld~' llllTtlllg \\'J .... Ck,lfly ,In oml'll (d- future dlt11,·ultil,.. . 11l.'t\\T"l1 rill' t\\'\l the Woodbrookc' SUl11mer School in 1l)0J, William Littleboy,
IllCll. Br.l~ . . II,I\\' ~troll~ly ()ppo . . cd ,til thlllg.. . n·JlI~~dic.ll, IIllllldJ[l~ thl' l'\dulr SL"fh)()l . . \\,hlCh \Y!1O had become 'serIously alarInl'd' after reading james' work,
\\l'rl' <"0 dl"lr [0 (';tdbllry\ lw.lrt. SCl' (;afdilll'r. Cl'()I.~t' Cddhurl', 1,s5 Jild C;C to \Xi. C
BLtithv.'aitl'. 13 NO\'l'lllhcr r ()o(), (;C :P, WL.
i\, N. B. tu J. W. R, (dl!"·). 20 Ckt. '~03. B()~ 4. ItMJP. HCQc' (;cor"c \11,,"I . .l
YOfb,.hirl'llJ.lll of \\'()rkIJlg-dJ~~ ongilJ ,I\lli l'dUCltl'd .It (;b'igo\\ UJll\·l·f.. . it~,. rl'lluil1l'd ,1\ i\. N. II. to J. w, It. (c·op)"). 20 ()d "J03. Box 4, 1IMJI'.
W()ocibrnokl' COll'ildl'Llbly IOllgcf dUll Nl'~l\'l' 13rJy,lLl\\', acting .1.... lecturcr (lll \ocial ~ub­ '>i ro Itcndcl HArri" JO No\". ")01, (;(1'. WL ,lJ1d C, ( to ll. M,J. 'Sj;lJl. r~04,
(;. (',

jcet'i' until he JOIned the Afmy in r () I (I. Hc \\',1'. ,11...(\ Jlti\,l' III the L.lholJr p,ury ,lnd ~tT\'l'd J . . B(), 4. IIMJI'.
:1 Llbour l1ll"lllber ()11 the 13irlllinglul11 Clty (~()l1ncll. f1l' dil·d in jl)ltj. Sl'l' I)J\'i,. rft)('ti­ "+ IIHl'f\'ll'\\' \\'1th Ill'llckl f LlfrJ'i. TI/t' I:Xilllllllcr. I() MJfCh ILJo4,
h,.(Jllkt'. 3X-V. 4 7 . ~l'l' Ch,lptl'r 4 JhOYl'.
 [xx British QuakerislII
,ucces,;fully organized opposition to the idea.')') Littlcboy rejected
the notion, implied by james, that adherence to Quakerism
required some sort of mystical experience or rapture to authenti­
cate the presence ofa universal and saving Light. For while Little­
boy did not doubt that individuals like Rcndcl Harris were capable
of emotionally satisf}'ing spiritual exhilaration, he was tl\lrful
that emphasis upon such experiences would cause potential
believers to feel that Quakerism was limited only to ;1 spiritual
elite capable of Intima tel v perceiving the Divine Presence.": At the
sallie time, Littleboy also had a sense ofbcinp; called to the work of
revitalizing Quakerism. As he told Rufus Jones prior to assullling
his new post:
[ do belIl've th.it this ab,ence of spiritual sunshllll'-rhis t.ulun- to gr.lSP
e:\perillll'IHally .md <"<lllsciollSly rh« love of (;od III our lin's-is cl nTV
much InOlT cornmon diliindty than is oftl'n suppos,'d. ltouc c.u: be used
to help sudl as those who li.ivc this dis,lppnJllrJllg e:\pLTIl'n<'l' to recngnize
sonll' brIghr points amid the general gn'ynl'ss of thr IIl1lLT htl', OJ](' tl'els
rh.« it IS <ouu- compcus.uion frlr b"jng wirhour cOllSliollS cnjovm.-nt of
the ,kep Chrisrian privileges o!1L'self')"
The impetuous, fun-loving H.m is, who once described Wood­
brooke as 'a kind otpcrm.uu-nt Chautauqua", would prohably h;l\T
thought such sonl~n: words ail odd approach to discovering 'bright
spots'. Still, Litt lcboy. who had .ill the qualifications for the Wood­
hrooke position-e-intcllcrtual ability, emotional maturity, and busi­
ness success as well as considerable education-no doubt provided
solace for those students who tound Rcndcl Harris altcrnativclv
too giddy or too t:lr above their heads."?
Amidst such divergences, the beg1l1ning of Woodbrooke's Sl'C­
ond term was accompanied by an editorial in The Friend which
torth with associated the Settlement with the 'regeneration of the
Society of Friends and the coming renaissance which had brought
.," J. w. R. ro R. M.J.. Dec [()02, Box 3. RMJI' .1I1d .\1/11111"" ;<fIl,,, 11;">dI,,.,,,,k,·
2 .111d II
Sl'fflOllr'll! C(JIIIJlJitf/,(', 10 t)cc. WL.
Itj02.
'J""; FDr ,) thorough discu-.. :-.ioll. ,t'l' Willi.uu l ittlcbov. 'n/[, .--Jplh'l1! t!( (JlIllJ.:erWIJ (11 tlic .\'t)lI­
.\t)'.,,,( (H.,rmgatc [IVI(,)). published by the 'IVOI Conunutc« of Yorkshire Q. M.' (l~e­
prmred .IS;\ ·(Jll.lkef Cl.issi." m I (j(l..t.).
')\ William Littlebov to R. M. J.. 23 J)l'lTlI1h,T IVOj, Box ~. RMJI'.
I ):1V1,>, r ~ 'oodhrook'(', 32-3 ,ll1d 11/(' E\"llllliIlCI, [()
1860-192t) The ,\'ell' QuakerisllI IXl)
'our ... membership into much closer touch with the great moral
and social problems of our time'. l u making Woodbrooke 'a centre
of educational influence of the highest order ... We realise far more
than did some of our fathers that intellectual culture, careful and
.iccuratc thought are essential to the true and permanent advance of
a religious community.' I , ' "
After the successfid completion of the first year's operation, the
Settlement Committee determined that if Woodbrooke was 'to
draw into its sphere of influence those who ... desire an all-round
equipment for religious service', it required a substantial c xpausiou
in personnel. In searching for additional staff, Rcndcl Harris
emphasized hi, desire to sign on the brightcst minds that could
he secured, regardless of denomination. The Committee, recog­
nizing the iu iport.mcc of'thc expository .md historical treatment of
religious subjects, as distinguished from a strictly doglmtic prcxcn­
tation. t()llowcd Harris' lead, adding Robert S. Franks, a
Congrcg~ltional minister, and Herbert C. Wood, a Cambridge­
cduclted Buptisr , to the statf. Franks would stay Oil until 1<)10;
II. G. Wood spent most of the rest his Iitl' at Woodbrooke,
becoming, in tum, a convinced Friend, the second I)irector of
Studies and one of the most intluc-nti.rl Quaker thinkers of the
twentieth century. ""
Such expansion also reflectcd Cndburv's vision of Wood brooke's
dual role: to equip young people lor more effective teaching in
Adult Schools and to revitalize Quaker meetings for worship. The
entire world, he believed, W;lS a field ripe for harvest wherein every
Chrivri.m had a duty 'to tum men trom darkness to light ... [f this
real aggressive Christian work is conducted in conncrtion with the
Society of Friends, we shall see a great revival, &. possibly even
milliou- brought into it.' IOc In both the growing willingness of
young mcrubcrs to take a 'wider view of our respon.sibilities as a
church' and 'the marvelous awakening that is COllling over the
people of England', Cadbury perceived the time was ripe for a
gre;lt spiritu;d n-viva] .md hoped that Woodbrookc might be the
'IF, 22 Apnl IVO~. 257-S .
(:frhc r~'()(ldlll"(lok( COlI/llliHC(, ()July 1\)04-, \\/1. .ind Davis, ll()odbrooke, JH-4-H
JlIlIlItes
jl<1~~III1. Abo RIChL'lld<l Scott, Herbert C. J' 'lllld.- i7 .\[nI1l1lr tIt" Hi,,· Li/L' and ·nlOl/.~ht (London
[V()7) .
M.lfl"11 I ()0.t-. , c; c. toJ. W. Roo IS)u!y IVO~, GCI'. WL.
 I()O Britisli QuakerislII 1860-1920 tt« ;'\'('111 QuakerislIl I') I

catalyst fl)r such a movement. [0, To this end. Cadburv enthusias­ American t"il'nds of any section'. This could not only 'meet the
tically supported Sccbohm Rowntrccs recommendation that I )utch dirficulrv ... [but] unite Friends now held apart by old out­
Woodbrooke add a resident lecturer on social subjects (economics worn controversies 8-: it would unite young English 8.. American
and sociology) so that Friends there could be instructed on the Quakerism ... I should like to sec Woodbrookc as a Quaker
rcl.itionvhip between religious ideals and social rcsponsihilitics. Mecca .... I CJ7
Sccbohm R.ownrrcc' and a group of reform-minded Friends had Cadburv responded to John Wilhellll's plea by funding six
established the Friends SlJl'i~lJ Union (FSU) in I ()02 to give direc­ \cholarships 'to enable Amcricau Friends of the Other Branch
tion the Society's efforts to gLlpple with the sort of social disin­ [Hicksitcs] to reside at Woodbrooke'. At the time, there were
tq';Lltion which reflected a deeper spiritual malaise in modern .ilrc.idv three Hicksltes studying at Woodbrooke, probably
society. [(14 They llL'heved that Woodhrooke nl'nkd to supplv the recruitl'd by john William Craham who had strong, ami tllr
raw material to nuke the work of the Friends SOCIal Union soci.illy -omc, (hsquil,tlng connections within the American Hicksitc
meaningful. In late I ()Oh the Woodbrooke Committee ~lppointl'd comnlllllit\·. [<>' (;eorge Cadhury'< cornluviou was that though
J. St Ceorge C. Heath (11\1\2-1()IS) of Corpus Christl College. '\\'1.' [ev;lllgelical Friends] believe more tullv in the Atonement'.

Oxford, as a lecturer OIl social subjects, his salary to be paid bv a rhc«: Hick sites ,n'llled 'just the kind of men the world needs',
group of Yorkshire Friends represented by Seehohm R.owutrcc. john WIlhellll, however, apparcutly had sel'lJlld thoughts about
l lc.ith arrived ill I ')oS and introduced a regular course of studx tor harbouring too Illany members of the Other Branch, Late in I ()04
students planning careers ill social work. The pl'OgLlIllme cst.rh­ he was urging Rufus jones to 'induce sornc ... Philadelphia and
lishcd by I lcar h. \dlOjoined the Sorictv of Friend, in I[JIO. \\'as ~l Pastoral friends' to take up the scholarships. 'I am anxious that the
pioncrnug e!1llrt in English education and ~l convidcr.ihlc exp~lIl­ Sl'ttlement should not get the stamp of Hicksism on it. We want
<ion of the origin;ll idea of ~l short-term centre tor Quaker Rrli­ Woodbrooke to be catholic.' 10')
gious Studies. r t i , At the end of Woodbrooke\ third year, William Littlcboy
As Woodhrookl' enlarged hoth its st.irf and its horizons, ques­ subn ut rcd " somewhat troubled assessment otrcsults. Those who
tions arose as to whether such c xpansion might not he 1e~lving its had studied at the Settlement. he bdin'ed, probably represented a
intended student body hch ind. A report prepared hv WlIliam t.iir cross-section of the Quaker rank and tile 'which the original
Littlcbov in I 'Jo(, indicated that of the 223 students who had Promoters ... had in mind, but these students' 'knowledge of most
matriculated (I (') of these wne Friends) 'only 3() had .i nv prctcn­ of the subjects dealt with ... was elementary in the c xrrcmc".
,ions to schol.uship '. and, ot' these, twenty-nine had been t"0111 Repeating the tone earlier struck hy Nc.ivc Brayshaw, Littlcboy
Leyden. [<>r, Two yr.lrs earlier john Wilhelm R.oxvnrrc« related to conclulkd that the curriculum should be made more intcgral and
George Cadburv that although the Hollanders tended 'to raise the svsrcmatrc, with adequate ;lrrangeIllent, tor closer personal tutoring
sr.md.trd of the work' .urd to provide Itendel Harris with 'students and supervision, including an emphasis on writing, a -k rll which he
of a calibre worthy of his sl'1111larship', he was concerned lest the tl,lt had been neglected. 1[0
I )utch111en 'xw.unp the settlement'. To prevent such a 't.ual' devel­ All of this seemed to imply criticism of R cndcl Harris' tree­
opment, Rowntrcc pushed tllr an endowment to support 'six male wheeling, mercurial style, but trom Harris' own perspective, as

]'-1 C. ( . ro]. S. RO\\')}(fl'l', 2() Nov. ] ()0-t .m.l CU Me Hulo-,v 2- feh. ]oo«, CCP. \\,'L J. W, J
R to c: r: 14 lily 1')04 (p rjv.ur), (,(I'. WL
(;corgl' (:,ldbun ,1'\\()(lJted rill', IIn\ '>plrir \\']cll rilL' l.ibcr.rl I'urrv. Lllld\ltdL' l'kc(ored \'lLt()r~ I"" III [()0-t !\1l'L,t1llg for SUrtl'flllg" rdll",-',-l [I.) i""uc ,I rr.ivcllmg nunu«. '-'lldor"iIlg John
III JII111,lry I !.J0(). W. (~fcdulll\ \·j"tt.ltlOll to Alll,-'nc.lll Hl(k"itc" IIllTtlllg". Sl'l' l"()rrc'lpolldl'llCl' nll thi" illl'i­
11'1 \Cl' heID\\ Ch,lpcef S dcnt III the jW(;I',
.\fillllll'S l.l(rJIt' [1'(lodfJr()OkC (~\ll/1l1lirt(t', !4Jlll~ !()(j'\, I--lJUllC Il)O() Jl1d 71',1(1\-. [<J0() ,md (;. c:. toJ W Ie. IHjllly 1<)04. ,Illd toJ R, H,. [4jllly [<)04, (;1.1', WI; l~ichelldJ
~ C, (:. to Mr~. Wd"nll, SJlll1l' [()O(l, WI . AI"u "cc 1),1\T'>, rf~l(ld{)rtl(lkc, J~--t0' Senrt', 'Notcbook', Clrtllg 'Sth AllllllJI R,'port'. SSCC,julll' 1~05; andj. W, R, ttl Ie M,j.,
(;, c:. to WilliJIll <:lurie, LlrJitl"\',1It,, (W. I. 15).22 ()c'[O\'CT 1<)01, ,md [WdllJlll 2. ()cr"bcr [V04. Box •. RMjl'.
LHClL' bllyl 'MCIllOr,lllduliL UI1 WondbrookL' ,!tITr .' yr'\,,' ()nobL'r ll)(j{l. (;CP, WL jlU "rv1L'lllorclndllllll)J} \\/()odhrookc <lttl'r 3 yr-;', ()ct. [ljo(), WL.
 19 2 British Quakerisll1 186o-19N
related to William Charles Braithwaite, he was fighting 'to save
Woodbrooke trorn becoming a Friends Hoarding School ... ' For
his part George Cadbury, still footing most of the bills, believed
Harris was the 'gre~ltest man' fix ensuring Woodbrouke's survival
and future development and that, as I)ireetor of Studies. he should
be tu llv backed by the Settlement Committee. I I I But for all of
Cadburv's efforts, not cvcrvthinp; at Woodbrooke was to Harris',
liking. In addit ion to his ditferl'nces with William Littleboy, he was
apparently unhappy about some of the individual, appointed to the
Woodbrooke Consultative Coum nttcc early in Ilj00. He even
inquired of W. C. Br.nthw.iitc if there had been some hidden
'nlalice' in their selecrion. 1 12
In ;1llY case, Willi.un Lirtlchovs 'Memorandum' made clear the
necessity t()r sonic resolution of the frlctioll between himself and
Rcndcl Harris and shortly artcr suhmitting this report. he wrote to
Braithwaite, ,1S Chairman ot the Woodhrooke Council, asking to
he released from his duties as Warden ,1S soon ;]S a suitable replace­
mcnt could be t()lll1d. Litrlcbov noted that his wit~, 's health W;]S ~l
t:letor in his decision which caused him 'pain and deep regret. Mv
years ar Woodhrooke h.iv« hccn ill m.inv \\';1\'S the h.ippicst of my
Ii t~'. ' I I I
George Cadbury appc]rs to h.ivc felt rh.ir Lirtlcboys decision
W;]S a ucccssary. if unfortunate, dcvclopnu-nt which ought to be
accompanied bv other changes ,lS well. Cudburv, appreciation of
William Littlcbov', past service and ohvious sinccrirv made it
dirlirulr to criticize him, but. as he told Br.iirhvv.rirc , 'we .irc .it ;]
turning of the ways <".: a responsibility rests upon lIS to do what will
lead to the best results tor the Society. . ;ldding ill exasperated
tones:
[ am quite sure much of the good that would h;]ve resulted Ius bee-n
countcr.rrtcd by the presence of all cquallv good but \L'!"\' injudicious
1l];1I1, Ne;1Ve 13raysh~J\\. I Ie' has allowed his dislike of Adult School &:
other Mission Work t o iun-rti-rc with till' g()od th.ir he l1light have
t r R. H. tn W c:. 13.,2 Marcb ")0(', 'Quaker I'rinClpk<,l3n" J and C. c. ro]. 1<' H.,
i .J.
21 October Itj04, C(:P. WI. A~ ,1 rctkC(]nll ofhis dc-ir« (() k.n·p I l.u-n-, h.ippv. C:,ldbury h.id.
early in IljO(). sent him what amounted tu a bOllu<;, to CO\Tr lllll'xpcetcd eXpClhC'i, G C. to
.J. R. H., IS March I <j06, ibid.
'" ,. R. H. to W. C. 13., 2 March I <jO(l. 'Quaker Principle,". BlJX J. WL.
") 'William LittleblJY to W. C. 13., [ No\'. '<jo(>. WL.
The :':el/1 Quakerism Ilj3
.nr on rplishr-d. We shall not, of course, entertain his being allowed to give
,my more lectures after this term is over ... I tully believe in his sinccritv
&: excellence but one has to look at the interests of the Society of Friends
which may yet bl' a great pOWl'r for good ill the land. I 14
In November of 190(), it was determined that the Littleboys
should he succeeded as Wardens by Isaac and Mary Snowden
Braithwaite, Rcndcl Harris' favourite candidates. At the s.uuc
time, curriculum matters, a serious bone of contention, were
crfccrivcly placed under the direction of a sub-conuuittcc headed
Willi;]m Charles Braithwaite. GL'orge Cadbury expressed relief and
even a sense of 'Divine guidancc' in the new arrangements at
Woodbrooke, believing that with these alternations 'prejudice
against Woodbrooh' would be very largely removed .md way
opened to allow the Society of Friends to continue enhrging its
role in the moral regeneration of British society. I I ,
Still. to tullv justify the Settlement's continued existence there
needed to he proof of its larger service to the Society and the
n.inou. This concern was taken up at a joint mecting of the
Woodbrookc Settlement ~J1]d the Sununcr School Continuation
Conu nirt.-cs during the ,Ul11]]]lT of Ilj07. First, those present
decided to .un.iluamatc their two bodies into a single Woodhrooke
Council. TIllS new Council then established a Settlement Com­
mitrcc to deal with invriturional que-stions and ;111 Extcnsiou CO]]]­
nuttcc to wrestle with looming questions of rcsuscitariug a vocal
ministry that \\;]S still 'dcplornbly weak' and discovcrinp; 'the best
\ny of supplyiug more adequate reaching in Biblical and Social
subjects ... for many of our Meetings. and ... Adult Schools'. Scv­
cral of the meetings in question seem cd to be in iuunincut danger
of dying out unless step, were taken to remedy their situatiou."!"
The point was made that the problem of rcviviug moribund meet­
illgS might be more adequately addressed if Woodbrooke could
become somcthing akin to a University Extension, with the
II I C. ( . to \Xl C. 13.,22 ()ct. .ind 13 November i oo«, cell, \VL.
11< G (. to 'v../. (~. B .. 22 Ocr , llY)(1 .uid tOJO"hLLlllowlltrlT. 20 November I (jO(), Get>,
WL.
j j(, John .1. Barlovv. Sec., \X..,'''ulldbrookc (~Ollll11lttL'L' .llld Edward Grubb. Sl'crctary,
SUllllllL'r School Contll1Ll,ltiol1 C0111lllittl'l', to COflllllitC<..'L' J1ll'lllbL'r~, \vith accolllpanying
'MCI110Lllldum ",ith rc~pL'ct to teaching OJ] 13iblicll .llld Social sllbjccts', 20 .lUllL' i907, and
Mimlte, of J Joint Meeting of the SSCC .",d the Woodbrooke COllllllitll'l', 26.Jnly [<j07.
Wl
 194 British Q uak erislII t 860- 1 92 0
f ig. 5 W illiam Charles Braithwaite ([ 86 2- 1~22) , historian of
British Q uakerism. tak en about I ~2 0
C om m it tec dispatching m embers of 'a stair of salaried lect ur ers' to
individual meetings through out th e co un try J.S the nee d aro se.
Such a system could, of course, only op erate if Woodbro oke
p ro vide d an ad cquate supp ly of knowledgeable individ uals trained
in the rudim ents o f teac hing. Also, if en dangere d meetings co uld
be induced to send a m ember or m emb ers to Woo dbro o ke for
eve n a bri ef period , such in d ividuals m ight be in stru cted in 'vario us
means to arouse a sense of need in the m cetings . .. ' This seemed :l
simple an d sensible mea ns to begin coping with a serio us challenge .
bu t it also raised th e ques tion of w hether p repared ' teaching' by
espe cially train ed individuals mi ght not underm ine ' the uniqu e
character of th e meetings for wo rship ' . 11 7
J 17 l' ro cee dinb" of Co nference with respect to [<'ochin g on Biblical &: Soci al ' ubjen s.
J uly 1\10 7, WL.
7111: ;\ 'cw Quakerism 19 5
To avoid exa cerbating su ch fears, th e Settlement Com mi ttee laid
stress on Wo odbro oke' s tendency 'tow ards practical training in
religio u s and social wo rk' . II ~ T he Ex te nsio n C om m ittee acce ntu­
ated o ther po sitive development s, not ing a grow ing dem and for
Sum m er Schools under th e auspices of Q uarte rly or Mon th ly
M eetings as w ell J,S for w eek end ' lecture scho ols' . T he most
am bitio us pr oject had b een th e Ex tension C ommittee's or ganizing
of Summer Schools for Fr ee Ch urc hes at Cambri dg e u nder the
patro nage of th e N ati011JI Free C h urc h Council. (Re nde! H arris
w as the Presiden t of th e N FC C. ) So , fiv e years afte r W o odb ro o kc
opened, its Council wa s satisfied that ' the benefit . .. accr uin g to
the caus e of spiritu al religio n in the world can hardly be over­
estim ated '. Il l)
G iven th e apparcn t valu e of th e work bein g do ne at and through
W oodbro oke, the C ou ncil no doubt felt justified in askin g for an
incre ase in ann ual subscrip tio ns from £ 750 to L J250 to de al with
existin g deficits and to financ e exp ande d exten sion work, inclu d­
ing R ende! Harris's idea of establishing a schem e for training
studen ts by cor respondence for th e Bac helor of D ivinity ex am ina ­
tio n at the University of London. 12 0 George C adb urv had to be
pleased by these developm en ts. At th e sam e tim e, his co ntinuing
concern abou t finances made him w onder if he had ' m ade a
mi stak e in no t taki ng rather more acti ve part in the management'
of the Settlement despi te his im m ersio n in other int erests, espe­
cially the Daily News, w hich , like W o o dhro okc. persiste n tly ran at
a de ficit. 12 1 In this re gard, Ca dbu ry did receive substant ial help
from the R ow n trccs of York w ho in 1907 collect ively paid W o od­
brooke' s accumu lated deb t. In a letter to Arnold Ro wntrce thank­
ing the fami ly for its generous gestur e, C adbu ry ex pressed his
continued conviction tha t the work being don e at W oo dbroo ke
w as well w o rth w hatever material sacrifice they mi gh t be called
upon to m ake. By w ay of illu strati on , he cited the case of a H icksitc
W oodbrooker w ho had 'l ost all faith and . .. becom e practic ally an
", Minuu», Woodbro okc C o uncil, No v. l \10 S. \\'1..
'I ') Ibid . ", 0 Ibid .
'" G . C. to W. C. B.. 2 ~ N ov. 1906 , e C l' . \ VL. For a discu ssion of C adburv's struggle
to n u ke the Va i!)' New, " poying propositio n , IS well as a for ce lo r advancing the
12
Liberal Party and the mor al ton e of British national life, see ( ;ordiner. G",, ~~r C ulb" r)'.
2 0 ~ -2 7 .
 I<)() British Quakerisl1l 1860-1920
agnostic' until he was rescued hom the slough of despond by 'the
teaching of Rendel Harris and others'. 122
Arnold Rowntree might have responded in kind by noting the
case of Foster Brady, a middle-aged Yorkshire Friend whose year at
Woodbrooke had been 'of the greatest possible benefit to him' and
had led to his employment by the Yorkshire I l)05 Committee as a
lecturer and organizer who would spend 'two or three months at a
time in Meetings which were not in a very sarisf.utorv state' in the
ctfort to pump Iilc' back into them. ' 2 3
Such were the small victories to which George Cadbury could
point in hopes they might inspire Friends in geneL11 not only to
support Woodbrooke but also to assume more of the burden tor
supporting it. As he told Rcndcl Harris: '\ W;11lt the i nstitutio n to
he running alone before my death ... ' Although he was apparently
disappointed in the immediate response to his plea tor wider
patronage, Cadbury never ceased to believe that Woodbrooke
would lid IiI the vision that john Wilhelm Rowntrcc had invoked
when he initiated the idea of a Quaker Scrtlemellt tor
I.l..cligious Studies. Early in Il)Ol) while musing on the iunniucnt
prospect of his seventieth birthday, Cadburv rcnundcd
joshu;l Rowntrcc: 'For our light affliction, which is but lor a
moment. work crh filr us a tar more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory."2~ In ,1 letter to Warden Isaac BraithwaIte Liter in the
S;II11e year, he remained confident that 'we cannot doubt tor ,I
moment that very much more good will be done". It rather
reminds one of the disciples who were scattered cvcrvwhcrc
pre;lching the word. The seed sown .it Woodbrooke will probably
take root in many other countries and bear abundant fruit to the
glory of Cod, and in the end a much greater work will be
accomplished.' I 2,
(;. ( ' tD Arnold Rn\\,lltfcl', 7 Nov. ]l)Ci/, (,(:p, \VI.
York-hire Il)O) <:0111111ittcc.
.\fillllfeS. July I ljO x, Hror hc'rton l ihr.u-, (BL).
23
Leeds. Fovr.r BLidy (I :\)<)-1 lJ-t-t), rc-idcnt .u WlHhibr\)okc dunng I ()(l""""7/S. \\ ,1\
remembered ,1~ '[11 Ithel true-r "l'j)'.,(, L'V,lllgchc.1J'. He \l"lycd .1'1 A\~i\Ullt SClTcLlry .uu! l.itcr
Field SClTcclry to the Yorkvlnrc 1\)05 C()I11111ittee bcfllrL' !]}u\Oing to l ondon III ll).2I. SeL'
elltry, LJr)Il, LSI'.
"I C. C to J. R. IJ, 2 Apnl 1<)0<) Jnd to JmhllJ Rownm-..
WL.
e, C to Mr Ikuc/llr,lith"',litc'. q}lIllC' 1<)0<), (;CI', WI
The ;'\'1'11' Quakerism Il)7
HISTORY AND QUAKER RENAISSANCE
Between Tl)Ol) and Tl)2 I William Charles Braithwaite and Rufus
jones produced the seven volumes of the so-called Rowntrcc
Series, 12(, Except for the broad refutation of Rufus jones' fixing
12
of the origins of Quakerism in continental mysticism, 7 the series
retained its reputation for solid archival scholarship and as the
necessary starting place for serious study of Quakerism. Sponsored
and financed through a Charitable Trust established by joseph
I.l..owntrel', both the name of the series and the books that comprise
it have their roots in the life and work ofjol1l1 Wilhelm I.l..owntree.
In keeping with his vision, t1WSl' works have not only made
Quakerism available to generatiol1S of historians and general
readers, tlrcv have also had In important influence on the evolution
of London Yearly Meeting.
Accordll1g to Rufus jones, turn-of... the-century Friends knew
surprisingly little about their church's P;lSt because they 'were not
historical-minded and no historian had yet traced the slow trans­
tormatious through which the Society of Friends had passed in two
centuries', 12' jones argul'li, for example, that while most British
and American Quakers paid homage to C;eorge Fox as their most
promiucut spiritual ancestor, many of these same Friends adhered
to views that Fox had explicitly denounced because contemporary
Qu.ikcr religious thinking was 'shot through with Calvinistic doc-
o
truic .
2<) ,[
For his part, john WIlliam I.l..owntree, even before his meeting
with Rurus joncs in I S<)7, had concluded that a key clement to the
1.21, Rutu-, M. }lJlL'\ \\.l\ ovcrull cduor \)ftllL' scric-; onglllally puhiJ"hed by t'v1,IClIlJ!!.l11.
.IIII lL·" ."c-otir r ibu rion- JrL' ."'IIdws ill .\1Y.'f/l,J! J<c1~~i()11 (London II)O()): \plYill/dl l?tJlTll/l'rS ill tlt:
16th dlld t rtl. Ccntun«, (Lruidou 1<)1-+); FI/t' (dt/db'r,· ill tiu: ..1'lInit·<111 Colonic. (London 11)11),
with h,uc Slurpk'i'i .md AlllL'h,l 1\1. (;UJIllllL're: c\lld Fill" LuCY 1l eriod.1 oj"(Jl/llkcY/SIIl (London
1<)21), .2 \.()\..,.: WJllUI11 Ch.irlc- lh,litl1\\'Jirl' \\foIL· 'J7/(' Ht:\?il/I/il/.~-' o( Vllilkaiwi (London
I () I 2) .uid ·111t' SCi"tJl/d 1)/Tiot! (l( <'2I1d/..'ai_\l1I (London I (J I l))
12- In I<)S5 J ncw nlitloll of ',A/. (' BLlir!l\\',litL'\ c1be H(\?ifIlIJlI.\?' (!( (!//(lkcrisllI W;l'i
pllbll"hL'd WIthout Rutu: JOllCo,;' uriglll,d "lntrodurrion. III ,1 brief lorcword, 1.. Hugh
I )OI1C,I-;(er expiJillL'd rlr.rt rcccnr "tUL11L'-; on thl' n.. H)(" of (Jtl.lkLTI"lll h.id pbLTd It'i ongil}"
"m ,I r.rrhcr ditl;"rcllt light', p. vii. For tllrthL'r di-ru--ion "eL' bL'low, 2s:OL
12'1 })]lC", .\l/{1dlc }l'arS, i;()-"'o Also 'il'L' I), Sl,th Milk 'Fril'nds III Historv. Jlld the
Need nf:J Writ(t'tl Hivtorx nf Friend'i' .-11-", I S Sept. J ,sV-+, !1)lJ-200, \vho llULk the same
0
point.
IJ Fd). 1<)0<), eCI', 1~') JonL'o,;, .\fiddle }i',II~', 5()-7. ()bvioll'ily, cllL' "llL·CL')) of thL' L'LlIlgt'licJ.1 reviv,ll and
holine-;s rt'llL'w.)] I11U\'c'lllt'llr" in AmLTlc.l Iud kd Friend, rhL'rt' to embrace cC,\lvini"tiL
doctrillL" Illure fe,ldd\· than in BrItain
 19 8 British QlIrl!,eris /II 1860-1 920 The N ew Quakel1'slIl 199
rev italizat io n o f the Society of Frie nds w as in rescui ng Qu aker
his to ry from the o bscur ant ism and n egle ct in wh ich it had lan­
gui she d for nearl y t\VO ce n turies . R owntrcc w as co nv inced that
th e prevailin g lack of solid hi storical kn owl ed ge , especially among
yo u n g Frie nds, re p rese nted o ne o f th e graves t dan gers to su rv ival of
the Society as a vital religi ou s co m m u nity. H e b eliev ed that th e
rising ge ne ratio n h ad b roken m ore co m ple te ly with th e id eas an d
attitudes o f their fathe rs and gra nd fathers than any p re v io us body o f
Fri ends. But if th ese yo u ng p eople rejected th e evangelica l trad ­
iti on, th e o n ly one m ost o f th em h ad been tau gh t, wh at else w as
th ere in a Q uaker co m m u nio n, see mingly su n k into 'a torpor o f
unde veloped intelle ctual p o w er' , to ho ld th ei r allegiance? IJ O T he re
w as, h e surm ise d, th e glorio us hi sto ry o f their So ci et y: ' the voi ce o f
Cod, m an y ton gued ' , as h e o nce d escrib ed it in an effus ive
m om ent. 131 R o wntree wa s co nfide n t th at a 'fresh and so u nd
historical in te rpretatio n o f th e en tire Q ua ke r movement' , in cor­
porating th e m o st up-to-dat e ca no ns o f hi storical resear ch, co uld
lead to a vibra nt re cla ma tio n of th e long-subm erged sp iritua l
he rit age of Q uakerism . N o child ' educat ed in a Friends' school,
sho uld leave it . .. wi tho u t at lea st a kn o wledge o f th e hi story, an d
of th e b ro ad und erl yi ng prin ciples, of o u r reli gi ou s So ciet y' . No t
o nly Fr iends b ut religio us see ke rs everyw he re awa ited th e in spi r­ Fig. (j Ru fus M . J o nes, ( 18 6 3- 1 !MS), t ' , 1l)2 0 . American

atio n ofQuaker Hi story . .. w o rk ed o ut, not simply with th e vie w Prophet of liberal Q u.ikcrisiu

of presenting bi o graphi cal ske tc hes , and interestin g historical data,

but in o rde r to bring o u t . . . "the p rac tica l, spiritu al, and n 011­
sace rdo tal aspects of Di vin e tru th " in relati on to individual and
nati o nal litc, .l J2
R ufus J ones' fi rst co ntrib u tio n to th e cam pai gn fo r
h isto rical enligh ten men t, A Dvu amic Faith (190 1), was publi sh ed
shortly after his yea r at Harv ard . T h is was follo wed three years later
by Social La UI ill the Spiritual Woil», w hic h was d ed icat ed to J ohn
W ilhelm Rowntrcc . N eith er book m ad e m uch im pact in Bri tain .
Indeed, th e latt er Was so disdai nfully tr eat ed in "J71e Fri end
t ro J. w, R .. "The Present Position o f T ho u g ill '. Essavs "'iii A ddresses, ~J7 , ~ 40. Ak o See
Am elio 1\.·I01t Gu nuu crc , 'T he Early Quakers and Parent al Education', i'D I', 5/ 50 (Sep t.
1 <)02). 2 ~ 4.
th at Ed w ard Gru bb ch aracter ized th e revi ew as 'b en eath co n­
tempt' . I ] ]
Still, if J on es' early efforts were little noti ced o r app reciated b y
British Frie n ds o f an evan geli cal b ent , th ere we re evangelicals w ho
also saw h isto rical re s ~ rch as a m eans to renew al and reco nci li­
ation . A vi tal co n trib u to r to th e rev ival of Q uak er hi sto ry d uring
the Edw ardi an period w as N o rma n Pen n ey ( H;5 X -I~33 ). D eeply
infl ue nced by th e A merica n h ol in ess movemen t, Pe n n ey sto o d at
the opposite end o f th e th eo lo gi cal spectru m fro m R ufus J on es,
]. W , R owntrcc and th eir allies. B efor e be was appoin te d as th e
fir st paid full-time librarian for Lo n do n Yearly Meeti ng, Pen ney
had spe n t six te en years workin g as a H ome Mission er. As lib rarian ,
h e was assign ed th e formidable task of orga niz ing a research

II I R ., 'God in C hrist' , Es.' ''Ys ,11111 Addresses, ~7<) .

J. W.
I ] ' I.if< · ill C"II~~r, 1<) 5: J. W. R ., ' Pro blem of J Prce Ministry' .
JO I1L
'S , E H,')'.<arui Addresses, Th e ano nvrn ou s rev iewer in TI ·: 10 D L'''' 1<)04 , S2<), noted that the ' wo rld awai ts J
' J.!

120 , I J0-3 r: and ' P reven t Posit io n ' , ibid. , 249. J.. 12J ;\n. 190 5,
"0"'1''' 11'11 1 expo under o f the them e' . [em phasis added J See E. Gru bb to R . M .
Box 5, R MJ I'. Also see H oldsworth , 'Rufus J ones R econ sider ed ' , <)- JO.
 200 British QlIakerislII 1860-1920
collection which had gathered dust at Devonshire House, the
Society's headquarters in south London, since the Great Fire of
I (IMI. [H Because Norman Penncv'« tenure as librarian was concur­
rent with perhaps the first serious revival of interest in Quaker
history for other than antiquarian purposes, a number ofresearchers,
worki ng at 1)evonshire House, in local Quaker meeting records and
in other public and private collections, made significant contribu­
tions to the systematic gathering and cataloguing otQuakvr histor­
ical documents, Encouraged by Isaac Sharp (I :-:..j.7-[() I 7),
Recording Clerk of London Yearly Meeting for nearly thirty
YClrs (I :-:<)O-I<)! 7), Penney had, from th c biccntcnn ial of George
fox's death in I :-:l)!, begun to organize manuscript materials at
Devonshire House. These documents, together with other newly
uncovered documents, would become the basis for Penney's semi­
nal edition of the writings of 71/(' lits: flll(,fis!/(TS 4thc 'lrut]: (1<)07), a
book whose impact one Quaker historian calls 'still staggering'.
Without the pioneering work of Norman Penney and his associates.
the early history of the Society might have continued to l.muuisl: in
obscurity aW;liting studies based on solid archival evidence. [ i '
Penney W~lS also a founding member of the Fril'lllls' Historical
Society (FHS), established in 1l)03 'for promoting research in a
ticld hitherto but llllpertc·ctly worked'. just at the time that John
Wilhelm Rowntrcc was becoming seriously involved in his pro­
jcctcd History of Quakerism. [,(, Nearly every important leader of
the modern renewal movement W;IS listed among the original
members of the Friends H istorical Society. In the spring of 1l)04,
the second issue of the Society's )<ll/wa! published a notice ofJ. W.
Rowntrcc's intention 'to truce the development of Quaker
thought and organization ... with a view to the practical bearing
upon current QU;lker problems'. [37
The founding of the Friends Historical Society was a significant
expression of the new spirit sweeping through London Yearly
Meeting. Accordingly, Joseph Bevan Braithwaitrs Journal',
reflecting perhaps his heightened sense of losing control of Jt{lirs
I q l'unshou. Portrait ill Cre)', 2.2:1--t ;}nd T. Edmund I-IJf\TY, 'Ll)nkill~ L..LIL·k', :'(l-j. '571l.
I;, Punshon, Ponrnit 1/1 ere)', 22..1. .md inrcrvicw vvith John Nrck.ill-; \X/elwyn C;.lflkn
('It)', Augu-r I vS(). Nick:111" \\'.le., ,1Ppl)lJHCd .1" NUrIllJIl PCllIH:Y\ ,1""i"rJllt .rtrcr the Firvt
World WJr and replaced him cl'> Libr.m.m \\,]1\.'11 the hc.rdqu.irter- of London Yc.irlv J\1eetlllg
moved to Friends' l-l ou:,c ill 1<)2.').
,j(, 'for\\"<lrd',}FlIS. [/[ (lYO}), ] Ole Ibid .. ]/2 (MJY ]YO")' )0.
. 1
The New Qu,lkcYislIl 201
he had directed for so long, expressed anxiety about this latest
innovation. The early literature of Quakerism, Braithwaite
noted, was produced in '~1l1 age of religious excitement ... scarcely
paralleled either before or since', He feared that members of the
Historical Society might not show sufficient wisdom and caution
to prevent misunderstanding and mischief. At the same time, J. B.
Braithwaite was brooding over possible harm trom historical rcvc­
lations, John Wilhelm Rowntrcc wrote to Norman Penney seek­
ing to borrow 'a series of Reports asked for by Yearly Mtg. at
the begmning of the! Sth century on the tirsr bringing forth of
truth to their respective districts'. Ncavc Brayshaw had stumbled
upon these papers at Devonshire House and Rowntrcc hclicvrd
they would prove invaluable in recording 'the very beginning of
friends all up and down the country'. r r x
Unlike J. 13. Braithwaite, John Wilhelm and his associates were
not concerned about where historical research might lead them.
Lkcause they were convinced that a balanced and meticulous
historv of Quakerism could only enhance their Society's role in
the Christian couuuunity, they were preoccupied with the desire
to PurSUl' cvrrv source that would illuminate the 'inner life' of
Quakerism. Rowntrcc urged Friends to follow him into the 'pages
of spLl\v1ing and flded writing .... '])0 not be angry if they arc
dry ... There is <1 f:lscination, hard to describe in these 111usty books,
written by men who knew persecution, not by hearsay, but by
expenenlT; who perhaps S;lW and heard fox, Dcwsbury and
Whitehead in the flesh, and who ... were our spiritual ~111lTS-
tors ... , 1 3lJ
John Wilhelm's own work begall in earnest during the summer
of 1l)03 on a trip to the United States, where he managed, with the
aid of Haverford College librarian Allen Thomas, to acquire 200
essential volumes. As he told Norman Penney, even though his
thinking wax still in a 'crude r<1W state', he W;lS anxious to embark
on his project. ,+0 Within <1 month, however, Rowntrccs work was
interrupted by a physical setback. 'unpleasant heart symptoms,
", .J. B. Br,IId", .urc. '[ouru.il. 10 Sept. [yO). [V, MS Vol. S. 2'13-(', L.S.F. and]. W.K.
(0 Norru.ui PCIUlC\" .2 [ ()ct. 1<)03, 130x .+. RMJP. AI'>() '>c.'c.' (JUtl,dlUIl, Portrait il/ erey, 22'+_
I ,'J J. \1.;'. R., 'ThL' Rt,>c of(~llakeri'ml in York-hire' E\'Sil}'S dlld _,·Lldr(_\scs, '+3-4­
'Ie> J. W. R. to Noriu,m I'cllm'Y (COPY). ) Iulv i oo j, Box ... RMJI'. Ito" ntrce pcrvonallv
collected nc.irlv 2,000 volumc . .u.d p.unphlcts tor hi, hi-tory, st'c.' Essays /1IId Addresses.
p. x x xvi i and A. Ncave Brav·sh,,,,·. J W. Rowntree B]ographical Notes', 'IF, [7 March
1<)0), 16) .
_

 202 Hritisll Qllil/.:CnSlIl 18(1()-19.!(l
threatening angina pectoris'. This illness, in turn. scents to have
induced a fit of depression which settled on him "with the black­
ness of night'. Still, by the end of the vcar, after a rest-cure in
Switzerland, he was hack at his desk. and with the aid of a newly
acquired sccrctnry, flndlllg "queer things' but 'making hcudwav'. I~I
Throughout the tirst nine months of I ()04, Rowntree warmed
to his work, corresponding with Quaker scholars tor :ldvice and
approval. 'My desire', he informed one of these, 'is to strip IllV
mind as fir as possihle of JII prejudice and to examine the past in a
scientific and impartial study, not an ex p.trt« starcnu-nr rcprcscuring
o Ill' school or another.'Q2 In latl' JulY he ('(mtL'ssed to Rufus jones
that he had 'got so closely :lhsorhed ill Illy Quaker History that I
;1111 tinding it increasingly difficult to give time or thought to the
mere ou tel' world'. 1 ~3
Johll Wilhelm expected to spelld tell yell'S at research and
writing hctor« his study would he rc.idv tt)r publication-a legit­
imatc prospect tor niosr nn-n of thirty-five. But, in t;lct, these few
mouths in I ()04 WLTl' the onlv period of xu-t.uncd historical work
he W:1S to he allowed. l ortun.irclv, his labours did rc.uh some
fruition hecluse of.1 promise to deliver :1 series of lectures on
'The Rise of ()lukLTisl11 in Yorkshire' to a SU111nlLT Schoo! at
KirhYllloorside ill September 1<)04. Preserved .uid printed, these
lectures provide the sole material tor a critical asscssmcut ofRown­
trlT's skill and insight as a histori.in. 1 II
Not surprisingly, the Yorkvh irc lectures at times reflect the
enthusiasm and naivcry of the ne\vly initiated. hut their ddL'ets
do not ohscure R.owntrcc's litcr.rrv .ihilitv, his historical imagin­
ation or his powerful sense of m i-xro n . His ahsorption in the words
and deeds of carlv Friends convinced him more than eVLT of the
depth of their spiritual power, the courage of their relentless
practice and. 1110St signifIcantly, the soundness of their s:lVing
q' J W It. to It. ,~1.J, II Aug .. 2S Sq1. ,md 4 Il,'c. l~c'3, Ilo' 4. IUV1}!', ItO\\lItrl'e'\
~lTITLlry w.», Ennlv lllll' ll.ut. w hom he lk"'lTtlwd ,l'" ',1 culrurvd (:lHlrt"], vvotn.tn who
hrlng'" the- inv.rlu.il.l« cnuc tvur of .m urtcrcvtcd l \ v.ilu.rhlc lllJ("'I,kr t o he,lr (1[1 th« \\ ork ".
W. R. [0 R_ M_ J., 22 J.1I1. I l)04. Ibid. Lmilv 1Lrrt would l.rnr ,d..,o p]"()\"llk· J":-,i,,Ll11l"L' [(1 \X.".
(: Br.urhw.nre wlu-n hl' took over the hhtO]":- projn·t
,,- J. W. R. to Fielden Thorp (OP\). 20JlJl. 1')04. .uid ]. W. Ie tel WIIiJ.lIli T,dLle'k. 2S
Oct I~OJ. Box 4. RMJP.
'" J. W. R. to R. M. J .. 27 Juh 1')04. ihid.
"I JOlle\. J"/III lI'illlcillI ROII'IIlree, I q I ,llld J. W I~. "~I h" I~l\l' elf (~l",kLTl\m III York­
"Inn,", ill l:·s\ily.\ (illd Addrc.lsc.'·' J-/()
Tlie SCI/' QlIllkcrism 2°3
message-not simply to the seventeenth century but to seeking,
striving humanity of every place .md time. First and foremost, his
historical work gave him a trcsh appreciation of the religious
insight of George Fox. Fox's genius, Rowntrcc told R'ufus J OIlCS,
was made rnanifcsr. not in the originality of his conception of
Divine guidance (the Inward Light was not ~1 new idea), but in
the logical W;IY that he worked out his beliefs as regards social
attitudes and church organization. Just as important, Rowntrcc
felt, was rhc escape Fox offered from the 'terrible shadow of
predestination'. The 'sunlight and fragr;lllcc of the hcst Quaker
charactcr'. he said, 'would have been impossible but for this
l'm,lllcipation'.'45
Rowntree's enthusiasm flJr 'Fox's d.ry ', when 'the molten metal
had not congealed", did not, however. blunt his criticism of sub­
sequcn t dcvclopmcn ts.
I'hos« \\cre great days of high couragl'. noble sacrifice and rich fruit, It is
hard to come hack to the prcsent without disrouragcmcn}, tor the
promise of the p.1St has fliled. But there is still the future .... We can
.irford to study the hi-torv of the great decline .md to t.ikc its lessons to
hc.rrt. hn-.luse \\e have hope ill the future and t:lith III the great
rene\\·al. I .I "
In the c.uly years, Rowntrcc noted, the lite of Friends was in the
open. They would not do hat honour: they would not swear oaths:
they would not meet in scrn-t; they would not fIght. 'It W;lS
impossible to ignore the Quaker because he would not be
ignored.' But, by the same tok cu , it was impossible, 'to white­
wash cightccnth-ccutury Quakerism' for as it progressed,
the ht,: th.it \\',IS in the open is in secret. Timidly thl' QU;lker peeps over
his hnigl' of prirklv c.irrus, \\'illing that his pl.iin co.u of sleek broadcloth
should testit) tor siuipliriry, hut loath indeed to take It ofl, like the
Mcrho.Iivr ..111l! preach to ,I storming crowd .ir the stre-et corner. He
is .. ,pondLTous III the sohriety of his bnguage and the dullness of his
'I' J. W. R. to R. M. J.,
2S Sq1 t 1<)01. \3", 4. RMJP; TllOmp\On. '.Johll WIlhelm
Ro,,-ntrel·'. 2()2-()(); JIldj. W. It. 'RI"c ()f(~Il.lb.:Tl<"Ill·, ()l),
11(' J. \X./. R .. Tll<.,C ()t~(~ll,)kl'rhl1l·. 40, 43, (II.
2°4 Britisli Quakerislll 186o-192ll
intellect. HI, culture i, narrow, hi, outlook smail: hi, dinners arc good,
I
The ,\:ell'

Fresh and confident from the success of his Yorkshire lectures,

Qllakerisl1/ 20'\

.ind hi, worvhip somnolent. I F John Wilhelm sailed for America in late February 1()05- For him,
the future of Quakerislll seemed as hopeful as the recent past had
Rowntrccs ,urvey was kinder to early evangelical Friends: they been stormy. As Rufus Jones recalled: 'Every dream was coming
had, after all, roused Quakerism from a century of siumbcr. Still, he true. His impact on the youth of the Society of Friends was
bl.uncd Curncyircs tor their too frequent rcjcrr ion of 'humane everywhere in evidence, It seemed as though a new Epoch was
karning' which had 'worked incalculable mischief throughout dawning.' Then, suddenly, ill mid-Atlantic R.owntrcc was stricken
the Society'. EV:lIlgelica], had accomplished the necessary repudi­ with pneumonia. After several days drifi inj; in and out of con­
ation of quietism :llld reawakened the vigour of Quaker spirit, but SCiOUSlll'SS, he died on () March 1 ()05 in a New York hospital.
in their zeal to ensure that soundness remained within the narrow Jones, who had met the ship and was with his fi-iend when he
confincs of scriptural int.illihilitv. they had diminished or aban­ died, remembered how pitiful it was 'to hen him dwell in the
doned most of the unique aspects of Quakerism that b:!l1 caught delirium of fever. upon the great literary plan of his litL"_ John
and held the first Friends. The result, he said, could best he Wilhelm Rowntree was buried, and remains, in the gr~lVeyard of
summnrizcd in the words of Thomas Hancock's critique of mid­ Haverford Friends Meeting House. ""
Virtori.in Friends: 'In 16'):-\ there was not a Quaker living who did RO\vntree's death profoundly shook the British Society of
not believe Ouakcrism to be the one onlv true church of Cod. In Friends. His cousin Arnold rcutarkcd tint 110 single event had
I :-\5:-\ then' is'not:l Qu.ik cr living who dl;es believe it.":"
'moved the Society. as John's death has done, for 200 years', r v r
1kspite his discovery of much that was 's.ld and gloolllY' in the Edward Grubb called Rowutrccs p:lssing 'the bitterest sorrow I
first two centuries of the So.ictvs existence, RO\\'lltree scorned have ever had to bear'; another British Friend published a long
the idea that QUJkerislll W~lS 'unsuited to the luasses' or rh.ir its ekgiac poem depicting John Wilhdm as 'the pure boy knight" _
our C:lllahad'. "2 Others, to greater purpose, called upon his
Illessage h.id heen assimilarcd by larger, more popular churrhcs.
J lis last Yorkshire lecture concluded with a ringing declaration of
11lOUnIerS, especially those 'possessing the historical spirit', to set
the mission of his historical and spiritual quests: themselves to complctiug the sort of history that Jollll Wilhelm had
hoped would 'weld and unity." the (.,2uaker (lith., _and, __
geneLlte throughout the Society new lite and vigour' _1'3
Quakcr ixru absorbed) ... No' , .. There IS roOI11 yet tor the teaching of Rowntrn.' 's immediate family were the first to respond to his
the lnward Light, tor the \\itnl'ss ofa li\"lng God, tor a rcintcrprctauou of death in this positive sense. Within a few days, his father joseph, his
thl' Christ in hvcs th.ir ,hall conner the careless, [and] Lmgn:lgl' that sh.rl]
brother Sccbohm .nid his witc COIlSUnce set about erecting
convince the doubting, , , There i, room yet tllr:1 tcllowship. .ill-inrlusivr
.tppropriatc mcmorialv. First, they arranged fllr the collection
in its tl'ndn svn ipathv, drawn close m the loving bonlbge ofsuucritv .md
truth, tllr the noble sunpliritv of lift, and m.umcrs .. , for ,I trccdorn rh.u and publication of his Essays and Addresses, to be edited by his
,coms the Hummcric« of rank ... because It knovvs the worth of manhood cousin Joshua; then they began to sound out Quaker scholars
.md loves the pri\'llege of f1-iendshlp .. _Climl: Pl'lldle HIll wit l: Fox :lIld
sec once more his visioll-'a grClt people to be g:\thered' , _. :md in the
spinr of his message LIce the future that lies bctorc you. I",'J 1,(' JUlll'\,JI1/11l ll'dhcllli 1<0[/'1/[1/'(', [1,'\1 .uid Johll Wilhelm lZp\\"lItrlT', FL 31 f\l.l rcl 1
[(y)~, 1<).':.
1,[ Arnold IZ{)\\lltrcc (0 IC M. J,
-l- April II)U), Bo:-.:). RMjP. RO\\Jltrcc \VJ\ quotlllg
It" uncle jO,hll,1 Rowntrcc. Also Hi-nrv Hrv.m Hiun-; ttl It. M. j.. I() April IIJo5, ibid.
\IT

'17 J. W P, .. -Ri,,' ofQu.tkcn-,m. )~, 112-3, i,," .md 'ThL' Outlook', ['1))) (J,s,!,)). () I~~ Ed\\'ard (;rubb ttl It. 1\1.J., 21 M.ml: H)O). ihid., .rnd 1. A. R., 'Ill ML'lllOf!,IIll,johll
1-1-"The quor.rrion 1<., rrom f I.l!lC{Kk\ 1>((//Ii/lIIl, "C(Olld pnze wmucr ill d1l' [S)tj C">i-ty \X/ilhelill Itl)\\'lltrt'L'-,l Porru'. Frlel/ds !II ft'lIl,l!l'I) cer, ()2/13 (I April 1<)0':;), 103·
coutc-t on rhc rl':hOll~ for the dcdl11l' of (~l1akcri"lll. J, W. 1<...., 'Ri,c of C,hlJkl'ri"lll', ()(l. "7.\. "3 'John Wilhel11l RCl\\ntrL'c', H)L, ,F)I I H (April I VOl), I 2X-3 I. Al,o "',' ohItn.\f\ t(li"
[.j') j. \V. R 'Ri"'l' o( (~lLlk('ri:-'11l', .~(). 73, 75-(>. Al'l) '-,l'C Thull1p,()IL 'John Wtlhcllll J. W R. inJl"l IS, 212 (April 11)01). ~i,: Georg" II N,'\\nWl (J-"Qf:' L'dltor) to R. M, J.. I I
RO\\'lltrl'L", .:?J)7-.':, Jul\" [~07: ,ll1d Ed\\,Lrd Grubb to R, M .I .. 12J.1I1. Ivoll.13ox I, RMJP.
 >~'~ .--..r. :.; :.;
-;::: ~
::; j 8 ~ J
~
>~
c ~ ~ ,-2
.... '-'
2 "
'""S
, "": :::~
- 2
'-'
'c
,~ 'j~
u, G G
'-'
~~
'-'
I' 'j
/. ~
'"'
-' .:~
7=§
~ c...
f
.j :......
'~
;::;
'~
--::: '.........
~
.~ ~
;:; ~ '~"' :,.... :::
.j.....j ,...z:::: .-J .j.....j ~ ~
1-
--: 2 "": [: r- 2 ,.;: :
'"'
'~ '""
~
2 ~
'....;..."' '~
~ ~
~ ~
'"'
'-'
'J. ~
'-' ~
~ .j.....j
-..r. :.;
;...
~
.j.....j .-J """:i
"'"E"L ....,I .-J
:;;L ,.-..
.;:::
...::::
.£:
>,
§
 I
20X Brirish Qll<1kerisll1 1860-1920
Ikspite cautious concerns, which he never pressed beyond
query, joseph Rowntrcc's contribution was also crucial. Having
organized the Rowntree Charitable Trust to subsidize the publica­
tion of the Series, he consistently urged the authors to 'spare no
expense' in ensuring that the History would be 'a standard work
broadly based upon full knowledge'.I(" The production of the
Quaker history series also rcvc..ilcd Quaker acccss to elite clements
of Edwardian society. When Rutu« jones expressed the wish that a
draft chapter on john Wycliffl' and the Loll.irds could be rl'.1d by
C. M. Trevelyan, recently acclaimed fe)r his study of Enl;,/'71Id ;11. the
.4.1;,(' orWycliffi' (I S()()) , joseph Rownrrcc replied that 'Sccbolnn
knows Charles Trevelyan the M. P. (I forget the historian's first
name) ... and Sccbolnu tells Inc ... tint he would have no difficulty
in askillg hi III to p,lSS on this request to his brother, the historian.'I('2
(;iven the depth of his personal, iutcllcctu.il, and spiritual friend­
ship with john Wilhelm Rowntn:l', it seems fitting that Rufus
jones should h.ivc 111,1Clc the grc.ltest coutributiou of time and ctforr
to the completion of the (~u,lker history series. After his friend died
111 his arms, jonl's said, 'his lifl' in some senSl' went into miuc, and
he vowed to work 'in cvcrv W,lV I could _. _toward the fulfillment
of his interrupted pbns,.I('3'jonl:s discharged this pledge by produ­
cing fin' volumes of the series ,IS well as providing a long
introduction to Braithwaite's He~innin,~s Qtl<1kcriSIil \\I11ch incor­ or
porated his fixing of the roots of primitive Quaker thought and
action in the work of continental I11VstiClSll1. jones believed that
this interpretation would provide a link hcrwccn volumes of the
snies and 'to brIng horne to Friends and others the vital lessons of
the history'. I('~
whcr« hl' m.id... clc.tr th.ir tlii-, prJ((Jl-l' '\\'.1\ not dl..,O\\!lcd by ()lLlKl'r k,ldcr,,'. AI..,u ""T
Kenneth I. (:,lrnlll, 'Ejrlv ()\.I.lkcr<; .m.! "(;Cllllg NJkcd ,l~ .I Sign'" ()ll,j~>lT fh'/(J/')' ()-;-/2
(AutullllJ Ili7M), (1()-S7.
'co, .Iml'l'h 1(,)\\I1[Il'l' to R. M.J. 3D.luL II)D7. 110'" ,ll1d 2H Al'nl II)ID. 1\0" ('. IUv1.11'
hn till' ()riglll\ ,1IlL! tll1h'tiolllllg ()( till' RO\\'ntree Ch.lflUhk· T rll"L . . ee J():--eph RO\\'llrrl'e til
R. M. J., 2() M.trch ,llld l.f S,'pt. [1)0), Box ), lbld. JO"l'ph l{.n\\·lltree Iloted t1l.lt \\·hlle he
\\',1" 're",poll"ibk t~)r all l':-':Pl'll"C... . if there i:-- ,IllY pn)tll Jt \\"111. ot- cour.. e. go to YDU'
Ru\\lltree to R. M. J., 3 Sept. It)OS, ibid.
1/,2. Jo,eph Ro\\"ntree ro R. M. J .. rS MclY ISJoN. Ibid. It i.. J}ot c!eclr if(;. M Trl'\"cl\".IIl
,ldll,111y read JOlle,,' ,eetion Oil Wyditfe.
11·1 Rutll" M. JOlle'i, A n:IY l~r Lili' 11/1d Sflvia ()bCrllll, ()hio 1(j3{i). \--2; Stlldit'.\ ill
.Hys//cal Rd(~joll (London 1tjOtj) , v-vi; Jlld -'lidrift' )/\If:" I~S-I()I.
,(,+ .Iosl'ph Rn\\lltll'" tn R. M . .I-. 1.\ .Ill11e' I~DS. Uo" (I. RM.lI'. After [he' I'llhlic.ltiol1 of
JOIlC,' first VO]Ul1ll' Srlldit's ill ,\[ystiwl Rcll:l!i{)1I (1tjOt)), he \\':\" cOllt.Ictcd by Theodor Sippl'll of
The ;'\'(,LI' Quakerisl1I 20l)
Immcdiatclv before the publication of The Begimlings (!f Quaker­
iSII1, Braithwaite told jones that he thought the introduction 'quite
admirable' and 'of great service in giving coherence to the study' as
well as illurninating 'the main lesson that our Quakerism of today
needs to learn'. ii', Still, it is interesting to note, in light of subsc­
quent challenges to jones's exegesis, a p~lssage in one of Braith­
waite's letters written well before the Introduction was set out: "The
inward light itself [was)l the artificer of the Society of Friends
though of ncccssitv coloured by the Puritan medium thro ' which
it was transmitted for the children of Light remained ill IilallY
things the children of their agc.'IM, When subsequent editions of
Braithwaite's volumes were issued (in 1<)55 and 1()61) jones's
introduction was omitted on the ground that the views represented
therein h~ld hccn largely refuted by subsequent scholarship."? Still.
as one commentator noted. contcmporarv Friends 'cannot under­
stand who we arc unless ... we realize how much the way we put
things today is colored by our reaction to Rufus jones ami to his
. , 1(1.'-;
gcncratloll .
()f that gcnlTJtion, john Wilhchn Rowntrcc has been .uknow­
ledgcd as the most important rcpn-scnt.uivc. Not only did he give
the Univcr-irv of M,lrbllrg ill (;cnluIlY \\·htl told JOl1l''' t h.ir ln- h,ld lJllkpl'l1dl'lltiy' rc.u-lu-d
COIldu,ioll" "upponillgJollC,' H.lv.,,, OIl rill' llng-ill Of(~lUkl'ri"!JJ_ Sl'l' Slpp,'l1 to R. M. J., 27
j:d) .. I() Murch , 21 July, .uul [71)l'l- I<}IO ,llldJo"'l'ph l{.o\\·lltn'l' to It r-vl.J., 2S April and 7
.lIlly [()I(j. Jl(ltlng Rl)\\'lltrl'c\ \\·illiIlgllL'...... ttl provide f 1l.1Il I."! ,1] . . lIpp()n t~)r \ippell\ work. It'
.11.)111.'-, t\1tlllght It nuporr.mr. JUIll' ...• ti.lllghrn. Marv l lo xn-. 11l'Jil'\"l'''' rh.ir Sippcll .... cucior-,c ­
111Cllt \\ ,h ,) grl',H huovr ro her t:1ther\ convutiou th.u he h,HJ l'orrectly Idl'lltItied th c root, tit"
(~ll.lk.lTl"IIL l nrcrvirw with M,u;: 110\ll' JOJ1l· v. l Lrvc-rto rcl, 1',1., Augu . . t I{)XJ.
W. C 1\. to R M. I.. 2(, Murch 11)1 I. Bo.\ 7. Ihld
<c", W. C Il. tll IC 1'-..1:1. r o j.ui. ioox, Illl" (,. Ihld
\l'l' I. Hugh I )Ol1l·,I . . rlT\ 'Iorw.mi' to till' 'l'cond cchn on ot- "l"11/' Htgillllill,I!.\ (~r
(JII <1k('/-/'\I 11 , p.\"I1. .A" !){)rl,d ,thl)\"e, n io . . t motic ru inrcrprcu-r.. of rhc urigin" of (~L1akeri"l11
depIct c.ldy Childrcil of the light ,l'" ()tt~pnllg of the Puriull i\-1()\"L'11l1.'1lt. Sec (;cotlrcy
Nutt.rll. "l"11/' fitl/)' S/Jinl ill Puntnn l'-llirll .11111 I ;'xlwrin/((' ( h.Jllfd [()<)()) ALlll Silllp"'OIl,
Plmld"i_'"1 ill ()!d 'I/lil ,\'1'11' LI(I!/'lIId (Chi,',lgo. Il))5); ,11ld Illigh B.lrhoLlr, FI,(' QII.rkcrs ill
i l l/lH'1I1 Lug/dll,l (NC\\" ~L1\'CIl, 1(j(q) , p.i.\:. 2()O--I. A JTCl'llt ,tudy "LlppOrtlllgJOlll'''' \"ll'W 1S
Rlch,ln! B,liky, .\'1'11' 1.r:~/1f 01/ (;Ct1f:l!t' !-"tl.\ ,1IId I:',lYl)' (21/lIkcri_1"I1I (SJIl Frcll1ci.. co I ()tj2) , l.:IJ,lprcr
I. ()t!ll'r ,rh{)!.lr" \\ho dd~'nd the ll.;;dldIlC"'~ OfJOIlC~- ilHcrprl'tJtion .Ire MclvlIl B. Elldy.Jr.,
'The Illtl'rpretation ot- (~lt'lk(,'ri"lll: RUtl1, JOlll'''' Jnd Hi;.; Critic,,', (2/1llker History 70/ I
(Spring, I<jSl), 21, ,ll1d I)oluld F. [)urnbclllgh, 'B,lptl-.r' ,1Ild (~uJkl'r,-Ldi: Wing PuriLllls?'
Ibid. (l2/2 (AlltllI1111, l(i73). (17-S2
II'" Chn . . J)o\\"nin:-,:, '(~ll,)kl'ri,;,nl ,llld tile Hisroril-,l] Interpretation of Rc1igioll', Qllaker
/{t'lil!i()/I.I 17,oll,lZ/lr J/2 (Autumn, Ilj()I), ..... H. Larry Ingle's thoughttld and provocatIve
Pr" . . idl'nti.II .lddres.. to thc Friends HhtuncJI SO"iety, 'Tht' Future of (~lukt'r Hi:.tory',
provldes, ,unong odll'r things, .In l'nlightening di"cLl'ision on current \-jew'\ of the origins
ofQLlJknisl1I.JFHS. .ISIT (IYY7), espe.-Ialls 2-7.
210 British QlItlkcrislIl /860-/920
life to the implementation of pr.ntical reforms that allcl\\cd British
Quakcrisru to cscapc from t\VO centuries in a religious backvvat cr,
r t 6

but his vision of the revitalizing etTc'cts of a 'fresh and sound'

approach to Qmker history also inspired one of the most import­ 'Kindly Silence the Men a Bit': Women

ant intellectual achievements among Friends since the seventeenth

century. Questions ahour what the Rowntrcc histories l11ight h.rvr in the Society of Friends, 1860-1914

been ifJohn Wilhellll had lived or wh.u his lc.idcrvhip might have
contributed to Edwardian QU;lkerISIII or to Quaker resistance
durillg the First World War arc, however intriguing, irrelevant.
SutTice to say that John Wilhcllll Rowntrccs infiucnrc did not
cease with his death and that his presence was distinrtlv fc'lt ,1I11ong flZ,OM HELI'SMEET TO SMOTHEP... EJ) City
Friends ofthl' succeeding gcneration. On the fIftieth .n iu ivcrx.uv of
J. W. R.'s death, Maurice Crcascv, Director of Studies at Wood­
r Amom; Gcorge Fox's 1110St radical tcachings W;lS his conviction
brooke, noted: 'It c.u: be truthfully said tint such stability and scnse that Christ incarnate. brillgillg the gift of spiritual imlwclling to
of direction and points of growth ;lS thc Society has possessed in
recent years, .irc due in large n ica . . urc to the influence and teaching J
.ill, h.id restored wo mc n to their original p!.Ice of' equality with
men.
;llld guidance of the Friends WhOl11 John Wilhelm Rownrrcc
impired."('"
For m.iu .uid \\'OIlLlIl xvrrc hl'IINlll'l·t. III the illlagl' of (;od .md ill
nghteoU'-,Ill'S'-, .uu! Imillll'S'-,., ,]wt(,)rl' thn f<':II", olftn the 1-'0111, ill the
I'''J ('n,-'.hC~, .\'/'.\1 th\..' l'lld of till' hrq \X,/urld \\/,lr, \Vdti"ld 1 ][dl'b()~
Fllf)' )i''/I.'' ..'...'.. /\ttLT
tLlllsgrL'SS\OIl, t lu- m.i n \\'as to rule over hi.. \nf<". But, III the rl'stoLltioll
(I SS5-1()jI)l. .1 IU[llIT (']lTk Yc.ulx ~1l'ctl!lg (]()3-t--t.2). "rJll.l.llkd ,l'o .n: ,lh\u!Ufht
lit' J (lllll,lll

lOll\Ul'[l(IOLJ\ 11h,]l'llllL wro«: th.u J. '0/. Itll\\IHfCL' \\',\\ '\\lllh1L-rt"ulh .1 "l'l1"lrlul fnlll'r to
by Clui . . t , into rhr Illl,lgl' of (;od .ind I l i.. rightl'ousllL'S'-, .uid holinc«
llLlll\ otu-.' \X,:'J1(nd' Lrtrhho, to Ill" p,lrCIH\, I ~ !)n' )1)1,"\.1 illkhu\ P,IPlT\ "l'l'Jll thr()ugll I, ,lgalll ... they .irc hl'lpSllll·l't. m.ui .md wom.m , ,IS till')' were .. , bd()re rh.:

tlu- c uunc,y (II' \\'. l l.nrk-bov . . d,ltlghtL'f J\;1.lrg.lrL'[ I-.. ~.l\ll. lall. I

ACl'ordillgly, wouu-u were dr.iw» to c.irf y Friend» ill considerable

uumbcrs .uid sornc otthcru g:lilled promiucncc among Fox's carli­
l'St prc.rchcr-followcrs. While rejccting the ministration, of hire­

I
ling prir.. t" Quakers had .ilw.rv-, maintained that Christian ministrv
\Y,IS not a i n.rk- presenT but \V,lS rather based on a divcrsirv of God­
given gifts to be ,h;lrcd by all who composed the u ui vcrs.i] priest­
hood of believers. Thus, according to their gift" male and tL-male
Friends shared cqu.rllv in the ministry of the word. At least a dozen
t women were among the so-called 'Vali.mt Sixty' who began
Quaker missionary acriviric, ill the north of England during the

t211utL'd III ULlIthWJHC. S1'lll/ld j'alt1d, .273. Phylll\ f\L1Ck. '( ;cl1lkf ill
,1Ild SplTltll,dity
Err! v Er l~li\h (~lJ.lkL·Tl\Jl1. [())V- I (1(1)' III f I 'itll1'SSI':': JJf FIII'('('
(Jlill/,l.!C: (!lId{'l'f "'(111/(1/ ()J!cr
Ccntun,», \... dltcd hy Lli-ahcrh I\)(t\ Url)\\'ll .uu! \0 . . ,111 M()\hcr Stu.ud (Nl'\\" Bnllh\\ uk and
I ()l1d()Tl J 1)lj01. .'() norc-: 'A prim.irv tL'lll't of L'Jrly (~11.1kL'fi"'Ill \\'J\ tlut the hicLlfChicJI
dUL1LtL'f of ~clldl'f rl,I,HIUIl\hip". IIldCL'd of ,lil \lKi,ll t"cl.mOlJ ...h lp\. \\';L" ,I prllduet ot' hOllLlJl
\infLlIlll·"\. :Ill lJLlt(PIll\..' uf thc onsirul Elll from (;Lll'\..'.·
 212 British Quakerislll J 86o-19.!0 rLJllleli ill the Society 0( Friends, /860-1914 21 3
1050S. 2 Among these were Elizabeth Hooton, recognized as c>;pecially in the north of England. Sometime between T075 and
Quakerism's first fl'male preacher, and Margaret Fc ll. who later I Mio, the Lancashire Meeting of Women Friends sent out a letter

married George Fox, and who emerges tr0111 the recent work of 'to be Dispersed abroad, among the Women's meetings every
Bonnelyn Young Kunze as something like the co-founder of the whrrc ' with the intent of justitying women's meetings, offering
Society of Friends.' In J{j()O Margaret Fell wrote a tract entitled suggestiollS as to how they should be organized and defining L1Sks
r j '01lle11 ~\' Speak/II,I; Justified. .. which, Kunze notes, 'dcfi.mtlv they might ullLkrtake.(' Gcorge Fox himself had a hand in the
reassessed the Pauline injunctions ag;linst women spclking in t()f]llation of till' Box Meeting in London, ;1 body which, inde­
Church'. According to Kunze, Fell's activities a, well as her strong pendent of any mule control, dispensed .ud to needy female Friends
influence on George Fox were important reasons whv u: London and Middlesex Quarterly Meeting and continues to this
'women ... approached equality in the spiritual sphere in c.irlv d,l\.; Apparently, 'Fox's unremitting advocacy' for WOlllcn's
Quakerism, probably to a grclter extent than in other sectarian Meeting's was considerably in advance of m;lllY of his co-religion­
movements of the [seventeenth] century'." 1st, lor it ruuscd 'much hittcrncs-.' among early Friends. The idea of
But if Quaker women did, in f;lCt, have somcthinj; like spiritual scpaLltl1lg mC]1 and women's meetings was a lllajor point ofdispute
equality in worship ami uunisrrv, this never carried over into the in .1 separation of Wcstmoreland Friends during the I ('70' under
business of directing the (by-to-day ;ltbirs of their Religious the leadership ofjolin Wilkinson and John Story, who wished for
Society. I )uring the I (l70S both London Ycarlv Meeting, as it was womcu to meet with 1I1Cn but to remain silent." Fox's obdurate
developing into the chief legislative organ of 13ritish Qmkerism. re,pO]1SC was to W;lrI1
and Meeting for Sufferings, as the working executive committee,
were fashioned a, exclusively male organizations. After their mar­ .ill of vou, rh.it .irc ;1g,llnst xvoiucn'« mccungs . . ,1I1Li S;IY, 'you SeT no
riagc in I r.(l(), both George Fox and Marg;lret Fell urged the setting 'LT\'lCC for t lu- \\'Lll11Cn" l11cctings,' and oppose t hcm , you arc t hc-rcin out
up of separate women's monthly meetings with spcria] concern for ot the PO\\'LT of God, ;lI11i Hi>; Spirit live not in ... Therefore. keep in the
charit.ihlc activities." This was apparently done ill most places, P"\\LT, that yc nL1Y >;t.1I1d lip tor your lilxrtv in Christ jcsu». nL1lcs and
t'('nLde>;, heir>; "f him ;1I1d "f hi>; gmpeL ;1I1d hi>; order."
Lruc-r I,.. LI\'hlL ]'fIt' 1;///<111/ ,I,,;LYfr (llllllll)11 (1) •.l-7), -U-4 AI . . {) "'l'l' Ilu~ll l Lrrhour.
'()lullT Prophcu-......c.. ,ltld fv\othlT'" of I"LH"J', III .')·Ct).:illg IIII' Li~hf l'dltnl loy J Wrlh.un h'(ht
,II IIIJohl1 M. Muorl' (W,lIlJlIgf\lId. 11,1. ](jS(l), 41-()O:Jllll't ~lutr. '\X/OIIIl'll 1[1 the ~lllll'ty ()f
III 107(1 Fox wrote an 'Encouragement to ;111 the WOlllcn's Meet­
Fricud-.'. III ,·1 (]/{l/I,:rr .\hl(('//(lll)' 12.~ -3 r; .md M,ICl, 'C;l'lhkf ,\llll ~Plfltu,dity·. 33, .'iSll \\Ilo lIlg, ill the World', a tract of nearly a hundred pages encouraging
11,1" tr.uc.! thl' u.uncs of O\'lT 2.'i0 klll.lk prc.uln-r.. ,Illd w rurr.. bl't\\TCIl l().~(}-()u. One- of tlir tormation of WOln('ll\ Meetings as 'ill the Time of tile Law
c.rrlv (~U,d'i,Cfi"'\I\ "'l'\'ernt cntln.jtlhn BLlIl~;lIl, put l-r-nuci.. 11) t hc v.uuc l·,ltl'~ufy.l'" lt..mtcr-,
hcc,Il\"l' both UHllltcll,lllcnl tt:lll.lle prc,lchl'l v Sel' l tuuv.m. rr'ork»; I, .: [ 0: 1[, ()()4 B,lptl"'h
,1lH.\ other g,nhcfcd dlllrcltn .ilso h.ui fCllI,dc 1111111.. tl'I""
l.m-vt studv h M,lr~.lret IIl,)pe B,lcon, 'The E.. t.IbiJ.. hmcnr of Loudon WOIIlCll\ Yc.irlv
; Bonuclvn Yount; Kunz«, '''W,dking JJl Yc (;o:-.pd ()rdcr'" 1\:1.ng,lfl't ~;ell .uid the
\lCl'L!llg:.A Tr,1J1',ltl.IJHic ClHKLTll',jl;IIS, .~712 (It)())), 151-()).
E.. uhli"hlllcilt of \X,i~)JllCll '..; t\1cCtlllP '. P'!J1Cr fl',ld ,II till' "'l'\'l'lltlTlltil lkrk . . hlrl' C.'ll[ltl'fl'[llT
Oil till' !-·Ii:-.tory Of\X/OlUl'll ,Ind' "Poorc ,Illd III Nl'CC ...... Jty": M,lrg,lfl't f'cll ,llld (~ll,lkl'f fl'lll.lk I,'From our ('uulltry \\'OllleIl''i lllel'tJJl~ III 1.t1lL.l"hire to be !)i"pl'f"'l'd .lbnud, JIllOllg till'
PhiLlilthropy ill Nortll\\T.. t Engl.lIld III the !.lte 17th CClltUfV', .1./hil1l1, .21/4 (Wlll!l'r ]1)S(j1, \V()llll'll\ llleL,ting" l'\'LTY \\"Ill're', p,lrti.dly fl'pfilltl'd ill the 'IlltfnductlOll' to 1.3ro\\'11 Jlld
)5()-XO. ("f, [.f. L,lrry Ingle, Firsr .-lIfl(lll.\, l:ricl/rL', .25.2-3, 345 J1. wilD doc . . not helicH' KUllZl' .... \tlurd, f f 'iflleS.ii'.i .Ill/' C-'II <l1I.1f/', .2.'i-S.
t'videnCL' fLllly . . upporh her J'i'iertllln:-,. Sl'l' Ifl'[ll' L Edw,Hllo.;, 'The \\:'\\I11l'n Fricnd . . pf LUlld{Hl: The T\vo \X,il'l,k<; ,llld Box
-1 KlIJl7C, '(;O\pel {)rdcr', 5, I I. An Ilnporunt . . [Udy \\"ith \"tlu,lhk lJ1"'l~hh \\11 the role o( \hTtjJl~,,',JFfI,'-)', 47/1 (Spring 1(j.';;~), 3-21. Arllold lloyd, <.2I1ilJ,?cr Socil" lJi:ifory (1 Olldoll
c,lrly (~luker \HHlll'll 1'" PhdlI:-. M.1ck, r "/.'I,l/1<1ry rl~lll/CII: !;'(Slll!l( Ill"llrl/l"q' UI ,~'t'I'ClI!t'(llfll 1\)501. JOt) note . . that the Bn-: Ml't'tlllg \\'J'i 'all indqKl1l1L-nt body' of WLllllen tnl"tl'l'''.
CC/J{I/ry !:'IIX!lllld (fhTkky ]l)l)2). Al'io "'ee SnHt, . \\'\Hl1Cn ill the SOCil'ty ot' Fril'll(h', 127 pO...... l'''''l'd Dt~ L'lln"lder.lbk tl IIId:'l ,lIld l.mded property ,md ,11l'iWl'fahk to 110 ]lUll'. Tlll'
,lnd [IJine C. Hubcr, '''A \X/OJ1l,lll Must Not Spl'.tk·', (~u.1kl'r \'(/0111l'11 in thl' Englt<;h Left \Vulllcn \, Two- Wl'ek . . t\keting, allod1l'f e:\du"ivcly tl'nuk gatlll'ring in London, \\",\"
Wlllg', III ff '0111('11 (J,,,",jJlnl Ft'I//(l!( L.A.'ddtTsIII'1' III rll(' )1'11'1.111 (1IId Cllri.'ltdll TradiTlol/,l, n1itni b~ l·.. ubli'ihcd ,Houlld tho;.' ";-Il11e tl1ne .1<; the HIL\ r-.,·kl'tillg.
RO"'t'llury R,l1ethef and FIe,IIl0f McLllIghlin (Nl'\\' York [lj71j). 1';;3-foIl. "' Ingle, I-'irsl .-l11/(111.\? j.'rit'Jlds, 2()]-4 provide", the fir"t 'icholarly ,h<;C"SIllL'llt of the Wilk­
., M,lry J,\Ill' Cndlec. 'The WOllll·[l·.. Yc~,lrly MCl'tlllg', ill Ll'u/t 11l );'tlrl)' .\It'clil/,~ [)lIrill,« .!51} llhCln-Story contn)\·l'r:-.y "incl' BraithWJite\, ,')ceolld PeY!t1d, 2\)0-323.
)~'t1r.l (Londo[l [\)l()), 1)7 ,1Ild 1.3Llith\yaitl', H{:\?illllill).!S, 341-2 ,llld SC(IJud ecnl1d, .273-4, The ') 71/cj(1//Uld! (!r<;('()~'I?C I:(\\", 2 \'01". (Sth edll. LOI1(llm ICjOI), II, 249-50.
 21.J- Btitisli Q1II11.:('I"iS/II 1 S6lJ-1920 ll"OIlICII ill II/(' Socictv or Friends, 1860-191-/ 21~

.uid the time of the Cosper and dL'noulKing "Selfish and Unholy Yearly Meeting did exhort all subordinate mcctings to establish
ML'n [who I may seek to I)ISCOU Llge then I' , 'D \\"Olllcn's meetings lor discipline. I ~ Also, from 17)l) ~I AliI/lite Ht)(I~'
J kspite the crforts of Fox, Fell and others, hO\\THT, the Pauline ,'\:cIusi\Th" devoted to the annual gathering of women Fricuds WJ'i
tradition W~lS sustained in London Ycarlv Meeting. at k~lSt as hcgun, but the Women's Meeting remained an unofficial body,
rcgards the govcrning of church al-Elirs. In the lute <cvcnrccuth I )uring the tl)lIowing decade a proposal to create .111 otficially
cc nturv women miuisrcr« in London bcgJn to meet with male recognizl'li Women's Y early Meeting was rcjcl"tl'd on the ground
miuistcrs 011 Saturday to discuss which local Inccting'i they should th.it there was all insufficient number of won len Friends 'ofsuitable
attend the next da v, but in 170 [ the Men's Mor nuu; ML'cting of .ihilir ic« to carryon so weighty and important a work '.' i
Ministers banned this embryonic gathering bccluse, tlicv said, Fin.rllv, In 17:-\+, Jgain much influenced by the word-, and work
Il:male ministcr-, spoke too long III mccnng. 'lilt is a hurt to (lfAnlLTlclJI l ricnds. a separate and official Women's Yearly Meet­
Truth tor women Friends to r.ikc up too much time, as 'iOIl1C do, Illg \\',IS ~lgrccd to, It began to function the followinj; year.
ill our public meeting», when several public and serviceable men .ilrhough it was endowed with no legislative functions and rook
rriellds arc present and .irc by rhciu prevented in their scrv­ n o part in establishing the rules of discipline'. Indeed, the authorirv
1l1g, , .f hc women Fricnd'i should be tenderly cautioned ag.lil1St of the WOlllcn's Meeting was so limited as to preclude the posvi­
taking up too nuuh time III our mixed public meetings".' hilitv of its PCdlJrllling ~llIY uic.mingful role. As one male Friend
I ksplte these xctb.ick«, there \\TIT intermittent and uusucccssfu] noted ~I tcvv ycars aficr the Wonlell's Meeting W~IS set up, the
.irtrmpts. l'spl'l"i,lllv l'llcouLlged by \"lsiting American l-ricnds.::' to ,,"illinglless of womcu Friends 'to be invested with greater
establish ,1 P~lLI!kl Womcn''i Yearly Meeting. Women did con­ 110\\l'l~ ... \Y~IS somewhat limited by the prudence of the M~n·. ,(,
tinued to g~lthLT 'iep,lLlteh- In conjunction with Mornillg Mel'tll1g So, \\11I1e the Men's Meeting remained authoritative in Britain,
alld Yc.ulv ML'L'ting. but their deliberations WLTe quictlv igllorcd. tcn i.ilc Friends continued to constitute a sizeable proportion of
The ,\Jill/ltl'.' of the London Box Meeting cont.un ,I document those \\'!w ministered in all Quaker lIIeetings tllr worship ~IS well
dated february 17,j,(l and signed by SIX Il'1l1ale u uu ivrcr-; asking ,I'i to he libcr.rll ,: represented .m long the elders .md overseers who
consideration Illr a "Nar ion.il Ml'l,tillg t(.Jr the worucn ' to be held gO\'el"lled 10c.I! InlTtillgs and supervised their mn u-t rv, As M~lry
.it the 'iame time as the Ml'll'S Ml'L,tlllg and .ittcndcd by two or j.uic Codlee, who would become the tirst Il'm~lle Friend to preside
more 'solid wcll-couccrncd women from each <.~uartLTh­ OHT London Yearly MlTtlllg, testified early ill the twcnt icth
Mccting, There is no record of.l reply to this plea. 13 A Il'W years century. the slow PKl' of mr.uiiugtul female participation in the
LIter York Women's Qu,lrtcrly Meetillg called .ittcntiou to ',1 noble .cnrr.rl gOHTlI.lnCC of till' Briti'ill SOCll'ty of Friends was 'vcrv
spirited JTnln~lJlt of our SL'X' who might pLly a part in the 'needftl1 curious, .md . . , rather p~linltd to thosc. , . who lIIay h~lve believed
rdl)J"JILltion &. Regubtion of our I )iscipline', Through the III thc theory that \\'Olnell Frielld, have alw~IYs had ~In eLJual pLICL'

establisllllll'nt of 'an Annual Womcn's ML'l'tlng'. thcy notcd, \\"ith their brethrell in the Church'.'7
'Quarterly ~Ind Monthly Meetings would bc StlTllgthl'ned and
I( Ih).\: J\h·l'(llIg . .\11111/11'.".1.2 .1l1L1 L4,Jl1lll' [7)3, l.s~· AI,,\, 'l't' B,Il'I)Jl. '\X/OlllCll';., YeJrI)
EncouLlgcd in their flithful Endcavors,., ' While this etilJ!"t aIm
.\kl'(lll~·. ['';\--() ,lllL! U.lrlL1Y. 1111/('/ I"i!;·. 'i2S.
cnnl' to Ilougllt ~IS rcgards a separate WOllll'Il's MCl,tillg. In 175+ \V(l111L'11', .\llIlIlfl'_'·. 25 J\;tlY 17()(l, I \F. AJ..,o "'l'l' B,\l'{)ll, '\X/'PlllL'lJ\ Yl',lrly Ml'eting', I )()
Jllll C;\)dk,l', '\X./Ullll·ll .... Yl',lrly Ml'l't1l1~'. 103. [0(1-1. Br,llthw,\ltl,.·, ,~'(((ll/(I PO·IOti. .2,S() "'ll~­
Br,llt!lw,lltL', :';t'ul/ld jJ1'f/(Jd, 3 l-t-- I), I loyd. C}IL1},:C! .\',Id,ill !z'[t1f)'. 'i-t- hdln ql rlLlr Olll' of ,~l'''[l'd tlur \\d1lll'll', \\,lllt nt' bu.. illl'...... rr,uIlIl1g prl'cludl'd thclr ,ldllll:'1'1iull to ll11pOn,llJl
Fux'.., llLlJor lOllCl'rll'. t'{H l'\uhll\!llllg Men'.... ,1I11i \X:lllllCIl '.., .rv1l'l·rill~" \\',1'. '"tnlT l'llt( Jl"l'l'lllcrlt l'\.l·dltl\·C h'li..hl·' ,ud] .I' till' .rvkl·tlllg for Sutferillg.... hur dli, \'IC\\" i" dl<;putl'd b) I !o\"d.
()f till' lllJITIJgl' l)nJccdllrl' '. (J1I</hT ,\(l('i<l! I/i.'·[tl ' ')' . 1°1 f
II (~lI()tl'd ill BrJlth\\'.litl', Sl'(llid !>Cr1l1d. ~S7, Ab,o '>Cl' lloyd, (llldkn S(ltldll-fLi[(l})', I J S Jr. JO'l'ph \X./ood to \XldlJ,llll \X/illl.llll.... I/S/. Ljuorl'd by (;odkl', ·\X/Ollll'Il·.. Yl'.lrl) Ml'l't­

Scc BJCOll, 'WOll1l'll\ Yl'.lrly JVlL'etlllg', J 53--5. lllg'. [1.2. The Clrnllll"'UllCl'" l)f l'\ubh<;hlll~ the L\)lldOll WOllll·ll .... YeJrly Ml'l'tillg ,Irl' full)
'(:OI1\ldl'l\lrIOlh upon rhe ,n\'ll'l' Ofrlll' Ih'l'iplilll' ofthl' Church III gl'l1l'ul & the ](\\\ dl . . CU......l'd by i3.lCOIL '\X/OIll,'Il'" \"l'.ul)" i\h'l'tillt--:·. I ~.s-()o .
. . l1<;Uilll·d by r]ll' \\",11]( ut- l'xtl'lhlillg cJll' ".ll1ll· ,11l1\)[I!:-';...t till' W0111Cll III p,lnlcui.lr·, JIl ...lT[l·L1 1ll 1­ (;odkl', ·\X/nllll'll .... Yc,Hly j\,1el·t1J1g·. (>3-'+. Codkl' bl'clnlc Acting Ckrk o( L{)lJdoll
the Box J\;1l'etlllg .\Iillll[(, n)()~,. J ~.+.s-()o. LSF Yl'.n1) J\;1l·l'till~ 111 It)IS. ""·l· CILlptlT 10 bl,.,jo\\.
 216 British QlIakerism 1860- 1920
Fig·7 IYhr)' Jane Godl cc ( [8 50- 1930), first female C lerk in Lond on
ed u catio n of Qu ak er girls was gen er ally inferi or to that provided
Yearly M ee ting
for males and, at least until th e last quarter of the nineteenth
Wh en London Yearly M ee tin g introduced ex te nsive revi sions in
its Christian Doctrine, Practice and 1)iscipline in 186 I, women , w ho
co m p rised a clear m ajority o f th e So cie ty's dwindling m ember ship ,
were recognized as having a distincti ve role in th e life o f the
Society, but this role w as clearly de sign at ed as su bo rdinate . I It
Women 's stand ing under th e ne w Discipline w as summari zed in
The Friend in July 186 I : ' th ere is a sh are in th e min istr y of th e w o rd
for which th e female mind is p eculiarly ado pte d . .. [but] " the h eat
and burd en of the day" shou ld dev ol ve up on the stronger sex ,
and .. . w h en it is oth erwise the Church can no t be regard ed as in its
h ealthy n ormal condition' . ' >I Males did 1110re than bear the heat,
they decided every imp ortant local an d national qu estion
, 8 J ohn S. R ownrrcc, ' Fact' and F i gu res' , I' Q E , I (1867 ). 569 and Christ ian Doctrine,
Practiceand Discipline (Lo nd on 18( 1), 156-X, J 70 .
'" 'W hat i, Q uakerism ?', 'J1', July 186 1, I S2.
l,j'omen in the Society if Friends, 1860-1 914 21 7
w ith o u t referen ce to w o men 's m eetings or women 's opinions. A s
Elizab eth Isich ei has noted in Victorian QlIakers, female Fri ends, lik e
most other middle-class Victorian w o m en were ' shut o ut by ... so­
cial disabiliti es , . . from any ad equate exercise of [th eir] highest
facilities'. A famou s illustration o f suc h sh u ttin g out w as the 1840
Bri tish and Fo reign Anti-Slav ery Soci ety Conferen ce in Lond on ,
wher e women w er e excluded from the proceed in gs largely
th ro ugh th e influ en ce of the m ale leaders of London Yearly
20
M eetin g.
all the other h and, Quaker w o m en w ere n o t denied access to
th e ex tensive in-house ed u cational system in w hich Friends to o k
co nsiderable prid e. T he do ze n o r so b oard ing an d day schools
available for th e female children of Frien ds p rovided ed ucatio nal
oppo rt un ities unavailabl e to m ost Victorian w o m en , ev en in th e
middle cla ss. P ro b ably the b est o f th ese, w ith regard to b oth
te ach in g and curricul um , was the Mount Sch o ol in York, cstab­
Iish cd in 1831 an d dedicated to 'the ed ucatio n of Fr ie n ds' daughters
in the middle w alks of life'. 'Th e M o u nt ' subsequ ently became a
centre for trainin g female te ach er s. 13 y [R70 its 'sim ple, eco no m ica l
and unostentati ous' curri culum had produced 140 teach ers, over a
th ird of whom still remain ed in the pr ofcssion .:" For all of that, th e
ce ntu ry, Friends sch o o ls w ere uniformly cau tio us and ge nCfally
drab . As John R eader pointed out in his Swarthmore lec tur e o n
Q uak er schools: ' Frien ds must .. . divest th emsel ves o f the flatter­
ing notion th at, as a body, they have been pi on eer s in education . ,2 2
U p p er- m id dle class Quaker wom en tau ght at h o m e by priva te
tutors w er e doubtl ess th e b est educat ed females in the Society ,
....
' 0 Isich ci, ViClor;,lII Q u"k"rs, \15 ,lnd Pu nsho n, Portrait ;11 C " 'y, I No, O ne of rhe those
ex cluded was rhe Am erican I lick-ire Lucretia Molt w ho man y believe was the real targe t o f
the G urneyi tc Friend s w ho pressed tor the exclusio n o f wo me n. In any case. M ort therea fter
j o ined w ith tellow-cxcludee Elizabet h C ady S tanto n 10 hel p forge th e W omen's R ight,
Movement in Am erica. Sec O Id ia C ro mw ell, Lucretia .\forl, (C am bridge, M a« . 19SR), 76 ­
1.\3 passim,
" 'T raini ng of Teache rs', FQ E , I V (I ,S70 ), 00- 1.
z a John R eader, Or Scliools and Srh"" IIIl (L't ns : Somc 'ntOug!1I"II th» QII,lktT C ontribution t"
Education (Lo ndo n 1979). .\3. For recent insights on the ed ucati o n of Q uaker WOlnC U. SCC'
Kerri AIIcn an d Aliso n M ucKi nn o n , " ' Alluwcd and E :q ) CCl Cd to be educ ated an d
iurelligen t": the ed ucation of Q uaker girls in nin eteen th cent ury Englan d' , History ~f
Edvcuio n, :1.714 ( 19\18), 39 1- 40 2 ,
 21H British QllakerislII 1860-1920
although the possibilities for putting education to use was limited
even for these children of privilege. 2J
The contrast between the Quaker ideal of full female equality
and the realities of powerlessness for most Victorian Quaker
womcu caused bitter resentment for some. One dis.rbuscd. ex­
(JluklT woman accused her sisters of sitting ill meeting week
after week like so mallY 'images in n iarblc , submissivclv .uccpting
whatever unjust treatment, unrl'\\"arding duties or limitcd oppor­
2
tunities were meted out to them by righteous m.ilc lCllkrs. + But,
in fret, tl'male Friends never suffered cnrirclv in silence. Whether
tiorn a modicum ofeducation or the residuum of spiriru.rl cqualitv.
some Victorian Quaker worucu did publicly speak their minds.
After the founding of the n rodcr.in-lv progressive Friend: Qlldl-rcrl),
L\"d II I iller in I H()7, they were provided increasing opportunitv to do
so. A steadily expanding counucntary on the condition of (Ju;lker
women .uul women in general began to appear in the l ixantincr,
~llthough 110t all such .nrirlc-, dealt with the bacbvard condition of
tl'nnle Friends. Some, indeed, were strong reatTirnLitlollS of the
counsel of patience and long-sutTlTing likely to appe,lf 111 other
Quaker publir.irions.:" One female .iutl ror warned her sIsters
ag,linst cOl11pL,ining about their tiresome duties and humble pbces,
lest rhcv sink into spiritual self-seeking. 'The heart is deceitful', she
rcmimicc! readers, and might lc.id the vvon rcn .ivtr.iv unless they
remelnbered that 'we arc, each of us, in that xitu.itio n xvhcrcin we
ru.iv rcallv serve the Lord hcrtcr than anv other: If otherwise, he
wo~Ild not have placed lIS there. -:«. • xvorncu should be 'a medium of evangdizatioll to the people at
Many of the .irticlcs concerned with vvorucu in early issues of
the lricuds Qlldrtal), Examiner tourhcd upon the waning of the
central role tL-mak Friends had alwav« played in 'the minisrrv of the
Word'. During Yc.irlv Meeting in I S(17, Sybil Jones, an influential
Au rcric.m minister, Iud visited the Men's Meeting to decry a
growing 'tendency tow~lrds J discouragement of women Friends
devoting themselves to public ministry', After hl'aring Sybil Jones,
;1 number of male Friends gave 'tcstimonv of the value of public
1 Allen ,llld j\1,\<..Klllllon, '''AllO\\-l'd .unl F:-.:p<..,(t<..'d", P,b-,\-illl, For [he gl'ill'f,ll t\)pil pf
(2lLlkn edLlt',uioll "l'<'" W, A. C, S(C\Y,lrt, ()1I11J...'t'1'.1 ,11111 h/ll(drill/l (Iolllhm 1()53).
'I .\f(/f)' If,ll/'ltf, .---Ill .-!U((l{)]l:l!rd/J!r)', cdi(cd by I\Llrg.lr<..'( 11()\yin, .2 \'ok (J Ondtl]) I ",,'\1)), I,
20 3.
Sl'C, f()r eX:lmplc, '1'1', .J,lJ1tl,lrY ,llld M.lrch 1S73, [5, J"\, 202-.~ ,1Ild 22(l-,'\
Sarah S. 'On lJoing thl' Wiil of (;",1', 1iJl:, II. (I:il,:;), j')2-1,
II'OIlICIi ill the Socicty oiFricnds, 186,J-19l.J 21t)
,~,iritual gifts of women, tor which they feared the education now
rec,'ived by the daughters of Friends is somewhat unfavorable'. 27
The tJd th.it many women Friends were 'turning aside from the
sdf-denying service' of public ministry was doubly unfortunate
both because of special need for sottening tl'male influences in a
,oC!l'ty h.irdcncd by materialism and because tl'lluk misxiou work
h.id, historically, 'done more to rcinst.uc the sex ill its true position
.IS "members of the body of Christ" than ~lllY abstract arguments
th.u \\'C might advoc.lte'.2:i
In an .nticlc which ostensibly spoke to the questiou of tl'nLlk
n nnistrv, Louisa H. Stewart (IHIH-It)IH), widow of the proprietor
llf the ]:'rlJlJlJ/IIXh RCI'iclI' .ind a pioneer suffragist. t()ITdldly
,lddressed ,I much broader Llnge of social concerns.'-') It had, said
Stl'\\'art. heroine 'the rule anlollgst various classes' th.it most
\\ om ell 's lives were so limited in scope that they had ceased to
believe thcmsclvc-, r.ip.ihk. of anything useful and so wasted their
.ibilirics tor tl'ar of 'the charge of ccccntrnity, or the laugh of
ndiculc. Even in the churches, she noted, won len who attempted
to assert themselves 'ILI\"e only met with the humiliation of being
virtu.illv 19I1Ored' or with 'the imputation of incapacity', This
<iru.ition , she asserted, W~IS ;1 serious religious and social deficiency
xvith which Quakerism should be vitally concerned. 'Friends as a
hodY', Stewart declared, 'vhould he torward in all outward move­
mcnts' and, given the flCt that their Society arfordcd tl'males 'so
much liberty .md truiuim;' ill the ministry of the (;ospel, Quaker
I.u·ge' .uid especiallY 'amongst the shackled women." who arc
hound down by torms of opinion to the most contracted spheres
of influence, and reg~lrlkd less ~lS hclpsnicct tor man than as his
proteges or tools'. BeCl use, Stewart COlIc! udcd, not without a
Alti"l'll W, lh-mu-rr, "Ilu Yc.ir lv
MCl'[lljg", 1iJL, July lSI,!, 37+
ItdKCl.l rhur\til,ld, '1 l oun: [\,11\\1011 A)\lKLH1Pll nt' Worncn h-il'I}ti'-;·. 1.'(21:', 1 ([ S(>7),
-t -x: AltlTd '\)..! Be-nne-tt. "l h« Yc.irlv [\'1cl'tlllg'. Ibid .. 374-; .uid '()n the Millhtry ut­
\\UIlll'll', .bid II ([S(lS), ~Ol-J Altrl'd Bcnm-tr W,h l'lii(ur (loS).s--1)) .md the- puhli\hu
I I S.~\)-(l7) of "jjft' lncn.l.
') LOLli",1 Hopper \\.1) dl)u\\ ned III [oS)) Jf(l'r "h<..' 'llurnl'll DU(' (0 John S(C\\',lrt, ,1111)[1-­
(~lI,lkn \\ IdoWl'r \vid1 rlvl' chIldrel1; llU\Vl'Vl'r, \vhl'11 he died III 1Xf>2., I:()l: publi"lJcd .1
kll~thy 'Ml'lllOlr ofJohn Stnv.lrt'. I, (I Sf>;), [4-7-()). LOlli\.l Stl'\\:lrt ,d~() l'ubli:-.hcd.l book
I'll klll.lk l'llUIKlp,l(ion l'lHHlni File .\h,>-iIlS LIII'; ()f f I (lIl/ell '_, BirIIJrl:~11f (LOlldon [X()\»). In
(ll~l .Ig-<..' "ill' dil'U(l'd hl'!" childhood Illl'lll()ri<..'~ [L) hcr gLlIldd.lllglHLT F\"l'IYI1 }-lobcr(:-. \\'110
L'Yl'IHllJlly pubiJ\hl'd rl1l'11l .lS Lm/'Ll, .\ 1t'III(lric.\ l!f II QlIl1h'f (Jllldl'(lld (Lolldul} 1~no).
 220 Britislt Qllakerislll 1860-1920
touch of irony, 'the principles upon which the constitution of our
Society is founded ... shelter its tL'nde members from, .. [such)
tyranny.' Quaker women should, 'tor the world-wide interest of
humanity', become missionaries who acted out their Christian
prrncipk:s 'in a spirit of sisterly readiness'.,e·
Louisa Stewart was obviously evangelizillg about InOIT than
Gospel ministry. Other knLlle writers tollowcd her example in
speaking directly to the \vays in which Friends 11Iight aid in the
setting ~lsidl' of kmale disabilities. In the wake of J S. Mill's
unsuccessful ;lttempt to insert the word 'person' in the place of
'man' in the rranchis« qualifications of the Second Reform Act
(I H(17), an .mon vmoux article under the 110111 Il/IIlllC 'Vega', ac
renewed the call tor the cnfrunchiscrucnt of vvomcn on the same
basis as men: 'Things will be very diftcrcnt when Englishwoll1cn
enter thoroughly into whatever concerns their counrrv. ..
when ... the theory of "<pir itu.il infl ucncc". .. IS used to inspire
and promote, instead of to de;lckn, ;1 true patriotism and public
spirit in the men, and to strcngtlu-n their hands in intelligent
sympathy." I
If 'Vega' believed the pJce of change to be movi ng too slowly,
there were other Quakers who .ipparcntlv surmised that British
society in general and the Society of Friends in particular were
about to be overborne by a dangerous WJ\'(' of radical fl'11Iinis11l. In
I H70 J Firth I3otto11lley (I H42-Hl)), a young Quaker solicitor active
in London and national politics,32 used the occasion of the pJS,SJge
of the Married Women's Property Act (I H7o) to call attention to
what he perceived as a veritable 'onslaught upon the system otlcgal
su hordi n.ition ', a circumstance that Bottomlry, tor one, viewed
with considerable alarm. The Friends Qllarterly l ix.uuincr, had givcn
Mill's The Subicction or
rttl/llell a somewhat mixed rcvicw.':' but
",- Louis.r Stl'\\'.Irt, '.A \X/ord t o l )ur Sl\rl'rhoud'. F(2L. I (IS(17), 57()-K3. pl/S.'1I11
II 'Vq!;.I', 'Should WOlllL'J) Ih' i,\dllJlt[l'd to [he FXlTCi\l' ofr!ll' Parh.unenr.nv Sllffr,lgL';',
I (2/:, II (ISI)S), +++-"1,,
L, Jo'-,l'ph Firth BOttOlllky (I S..j.2--S()) tuok rhc \lIrIUIllC lirth III I S73 111 .n rorci.uuc \\ 1[11
till' provi-ron, of the will of ln-, uuclc-. JU\l·ph Furh. lie \\ ..1" .iduurtcd [0 rln- h.ir t1U[ ".llllL'
yl',lL A\J L Burtulllky FJr[h, Ill' \\.1" LJl1l'r.d .1\1P for Chchl'.l, ISSO-Nj ,md t()r ])undl'l',
1 NXX. A k'lding ,Hh'oCltl' ()f rd~)J'I]\][lg Londoll 11lUl1lL'lpJl gC)\'cnlllll'IH, firth \\',1". l'll'dl'Ll
))l'pliry-Ch,linllJI1 oftlll' I olld<1I1 (:ollllry ('(llllll-il ill I SSS. Hl' dll'd \\'hik lllULlllLllllL'ering
ill Swirzerblld, SCl' John H. Nud.ll, ') hI' Hthhll,l.!fll}l!ly t1(.'kl.:lI1orrll Sd/()t)! (.1\1'1Ill'hl''itl'f 1SKl))
" Rich,ml Weqi.lke, 'The SUCl.1] PmItIOIl o(WOl11ell', [-'(fL'. J (I S(,~), ~J2-~ I, WL'qi.lkc,
\yhp"c hn)t!ll'r \VdiJal1l edircd the journ,d. rhought Mill 'il't our the ca"l' fur tenulc· cqu.l1iry
\\'ith 'COI1\lllllllLHl' Jh1JHy' but ,1]"U helin'ed tlur hc l'\,lg,~.~\'r.ltl'd rhe p,l'ir ill-u'ic {)f \\"('1111CI1.
IT'OIl/CII ill the Societv of Friends, 186o-19l.J 221
l3ottomley was in no WJy ambiguous about it. In a lengthy .Lll I l r­
tl'minist and, indeed, anti-female screed, he labelled Mill's work a
'text-book of the agitation' in which the author had confused
cLJLUlity with equity and thus encouraged the Iikcs of radical
f('minist Lydia lkcker H to call upon all forces in heaven and
l',llth to bring 'the final end of that Philistine supremacy of the
male minority which has lasted so long',;' What neither Mill nor
lscrkcr seemed to grasp, said Bottomley, was the historical and
mor.rl flct that 'the subjection of the fl'nI;1le to the male is an
universal law'. Bottomley's undcrlviug Illessage seemed to be a
\\"lrning to male Fricuds that their wonu-u , traditionally the re­
cipients of slKcial spiritual privileges and superior educations,
Illight on th.it ~1l'count be persuaded 'to look somewhat kindly
upon ... the politir»] cnfr.mchiscnicnt of women', ;lnd thus to
,upport a progranlllll' of agitation and legislation that would violate
'the innuut.rblc hws oflLlturc'3"
There was [10 direct response, male or tc'male, to Bortorulcvs
h,ILlIlgUC, but it may be assumed that his opinion W,IS not unique
,1l11Ong male Friends. l ndccd, a conference on "The State of the
Society' was convened in I S73, .md women were refused admis­
vron . This exrlusio n inspired John Bright's oldest daughter, Helen
I)riestnun I3right CLIrk (IH27-1l)40), to complain to The Friend
th.it while Quaker women were oftell told of their Iortun.irc state
of equality, they could not help but be 'painfully conscious of the
unrcalitv of their meetings Illr disciplille Iwherel,· . they have no
voice in the management of arfair-;'. Her c.rll lor a gencr~ll discus­
"ion of till' status of women in the SOCIety elicited no response.,n
()n rh« othe-r h.uid. ill' Iud (lIlly pr.ll\l' tor Mr" J. (Lou.s.r) Stl'\\.lft 'IJII' .Hissill.\.? LUll ,llld
O
"
umt ccl o.rth lur III hl'lll'\·lllg rh.rr cqu.rlir , ofthe "c.\c" woul.] "bc C\)ndlll·]\'C to till' \\cll-hl'iJlg
()!'11Llt1k1l1d'
,I lydl.l Ik,'kLT (IS27-l)O) rormcd rill' f\1,lllt·hl''itl'f WOlllcn\ .sl1tlr.l~l' l:OlllllmtlT in
I \()(l,rot" lh.'ckcr\ P\(l[ll'lTlllg work ill the (.IU"C of tl'lll.lk \utfr.lgt' \l'L' Su-.m Kvnr , '\(0\
II/d SI~Oid.<.!( III HIIf.llli, IS(l(l-IQl--/ (Pru n-c-ron , NJ 1()S7), 1Sj-S.
J. Firth Uo(rlJlllk~·, 'Puhlic (~lJl';"(lOIl\: IV-Till' PO'iltH1l1 O(\V'UIllL·ll', /."(}.J . 1\ (J S7 0 ) ,
':;()()-(»). Horromlcv \\',1\ rot-rccr 111 ,l'i'iUlllil1g rh.ir vonu- Qu.rk cr \\·nrrlcI1 "'tTL' hcing
llltlUCllccd by Lvdi.. lkcklT. f\1.lrY).l11(' Ilodg'iOll rl''ipondl'd <"'llthu'iu,,riL',dly to Lkckl'r\
"l,lplt,d' kdUlT Oil \\'Ollll'll\ right" In J\1,lllchl'\tcr lI1 IS71. M~II)' IIodg'ioll ttl FllLlbdh
(;rL'l'll, I j NtH·. I Xi I. Purtfolio A (lO, LSI
,f, Uortornky, 'PO"itJOll OfWOl1ll'])', 57l}-~i flll.lsilll.
rJ.~ Augu'it lSi,. 20". S,llH1Ll Ho]t()]) ,lIld M,trgJrl't Allen luvc u:-.ed thl' lKC1'i1011 01'
tl'lluk exdtl~ioll fr()l~1 rhe I S7~ C:OlltlTl'Jll'l' .l" till.' jUlllping off- pL!(C f()r ,1 di';Cll~~ioll of
'()tllce'i ,Ind SC[\'llT'i: WOIllcn'-, Pur<;ult OfSeXllJI EquJlity Within the SO(]l't y' ot' Fril'lllh,
1'\-J-I(jO;', (2/1 <1 I.:CI Stlldies (Q\), 2/1 C'HlIllllilT J(fJ7), 1-2(j.
 222 British Ql/d/.:crislI/ 1860-1920
Still, strong-willed female Friend, refused to relent in their
efforts to improve the circumsrauccs of women with ill their reli­
gious con nnunirv. In J 1174 Matilda Sturge compared the '[earned
leisure' so prcrious to male Friends to 'the privilege of perpetual
interruption, "f(lr numerous domestic incidents' granted to their
wives, leaving the won len with little or no time to pursue their
own intellectual or artistic iutcrcsts 'What women rrallv want',
shl' noted in a subsequent essay, is 'fiTe trade and tair play: the
right, "to do all they can .uid as well as they CIlI, without fear or
t.rvour, or the ncccssitv Il)r self-assertion, which is aIW~l\'S unpleas­
ant am! unbecoming'." Hannah Maria Wighanl (I :-\211-1 (j07)
added th.it most unmarried C,2uaker females were trapped bv the
gencral ;ICCl'pLllJCe of the idea that gl'ntlTI women were 'Io\\'cring'
themselves bv working IlJr mo ncv and thus apparcntlv were only
fit to be '<upcrnumcrarics awaiting the chance of marriage,'
liovv ,Ire WOIll,'11 to rid thl'llISl'!\'L'S of", this burden of l'nt(Hced idk­
\\hich Ii", like, ,I nightln.lre Oil their lin's, .md shuts them out rrom
ill'" , , ,
nuul: of the eI1JO\'IlleIH .llld USdldllL'" intended t()]' th"Ill~, , , In the heart
of 11LlllY .1 t.iir youllg nl',lturl' , , , there is .1 sillothl'l'l'd cn t(lI'soIllethillg
highn .md bl'ttn, ;1 longnlg to be of SClIlIe lise III the \\Orlli. This
IS, "I n.il. .utu.il nuscrv. , ,adding m;lllY ,I hirtcr drop n: the hrimming
Clip of the world's woe, "J
By the end of the 11I70s, the growing intensity of such Il'l11ale
cOllcerns may h.iv« precluded any bold male Friend from hro.id­
casting the sort of puhlir declaration of the courinucd ncccssitv tor
female subordination so boldly set out bv J. Firth Bottomley earlier
in the decade. Stili, Bottomley's view apparcntlv retained vigorous
0
lill',4 During the tin.rl quarter of the nineteenth century, London
Y c.irlv M cering made no major .uid Il'W minor concessions to the
principlc of klllale social or polinr.il equality,
;,~ ·SPCCLll\lr'. 'View from South.nnprou' 1-"(.21:', \ [I I (1 S7.+L 3J 1-.2 .md ,1\..1.lrild.l Sturgc.
'A Fcw ['V10fl' Wurd, About \X/Olll l'll', Ibid. x [ (1 S-;7) . .+()(j-7(l.
~() l i.mu.rh MJrl.l \\."'I!..: h,lI11. '\X;'OIl1l'll\ Wor k", 1-(21;'. XI (IS77). ] ()2-(J.
John Bright ~lIpportl'dJ ~. 1\1dl\ .uncn.hncnt to cnfr.uuhi-,: women Oil rh« \,lJllL' h,l\l\
j()
,I" men, but hy tln- c.ulv J S7o~ he lull hecomL' COIl\'ll)Cl,d rh.u tl'lllJk "lItfLlgC \\ ould lk .1
setback tor politll'.dly progrC"I'il\"l' t()rCL'''I throughout CrL'.It Brit.llll. SL'l' John Bright to E. 1\1,
Sturgc, 12 I h'c r S7 I, Bnght M~~. Fru-nd, I h~tori(.ll Ltbr.u-v, S\\".lnhlllorl'. quoted h~
Holton ,1Ild Allen. '( )t11l"l'" Jnd Sen'ice,,', ;.
II 'omen ill the Society (~rFriCllds, 1060- 1914 223
FRIENDS AND THE WOMAN QUESTION
When "-1 Reasolla/JIe Faith was published in 111114, the thrust of its
Inl'ss,lge was the need to replace outworn theological principles
embedded in Quaker thought am! practice with ideas and actions
c0111patible with expanding human knowledge. 011 the question of
\\'Olnen's role in the Society of Friend" however. this liberal
(~uakLT dassic was as silent as the latest edition of London Yc.ulv
Meeting's Discipline." But, during the same Yearly Meeting in
whic]: the propriety of A Reasonable Faith was gravely debated by
m.ilc Friends, rcconuncndarions Il)radv;lncing the role of
wouicn in the aff~lirs oftheir religious Society WLTe being discussed
III the W0111en's Mccung. A minute of Bristol ;1l1d SOIllLTSet
Women's Quarterly Meeting incorporated t\VO proposals: 'TILlt
wome-n Friends should be eligible as members of the Meeting tor
SufferIngs' and tint the Men's Yearly Meeting should bring
\ubjects of mutual interest betl)re the Womcn's Meeting 'for
their cOllSideration and approv~I]', These nmttcr, were discussed
but, in the end, the counsel of p.rticncc prevailed and neither
proposition was sent forward to the authoritative Yearly
Meeting, Both languished tor 1110re than a decade bctor« being
2
revived,4
OthLT women were less inclined to patience. In a strident and
uncompromising essay published by the Fncnds QUllrterly EXllllliner
in 11I1I(l, Jam' E, Taylor's ;lrgued for a 'Wolllen's Place in the
Christian Econollly' with all the urgellcy of a Hebrew prophet.
Taylor began by contrasting the Old Testament centuries when
\\'0111 ci I WLTe 'degraded to ;1 position of subjection by a tvr.uu iv
that was as barbarous as it was unnatural', with the onset of the
Christian era when the Reclcemer H imsclf struck the 'key-note of
her elllancip~Jtion." and the chords of sweet harmony that he
hegan, vibrated loudly", in the hearts of his t~lithful followers',
But, as the structure of the early Church grew increasingly rigid
and patriarchal, its artificially nurtured male hierarchy 'sought to
rob woman of her new given liberty' .md the sexual harmony
41 III IS:-\3 J ncvv edition of tlu- Cltrisflllll lJis(iplil/c t:( the So(icty l:{ /:riclld5 \\',1\ issued
\\ .thour 'iub,tJntl,dJy :lltenng [he ~llbordllutl' role a'l'liglled [0 W01l1l'J} by rh« 1)1.I(ipliIlC ()f
1 XOI.
.J-..'. See ViPOIlL C.!ltllkni.\·I/1, 23V; (;odkc, 'London Yl'arly Mcctinp;'. I It): .uid f (olton &'
/\II l'l1, '()t11(l'~ ,1l1d Sen'icl''l', 13- 1.+ .
 22+ British QlfakerislII 1860-1920
revived by Jesus 'gradually melted away into so f~lint an echo, that
its notes were lost amidst the din of sectarian strife and the noisy
upheaval of sacerdotal pride and usurpation'. For centuries, jane
Taylor asserted, church leaders, including by implication male
leaders of the SOCIety of Friends, had employed every scurrilous
device, including the misuse of Holy Writ, 'in defence of errors
and abuses that advance masculine interests, feed masculine pride
and increase masculine power'. But although Satan-'true origin­
ator of women's subjection '-was atrcmpriug to aid in the sinister
struggle to keep women in hondage, Taylor saw a new day at hand:
'the voice of Truth is once more ... clearly heard ... [and]
Womall's emancipation from creature thraldom is plainly decreed
by the loving EIther.' In such a time of renewal, Taylor concluded,
the duty of all W01I11'n was to prepare thcmsclvc-, tor 'gentle, loving
ministry' since 'the hideous evils that atTl'ct society will never be
overthrown until feminine influence and power arc flilly cxcr­
cised'.+3
Fervent pleas for quakerism to take its rightful place in the
forefront of the movement to emancipate won rcn aside, rear­
gilaI'd resistance to seating of fl:males mcmhcrs in Meeting for
SuWenng was sustained fIJI' ten years after Jane Taylor thought
she hchck] the dawnim; light of equality. I)uring the I S()OS, while
liheral theology and progressive opinion advanced steadily in the
quaker communion and fenlale Friends continued to play an
integral part in Iostcring this new agenda, the idea of expanding
vvot nctr's role in the atT~lirs of the Society was all but lost in the
shuffle. As one exasperated woman pointed out, when 'Women's
Meeting ... is chiefly occupied with reading aloud extracts irom
Tile Hook ofDis(J}I!ille, to fill up the time till 111en Friends come out,
some reform is certainly needed. ,~~
Apparently most male Friends, and SOllie females a, well, did not
feel the ,amc sense of urgency. In I S()3 John Wilhelm Rowntrce
complained that the assembled Yearly Meeting of male Friends had
spent 'twenty-five minutes debating whether the women should
be Itemporarily] admitted to the men's meeting. It was quaker
+; J1I1l' E. Taylor, 'Woman's Pl.uc in [he Chrisri.in Econoruv'. H)E. (ISU,).
.1'Jlnl' E. Newman, 'About Mourhlv Meeting', ibid. (I S')I), 2('7-70. Holton and Allen
provide J <imil.ir fesponse trorn the 'Diaries' of I .i-ycar-old Altce Clark 111 I SoSV; 'C)tfiCl''i .md
Services", 1.5.
[ti.l/Ilell ill the Societv of Friends, 1860-1914 225
c,llltion and love of detail running to seed.' [T]he spectacle,' he
concluded, 'was not inspiring.'~'
The question of won len 's place in the Society was not part of
the official agenda of the Manchester Conference, but it inevitably
rose to the surface from time to time during the gathering. One
male speaker at Manchester, J. 13. Hodgkin, noted that Quakerism
h.rd provided a striking example of the strength that could be
drawn from female ministry and that the Socicry might make a
Signal contribution by reminding the larger Christian community
of 'the great loss the Church of Christ has sustained through all
these centuries by quenching the work of Cod's Spirit when He
spe,lks to the woman instead of the man'.~(' In keepillg with the
rr.idition of female ministry, fully a third of the speakers at Man­
chester were women, .ilthough the remarks of most of these were
1.1rgely confined to traditional questions of piety, ministry, and
serVIce. One speaker who broke that mould was C;ulielma
Crosf icld (I SSI-I()+S) of Cambridge who reminded the Confer­
cncc that Friends were doing little to advance the position of
wotucn and, In the name of 'sound justice and righteousness',
llllght to do much nlore.~7 Still, no Miuut« which emerged from
the Manchester Conference mentioned the status of fc'male
Friends.
The continued paucity of meaningfi.Il advances for W0111en had,
however, already evoked some stirring among normally quiescent
bodies of quaker wourcu. Jlilllfte 10 of Lancashire and Cheshire
WOll1en's quarterly Meeting, dated IS April IS()S, squarely articu­
l.ircd this concern:
We realize .md deeply value the privileges, which wc h.ivc always under­
stood we possessed. of cqualitv with our brethren, in all matters affecting
th.: wcll-bcuu; of the Society; but we lec! that it would be ;111 advantage
not only to Women Friends but to the Socicty at large, that this essential
principle of our constitution should be more fully recognized and acted
upon.
We hope that the Women's Yearly Meeting will give the whole subject
its serious consideration, and will sec its way to take steps by which clear
understanding may come ... as regards the position that we actually hold,
11('-23 .
4-~ J. w. R. to a friend, SJ June I .'lYJ. E".\dY.\ a/ld Addrcsscs, pp. XXll1-XXIV.
-l-I, .'!l1llrllcsrcr C(l/!f{orel/(c, 57-H. 4-~ Ibid. ()(j-7 1.
_l~_ _
 22(1 Britisli Qllah'rislll 1860-1920 II (liI/CII ill the Socict» of Friends. 1860-19 1.J 227

hoth in our Yearly Meeting ,1IJd in the other Meetin!-," t(lr th« trallS,Kting
ot the alf11rs of the Church.!"
When this ronrcrn \Vas presented to Yearly Meeting, it sl'l'med, ;H
IlJng last, to have attracted sonic mcauiugfiil attention. StilL the
Quaker ide;1 of deliberate speed ensured that, subsequent to the
appointment of" Con nnitrcc to Comider the Position ofWoll1en
Friends, :1 full year would pass before the Mcns and WOll1eu's
Yearly Meetings jointly gatherl'li to diSCUSS 'Womcn Friends in
Meetings for Church A~lirs'.
In its report t o the joint Yearly Meeting of [r:<j(', the Committee
on women's conecrus made thrc« signific1I1t rccon nucnd.irions: J)
t h.ir in the future women Friends be considered ,I constituent part
of ;111 Meetiugs for Discipline; 2) that ;111 Monrhlv and Quarterly
Meetings should henceforth determine how much of their business
should he cOl1Sidered jointly bv women and men; 3) that Meetillg
tor Sutt(Tillgs shouJd h.iv« Ic'male mcmbcrs.:" The disl'llssioll
which followed \V,IS IlJng .md occasiouallv tense, It heg;1I1 WIth
Joseph Bcv.n: Br.uthwaitc', rcconuncndution that disr ussiou of
such 'serious .md flr-reachiug proposals' be delayed until the
f()lIowiug Yv.irlv Meeting. Braithwaite's position was supported
by Ch.itlcs Thompson, whose independent religious principles h.id
ninde him ;1 theoiogicli ;lL1vers,lIy ofJ B. B. f(Jr three dcradcs: in
this matter, they were, for o ncc , in full ;lgrcel11ent. On the other
hand, one of J. B. Braithwaite's staunchest allies, Yearly Meeting
Clerk Caleb R. Kemp, ruled th.it there should be a full and free
discussion of the question.
Women Friends who supported the propos.ils represented them
;IS a matte-r of simple justice. Margarcr Tanner led ott-by noting the
more blunt. She asked if m.rlc members could summon-up suffi­
cient imagination to put rhr msclvcs in the place of those who
wondered why it should be necessary to conduct a discussion
about whether women ought to be a constituent part of their
own religious Society. Such an insight, she noted, might inspire
'outtlcient courage to support a change which would make future
,11SCUSSIOll of the question unncccssary.?"
Mul« rcvpou«: was divided. The wcighty b.mkc-r/jusrori.ru
Thomas Hodgkill was equivocal, but j oshua R.ownrrcc. a
((Jrluer MP, believed that the Men's Meeting 'would be doing
themselves ;1 great injustice by continuing to act ;IS if they ... alone
lonstituted the Society of Friends'. When one Friend expressed his
tC"lr rh.ir 'busv mcn ' would he overborne by cl';lsekssly chartering
women. J. Fyfe Stewart replied that the lI1cetll1g in which they
ru rrct rt lv sat had amply del11ollstr,lted 'tint it would not be the
womcu who xvould ()L"CUP\' the greater part of the time in
'rK',lking'.' I
In the end, Yearly Meeting approved a .\fillllre confirming 'that
ill ruturc women Friends be recognized as torm iru; a cOl1Stituent
part of our Meetings tor Church ,ltt:lirs, eLJu,dly with their brctl r­
rcn , and that they should bl' eligibk for appointment as urcmbrrs
of the Meeting tor SuttcTings."e
(;eorge Fox had been dead for over two centuries by the time
([ ~()S) .oustirutioual equality of the sexes was cvt.ibl ishcd hv British
lricudv. ,; One nnght suppose tint this long-sought victory. conl­
ing In near-coujulletloll with a revival of agit~ltion f(Jr fl'nLlk
suth;lgl', \\"ould h,I\'C pl.ucd Friends in the torcfronr of the Ldw.rrd­
ian Womcll's Movement. The Britist: lriciu', writing ill support ofa
I r:<j7 bill to extend the parliamentary franchise to fl']]);l!cS, sccnled

'deep measure of concern' Illany women felt over their exclusion
of the meaningful business of the Socictv. 'except at the will of the
men's meeting'. John Bright's daughter, Helen Bright Clark, was
-I'" "1111/111'.1, LIllCl"llIrl' .ind (:hL':-.!llrl' W01l1L'1l ....
to .mticipatc such ,1 development: 'it would be pcruliarlv fItting
th.ir the yc.u- when ... xvou icn Friends really constitute a part of
Yc.rrlv Meeting, [and] when our Queell cOlnplctes the sixtieth
vcar of her reign-should he memorable for the political
(~ll.lrrcrly tV'1l'l'tIII g. .\hl/l/{(, Ill,
J S April

till' il1lprc...... ]()]]

[S(j:'i. 20-21, LIIlL".l ...hlrl' j{'l'cord (HTll-l', (L1z..()j. Prl';-'(OI1. Thl'\l' .\!rIlIl!C.,' giYl'
dut the \\,OJlll'll\ (~l1;lrtlTly MI...'I,.'tlllg (IIId~y ,Il"(n! ,h J ~ort nt- t't'lluk JllXlli,lry I1Jl1dlJll~ rill' m·. ,JUI1l" "!lei ·rr. el) M.I' IS,)(,..\i s .
IS')!'. I!,I
dirllndt Jlld t111rC\\';JrdIJl~ u..,L th,lf dlL' IIlL'Il'.., Il1L'l'rillg did !lor h,lYl' rhe riIl1l' or IIHlTnt tP 'I rL'\polldinj; to R. HlIlg'>t\.)J) fu'\, Hi". ) Jl1IlL' IS()(l. I(q_.
StC\\"Jrt \\,h
'.;U'it.llll.
Ibid" 1(}5. Al\o ;-,Cl' (;odkl'. ·l.ollL1\)J) \\"lrh- Ml'd11lg', [.20 .\IldJOIlC'>, Litter J>cri(Jds, I,
4') Hl'~ sJlllle ,6..ho \L'L' I~nltl)ll &.- Alll'll, '()rlll'e'.; ,llld SeryiCl''.;', IN-I() \yho
IN<){), I()O-I
[ 1-.
poillt our thJt thL' Rl'p,)n ,ll~o tnnk J \tq-' h.lck\\',lrd III rl'colllllll'ndlllg dut the -'lillllt!'" l)f f\10'.;r Alllericlll Yl'.lrly Ml'Ctlllg\ Iud C\LlhlJ'.;)wd l'LJll,dlty t~)r WOllll'1l in IIlcl'rillgs for
rhe Men\ Ycarly Ml'l'tlJlg- \hOllJd rL'lll,llll thl' '\)rlll'1cll record' OfYl'.lrly MeL'ting di'iCll~\jl)Il\ ~i["ClphJJl' ,llld rcprC'>l'IlLlti\'c llll'etill~-'> (the All)lTll,lll l'qll1\',liL'nt of Mceting (or Surl't'rillg")
,wd pr()l'l'l'dill~r;.,.
hy I S77. Sec BJCOIl, '\X/Ollll'n \ Yl_'.Irly I\1L'L'tillg'. I ()2.
 22S British Qll<Ikeri5111 1860-1920 J ('O/liCII ill tile Societv Il{ Friends, 1/,60- 1 91./ 22<)

cmanr ipatiou ... [and] ... the dawning of hope for the women of
our land.·'-/ Surely the Society of Friends. which, as the Free Press
noted, always prided itself on the flct that its members, 'exercise
more influence-social. political. moral and religious-th:lll any
other religious body' ." could significantly influence the process of
political and social advanrr-nu-nr for 13ritish women if it threw its
moral weight solidly behind the woman sutil'age movement.
Historians of the womcns movement certainly present Quaker
women as among the leaders ill this long, bitter struggle. 50
Since the I SSos Quaker women had been instrumental in the
establishment of women's Liberal societies in cities like York,
Darlington. and Bristol; indeed. the Wllmen's LibLTal FedLTation
was founded in Mrs Theodore Fry's home in London. Such groups
formed a strong lobby for women's rights within the Liberal Party.57
For all these hopeful signs. British Quakerism, as represented by
its ofhcial prououuccincnts and active press. said little and did less
in furthLTing the cause of fl.:nulc sutil'.lge. A careful rl\HJing of the
text of the Yearly Meeting Epist!« of ISl)l) provides a hint of the
Society's subsequent rcnccnrc, as :1 Society, regarding the woman
"f pror;ressi\'e opinion 011 nearly every contemporary question, 011
thl' cunous t:let 'that our journals have never in any way advocated
thl' ;'>;Lll1til1g of Parliamel1t~lry Franchise to vvomcn. 011 the COI1­
tr,lr\~, she said, they seemed to have joil1cd i n the conspiracy of
','Ol1tCillptuo u, silence on the question ... adopted by both the
.
p()litlol p,Jrtlcs.1I1 d t Itc press.' "~I
Enllh' M.1I111ers had good reason to believe that such protests
\\cn' not making much imprcssion on eithcr the Quaker press or
on rhc gel1er.ll attitude of male Friends. Three vcars later she was
,1;.>;all1 compl.lil1ing to the British Frictu! that bcvoud some expres­
,i'OI1 llf disapproval of the militant tactics or tlic Women's Sllcial
.111d political Union (WSPU), she could recall '110 .illusion to the
suhj,'et lof WOl1lcn's Sutii'agel in your paper sincc my letter of
l'l;.>;iltL'Cl1 Illol1ths ago'. Other correspondents tt)lIowcd in expres­
'lJ~g thl'lr dis~lppointl1lent that the Society of Friends had evinced
'hut lukew.lrll1 interest, if not cold indiftcrcucc ' to the question of
6c'lll.de .suttI-:lge t,,)
Wen' such cntrr« overstating their Cl,C? Women's right, did take
,I h.uk se.lt to issues like pcacc and war, 'new liberal' social reform,

question: 'Membership in the royal priesthood IS not conditioned or tl'l11pn.1l1Cc. hut sutfr:lge .uid the movement for female cm.m­
hy the distinction of age or sex. Especi:lllv. though by 110 means CllutlOll were not totally igl10rcd loy the QlL1ker prcss. When the
exclusively, in the ministries of horne litl' arc Christian women worn.n: qucsriou W~lS discussed. it \vas ncarlv always presented with
called to fulfill their spiritual priesthood, and we desire earnestly to .111 .i-xun rcd sense of broad agrcel1lent with allY measure that would
urszc
t'"l
them not to be neo-Icetfiil
t"l
of this holvi C1llIl1""'~
t'"l brillr; justice and equality to women rather th:1I1 ill support of
Perhaps the intent of such an admonishment W'lS to quiet the sp"citic mC.lSUITS that might accelerate tcmalc emancipation. At
concerns of nervous Friends who believed that even deliberate om' POl11t Edward Grubb, editor of the British Friend, apparently
speed might carry (~uakLTisln too rapidly into the twentieth cen­ sl'd-, illr; to explain his paper's meagre covcrauc of women '.s issues,
tury. In any case, the discrq'ancy between ideal and action with noted rhat he could not understand how anyonc brought up II1 the
regard to women was not lost upon sutfraglsts Fricnds like Emily (~u.lker tradition of sexual equality could he other than an avid
Manners, who in 1l)0() co uuurutrd to the British Friend, a journal SUpporter of womcns suffrage."

~,I l Ic-nricrr.r BnJ\\/l, 'J('lp I()!" \x"\)JlH'll', lsl, ,\1,\y 1~t)7, 1[(1-17, AflTr \\-Oll1CI1 were
.ldlllittni t o i\lcl'tillg t~}r SlIttlTlIlg", -vnnurc-nt f()r dh{)Jl'"lllll~ the "'Cjl,ILltl' \XlOllll'll\ Yearly
i\1cl'tillg grcw until Jt" llL-llli..,c ill II)(J/. /\]"0 .,cc Lioltou ,lJld Allcll, '( )tfllT., .uid Services', ) HI-. I )",,'l' !()O(l . .nS. Enulv M,llllH:r" (1,<.()7-1()J-t) w.i-, ,1 l 'oor Ll\V (;U,trdUIl,.l county
.20-2! llLl~htr.lr,: ,1l1d rhe .iuthur of.l bJogLlphy nt" J.li-obcth ] ],lllfll/l. I:irsr (..2I1'I~'a I [~)IIJ1111 Prell"lll"
(~llored III Ihl' l;rioul, II) (-k-rober /(jo(J, 70S--lj Ir(l(l,l-/(l-l) (I ()J1l1011 II)J-t). I~or ,In l':\Cl'lIcllt fl'<'l'/lt di:--cu'<;1011 of the SOL/cry\:' cliritHl'i

,I, SlT (')I/vc B,lllk", F,l(cS (:(1'"1'/111111_,'/11_ ,4 ,')'flld)' l?(I:('/III1/L""/1I d."· <1 :';t1(i,d
"]t)t'CIlICIIf ()xtord rl'{]( l'lh'l' [}n rill' llurtl'r \,If\\,OlllCll'..; right.." "'l'l' P;1l1l l.UlJl1, . "You I tl\T L()~t Your ()ppor­
[()Sl), .2J-(>; R.lc ~rr.)("hl'Y. rl/(, Ci/IISC .--1 ,,,'!/()rl Hi:;rl)!")! t!1 rllt' rr~l/llCIl'S
.\/(lf'('llu'l1f in Crl'ar Illlll[\ ,. Brltl\h (~L1.lkcr'\ ,,\ till' !'vl1liLll1t P1Ll"c ot' the \'(Jolllcn'...: SutfLlgC (~,llllp,l1g]], /()O(l­

nririlill (Loudo!l j()/,,,,\, rcpnllt). -t-t: R()~L":' Fulf()rd. I ;l{cs.!llr lIllI/It'll (L,)llduI1 Ilj57), 37-~ . .12, II)J-+', (JS.2 (ll)()7), JO-.;Jl
()-+: ,1IldJcttL'ry \Vl'l'KS, Sex, 1\lJirils dlill SNin)' "lYre R(~ld,lfi(1Ill?(Snll,71r!)} Sfll(/, ly(}(l, 2nd edn, ])J,.I11ly l()CJI). ":::00 ~llld I)l'('. l()IO, 333, To illu..,tr.ltt' till' point, it nuy be noted t!l;l{
(London I')K I l. 11,1. hl'r~\'Cl'll !1)O() ,1llL1 1\)1-+, Friend..- (!//drra/y 1:"X(/1I1111C( publi.,l1Cd only t\Vd .lrtidc) on tl'llull'
- Scc f;u!t()rd. r ~lf('s l~],. rf (1/1/1'11. (Jl--t \Ur1r,H.!l',

~:-; (Juoted trOll1 Chri"-l/',lll L{Jc, l:'l/~lt E ·lholly,hr (L,)lldoll [lj23), IO(l. (,I 'HJ.", \1.1rdl 1\)0-, -').

_1------~

 23 0 British QuakerislII 1800-1920
To do him credit, Crubb probably believed in the self-evident
truth of his assumpt ion , but, in t~lCt, his remarks brought a chorus
of disapproval from Friends who resolutely denied any connection
between spiritual cqualitv and political or social privileges and
expressed deep resentment at the implication that adherence to
Quakerism made tl'ndc sutfi-age ,1 quasi-religious ISSUl' to which
true Friends should givc automatic assent. One opponcnt of votes
tt)r women invoked the sacred Il1l'l1lory otj ohn 13right, citing that
Quaker paragon \ determined resistance to extending the franchise
to the 'weaker sex' (this, as one respondent noted, despite the t~lct
that 13right\ tl'l1lale relatives had long been a11l0llg the most
assertive .md outspoken supporters of the women's rights 11l0VC­
I1lUlt).'>2 Another t.rmous Fril'nd, Caroline Stephen, late-Victorian
Qunk crisn r's most illustrious recruit as well ,1S the tcmalc Friend
best known to the 13ritish rcadinj; public, was also a standard-hc.m-r
of the Quaker ;ll1ti-sutTl-;lgist fldion, Stephen \ QU<1/.:cr Stmug/to/ds
(I ~C)o) Iud praised thc IW"U1Ony that apparcntly .irosc troiu the
condition of spiritual equality Jmong Friends, noting: "The
.iduiission of the ministry of women seC11lS naturally to flo\\' from
the disuse of all but spontaneous spiritual nuu ist rat ions. For such
nunistr.rtions cxpcril'ncc shows women to be ottcn cinincutlv
qualified. ,('3 But as rcg,mls the "ditluulr as well as scriou , question
of votes lor women, Stcphcn, as a ttllll1ding mcruhcr of the
National Womcu \ Anti-SutTI"agc Society, claill1cd to spc.ik tor
the 'silent multitude of won]cn' who opposl'd 'any redistribution
;lS would ;lssign to wOl1lcn all inLTcased sll;lrc in thc outer work of
the world', ;Iway trol1l the 'ccntLd work' in the hOl1lc('+
Qlukn kl1linists gcncrally grcctcd Carolinc Stcphen \ anti­
sutTragc statCll1cnts with cmbarrasscd silence until she died in
I <)0<), Still, whcn thc WSPU bcgan to cl1lploy illLTeaslllg]y l1lilltant
(;l'()r~JIl,l K lIlg Ll'\\ 1" (,[I) 0ppnlll'llt ~)f klll.lk 'utll-,lgL') (( I It!'. (kt. I (JOl) . .2:-1 )--(1 Al"o
\l'l' Ihld .. /\pnl j\)07. IOIr-11) ,llld Sqn. ]ljO<) . .2(,u. J\))l1l I~right\ d,lllg!Jrcr' Il'1L'1l Pnl,,,tIILlll
Bnght CLlrk (U';-t- 0 - ] <)27J ,llid lH'r d,luglHLT, F.. dllT Bnght C]()[hil'r (1~!3-[\)J)) .llld
M,lq.~.Irl·t ('Llrk C;ilktt (J>;7;-\-[()(12) \\LTl' ,1l110Jlg rill' "rrongl,,,t (~L1.lkl'r ,l,h()l'.ltl'" uftl'I1LI1,'
p,lriJJllll'IH,lfy..,uJir,lgl' l-{oltoll & /\Ikll. '( )tl'iCl'''' ,ll1d ~Cr\'ll'C"", prn\'llk rn'l'.lilllg l'\.'llllpk"
uf thl' dlJilTClh"l'''' tll't\\"lT]] John Brlg-hr ,llld hi.., tl'lll,dl' rl'1.ltl\'l':-'. ..,l'l' C"'Ill'l-J.dJ~ PrhcIlLI
MeLlITIl IBright" '''tcrl tll Hd,'\\ CLrk, , N()\ \"'3,13,
I,; (:,lfoillh' F. ~tl'phl'll, c'!Ud!..:cr .,",'fll1}},::I/(lId.1 (Londoll ) ,>,;()u. J I'd cd I :-I() I). I I I
('4 lhld .. )(l. III: S(l'plll'll t\) LYLI T. \X/OJklll"'. I J.lII. Iljo7. L;'Ll \X/olkill" P.lPlT". T"ll1p
MSS 50-l. LSF; -\X/0111l']] III Politll'''', ,\"/IIt'ft't'11T11 (,('lIllIly. I XI (I-d.. I(J071, 227-yJ: ',r\
Rljullhkr', ibid,. (Apnl Il)O-::'L )()J--l: ,llld 'Till' H,l'prl'''l'11UnOIl l)t- \X."(Jllll'Il'. IbId .. I XI\
II )l'L I<jOS), 101 ,>';-2-l (:.lroliI1c Stcplll'll I1l'\'lT llurflcd.
1 _
11"111eu ill tlic S,'ciety t~fFrieuds, 1860-19I.f 23 1
tactics, in clear violation of Quaker peace principles, lukewarm
Fricuds had another excuse to re mai u on the fcncc, while oppon­
cuts of women's rights were wont to associate all attempts to secure
tcmalc sutTrage with extremist violence. In deed, one letter by a
'male Fricuci made the point that violent conduct by sutTragettcs
\ns 'sufficiently symptomatic of a wide-spread lack of mental
b;llancc [among females] to form ;1 serious factor in the question' ,I"~
The best responses to snrh indictments were argumcuts fllr
simple justice based on Christian principles, As one female corrcs­
pondcnt to Bvitisli Frielld noted: 'Parent Law, Marriage Law, the
Poor Law arc all unjust to women", ,I,llld] a disgrace to our
Christian protcxviou.' This situation would continue, she said,
until wou rcu had a direct voice in making and d1anging the laws
of the l.md. Lucy MorL111d had made the same point a tCw months
c.ulicr: 'the consciousness of the terri hie hardships in the lot of so
n];1I1Y wou rcn , just because they arc woiucu. has taken hold of the
womcu of this gl'l1C'Lltion and rhcv must tIght for political equality
which will be the first step to social equality.'?"
The growth of women's sutTr;lgc as a national issue did occasion
a more tt)rlTful public advoclcy of worucn's rights hy SOIllC Il'IlUle
Quakers. A Conference of WOl1lCIl Friends on SutTragc held
inuncdiatclv prior to Yc.rrly Meeting ill 1<)10 cuiph.ivizcd the
'spiritual power of the SutTr;lgl' Movcmcnt . ,lasJ part of the
grcat struggle tor justice and lihcrty ill which Friends have taken
so largc ;] sharc', In thc aftcrIllath of this gathcring, scveral dozcn
tl'l11ak Fricnds ;Jppc;lkd to Mccting tl)r SutTlTings tt)r
,111 opportullit\"" t()r the \\'Olllt'll llIell1btTs of our Society to express
their ullited S\']]lp~lthy WIth the CllISe of \\'DIlIl']]'S sultr;lge-;l calISe
\\'hlt'h \\T cDllSidn, , ,\'ira] tD the \\Tll beillg Df our coulltry, ,~lIld we
shmdd hkc to show ill Sl)lnt' ull1ted \\',Iy Dlir syll1p;lthv &: illtnc'st, , ' ad­
ding our tcstll1lOllY to thosc whD ;lre \\'(1]'killg ill a constitlltlolla] way for
the C1l1Se \\'e !LIVC SD 1I11ICh at heart.'"
HI-. Sq)t. IljOl). 2(10
(,I, i\1.llklJllc (;ruhb to H/~ 1\1.1\ (1)10. 12() Jlltl lUl'Y F t\!1.orLlIld to Ihid., No\·. I ()O(). J l-l.
Edith 1\1, \Xldh,lIll" ,llld F\-,lllglilll' BJrLlt( (0 IH--, fvb;. IljIO. 130 .tlld 'Appc,d Fn)lll
\Xi"(nlll'll Fricnd" t{)f (:ol1\ldcLltil)(1 of \X/Ollll'll\ SLLtfr.llJ;L' ,It Y. M., J () I0'. Box 2/ I (l, LSF.
I [11" Jppe,ll \\".1" "lgncd hy AllllJ ]\,1_ Pnl'"mull <1.., Cl:Tk <md "l'\"'(lty-tlvl' otl1l'1" (~ll,d\.l'l"
\\Ollll'll

 23 2 British Qlldkerisl/1 t 860-1920 [['Oll/CII ill the Socict}' oiFricnds, 186o-19l.J 233
The question was duly considered during Yearly Mccting 111 I ()1O, between the scxcs.:" But the League's existence did little to change
but despite the f1Lt that two W0111cn, Mary jane C;odlec and existing views amollg anti-suffragist Friends, most notably Joseph
l'vlargarct Irwin, sat as assistant Clerks (Codlcc had been the first A. Pease. President of the Board of Education ill the Liberal
female assistant Clerk the previous year), the time was judgcd not Govcnuucnt. who refused even to meet with a delegation from
ripe tor an official Quaker cndorscn u-nt of women 's sutfrage. Our 72
the League.
older women expressed the view that the Socicty, as a body, could In the meantime. a statistical study publish cd in The Friend
h.udlv endorse social movements to which manv members were (I l) [2) revealed that while women Friends still substantially out­
conscicntiouslv opposcd.:" Feminist rcsponsc to t his argulllcnt 11l1111bl'l'l'l1111ell and m.rdc- up two-thirds ofattendees .it all meetings
stressed the flct that some fuudamcntal ljUCStiOIlS, s!a\Try, tor tor business, their authority within the Socictv was actually dimin­
example, 'went deeper ... into the ethical .ind rcligious tounda­ ish1l1g, WOlllcn constituted a majority in nearly evl'l'y type of
tions of lifl" and that while Fricnds h.id OIlCC been divided Oil meeting, but all seventeen Quarterly Meetillg Clerks as well as
slavery, events had illustrated thcy ought not to have been. In the seventy-four of l'ighty Mouthlv Mceting Clerks were males. Since
s,lInc way, the tuturc would demonstrate that spiritual ideals like the author of this article interpreted his figures :1S showing th.it
the 'divine worth of cvcrv luunan soul ... wcrc intcudcd to find fcm.ilc-, LIcked the cnpacity f()r leadership, it scarcely seemed :l
cxprcsxion in laws and institutions' if Friends \\TrC to fulfill their harbingcr fL)r substantial improvement in either women's role
obligation to work f()r the c-tablisluncnt of the Kingdom of Cod within the Socictv or the Socicty's endorsement of tcrnalc
on earth."? sufil'age. 3
During the ne-xt Ycarlv ML'cting the matter ofa gcncralcndorsc­ Still, in Il) 13, following .m impassioned address by Philip BeI­
rucnt for fL'male sutfragc was again brought to the fore and, agaill, it ImY', who had .ilso written 'An appeal to the "Quaker Con­
f:liled because Fricnds remained 'much divided on the subject sciencc"',7~ Yearly Meeting .rt long LIst addressed the question of'
which m.mv deemed a 'politir.il qucxtio n. The Y('arly Mcct1l1g fenule ,urtrage through :1 passage in the !:JJist/c which spoke at
of I () I I did, however. :Ipprovc a n cxv edition of the' Christian length on the blessings which the tull recognition of women's
Discipline or the Soo'cty or
liicuds winch torccfully re-emphasized digmty and abilities had brought to Quakerism, Friends WLTC called
the principle of spiritual cqu.ihrv in the 'fi'L'cdmll of the (;()S~1L'1' upou 'to bc.ir our share in bringing this movcn u-ut to its lull
where there was 'neither jew nor (;rcck ... bond or frcl' ... male fiuitiou, .uid ... S:lving it from the serious dangers with which it
or fenuk', cOllcluding, in apparent abscllcc of miml, that ',111 arc is threatened'. but Yearly Meeting still avoided :1I1Y corporate
OIlC 1111111 ill ChristJcsus'.7() tcstimony as to the justicc ofthc surtragist,' Cluse and allY cndorsc­
OllL' rcspol1.Sc to LOlldon Ycarly Mcl'tillg's cOlltillucd IndirtL'r­ mCllt of cqual right, of citizeuship.7'
ClllT to thc causc of fL'nule sutfi'agc W:IS thc f()nllation in I() I I of
thc Fricuds' Coullcil (FriL'nds' Lcaguc afier I () I 2) for Womcu's
Surtragc. COllcurrently, C;ulil'1ma Crosficld, \\ho !atcr became I (London !()! I), JHi_iilll.

~l'l''fF 1kl'l'111blT J () 1.2, S70' A pn[ltlt'Llll ,llld 111I1]l' 0\\ ]Kr III I hlrh,llll, Jo"eph Alhcrt
prcsident of thc Lcaguc, published a pamphlet' Fricllds (I//(/ thc -.:.

])l',\"L' (I S()()---l () ...U). thl' ~r.llJd"'()Jl of JthL'ph Pl·.I'~C. the tir,t (~L1J b..T J'v1 P, \V.1" cll'dl'd to
II ;'11/('1/ 's A1ol'cl/1clI( which, while decrying the \;Jnguagc and thc P,lrh,lllll'lll in I Sl)2: Ill' "l'r\"l'd hricHy c1'" LlhcLd ChIef Whip (I <) [0). ,l" Prc:-.idcllt of rill' BOJrli
actiollS of the militants, l'ited thc llced to give public delllol1.StLI­ l)( J::dul.Jtioll Jild ,1" Pu"mu..,tlT (;cllcrJl ([()[(l). In 11)17 [IC \\'J" crc,ltl'd B,IfOIl (;,Iinford of

J k.ldh.llll. For ]ll.., politll'e11 t'JrL'lT, "Cl' (:Jl1ll'rUIl I LIZld111r\t ,llld (:hn<itml' \X.i'(lodLl1H.! (cd .... ),
tlon to Quakeris1l1 's longstanding l'l)]n1l1itment to l'LJu:I1ity
_-1 Llf,crd! (Jnl111/(1t, - }(l/IrII<ll., t1llil fJ.ljJcrS 1:1), _-1, 1+,1.,(, !"ir.,( Llrd (;i1il!/;Jn/, Il)(18-/l)/O (Londo1l
'VV4),
, I LHoid f\l l n h . 'WOllll'll 111 thl ( hurl h', 11 22 M.lrch I I) I 2. (7s>-H I, Al'iO ;"l'{' IUI1ll.
Alllll' W Rll'hard~OIl to BL 2.'\ No\". 1')10, 7,)J. . "You H.l\·L' Lu..,r Ylnlr ()pponllnity" '. --\.3
(H) nF, })ec. ]t)IO, JJj, ),111. 1<)11, ~I).llld JlIne I()lI. 17--\.-). - ~ Set' PhIlip lkllo\y,.. >111 olllf1(,dl rl l rl/i' 'VII,l~'n (.'O/ls(it'I/t"{,) t!( l:/I.I.?/dlld. (W 1l:-'>ll 1 II) 13) .1[1\.1
BLJlllll' I()I I, I(l!- J;ld Chnstiill! J>r(l(//(~(" P,lrt II of (Jlri_,rid/i (!(r!lc St)(/crr
-;"(l /)/_'0'/,/1111' l)
n. 30 M,l\' 'V'J. 35S

t:ritll"s iLolldul1 IVI2). 33-4 ["ll,pll.lm .lddl'dj n,.. (, Junl' 1'J13. 375-('

1 L
 234 Bnusl: QII<1kt'l"islII 1860-1920
The inability of the Society of Fricnd«. as a body, to provide
support tor a movement whosl' objeetl\TS seemed closely to par­
allcl its own historical principles \\'as a rcflcrtion of the gencLd
unwillingness in British <ocrctv to bridge the gap between trad­
itional prcjudircs and the obvious rcqmrcmcnt-, of the modern
world, L3ut Friends would seem to have had fewer and less <aris­
t:lCtory CX(USCS fi.lr rcfusing to ad in ,ldvanclllg the movement tor
tCnI:lle cmaurip.irion. On the whole. Quaker worncu wcr« bette»
educated, more comfortably siru.ucd, more \\'idely read and more
experienced in assullling rcspousibility th.m almost .mv other com­
p.ir.rhl« group of tl.'lllales in British lite. Still. even the \\'l'lghtlest
Friends WlTC ch:lllenged wlicn thcv used the historical ,umhng of
Quaker wm ncn :h ;1Il ;lrgunIL'1lt for 'lduncing the posiriou of
\\'OIllCIl in general. Early in 1<)1-+ JOllIl I Icnrv lLlrlow, Clerk
deslgnatc of the next Yc.ulv Meeting, rcquL'<;[ed th.u MeCtlIlg tor
Sutkrings appoint ;1 Couunirrc« tl)]' cornmunicnrmp, to other
Christian groups the "rcm.uk.ibl« n-sult-.' of Fricnds having
.ucordcd 'lilwny of expression and .ut i o n to worncu. B,lrlOW\'
rL'Lj ucst was \'igoroush- dl;dlengL'li by Hcnrv Marriage W,1Ilis
(IK)-+-II).tI), a member of Mel'ting tor SuttlTings. What Barlow
h.rd dOI1L', W:lllis ;Isscned, \\',IS to comnnt the SOl'iety willv-nillv to
t hc- WOI11en \, movcnu-nr .ind ,111 its works and ;111 its pOlllpS <implv
bl'C1USC: '( )ur ludv ti'lends were upon their tlTt and assurcd us that
thc Time was Ripc allLi th;lt Wider Horizons than thosc of this
country aW;litcd the Light ... ' In t:lCr, Wallis ;lsslTted, English­
WOlnen, cvcn (2luker WOIllCI], \YLTC not \Tt cqu:lI to the den lands
of public Ii tL' , 'Thcy do I10t ullLic'rstand how to play thl' gallle, ho\\
to give way, or whcn to stop,' Apparelltly, Wallis's argulllcllts WL'rL'
succcssful, at ]Clst to the cxtL'IH of prescrving the SI,lllls qlll), At thc
!.tst prc-war YC;lrly Meeting, .\ Iil/lIle 1 (1-1 achllonished Fnends tlut it
would bc 'wise to leave politil'al action .. ,to the Judglllellt ;l1ld
cons(ien(e of individuals'7('
Liberal Friends who supported wOlllen" sutti'age Illay have
derived SOllIe (O!1ltl)]'t in aSSUlllilw
t"'
that the Societv's unwillilwucss
~ i
to stand tirlllly tllr political and social justice to \VOlllen reAened
the residual strength of naugeliCll tllrces within the Society and
that oppositiou to wOI11en's suHi'age represeuted ;l1lothn of their
II M. W,JliJ, '<l n" I J h'h. I 'J I~, I q - I .\, Ll,\/,
B,lrlU\\', 13 AUg(h( II)S(}, Lo]]dol)
II ()IIICII in tlic Socict» d Friends, /860-/9/-1 23)
re,lctiou;lry, last-ditch st.uids. Certainly, nuny liberal Quakers
could be round ill the sutti'agc ranks, working to bolster 'this
grc;It movement for the Freedom of WOlllanhood' 77 In I I) I 2, tor
cx.u uplc , a bouk co-authored by Willialll Charles Braithwaite and
Henry T. Hodgkin <po kc of an elllerging 'Messianic hope':
'WO!1l,ln'S place ill the universe in equal fellowship with men.
Surely we c.m stand tllr that. WL' h.ivc expressed that in our
Church lik long before it carne as a grcat hope to the mass of the
pcop lr. '7' And schoohuastlT/social worker (;erald K. Hibbert
(I K72-j <))7) delivered ,1 '\\'eighty and solemn address' to the
fricllds LC,lgUC tllr WOlllcn's Sutti-agc ill October 1<)13, prolloUll­
Cillg hi, vision of ,1 conununiry of men .uui women working
rogether ill 'full ,1I1d free cqu.iliry' .7<)
Thus, slln'i\'illg cvidencc Illight SCCIll to establish a connection
between liberalism ill tlicologv and support tlJr female cmancip.r­
tion. But thingsurc not llcccssarily ,IS thcv SCCIll. Take the example
ofJollil Willi:1l11 Craham, Prillcipal of' I)altoll Hall of the Uuivcr­
<itv of' M,lIlchcster ;ll1d OIlC of' the most prolitic lihcral Quaker
publicists of his d.iv, Cr;I!lam's public pronouncements on the
\\'Ollll'Il's question stressl,d the way ill which Quakerism had
been i n n ncacur.tblv enriched by 'usillg the gifts of women' to
prov idc: their rcligious Society with ',I t;ullily completl'IlL'SS' that
other churches bckcd,"() Still, opinion- about thc politicll allLi
illtellectual l';lpacitics of' WOlllcn in CralLlIlI's privatc pa~ll.'rs
\\ould 'lTlll ro placc him in at IClst a collatcral lille of'desccllt
ti'olll Vinoriall misogynists, III Illid- j <) 13 (;raham wrotc to his SOil
Rich;mi ,It Balliol College, (htlmi, adyisillg him ,lg~lillst joinillg
thc local \\'(llllCIl sutti'agl' society, I)cspitc thl' 'llatur;d chivalry of
youth', ,;lid thc cIder C;rahalll, 'at thy agc it is Ilot possible to have a
vcry \\·ise judglllcllt 011 WOlllell's Sutt'i-'lge'. Thl' questioll W;IS
'vL''\l'd' ro be sure, but ,1I110Ilg nLlllY WO!1lcn, evell (2uakcr
\\'lllIlCn, 'it is \'cry brgely a flshiollablc t:ld.,.' 'Ullflll'tullately.'
Crah,llll COlltII1lIL'd, 'what thcy brgdy wallt is to get out of thc
nawral duties of WOlllell .. , . Illdecd, narurc seelllcd to be ;1 most
"\X/nIlH:ll\ Sutfr,q2;l': !['> !)L'qll".'[ A"'pl'd'>', l~r No\" ]l)/J. "OO-.F)!,
\Iv' (. BLllt!l\Y,lltl' ,1lld I !cllry r. i lodgkill. TIl(' \/CSSllgt' 'illd .\li.l.\;\11/ (!( (!I/d/""lIL,'111
(1'llll.hkiphLi I 'J 12), .\2,
-'I "IF 7 N()\. 11)1.1. 7J{l---:
1<) I~, I S-, ,\11£1 lI{[c'nic'\\ \\ iliJ tv\. M, Juhll W", (;r.dl.illl. rIll' (<lidl (:(\/ (21/,11.:['/ (C,l111hnd~l', ]l)20), '<;3; JJJuch l)ftlll'i hook
\\"J'> \\THren bl'tllrl' Il) [-I- but It \\',\,> llot pUblJ';[ll'd until rhl' L'lld of the \\."If
 23 6 British QlIakerislII 1860-1920
serious consideration for Craham and in a section of the letter
marked 'private' he rcn nndcd his son:
Ther,' is a \Try sohd physlO]ogiul rc.ison why worurn I()r OI1C quarter of
thrir hfl' jsicJ in uum.uricd Iill' han' 110 ability ofjudg111ent required Illr
voting, , ,This is p,lrticularly, in rh« umuarricd. .uccutu.ucd toward«
middle life, 111 old agc rlnn- is <omcrimc-, ,I IITcdom Irom It, but roo
oficu the nuud lias permal1l'l1t1y sutfercd In th« phvsic11 ch,mgl', ,
Nor was this all. For noble as it might sccm to be OIl the SIde of the
fl'lIlale tr.mchisc, C;LIILIIlI concluded, then: W,IS, fl)]' Friends who
wished to .rdhcrc to their traditional pL"1Ce tcstn uo nv, still .i notlu-r
qucstiou , 'sL'eing that the b.il.nu« of opinion is cntirclv that
women will vote' lor conscriptioll .uid fllr w.ir in a large number
of uscs , , ,()lIl' «.umot trust the working \\'Olncn , , , ,S I
Of cou rsc. no British electors, let alolle working \VOnICIl, were
given the opportunity to render a dccisiou about w.ir and con­
scription, When dccisions by the grl"lt and powrrrul caused thc«:
thillgs to come to pass, most 13ritish wou u-n Illllowed their men
fllik ill sUppOrtillg what they believed to be the national cause aud
hy contributing '0
signillclIltly to that C.lIlSC that the p.lrliallll'lIury
fr.mchisc could no longer be v,;ithhcld trorn them From a QIl.1ker
perspective, most WOlnL'1l were cqu.illv sound ill their rejection of
rhr W:1r and the compulsory military service that war cvcntunllv
brought, Like the women who replaced men in shop, f;JCrory, and
EJnll,tL\ld, Quaker worncu , most of them veterans of the struggle
tor equal rights, took their places Oil the trout line of their Society's
clash with the W.lrrior State, gaining ill times of violence .uid war
all equality IlL'\'l'r aflllrded them in the IOllg ye:lrs of PL"ICC and
tr.mqu ilirv.
MI J.W. (;r.dUlll to RlclLlrd (;r.I1l.l111, 2 JUlll' 11) [J. JWC;p, JRL ,'1 .urnl.rr POlllt h.id been
made ()()7 hy l.cwi: Thnlllp\Oll n( BridgcwJtL'l who told thl' Hrirl.l[/ Friel/d t1l.1t '1I1((lllll'­
ill I
t.lx pJYl'r\ do llot tl'cl III d hurry" to l'Xtl'lli.i the ti',lIlchl\l' morl' \\·ldl'iy. JIld pl'rhJp~ he (,died
lIll to pJy t()f \\',11".. . \'tltl'd by ,l.Jlllgu prukurl.lt', H[-~ AprIl (1)°7. 110,
I F'cr.;;;oIl.. .
L
__
7
N ever to Fight with Carnal Weapons
THE PEACE TESTIMONY, ORIGINS AND LEGACIES
George Fox might have obtained ;111 early release from Derby gaol,
where he spent most of 16)0, if he had .rcccptcd a proffered
c:lpuincy in the Parli.uncnt.rrv Army, but, a, he recorded ill his
jOllm,l!: 'I told them I lived in the virtue of that lift: .uu! power th.it
took away the occasion of all wars, .md [ knew trorn whence all
\\',lrS did rise. from the lust aL'L'ordillg to JIllIL'S's doctrine, , , I told
them I W:lS COllle IIltO the covcu.mt of pe;lce which was before
wars .md stnll's \\TIT." According to long,tallding tradition, Fox's
personal testimony W;lS not publicly expressed as ;1 basic tenet of
Quaker belief until january I ()() I when. SOOIl after the Restoration
otCharlcs II .md in the wake of.1 rising by Fifth Monarchy Men in
which some Quakers were alkgnily implicated, :l group of prom­
inent Fr icuds, including Fox, issued a J)tc!arati,)II./i'Olll (he Harmless
and 111110'('//( [Yeo!'!e called Quakers,
All bloodv priuciplcs .uid pr.ur nc-. wc . , . utterly dcnv, WIth ;111 outward
w.irs .md stnll' .md fightings WIth outw.ird \VL'.lfH)I1S, , , this is our tcsri­
!l1ony to thl' whole world, , . the spirit of Chrisr. which leads us into all
Truth, wrll ncvrr move us to fight and war agail1St anv IJI;1I1 with outw.ird
J11/nldl tl/" (;('\11:1.;1' I"lx, edited by .Inlill L Ni.-k.rll-, (London [lJ:;2 rep. II)"()). (l.'\. lox<
hlhlIc.J1 n:tl'rl'llCe 1:-- JIllH.><; -t: J -.i. AI"tl . . L't' (,'Ilrisri'lll Prl/(!/"/, (Loudon Ilj2:;), I J 1--2. Whlk he
\\,t<; \\T][iJl~ T//(· 1~(I.;II1I1'IIl!.' IJ' (!lIdJ.:crislIl, \;;'/. (' Hr.urhw.ur« told Rutu. JOlle" th.ir he
ht ..lie\"l,d F".\· . . re"poll"l' ,H [krby ·gi\"c.... r]1L' grolllld of the (211,lklT te:--tillllHl\' ,lg;llIl . . t
\V,]f', W. C B. tn R. M. j., 1).111. II)OS. Bo\ (', I~MJI'. Recelltlv, ,'(~\],JkLT ,Irchl\,,\t h"s
dl.lt ,tlthol1gh, III rctro:'lpect. Ccorge Fox \yi . . hed lt to .~l'l'lll a:'l if thi . . "UtCIlll'IH \Va~
,h .... lTted
rhL' rl"11 origin ot- Fnl'lldo,;' pe,tec te"rill]()!ly, other eVldelhT POillts up hi" ,llllhl\:,llL'llce ,Ibotlt
pJCltl"Jll throughour the 1(1.'\0..... Sec P.. . o"elllJry Moore, 'EV<t11utillg rl1L' Evidl'lKe: thl'
Rcluhi1it\ of Source.. . of Int()n1utlon t()f (~ll.lklTi"1l1 lkf()rl' 1('(10', 1-"(2, 27/X
()l"[nher !1)()J), 3(1.'\-{) ,1\1<;(1 "l'l' lllgle. Fir.lf ..·IJllill/,\! [-'riel/ds. 121-2. [72-3 & 11)2-() who
Ilutt':, ttl,tt prior [() I (l(, I, Fox ILld defL'nded m,1gi . . tr,[tc'" u . . e of fOrl'l' Jgain . . t evil alld ungodly
 23i\ British Qllakerislil 1860- 192 0 ""'('1'1'1' to P(rz/lt with Carna! I h,tlj!olls 23LJ
\\TapOIlS, ncirhcr (pr the kmgdo'lJ of ChnsL nor tor the klIlgdOlm of tim This view has been disputed by several students of early Quaker­
world."
ISIll. In his study of The Qlltlker Peace Tcstitnouv (1000) Peter Brock
faults Hill for t;liling to take into account the spiritual basis of early
That seemed dear enough. Certainly, this De<"idrdtioll was Quakerism. Brock maintains that pacifism was always integral to
prominently cited bv Quaker pacitlsts during rhe Firsr World Quaker ism, even if all early Friends were not pacifists." Richard L.
War as the Ioundation of their SocIL'rv's traditiou.i l rclllsal to lIght Grnves supports Brork hut takes a souu-whar different slant,
with carnal WClpOI1S. Bur the citation W:1S xomcvvh.ir l11isleadillg. dellyll1g the pL';lCe testimony was part of a stLltegy of withdr.iwal
Modern schol.irship has revealed that the docun n-nr 1110st fiT­ ami insisting, quite the contrary, that it reflected ;111 overall Quaker
qucutlv cited by L'arly txvcnticth-ronturv p.r.ifist Fncnds h.id polIcv of 'col1StrucrivL' ellg;lgL'lllellt' with temporal pOVVLT on
hccu culled out of obscuritv during the rcvi v.i] of hi-toric.il behalfofsocial and political justice," Quaker scholar Hugh Barbour
rcscarch inspired hy the Quaker Renaissance and appeared as an .igrccv, ~lrguing that these declarations. taken together, were all
offIcial Quaker dorumcnt only in the I <) I I edition of Frielllk il1tL'gral componL'nt of the 'Lamb's War': 'ThL' Quakers turning
Ciuistian ])iso))lille. Furthermore. the [)ecld/dti'lll of I (,() I 'broke inwards, whirh lilr Marxists Ins seL'llled a turning back lrom
no new ground' since ir h.id been preceded 11\' ximil.n- declarations. revolution. was artuallv irs intensification.' I )oughs Gwynn tiuds
including onL' signed hv M;lrgarL't Fl'!l and others in june I ()(,o. 1 I ·!IlI's rcprcscnration of 'early shirts in the Quaker 1l10VL'lI1L'nt as .I
Many btl' t\\,'ntieth-CL'ntllry historians of <'2u;lkerisll1, paritixm sudden transformation into sectarian quietism irritating, espL'cially
and thL' English Civil War support the vicvv. espoused hv Christo­ in light of Hill's 'ovcr-iutcrprctation of the Quaker urovcrucnr's
phcr Hill. th.it the pCKC rc<tu nonv becal11" centLII to Friends' [cloSL'I rcl.monvhip with the Armv."
wit nc « only altl'r the Rl'storation .ind then Llrgeh' 'JS ,I stLlL1gL'l11 Quaker pacitisl1I has been given still .utothcr twist by Meredith
ti)r surviv.rl ' ti,llowing rlic dcll';lt of the (;ood <. )ld Cause to which Weedle who views the carlv pe;lcL' trxtu uonv as all 'intensely
II10St Friends h.id remained devoted throughout the lnterregnulll personal' witness based UpOIl scriptural injunrtious and more con­
and tilr which S0111e WLTc .ipparcntlv willlllg to t.ik« up .u'rux. ccrm-d about the souls of those who L'ngagL'd ill violence than
about any injury or injustice inflicted UPO~l its victil1ls. Thc idea
K
Accordinglv, these schobrs sec the J)ed'1I"'lfioli of I ()() I not as the
clarificatiou of a fund.uncnt.il Qu,lker doctrine hut as a public th.it the c.ulv Quaker xvitncs» lor pL'ace was based on biblical
renunciation of political objectlvL's and ,I pledge to wirhdLI\v
Iroin worldly concerns. I !U()---;", 121 ,Illd '(~ll,lkl,]"I"lll ,llld \OC]l't~ - III J, I·" J\ld;'Tgor ,111d B. Rl"I~' (c-dv.}. J<.,lif'(ld
Ihll.,<!io/llli rIll' 1:1I~/I...:I1 Ul'I'(I!rllllll! ():d()fd j1)~-t-), Maruu C:l'Jdd III 111" lI11prl'\'-!\"l' "tudy 01'1'11('
( )n,I!III.' {JI II ~/I I'r('I't'lI/I,lll (hJonl J ljl)()). I )u--.~ I ukl'" till' (lP\ltlDIl t h.u \\Inle [Ill' J )('(1111"1111011
rhl" I )l'd,ILdllll] \\'.1" '']~1Jl'd b~ ro'\. Rlclurd Iluhlwrtll()rJll'. Fr.llll"!\ I II)~\\·ill. ,lllL! did m.rrk ,1 \\ nli.ir.rw»] tr om polJn"Ii mvolvcnic-nt , llLlllY proniu x-n r l'elrly rril'Jld" \\'Crl'
()t111T\, btl( not hy 111JiiLlllt\ )iL.' Ld\\',lrd Burrough ,md [",I,ll' 1\'lllll~r()1l lhH" h\ ,\Llq.";:,lrd F"il Ill\)\""ll [l) (OIl\lIlll· rill' \\'odd uf the nghcllC'i" of tll,'lr P..ll di,,[ "j\iOll.
III ,IllY uther (~ll,lklT \\'()11L111. rill' l"(lillpil'tl' ( l ' \ [ h rL'pnlltl'd III Nld"dk./11/llnil toll (rCl11",<!( Brut'k, ()U'/kl'1" p(',/(( Fl'_..:tIIl/1)/I)'. ()-.2J Brt)ck t'Dlllnll'" th,lt r1ll're \\',1" 'tl'lhIOIl' bel\\',·l']]
J"ll"\. ~1)S--t-tJ-t- ,lilt! pJnLdl~ ,ltl'd III "llllll'\\h,1[ ,11t"krl'Ill 1(11"111 III (JIII'flelli J)lltl]1II11(. P,ll"! II (~Ll.Ikl'r"· dl''iirl' t()r.1Il"(J(l· <1lld Pl':ll'l' prinCiple" hut 'itL11l1l'lil'\'l''. duc rhl' Pl\llT tl,,,tlllwny \\',l'i
(1 1) 1 1 i" [,1()---+O" Akl "l'C Pcrl'!" Bruck. (}IIII}.:('}" g,.I((" "J;"'lll/tllly /(1(l(l-lljI.j IYnrk /1)1)01. -'--t--­ tll!ll1.lIlll'IH,tl to l''\rly (~lI,lkl'fl"lll.
,llJ.1' It)LI,"l' (;, All',\.,llldl'L· rilL' (;ro\\th ,It-clll' Pl·,h'l' 'll,,,tIIllOJ)\' qt'cil,' \Ol'll't\ ot"Fril'nd,,'. (;rL'.l\'l"'. 'SlJ,!tcLTl'd f\.Pl'lLHioll'i?' . .2J7-51). jJoI,i"illl. (;rcan''i l'ollcludl'\ til,lt B.lrry Itl'a!'
(-'-lid. ,'dll. I tllidoll ll.))(l). ,i-), I" \\ rung III Implying til,lt [hl' pe,h'l' rntilllony \\',h '\'inll]]h- ttlrL·,'d' 011 till' (~u,lkl'r'i: LIChl'f,
H,il"hL'lld,l C. Slott, FIl/dffi1ll! dud 1:".\"J)(I)CII«(' (LolJdon [l)(l-+). C>--tJ ,llld ItJch,lrd L ill' ",1;:". iC ·l'lllergl'd chrough till' (l,)[l\'lltioll" r1Llr dl\'llll' powl'r, not tl'mpoL1J \\"l\lPOll\.
(;rl"l\'c". 'SILlttl'rcd E-"":pl'l"t,ltl\lll"? (;l'()r~l' i'lL\., till' (;Ll,lkcr", ,llld till' Itl'"CorJClllll SLltl'. cil,lllgn che (OUr"l' ofhLlIlLlll ,ltflir'" (.~50).
I ()(lO-[(JS.,,·, .-lllJ/tII/. .2-+/.:: (\UllllllLT [t)l)..'.}. -'--t-t) , AI"'l "l'l' Hugh B,lrhoLlr. 'Tlh' '·L,Il11b·" \.\,'Jr" ltuhol1r, ·Pl'ell·l' Tc"tllllOllY', [)o :llld J)OUgl.h (;\v;:ll, FIle (.'OI'Clldlll C;1'I/(/"tJt'd: (!lIdkCrS
,!lId till' ()ngill" ot' till' (~lukl'r Pl'.ICl' 'll'"rllllOIly' 111 Fhc flt/(!ti".: I JUlJ11//,(' ill J-!J'-I,ln(ll! dl/d r!F(' [(i.'t' t~r Cilpir,lfl.":/ll (W,lllil1gt~)rd, P:1. I()()") . .21S ,lIld 2..'...'. II
J){'/~":I)('(ljl)1'. nlacd by fLuYl'Y })yd, (It)J-UIHO [tN(l) [-+-t--."'''I wilo Illltc-.., (1)0) (h,lI Ed\\elrd . . T\-'1''fl'dltlJ B,11d\\·ill Wl'edk, 'C:on~l·iellL·l' or COlllprOllli'ie: 1'hl' !'vh\llling ()f thl' Pe,lCl'
BUlTuugil. thl' l',lrl~' Fril'lld Illll"t ofccil cirl'd <1" ,llllbi",lkll[ COIlClTlllllg pl',ICl' pnlllipl,'''. h..ld Tl'..;[iIllOIlY 1Il E.lrly Nl'\\" England'. C)-'J, ~ 1/2 \LI1I J ()l)2) , 1-+-). S2-4. III l"()J1tLi:,ttu Wel,dte,
',lIlJIOLllll"l'lr ,1 pl'.ll'l' Cntllll1lllY C\'ell bd(lrL' j\1.1r~,lrC[ Fl'l/"" '!)l'lLILICioll· Lelrry Ingk belJt.'\·C>; Ch:lt Fo'\ Jild hi" t'(J1HCIllpoLlri('~ \\'l're deeply JH:1C]1Cd to the ide':l of
I 11i11, II ~)rld "J"IIr1/l'd ('V..:ide J)11/1'11 Jnd 'II/(, J:'.Yjlt'l'It'II[(' d J){",!t\u.' .\Jllh11/ til'" :"';1 11111(-',111­ ,',nthly JLJ."nce ;1\; \\"c11 a" eccnu] qh"Hion, at 1eJ'iCpnor to t11l' RL'SCur,ltioll. Sel' '(;l'orge fox,
(CIIII'(1/"dr;l'.\ \N,,\\ York [1)<"l-t-). Clup. 5 ,llld H..lIT\' Rl'.IY. (Jlldkn.1 lilld rllt' J:"/I.'(/,_,II I(CI'tJ/II/l1111. MiJlnurull' . .--llbioll ..'.-t-/2 (SLlllltlll'r J <)t)2), 2(1(-7S.

1 _

 Z4° British QuakerislIl 1860-1920
authority rather than any mystical or ethical cOllcept has also been
endorsed by some contemporary Quaker historians and the olo­
gi:lllS.') Such views fly in the flCl' of the usual justification for
parifism when it became a central feature of Quaker belief before
and during the First World War, i.c., the sacredness of human
Iifl'. I"
Whatever the precise origins of their testimony, most Friends
lived out their devotion to non-violence and non-resistance during
the two and a half centuries between the Restoration and the Crear
War. The courageous but p.ixvivc respollSe of early Quakers to the
brutal enforcement of the Quaker and Convelltic!e Act, cost them
dc.rrly in lives, limbs, and fortunes. I ! The moral tortitud« to surfer
stripes and imprisonments without rctali.itiou arose, IlO doubt,
froiu the belief, so :Irtkssly expressed by ex-soldier William I kws­
bury. 'that the Kingdom of Christ was within, .ind the enemies was
within, .uid W~IS spiritual and my weapons ,lgaillst them must be
-piritu.il, the power of Cod. Then I could no longer tIght with :1
carnal Wl\IPOll ~Igainst a carnal m.ui." 12
For :lll of this, the peace testimony maintained an inconspicuous
place in the lc-x irnn of csscnti.il Quaker tenets. Robert Ibrcby's
/lp[l/(~~y (167(»), the classic exposition of seventeenth-century
QU:lkl'r ide.is and behds, deals only briefly with issues of pence
and war (,dthough what Barclay docs S:ly SCUllS decisive). 11 London
~')L'l' c"pl'cLlllY.lulm Punvltou 'The Pv.nc- rl'''tlllhllly, .ui EthiC I )\.TI\Td fl"()ll1 ,I .r-...1CL1­
')
phY"ll" vi.t uu F\PlTIl']llT', (!l<'F (l,>';--l). 231.2-3 (Suuum-r [<)S,'-.;), 5:-'-7'" .md l.v.i I. PilHhll'"
'rhe Rootv of the i'CllT Tc-.. .,tlillony 111 tln- MC""Jgl' {lfthl' Bible'. 1-"(2, :!J'/2 (April !l)l)O),
.-\.f-()3 .
.mil 11;11" (Llllldon ! 1)~,1), \\ hn notc-,
SL'C l,,,pcCl,dly M,lrg:1H't l-.. I brvr, (..}lIoik'/'/Y in n'llil'
th.ir tlu- pCJl"l' tc-vtmnmv 'grl'\\" 11ll'\'iul1Iy out orthe l'lllllTptll111 otthc inward llgln' \\]llch
led Frlcnd,"I to rh« convntiou rhat w.u. .md 'itrifc '\\"l'IT courr.irv to rh« Spirit ot'Chn"lt', .rr ,
J 1,.-J--1,'I. :'122.
II l-or thc gCllCr-1i b'llkgrolJlld ve-e }-toll,dd Hutton. '/1/t' j<('.\flll.1II(J/I j{15\.. '. -lN17 (()sfl)rd
I (j:-;X), 210-- 1) 0 , jJ(/.i.IIIIJ. "lln- be-t "I rudv of thc pcr-c.ution of c.irlv Fncud, J"I CrJig l Ioric,
the (;o'ipcl?' RO(l!.: (~( Di.';lijJfIlIC UnL cdn.. Loudon [X3--t-). (:ead.cl, Or(i!lIls (~r Il'ilr Prcl'Cllfiol/,
()lIdk,cr.\ <lJld fbf' 1:'I(i.!!lsh l.J..gill .";)J~·{/'III (PhilJdclphLi 1l)'\'S).
,1~"IlTt<.; rh.u 'p.uitisn: ,I' .I puhli.lv dccLrcd pO"lUOIl w.« virtu.ulv . . yIlDI1ylllOll'i with Quaker­
1.2 Willi.un l Jcvvcburv, f J ~J/k,i (Lolld,m 1(IXl)) , .:-1 -'i. Cf. \\"ith {riclld,- II/ld II'lll": .--1 ,\'t'1/'
,\'rall'lJ/cu{(?(lhc ()lId/..:Cf H1Slfl'o/l (!.ondl)J1 I (j2(J) , (): 'It i"l llO ,1ccidl'1lt th,lt thi'i !lO\\' hi"lturically
ClllIOU~ pl',llT tL'''ItiIllOllY C,lllle tu hC:\I1 iJlhlTcllt ,1Ild lIldi"l~olubk p,ut oftht' (~lukt'r \\"1Y of
htl'. It !leVlT \va."I "adoptl·d". It \va'i lurdly dl~cll"l~ed.,. Llkc cverything L']..,c th,lt \\'J..,
fund,Hlll'JIU] in primitJvl' QU;lklTislll, thl" tC~tillllH1Y 'iL'l'med tl) the fir'it Friclld~ to bl' J
"fevcbtiOIl" to them.'
11 Sl'l' HClrday ~~ AjJo!oXY ill '\[lldc(JI c/I}!,Ii:dl, cdited by DC,ll1 Frelliay (Newberg, ()regon
IYlJl), 3YI, .-J- 2 5'- 3S, (~l1akl'r supporters ut' the FJr~t \X/odd W,lr, whIlc making nlUch of
Barclay'..; app;lTclltly cursory tre<ltIllent of the pt"lCe testl11lon)', choose to 19l1l)re 13archy\
IJL1\\'lTt'id ,Idmonitions Jg;}1I1~t violencc: 'it i" il11po.. . siblc to n'col1l'ile war and rCVCll~C with
;'\'ClJer 10 F(~lzt Il'illz Carnal Weapons 241
Yearly Meeting made no specific pronouncement on the peace
testimony until 1730. When the witness for peace was finally
included among the 'Queries' directed by Yearly Meeting to
each Monthly Meeting as a means of discovering the 'state of the
Church', it was, for some time, attached to the prohibition against
the payment of tithes. q Still, as early as 16<)3 the Yearly Meeting
Epistle had splTitlcally and strongly condemned the arming of
Quaker-owned vessels, although some Friends apparently did not
adhere to this prohibition. I -; Furthcnuorc, throughout the eight­
ccnth century the consistent rcfusa! by Quakers to perform service
in the militia was punished by distraint of property or by imprison­
mcnt, generally brief if the accused had insufficient property to pay
the tin«. 1('
The crisis of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars caused
considerable ambivalence among Friends. For while the E:J!isllc of
1 S04 admonished Quakers to remain consistent in fulfilling their
'uwful' responsibility 'to stand t(lrth to the nation as advocates of
inviolable peace', the Epist!« for the following year demonstrated
only 'pale enthusiasm' for the peace testimony, advising Friends
not to discuss 'the calamitous subject of war' but to pray that God
would 'breathe the spirit of reconciliation into the hearts of His
erring and contending creatures'. Still, before the war ended Lon­
don Yearly Meeting (I ~ 12) had dispatched an Address to the Prince
Regent condemning the conflict, :\11 act Martin Ccadcl calls a 'rare
Clni-ti.u. PLl(tlCC' or 'W,lf 1"1 .ib-olurclv lI11l.lwtid tl)r tho«: wl]{) vvould he di . . cipk.. . of
Chri"lt'. Scc Ch,lptcr t).
I~ l~dl'reIlCL' to till' pC,ICl' tC"Itll1Hll1Y \\'J'i hrvr llldulkd III till' (~'("IJcrl" j~'/)j'_qlc ot-17JO: tl ns
\\',\"1 rqw,ltc-d 111 17--t-2. 17.-J--t., 17--t-(I, 17S7 .un] [7(\0. !)urJllg the w.ir« ,q_,;,\in..,t Rrvolunon.u-v
FLlJKl' and N,lpukull, the "talld,lrdizcd "EIghth Quvrv ' rc.id: 'Arc you t.uthtul m m.untain­
lng our Chri-rr.in tcstuuonv ag,ll\I"It JIl \Var, ,I~ iu.-onvrvr cnt with the pr cccprs .uul the ~pirit of
j..;m', 1(10 wlldc- Richcnda SCOtt, rfddif/IJ/l ,/1111 /:s]>('/1('I/(I', .-J-0--1 IlLlillLlilln\ thelt It \\·,1.. Ollly III
the l'.lrly Ilinetl'l'llth cClltury, \\"!til thc gn)\vth l)( !llllll~llHUricln idl',d~, dut Fricllds, ill
gellcral, ,1doptL'd thc- Vlc\\" tlut the LIkillg of hUlllJn lite by .lll)'Olll'. t~)r <lilY rca..,OIl, was
,11\\ ,1YS \\TOJl~.
j ~ 13.lCUIl, 'WOIllCll \, Y carly Mccting', 151 rl'Vl"JI'i thelt in 1])2 SlIS,lllllJ Morris of Bucks
County' P,1. criticized Engh"h Fril'llds nut ollly for thelf 11ll1ll0<.kst U~l' of tolncco cHId
Jkohl)! but also for 'their justitll'atioll of dl't~'ll..,ive \\'ar'.
III Brock, Q1I<1kt'r [\'(1(1.' Tcstimoll}', 33-4(J pClssif/l. III 'Till' llistory of the Pc-acc Tl'stilllony',
in n/( Peace Ti'still""'}' of ,lie S,'{]("y of
hiellds (London [I ~20J), Margan·t Hirst '"ys that
Fric-Ilds \\'ithollt propcrty for di..,traint were not unprj"oned ulltil after 17S6.
 2,.j.2 British QlldkcrislIl 186o-19.2l1 ,"('II('/' [0 Fight with Carna! VVCilPOI/S 243

crystalliz.uion of their peact' testimony into criticism of au actual hke lO'l'ph Sturge in the affrirs of the Peace Society Illay have
, I
vyar , lIlflu'el1ced London Yearly Mectillg's decision in [~41 to issue its
At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the British Quakn William nr-t r1L'~lCctill1e declaration on the 'Uulawfulncss of All W,lrs and
Allen (1770-1 ~4-3) was iustruun-ntal in the establishment of the hghtlllgs Under the (;osrll']'. But whilr lllallY Quakers were will­
London Peace Society and, in his llleetings with the Russian Tsar Ing to gin' tlu-ir 1ll01ll'y to the Peacc Society, few g,IVC much of
Alcx.mdrr L revived, to 110 great die'ct, the Quaker tradition of their rime." I By the late [~4-os the thrust of the PClCL' Society's
speaking truth to power. I.' Another Friend who achieved SOl11e ,Icciv'itil" h,ld shifted trom an implicit pacitlslll which condemnni
prominence tor peace advorarv during this same period was a til w.rr row.ud vdut Martin Ccadcl Ius tcru u-d liberal 'pacificisr'
young linen-draper, jO!Llthan 1)ymond (I 7l)()-[ ~2~), whose ess~IYs IntLTIlJtIOn~llisnl or working to prevent the alw.ivs deplorable
on the incompatibility of w.ir and Christianity were WIdely rl'sult, of vv.ir but .idmittuu; Its ucrcvsity ill sonIc c xt rcu nt.ics.
influential ,1Il1Ong (~uakers .irui other seekers atl:er pe~lce during Ihi, LItter vicvv \\~IS much illflucnced by R.ich,mi Cobden .md
the nineteenth ccnturv. I') I )ymond\ p~lcitist argulllents wrrc hi' (~u,lker ally John 13right, whose vision ot Friend, pl'ace tce;ti­
broadly. Christi.m rather th.in distinctly, Ou.ikcr
, but loundcd on 111011\ \\'~I" ~IS noted below, alway, idlosYlllTatic..'.'
QU~lker tr.uluions ami practices, A crntr.il thesis of Ihmond\ U udcr Cobden 's lc.rdcrvhip. the British PCICl' ~ILJvocatl's took the
,lrgument W,lS that the New Tcvt.uncuts 'dispensation of Christ' k.\llln organizing ~I ,erICS ofinnrnarion.rl Pcacc COI1t!:rcsses Iwgill­
had replaced the 'dispensation of Moses' rl'\T~ded in the more [nng .ir Ihu,sl'ls [II September I :\.j.:\, where (~u;Iker, m.rdc up a
bloody-minded passages of the Old Test!ment. 13ecame he died II1,l)orit\, of the British dekg~ltion, and cuh ni nntinu in London in
voung, I hillond's llL'dging on hibliClI literalism was never dfect­ I x ~ I, But thc hope, LIISl'li by \\I1,]t nl£' rnClld confIdently termed ,l
ivclv ch~llknged, even as the Society of Fril'nds was hl'ing dr.iw» '1ll0Ll] rcvoluriou" in th« scarch tlll' iutt-rn.rt ion.tl pe,llT.'3 were

closer to the l'v',lIlgdicll m.uustrvam. SubsClJuently, jonathan d,l,hnJ by the growth of an ~Iggrl'ssivc Russophobia ultuu.rn-Iy
1)ymond W,IS much honoured tor h'l'ping the Quaker peace ,'Oll'Ullllllated with the outbreak of the Crinu-.m War. (~u,\kers
b.nmrr flying during ~l period when peace was seldom a burning 111.1\ VVTII h.ivc swelled with pride at thl' u nsvio n ofjosl'ph Sturgc,

issue, hut his essl'ntially rnnon.ilisr .ippro.uh ixsrill tound wanting
by some Friends,.'«
Wilham Allen's Pe,lcl' Society, WIth the nlajority of it, member­
ship .md the bulk of its mo mt.rrv support con'ing from Fril'mls,
rcmaiucd activc through the I ~4-os, holding public Illeetings and
publishing .inti-war tr.ict-. TIll' leading role of vVl'ightv QU~lkers
1-:- (.'In/SIll/II J)(l((rJI/t', /)rlld/((', dlld J )I.,(//llil/C ([ S() I
' '\11/. ]()(). AJ"\l \l'l' M,lrg.1JTt L IlJr\t, 'llllliLitlOil', ()
\00 Jnd JO\]lll.\ R()\\'JJtrl'l', :';'\)(1111,"'('1"1'/((': Irs P/lll (' ill
\:-, hlr lkt,nled di..,,'u""J()1l ()f rlll' londpJl 1\\lll' ~(KIl'i\ ~l'l' (:l',l,kl, ()n\.?ill," I!( It;1/
I lcnrv Pl';lSC, .md Rob.-rt Ch.rrlton to present ~I ple~1 tor pcace
I,rl'pared by Mel'ting fllr Sut1lTings to the Tsar, but this vrnturc
[,mught little credit .md n n nh hostility toward presumptuous
l~uakLT', 'too flllld of kccping CllIllP~lIIY with the grl'at.'.'[
Still. tor .ill thr hostility and discomfiture e11t!:cm!c-rnl by the
t:llled (~u~lker PC~llT mission, jollIl Bright upheld till' (~uaker idclI
I [0 ,lIld (:l',llkl, (Jril.;ill' II! f I 'dl" fln'I'CI/­
through his politicIlly cour~lt!:l'OUS stami ~lgaillSt thc bloody ~][}d
thl' Pl'clCC Tl'''tl11l01l~', /-\2/:", i\.1,l\ j()l''''. tlltlk struggle in thl' Crinll'~l. 2\ Bright basl'd hi, opposition to thl'
I t' Sill iC[y (l/ /:r!Clld, (1.(1l1dOll I () l,~ 1, 5(l-7
")l'l' (,:l'.llkl, ( )n.~ill., (?( I 1",lI' / J"('I't'lIf/r 1/l. 222--1- J 3 /).1.1"1111

/)fCl11'IIII(l/l, .2Cl-1- tf ,llld Pctl'r Brt)lK, /'f('('dI111l h\l/ll If;w \'llll,'C((dri,1II /)<1(!!lSlIJ, 1,\'1i--1,)1i­ i t1l- -Ill JI],lh"h t1f'p,ll"itl(I"11l' .lllll.l dl"l'th"ll)]] ot"( :ohdcll ,IlH,1 Bright\, ,1l1l1lTl'IlCl' to It.

('Iorunto I(P)I), 2o-_L~ Jl]]d, J)---l---l- (\. 3-1-S-"\~

1<) I )YlllPIld\ 1ll,ljor \\ (lrK-, \\'l'l"l' .-bl /II,/Iliry JI/ft) ,Ill' .1((t1rdll}/(C (l( 11',11 1/'1111 'hc !)rtlliljJ/(,' (!!
1I, ~l'l'l I S~(), 17,'

(JlriSI/(IIIII)' (lX23 rq)nlltl'd Ne\\' York [()-J) JIl<J 1:'.\'\'<1)'-' (11/ rhe flflll(ijl/t'.' l~( .\/or,lflf)'. I 'or.tll ,lll',)llilt ot'dlh "l'l' StcphCl1 ITll'k, 'Thl' (~ll.lk.cr I )l'pLluti()ll to Ru""i,1:
llllldcllL
(I S.2\)). 1,IIHLln"--f-=chnury IS)"-1',J/·"!/S~2/.2 (J\)()t)) Fn,'k CLlhoLlIl'd ,)11 (~lLlKcr OpPO\itJ()1l to the
-'II (:f. Brock, (}III1/"'I'r /)('t/((' "!t'_'tlllll1/l)', 257-(q \\"110 c1L1LlltlT1Zl'\ [)Ylllolld ,1'i '.1 "l'lll11U] ( r1!1h'.lll \X/,Ir ill.l \lTll'" of,lrtl"k" 111)1-"//S, "Cl' ).2/,~ ([(Ji0), 5,,/3 (I ()7-1-) ,llld ~.1/-+ (ll)7.~)·
iI1Hl1l'llCl' Oil tht.' Pl\ICl' llW\"Cllll'llt' "'Jib .l ..,olllc\\,h,H l1t)"tik l'\',lhutitll1 hy T, V,ll} PJ]111L'L Ihe lluotl' J\ tl'nl11 ,1 kttl'r (Jt«~ohdl'll to Stllrge, clted hy CCJlkl. ()r(l!.II'-" ll( II <If /lr l'l 'l' lI f! (l /l ,
Jr" 'Quaker ['L"ICl' WitllL'" Thl' lllblical,l11d [INOrIL"l RL'L'(". (JI<1: 2,;/S (Sul1Il1Ier Il)XS), ,,1.2, Al"o "\..'l' BnKk, (2I1<1/.:ef flt'(hC "!t',"1I11t11l}', 2 (17- lJ ,
4 K-S1 Pal\llcr belil'\"l''l th3t I hlll0lld\ \\'ork 'IJck~ tl1l' (weLlll pcr<;pccri\T of J tru\\ for Bright'... <..kullnClJ(]Oll u( the (()]lflICf, "l'C Crq!;g, 'John lJrigllt', ~-Jo: Kl'ith
"y'itL'llLltil thillkL'r. ,1lld I11I:-.rl'!Hl''il'I1f<; (~lJ.lkt'r PCJCl' tt'Stl11llll1Y b~' not JlkllO\\kdg-lI1g !Zohhil1\, ./tl/lll Hn,~JII (l.olldon ] (J"7 t) ) , 1.2-1---+U~ .lllLi (T, M. frC\TI:,tll, L[fl' (If)(l/11l Hr(~hr
it, bibbed (,a'I' (, I), ! ()l1dun l.l)IJ), ':-JO-.~2
244 British QllakerislII 1860-192(1 Never to hr:/1t witl: Carua! I Vcapol/S 24)

Crimean War on pragmatic and humanitarian Lither than religious
scruples. Nonetheless, he undoubtedly impressed his fellow
Quakers, one of whom noted at the Yearly Meeting of I S~() that
Friends had become more united on the peace testimony since the
war beg~1l1.2(' In the aftermath of Crimea, the war-scare Ofl~)t)-()O
and the ncar-hysteria of the Volunteer Movement that accompa­
nied it, Friends became sufficiently aroused to include a specific
proclamation in the Ccncra! f7pistlc of I ~ )t):
The Christian .md truly scnptur.rl tl'stilllOny of our Society against all w.ir
is as precH1us to us ,IS ever it was." .rll w.ir. defcllSiYc as wrll ,IS o tTl'llSi\"l',
is unlawful IlH the IlJIlowers l1f the Luub: but how is this changc to be
brought about unlr« by t.uthtulncvs ill word and dccd ... to the principl.-,
.md practi,"'s of inviolable- pCJl'l,)2~
When the QULTies addressed to 1I1L1l1thly meetings by the Yearly
Meeting WLTe revised in I K(,O, what had been the Eighth Query
was rcpl.ucd by a newly sculpted Sixth Query: 'Arc Friends faithful
in maintaining our Christi.u: testimony agail1St all war)' The ljues­
tiou seellls simplicity itself until one realizes that Yearly Meeting
spent an entire hour struggling with the matter of whether the
lluery should read' a' or '0111" Christian testimony.2's Shortly there­
after, even as the Angel of I kath beat her wings over the bloodied
h.rttlcgrounds of the American Civil War, John Bright was unable
to condemn this struggle agail1St slavery and chose the lesser of t wo
evils in praying for the victory of Mr Lincoln's Armies. If this
seemed a violation of the recently adopted standard for QuakLT
tcstimouy 'agail1St all war', Bright made no apoloh'Y' ;1I1d indrcd
,Idmitted that he could not logically support a condemnation of all
violence in a contest between good and evil. c')
John Bright cannot be accused of lacking the courage of his
convictions, but there is, at times, some difficulty in pinning down
e"actly what his convictions, or those of other Victorian Friends,
really were with regard to the extent of their peace testimony. The
.idmirably scrupulous Calch Kemp might give witness to peace
prinriplcs hy attempting to convince a soldier he met on the train
to recognize till' 'Gospel standard of love' or by refusing to share in
the profits from ccmcut sold by his firm for the building of naval
t(ll-riticatioll of Port-unouth Harbour.!" But while Quakers might
,Igrn' to expel the occasionally blatant miscreant who took up arms
or urged others to do SO,1 [ they lacked any consensus as to what
,'nnstitllted ;1 positive pcace testimony, except positively avoiding
.ittcmprs to carcfullv dctinc one. The reasons for such waffling are
understandable, if not admirahlc. Because no British C;overnment
d.rrcd to impose conscription, Victorian Friends were never t:\Ced
vvith the challenge of having to choose religious principles over the
corumands of the St,ltC or the defence of home and hearth. One
Friend, warning against a selective sort of spiritual pride as regards
the peace testimony, put the matter in perspective:
Wc live in a well-ordered State, where per,ons ;l\ld property arc ... sccurc
fi'olll the hand of violence. and in a country where thL' prL'SCllCC of ,I
Il))'cign enclllY has not been fl,lt tor rcnrurics. It is no trial of t.uth tl)l' us to
.rbsruin from the lISC of arms ... and to rctu«: to l'ngage in uulir.rrv
servlCC. It therefore bccollles lIS, at the prevent dav wh ilc \tc.ldt:lstly
supporting the Christian doctrines which w« believe to bc rIght, to spc.ik
with dctcr cucc. as never having rcallv h.id our principle put to the tcst. l e

~I, Jn~i<lh Foster. 'MCIllOLIlllLI RC"pcetlllg London Yc.irlv MCl'tll1g', I ~.'i(), 1\;1\ VI)I. S 7(l. Still, there were repeated occasions when Quakers were filled
LSF Brock, <..!I/(lk,CY H'i/({' Tcstinion», 27) believe, th.ir the 'pp]aill',ltlOll' l)f t)lukcr with 'great zeal' to work tor the cause of peace. The Franco­
IW,ICl' tl''itilllOlly during the Crituc.m Weir ,l~ wrll .r, Fm-nd-,' tl'ndcllcv [0 ,1"l)ll,ltL' \\",11
Prussian War was certainly one of these, but, as J. S. Rowntrcc
relief with w.ir rC'iI'UI1CC Iludc rh.it cuntlid ,I l.mdm.irk of Hn nch Frund-,' ~Lllld ,lgJlll,t
w.ir. .'l) For Bright 011 till' AllltTIClll \\':1[, ,CL' Robbill~,J)/II/ Bn:\?!lr, IS 5-()S .utd T rcvrlvnn , l "!/l'
C'iJrb'lldlllJO(lrillt', Pr.uticc, 'Illd J)/\(J))/illt' (r xor). 113:Johl1 S. lt.ovc utrcc , 'Ycarlv Meet­ t!/ Hn:'t.!!u, 2C)(j-3.2(1. Uright's statcmcn; Oil tlu: 11l1l1Llt10ll' of nou-resist.uicc \Va" nude with
IIlg, I~)~', MS Vol S JI'X, l.SF .md .\Ii'/lII('.'. ~ Ike. I~S~. S J.IIl. I~('O .md feb, [Uli. rd~rL'llCl' to the IlldJ,111 Murmv.
I lard-haw Ea"t Monthly MCl'ting (HEMM). For <rudrc- ot" rill' war 'L',lfl' and the Volunteer C R, K .. '[ourn.ils. II. 2,' Nov, I X,~, 2(,X .md Ill, I ~ April I U'I, I I )-IIJ, MS Vol. S
Movement, Sc c i\·1ielnl'i J. S,llL'"ollri:-., 'RiHC/!lClI j-"(lYIII' '! ht' f I:H SC,lrC oi);..'. 59-1StiO ill LII.\?/lllld ~, LSF
(New York 1'J~2) .md I.IIl f, W Hcckett. Ririe/l)('/I J--o"w ,-1 SI/ld)' or rhe Ririe ~"h/lllt"T ,I Fl1r C:'\,llllpiL', ill Feb. IS()[ JU'il'ph Nod,tl Ot"rvLllKhl'"tL'r \V,1S diso\vllcd f()fjoining the
MOI'elll1'll1 (Tunbridge Well, I~X2). VO[lIntlTf>, .\Ii'llil,','. HEMM. ,X('[-3. S-~,
2." TF, H J LInl' 1H(lO, 10-1--) and Clnisridli [)(l(frill(", flr'klid, ,11111 Di_\(J'Jl/iIlC, I (II). ~2 PJCltICU\ t() FJ-. I Nov [.\.\5<),20X-t).
 2-.1f 1 Hri rish Quakerislll 186(1-1920
noted at the time, there \Va, alway" 'great difficulty ... in kIlO\\'illg
what to do'. In this instance the Meeting for SutT('rillgs took the
lead by e,ubJi,hing the Friends' War Victims Relief Committee to
alleviate suffering ill the war zone and by issuing J 20,000 copies of
.m address on "Christianity and W;lr' to rallv the Churches ill
support of pcacc.:':' Such actions helped to keep FrIellds fl.)JT11Imt
111 public view as propagator, of ]X\ICl' principle" but ,011le
Quakers believed that their Society ought to go a step further bv
conibininj; with non-Friends and el1tering Into the public arena ill
the struggle against the 'politic.il evil' of w.ir-, being fl.Hlght 'with
the approval of popular Christial1lty'.H
Such calls tor united political action agaimt Sute-spomored .md
(:hristial1-,upported milit.uism were, tor .ill ctfcct, shouted into the
wind. In I ~~2. fl.)]" example. the Brirish Frielld lamented the igno­
minious t:lilure of tell Quaker MIl-; to support Hcnrv Rich.ird«
effort to block a .1.>3 million grant to finance the calling up of
Reserve, fl.lr the Egvptian campaign.'s This disgraceful pnfl.lr­
m.nnc was 11IItigated to some extent by John Bright\ re,iglLHion
from the Cabinet In protest of the shelling of Alcxaudri.i. Still, a,
Caleb Kemp reported in hi, diary a fl.'\\' mo nth-, later, 'fc'arful
bloodshed in the Soudan' \U' ;1 'Iiumiliating spectacle tor a
Christian country'. The t.iilun- of Friends to 1110Ullt any etTl.,etive
protest agaimt the Egyptian cllllp;lign r.iuscd the exasperated Biir­
ish Friend to question 'whether otl.uc years the society, .IS a united
body, Ins really t.ik cn .lIlY pracricdly actl\l" step ... in workim;
against war'. Y'
One Friend who had .irtcmptcd to t.ik c such a step \\';1' Pricill.i
Hannah Peck over (1~"n-I<)31) of Wisbcch in Carubriducshirc. In
I ~7<) Peck over founded the Lou! Peace Association; a non­
dellOlnin,Hlonal Christian pacifist organization tor worncu. Hv
SL'CJ. S. 1Z.~)\\·II(n.'l', 'Yc.irlv fvh'l'ting, IS7l' .uid Punvhon. gl/lr<lir ill
hl'lil'\'l''i rill' "L,t(ill~ LIp 01 'War Vic-;' \\',1" ',1 \\JtLT"hni ... 11ll] rhe dl'\'l'lopmL'llt
lkdk.ltldll (ll PL'.!L'L· \\'(lrk . Ch,ILIl'tlTI"tlL" ot-1ll0dlTll Fril'lld,,'. Al,,() '0l' l'
rile UcI(t!/(l//S Sill/el)' tJ(j."rii'IIJ, (Londo!l ISS3), [57-S.
,-1 !);lvid !)llnc,ll;, 'John \'.(/POlllLlll', ()-7 ,lIld \)'./JilLlll1 P()Ii.lrd, 'Till"
HJL, \ ( I S7 1) . ~~3-().
;~ (~lLlklT LlbLT,ll Mil" ill I S ,"I 2 \\"L'rL''/p!l1l Urj~ht, Willl,1111 hn\!cr.ll'\\·!"l f:ry. 'TilL'{hldJ"l'
Fry, Fd\\',lrd A. 1 l"l tl1,1111 , (;corgc P,dllllT../. \\..'. Pl'.I"L' Arthur Pe,I"L'.j.II11C"" ItIl]UrL1...,lHL JIld
T. n.lch,mhoI1.
,I, 13F Sept. [i"\S2, 2.p; (h"t. 1;';,"13" 2.t(l: ,11]('.1 C 1<'" K., 'J011rl1,11..., ' , \',:, A11gll"t ]S,';3. :'-;',
MS Vo!. S 7. LSI.
.'\"C1'er to Fi'(hr uith C1I"1I,l! II 'ca]JOI/S 247
the early I ~<)OS, P. H. Pcckovcr, whose brother became a Baron
(,lIld the only Lord Lieutenant in England to perform his duties in
,"i\'ilian attire), claimed to have enlisted over 15,000 members in
Britain and Europe. While Pcckovcr hcr.un« a fixture at European
l)c.H"C Congresses for decades and continued to head the LPA and
edit it, ne\\'spaper, PCr/C(' [- (;OOdll'ill, until her death in I <)3 I, the
11rg.ll1lz,ltion ,Ippe.lrs to have had little impact on either the Society
of Friends or the larger society.F
Bv the mid-r ~~os, amidst the proliferation otsm.ill but costly
unpcrial vkum ivhcs. Qu.ikcrs seemed to be in some dis.irr.ry as
reg:lrd, the extent and meaning of their witness fllr peace. III
1,'\,'\2, tor cx.uuplc. vouug j olm Wiliiaul (;raham while resident at
I<Ing,' College. C;llllbridgc. wrote to 'l lu: lriciu! criticizim; as
'untcuahlc' the idea that it was alway, <intu! fl.lr:1 Christian govertl­
mcut to el1gage ill \\'.lrbre. Two years LIter (;rah,lI11 wrote in a
,imiLlr vcin , implyim; th.it future 'Prospccts tor Peace' depended
kS' on the triumph of p;lciflst principles th.m Oil the expansion of
British intlucucc. and prcsum.iblv the liritish Empire, throughout
the globe. 'If all Europe vvcrc English: said CrahauI, 'the peace of
the world would be «xun-.' l ' ()11 the other hand, Quaker, were
promincur .1Il1OUg those already prOtl'stulg attempts to create a race
of imperial vv.irriors by iuculcat iru; school boys 'with a military
<pinr ' through the 'dangerous innovation' of introducing military
drill into London Board Schools.l'J
Did the Empire, in flet, deserve defending or \\';1, it merely the
I'LIyground of" British militarism? Ifit was of bendIt to mankind. it
xvou!d presumably need soldiers to police .md protect it, but the
recent tare of Zulm, Afgham and others seemed to bcli c imperial
benevolence." Au editorial ill the Friends QI/lmcrly L',\Ill/lillcr in
I ~~:\ expressed the 'uneasy fl.'dillg' that Fricnd«. perhaps overly
inrlucnccd by 'political complications .md p.irtv xvmpathics. were
110t a, a body doing their 'duty in relation to this ancient testimony'
(;1"1")'. JS:,-(\ \\'hl)
l)(r]ut l"lrlll,,,t
(J'I"L'flLIII J)/'1 i/1/i'I(, d The P,lpLT"" of the \X/J...,hCLIJ ll)l-,ll Pl',ICC ,''\''''Ul'Llt!O]] ,1ft: loc,ltL'd in tlIe S\V,lrtlllllufl'
('olkge PL'c1Cl' CollcdJ()ll, S\\,lrthnhHl'. P,l. Fur the origins of tlll' WI.PA "CL" PCI/I( (///(/
l)c,l(l' (~LlL',,(l{\ll' (;(l(ldJl'dl (Pc:-(;), I April I :-IS2" ~ ,111d }}', I'''l Sq1(L'[llhL'r I (J3 [, A I.. , 0 "L'C the brid'biogr.lph!c,d
'Kerch ill IJD.\I/'L. 7.1(,-S
i\ Johl1 W, Cn]1Jm, "Tht' I )hLlllt [)r{l""pcct-; uf [he- !)l'.llT P.lrty', /''C.2L, (I N~Lt-), S2-<)(I,
1(11-71.
<') !)['(;. 15J.1Il. IS,S~. liD Jild IJI'. Sc'pr. IS,S,. 21~-S,
II' In thl"" l-Ollll'XL (;r.1h,llIl\ .lrtidL', L·itl·d .lbO\·l'. 1ll,llk oblIque rCfl'lTIlCl' to \t.ltio!ury
L!Cl'..., lllcrl'ly .l\\"lItillg L'xtinnioll'. 'PC,lCC P,lrty , SJ.
 24~ British QlldkerislIl 1860-1920
against all warY In that same year, Meeting f()r Sufferings. no
doubt moved by events in the Sudan, did endeavour to reiterate
the Society's peace testimony by setting out 'a clear and outspoken
declaration against all war ... confining itself to the broad priuc iples
of the New Testament ... '-12
For xom« reform-minded Friends. however, the idea of a peace
testimony founded chiefly on scriptural injunctions was simply
another reflection of the way in which the society's evangelical
leadership had hound Quakerism into a strait-jacket of biblical
literalism. In the light of the increasing influence, at least on
enlightened Protestants, of historical and textual criticism of the
Scriptures, would-be Quaker reformers believed that attempts to
justify rejection of all wars and strife, or any other Christian
principle, solely on the touudatiou of human-tainn-d biblical
texts W;1.S perilous to the t~lith of incrcasinulv better educated
young Friends. Furthermore. both the fresh revelations of liberal
Chrivtianitv, stressing the Incarnation rather than the Atonement,
and renewed emphasis on the Inward Light. encouraged leaders of
the Quaker renewal in the belief that they had discovered the
means for restoring the vitality of their Religious Society anci
placing it at the torctronr of the morally progressive forces.
Indeed, the historian of Victorian Quakerism has noted that the
restoration ofInward Light theolos'Y struck late ninctccnth-ccnrurv
rcton ncrs 'with the power ofa new discovery'. In their search tor
the authentic histoncal roots of Quaker spirituality, kaders of the
Quaker Renaissance perceived that if that which was of God dwelt
equally in every person, then every human life must be equally
sacred. For them, the Inward Light was not only the chief means
by which God revealed Himself and His message, but also an
unimpeachable verification of their Society's historic refusal to
fight with carnal weapons. ~3
Renewal of emphasis on the Light provided progressive Friends
with a fresh and challenging modern interpretation of their peace
ideals and a higher level of rhetoric, but with regard to adding new
depth and breadth to the Quaker witness against war. no consensus
emerged despite the creation of a separate Friends Peace Commit­
tee in r S~~. Most assuredly, the Quaker press, the Meeting for
" 'Pe.icc or Wcn', FIjI:", (ISS,), 15.1-.j
" Richard Linlcbov, Clerk, Mel'lll1); tor Sutlcril1h". 'Add",,, 011 Weir', ibid.
-1-1 Ivichei, 'From SL'd to Dcnomm.m. m, 17S-(l,
,"'CFer to Fight with Carnal IVCilPOIIS 2.:j.S)
SlIfll'rings, its new Peace Committee and the Yearly Meeting itself
intermittently addressed various perceived threats to peace such as
rising military budgets, continued imperial expansion. the military
training of youth, and the perceived threat of conscription. In
I ~S(), for example, Meeting for Sufferings protested that
Whdst Lord Wolse!c\' is glorifying war and urging the establishment of
(oI1\CnptioII, and I'rokssor Scclcv is ~lrgUlt1g that war and trade have gone
ILll1d and hand, , and Lord Lvtton i\ .umouucing that nations arc not to
be' bound b\ the moral law of (;od in their rr.ms.urion-, with other
n.itionv, we need to take frl'sh courage ~1I1d tC\tlty. in the name of till'
Pnncc of ['eace, ~lga1l1\t the imquity of the present military syste1l1 and ill
t.ivour of Peace which IS the founr of rightcol1sl1L'SS and just goverJ]­
Illellt. H
Such sentiments were clear enough, but a real plan of campaign
WaS not. (~uaker groups continued to VOiLT concern about the
warlike statements or actions of successive Governments. Friends
wanted to believe that protests hy Yearly Meeting had some effect
111 restraining ;lggressive policies or that pamphlets published hy the
PL\lCe Committee really improved chances for international peace
.md rcconciliation.! L3l1t when, tor example, in the spring of I S1)4,
Meeting for Sufll'rings sponsored a resolution calling tor interna­
tional arbitration and disarmament and asked leave to present it to
the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, Lords Roscbcry and
Kimberley 'declined to receive a deputation at this period of
the session'.~(' The response of Friends to this snub at the hands
of a Liberal C;overnment was more akin to that of lambs than of
soldiers in the Lambs' War and while such insults did not stop
Friends rrom attempting to influence Government policies, the
question of how explicitly to challenge the apparently unrighteous
H L\-.\1. [SSlj, S [-2. Lord Lvtto» bn.:J IIll' tI partn nlar ur~l·t ofFru-n.i.. . . III t )ct, I XVs. tClr
cx.unplc, rh« fjrindl lriciu! (.252) prorc-rcd hi, 'polirv of domination, l'xt<.'ll"IOI1 .uid pl'tty
.onquccr ' J -, Viccrov of l ndi.i: York Quartcrlv J'v1l'cullg l.itcr (ollckIlll1Cd wh.it it PLTLTi\'l'd
t o bl' Lvrrons Tuthk'l'l trc.umcnt .md opprev-ivc r.ix.ition otu.mvc pcopk".
-l' SOlllC rcccur ';'l']wLlf'lhip reHl'lt\ the quc . . uon.iblc view th.ir the -,p or.idi« PC1CL' pn)pJ­
g,uld,1 i'i'lucd by the PL';L\..'C C01111111trt'l' W,I.. . ct1ic\ciou'i in itself proof OLl "'tn)ng C 0111 nu tmcn t
to rhe pl\lLT tc~tll110IlY .uid pcrh.ip-, L'Vl.'1l u.cful ill 1l1.1111tJLning intcrn.inon.rl pL',lCC, Scc
!YLug<uct J\ikKechnic Gln\L~r. 'Aspect- of Publi'lhill); by the PL\lCL' Conunirtec of the
(I~S,) 2~.j, RL'1igiou~ SOI.:icty of Frtendc (London Ycarlv [\,1CCtlllg), IS~X-l()O<, (2.";, J (IlJYS), 27~51.
.j.1, Xlinutc», Peace Committee, II, 20 Feb.. L) April, 2 May .ind 23 August IXY-t, LSF.
 2)0 Bnlisli (21 l<1/..:cn." II 1 1860-192" "\,"('1'('" to hs;iI t I/lilil Carnal H 'capons 25 1

practiccs of Britivh Covcrnmcnts would trouble Quakers right up .unvc ... 'S' As In aspect of such vitality. Friends could also cite
to the outbreak of the Crear WaL F Meeting fix Sufferings' decision early in I ~9R to issue 'AN
Perhaps the lack of an inuucdiau- diplomatic crisis in Europe or /\PPEAL TO THE NATION', partly ill response to the 'warlike
the Empire explains why the peace tcstiiuonv was not seriously d1;lfaeter of the procession ... to celebrate the sixtieth year of the
addressed at the Manchester Conference in November I ~()), but (~ueen's reign', a reign innuspiciouslv marred by thirty-eight wars:
the paucity of discussion on this supposcdiv fimdamcntal principle 'We cannot shut our eyes to the tad that the pomp and show by
at ,1 Con terence devoted to Friends and Modern Thought seems \\hich the nation testifies to its loyalty is chictly military ... that the
most curious. +K In any case, carlv in I ~l)(1, in the attcrrnath of the :,:rowth of imperial leeling h.is not been accompanied by a cor­
Jameson Raid, John William (;rahal11, ha\'ing apparcntlv modified J"l"ponding development of the higher sentiments of national
his earlier vision of the spread of British influence throughout the .lutv ... ,,2
globe ;IS enll;lncing prospects fix peace, expressed his concern European nation" said the 'APPEAL', were groaning 'under the
about the 'passive' nature of the Quaker stance. '( )ur Peace l'rin­ 'TlJShing burden of their military establishments'. But If the masses
ciplc-.', Crahalll said, 'arc held in these days without ,lily vcrv ,'oldd be released trorn the onerous grip of militarism while their
obvious s,lcritice Oil our part ... "Peace" cmts us only a pcrtunc­ C':0\"lTnlllents began to act on the basis of Christian principles,
tory subscription. '+') For his p,nt, CLJ!l;lIll hoped tint Friends '\\·h.lt new a~e would dawn tor the world, and how beautilil1
would begin to play not only ,I more active but .iko .1 IllOIT upon the mount.uu would be the ket of that messenger who
pructical role ill the pe,lce movement. lie suggcsted that friends ,11Ould herald the promised pe.lce'. ,;
co-operate With ('/'(T)' group ,Idvol";ltlllg peace, whether or not they for all such proclamations, the otlici.ll agl'ncies of British
were Cluisti.m« or .rhsolutc pacitists so that QU;lkers might help to (~u~lkerism consistently held back trorn .mv SLTiolJS confrontation
huild .1 peace alliance which could give ctfect in sornc :\'pecrs of with secubr pOWLT. When, tor example, .l member of the Peace
their struggle ;Igalllst w.ir. ,0 Committee proposed, III the wake of the Spnuish-Amcrican War
(;LlIl;lIn's vision of 'an energetic and self-s'lcriticing peace pol­ \ I ~l)~), that Meeting for Sultt'rlng, address President McKinley on
icy' struck ;1 responsive chord amonj; some co-religionists. who 'the unrighteousness of war', the Committee delL'rred, thinking it
,:lW it ;lS a m.untc-a.uion of the recent 'great awakening of l';lrne,t better to wait tor some 'spontaneous action' by Yearly Meeting.
thought ;llllOng us on this subject ... ;\ shifting of views and Such debys inevitably banked the fires of righteolJS indignation;
opinions. " . leading to a belief which has become vital and when Meeting tor SutILTings finally issued an 'Address to Lovers of
Pl'.lCC in Amcr ir.r. the dorumcnt was sufficiently watered-down
lltc' qllCqjpll of LI)[lllolJ Yl',lrly .~h·l'tillg\ tt n r l'O"'~ rl'LltlOll\lllp \YH!J bl~iI . . h .uu! to aVOId giving serious offence." ~
FLlrOpl'JIl roy.dry, \Ol"1.d ~'I1tl" .1I1d l'nil .ruthortt ic -, 1-' lTltl\ .illv Jd,!rT\~l'd by Un,lll Philltp\ 111
111\ Ph.I), tltcst-, 'Fru-ndlv P,\tflOtl\lll: Bri nvh (~ll.lkl'n"'!ll ,llhi rill' l mp.-ri.rl N,l(IOI). I S()o­
[1)10', (C,lll\hridge H)KI)). ,I BF lettl']'\ trom !\-1. I C~{)Okl', Mar.h IS()(), ()l) .md from Fr.uu-c-, TholllP..,Oll, ,i\pril
1:-: The onlv "pc.lkl'J"\ \\!Jl) IJHroduCl'L1 l'UIl\ldLT,lrinll ofdJl' PCllC [l·"tlllH)t1y ,1\ .m h"Ul' t\)r I Sl)(l. ()2-3 StIlI. .u ttrnc--. (~lLlkn.., exhlhitl'd .m irrit.irnu; pl'llch,UH t\)r rl'IlUIIllllg rig-lltcOll"
modcrn Fru-ud-, .it M,IIH lu-ctc-r we-re- S,lIlllll'l J. C,lpplT JI1L1 Pnvc ill.t I I. Pc'ckov c-r Pl'( kll\'l'f III th« eYl'\ of both C;od ,\nd M,lIllIllO[l. For l·~.Illlpk.. 111 Augu\t 1,-;1).,\ the Hrill.,11 rricl/rI, .2°4

\Y,I\ :1 nu-mber of thl' Pl',ll"C C"oumum-;. hut (:,lppcr (I S4C}- I I)C.q). \\"hik \'b\"lOll\ly lHll' III
the lllo,t Jdivl' ()u,lkl'r Pl\ICl' ,ldvnCltl" Ow \POkl' tll tlfi:Y-\lx pl'.ll"l' llll'l'[lll~_'> dllrillg thl' til'\[
llYl' nHmtll\ l)f J Sl)(l). \\",1', LHbl'r dll"lOll\ly, not ,hlCptl'd ,[I" .1 Illl'lllhl'r of til,,' !>I',Il"l'
C:oIllmittl'c beeltl"l' Ill' W,l, Ilut ,I 'Illl'lllber ()f till" ll)l'nil1~·. Sl'l' .\/,II/(I,c.'lcr Cll/!I;'f('//iC.
-1- S - ) o , (q ,llld .\lillllfl'S. II, Pl\lCl' C:ullllliinel', I(} 1\1.\y IS()(l, I~\f--.
--\') Johll \\'. (;L1h,1])1, 'Whcncl' (:OIlH:\ PC,ICl", B/~ Fdl. ,.sl)(l. 27--{). C;rah,llll \\,1\ r\,·t~'fn!lg
to flTl}lll'IH C~lIJkl'r prJl"tll'l' ofjDll11ng Pl"ll"1' SoclL'tic..; without tJkin~ ,lll .tC[n·c rok II) thl'lf
;l([I\"ItJe,
~') H/<~ F:l'b. Jlld April I Slj(l, 27--ij ,11)(\ 77-So, H,llf.\ Ll'ntury l'.)rhl'r JO'l'pll StlIr~l' Iud
,uggl'"tl'd coll:lhoLltivl' l'ffort\ tlH P""ll"C C\'l'n with t\lO"l' who"l' 0ppO\}(lOIl tl) \\',1r mIght bl'
Illltl,d t h.it Hlldg\{)Jl PLitt .... [u t orn.uron.t] ArhltLltlOll ,\lId Pl',ILl' Sth'Il'fY \\,1', !lot Wl'\1
~l1pportl'd hy Friend, 'lIl,l\llll1ch ,1" it dt)C, 110t ,1\\lTt the dUdTilll' Oftlll' thl'orl'rJcd t111l.I\vflll­
)ll'\' of .Ill ddl'll\l\'l' \\'-Ir\'. nll' lll'xt Y"'.lr thl' \)C.ll"C l :1)[lllllIttl"l' withdrl'\\ It', \ll~lpOn trolll ,I
f1l\1l"l' lklllon\tLltlOll hy till' !ntcrll,HlolUli:-.[ Socl.tlht WOrklT\ \dll'tl it dj,Cl,nTrcd dut body
\\()uld utE'r ,I H.l'\()!utiD]] 1~(',1 \tfl)Jlgly Sl)l'i,l1l\t dLir-letl'r' . .\/illllles, Pl'.lCl' CDllllnittl'l', II, 2
",·pt I S'II,. L"F
1.\'.\1. J,'qS, ')l}-2 ,llld IJrJuh IS'!7. IS2. 1'('(;, +/'~,July IK'n. 200 [j'ted ,til thirty­
l'l~ht anlll'd COJlHIl'h 1Il \\'hic!l Brit,till had b""i.:11 lIl\'ol\'l'd dUring VIl"tun.l\ n'I~!)L
,; LL\/, 181.)8,1)2-3
'-I .\jlliU!C.', PCJCl' COlllllll[tCe, 11,4 MJ\' IS<)K. LSF .llld L"t',\/, 181.)1.). 129. The Addrl's\ wa~

on 'lower ground' dUll Fnc/1ck See Cc,ldel. On,t!il'-' 1:(1' ;11' j)n'I't'IJI/(l/l, 43,', l\\ucd III All~U,t I "l):-:, AI,n 'l'l' RL Au~. I ""I)X, 203 and Jan, I Sqs>, ).
 252 British Qll1lkerisll1 186u-192o
Similarly, the British Friend deplored the 'positively loathsome'
hJnguage of British nl'\vspapers in describing 'the SICkening slaugh­
ter of Dervishes at Omdurmau ' and looked in vain tor condem­
nation trom 'any influential Christian quarter' tor General
Kitlhener's apparent acquiescence in these atrocities. But when
the ensuing Fashoda incident brought Britain and France to the
brink of W~H and Ellen Robinson. a tireless peace advocate, drafted
a trat-t condemning Britain's part in creating the crisis, the Pence
Committee felt 'the matter too controversial' to sanction publica­
tion of Robinson's protest. j j
Ellen Robinson's was not the only voice calling upon Friends to
stand collectively ~Ig~linst popular op inio n. Readers of religious
literature might have taken note of John Stephenson Rowntrccs
tierce atLIL'k on Britain's 'dcplorablv heathenish' native policy in
South Atricl. In the course of his lectures to the Scarborough
Summer School, Rowntrcc noted that BnLlin's method of dealing
with hlack Atricaus secured to be 'To StL';I! their couutrv, debauch
them with vile spirits, when they resist to call them rebels, and
mow down "the niggcrs" with Maxim guns, and finally give sites
of stolen land tl.lr mission station-, ... a policy as despicable as it is
wicked.' If they t:Iikd to condemn such outL1ges, Rowntrcc said,
Friends were, in crli-cr. treating their peace tL'stimony 'as an isol­
ated piece of social amelioration, which can be detached from the
whole body of Christian t:Iith and practice"."
Other Friends were moved 'to denounce a foreign policv of
greed and ;lggression as dishonouring to our country'. Using Till'
Prcscnt-Dnv Papers as their torunr. William Charles Braithwairr. and
John Wilhelm Rowntrcc pointed out that there was 'a grL'at
diftc'rL'nce between holding pL';ICe principles in the vagueness of
tradition and grasping them with the illtclligent conviction that
comes from personal cx.uuiuatiou'. Friends, said Braithwaite,
needed the courage to EKe up to those who might accuse them
of being unpatriotic and to remember that erstwhile patriots 'who
drag their country's honour in the mud by "Jameson raids" and the
oppression of native races' made patriotism ':1 word with sinister
councrtions' 57 J W. Rowurrce took up till' same theme:
" I~/': Oct 1,'-:(),\, 253--i ,md Nuv. 1S<)X, 27S .mci .\/iJlII{('_\',
IS,)~. LSF.
~() J S. Rownrr.-«. P/(f(C (:t'SOdCf)' (!(F,-icl/ds ill Rd('t!/(11l5 L!t£' {)(/:n,'t!'t1llr!, 5,'.;---{). ()1-2
IWilliam CIi,HIe, llraithw,lltc/. 'Work tor Pc,]cc'. 1'/)/', II. JUlle I Syy. ,-12,
PCJCC COll1mittel',] I, 3U N(H',
SCllcr to Ti,Rht u.itl: C{/rI/{/! H'CilPOIIS 253
WL' need patriots who \\'111 wage unccasuu; war with all that JOWL'!"S moral
\ rt.ilitv-r-wir.h the luxury that cncrvat.-s it, the ruilir.msui that stints it, the
,-,:rel'd that IITL'leS its force. the pride that fevers it-it IS here that the
;"ues of lil': .md death .irc found, and OIl the outcome of this strllggk
lungs our coulltn's I;ltc.'"
Within a tCw months after Rowntrcc issued his challenge, the
Anglo-Boer War would provide ample opportunitv for tcsting the
moral vitality of the QU;lker peace testimony. Friends f:liled the
rest. Their response to this crisis was not an occasion for unity, but
rather pointed up deep diftcrences as to what constituted both true
p.rtr iotisu i and J mcaningtul peace testimony.
'LET US BE EAIZ.NEST AND DO OUR PART'
As early as May I St)7, the British Friend had warned of the 'danger
otru.c-vvar in South Atrica ", and when war did COllie, an editorial
predicted that national liumili.u ion and bitterness would follow in
its w.ikc.?" Events soon jusrificd this assessment and the Society of
Fnends would discover what an ample legacy of bitterness and
humiliation the South African conflict could bestow. At first,
Quaker response to the war seemed both predictable and, from
the peace lover's perspective, satistartory. Friends were represented
III the activities and especially the tinaucing of the South African
Conciliation Committee (SACC) formed in mid-january I<)OO to
work tor the restoration of goodwill between Boer and Briton.''''
Monthly meetings throughout the country issued statements
pledging their flithflJlness to the peace testimony, not 'traditionally
or negatively, but ... with life and true spiritual vigour'.'>! In this
regard, Meeting for Sutferings published 'A Protest Against COlll­
pulsory Milit.rrv Service', appealing to fc']]ow-Christians to join
Friends in checking 'the spirit of military irnpcri.ilivin". Indeed, the
" 1.1,,1111 Wilhelm Rlmlltr"cl. 'ThL' Unl.rwtulnc« of W,lr I(l the CiJn,tl,1I1·. I'/)/'. II.
(i'v1.J\ IS')I)). 10
"I HI< 1\1.1\' ('t\<)7, 10] and Nov. IS<)<), 2K7-<)O
f,U HC\\']<\O·Il, HC1~~C o( II·ild ,·lhIlOlJd.l.
.md Gn..-cnvvood , Frit'lll/~ (md Relit,!: [ ~ I. Alvo
J U<)-I 0
'IT RIchard A, Rempel. 'British Qlukcr' and rhe South Atrll',lJ] War". ()II, ()~ (Autumn
S I .IJ1d IJI,. Fd" I YOO. 2,
L}·.\J. 1Qt)(J, 171-5 .md .\II1/11(C.i 1 C- 8, .\/iIlJltcs, Lauc.rshirc ,lI1d Cbc-durc- (~u<lrtL'r]y
Mectulg. LRO,
254 British Quakerislll 1860-1920 .'\'Cl'cr to F~\!,ht u.itli Carnal H/capol/s 255

idea that the war might bring conscription and martvrdorn
seemed positively enticing to some Quakers. The Friclld noted
that if compulsory military service were introduced: 'We shall
find out once and tor all whether our refusal to share ill the
patriotism of the lby has been dictated by conscience or by 1I1do­
lcurc;' the British Friclld added: 'we believe it would not be at all a
bad thing for us to have to suffer again 111 some degree for our
principles. ,(,c
A few martyrs might indeed have helped to rescue British
Quakerism from the trouble .uid turmoil that cvcntuallv ellgulfl:d
it. But conscription was never in the cards and the suffering
endured by a fl'\\ Fric nds at the hands of patriotic mobs, II10St
notably the attack on the houses and hUsll1l'sses of the R.owntrcc
t.unily at SCJrborough, \V:1S insufficient to r.illv the Society to ~1
united .mti-war staudard." In the attermath of the SClrborough
incident. 'l l« lricnd perceived a growillg 'intensity of moral con­
viction rising to maint.nu all unmitigated protest .lga111st the present
war-fever ami all its cruel results'."! No such iurcnsitv was rcrlccrcd
in the orficial pronounrcmcnrs of London Yc.ulv Mcctiug. When
the Peace Committee prepared a . Memorial to the (;O\"lTnmellt
clllillg for immediate peace in the Transvaal, Meetillg tor
Suftl:rings declined to adopt the document. ITCOll11111'1Hiing instead
that the Committee reissue the "Cluistian Appeal circulated dur­
illg the Crimcau War as more applicable to the South Atri.an
c.-;
cnsls. ­
When Yearly Meeting g~lthered 111 btl' May 1<)00, n i.uiv Friends
undoubtedly united with Ellen Robinson's plea th.ir the 'whole
world seemed to be crYlllg out tor some one to deliver it from the
monstrous yoke of militarism ... crushing the litl: out of the
nations. Let us be earnest and do our parr."?" But when Ycarlv
Meeting finally approved :1 nrvv appeal entitled 'Christianity and
War', the document proved to be more a cause for division than
I)'~ 23 I'L'h. !{)OO, [22 ,llld li!'. Feb. Il)OO, 2(l.
Iq Sl'C HI< April [()OO. /-t-S7 IJdSSIII/: Rcmpd, -Uriu..,h Fncud-,'. S3--t-: .in.!
Hel!!.!( (:1 rJ'i1d .... hl/(ll/d.,. I [()-IS tor rill' .ur.uk-, Oil R,)\\-lltrl'c propcrrv t()IlO\\']J],l!.
,lppL'.lr,11KC of pn)-UUlT S,lllllll'l (:rOll\\Tl~I1t-SLhrCIlll'r J]] "l',lrhllrllugh. Mimbrr-, uf thl'
fm ulv o;;uh'ieLjul'ntly h~lll'd .ui 'A ddfL''''''', to tlll' COl\l111l1l1it\· prDllll..,lllg nor to bring .urion
tor unity. The British Friend noted that while the first Yearly
Meeting of the twentieth century should have been chiefly
remembered tor 'clearing up the Society's position on, .. War
.iud Peace', a small group of Friends (all older evangelicals) had
'astonished their brethren' by protesting against the inclusion of the
phrase 'the brotherhood otman and the Fatherhood of God' in the
plea for peace ('7 After some discussion the Clerk agreed to the
omission, much to the disgust of the British Irictu! which expressed
the view that those who rejected the concept of the brotherhood
of man under the Fatherhood of God were' not Friends at IIII' and,
indeed, could scarcely be cnllcd Christians('~ In its printed 'Report
to Friends' tor 1<)00, the Peace Committee had to admit that while
'a grclt number of Friends have done all 111 their power to oppose
.ind protest ag:limt the present deplorable war .. , many others have
t"clt unable to r.ikc active P~lrt in upholding the testimony of
Friends".''') Such a pusillanimous pcrtorm.nuc gave currency to
[<c)'l/olds 11 ('ckl)' ;'\'CI/'SpllI1er's assertion ill March I ()OO that the
Society Llf Friends was 'no longer to be regarded ;IS a strenuous
.1I1d united peace org:1l1is~ltion',7"
This conclusion was reinforced by the early defection of the
dIstingUished Quaker publisher, lexicographer and Peace Corn­
mittel' member, John Bellows (IS31-I<)02), Bellows, a man of
strong convictions and boundless energy, was gIven to
passionate advocacy of a somewhat bewildering arr.iv of causes,
i nr ludi nj; the American Confederacy, the rehef of Franco­
Prussian W:lr virtu uv, the rescue of Russian Dukhobors, Ulster
1
Unionism and, finallv, the crushing of the 13oers,7 Bellows pro­
duced :1 series of diatribes largely given over to the vilification of
the Afrikaners. most notablv in a tract entitled 'The Truth About
2
the TraIlSva,ll War, and About All War'.7 The tact that the b.ick­
sliding Bellows had been a much-admired attel1Lkr at the Hague
Ibid. 1,0-1, 100-2, AI", 'CI' LL\/, '9"", (q-()(),
lst. S Jun« J ()OO, I) I [l'lllpil,I"l" III l)ngill,d I·
Hl'\\l"'lll. 'Repl)n l)t' lricnd-.' Ill'Jn' (~oll1J)l1trl'l'. II)O(}--TD the ivllTting tor SUffering':. Ilu-,
th.: pnutcd dO(llllll'IH i~ included III till' Pl'JCl' COllllllLttl'l'\ Xlinutc«. LSF
~l) R.c)llIojds II ('cUy .\·Cll'ljJ(l/Jt'r. quoted hy Rvmpvl, 'Briush (~u,lkl'f"" 77·
-I Sec Karl' Ch.mtv. J(I/III !3C!lOll'S (!( ChJrl(t'.';TI'r, 1,.. .) J-190! (YDrk [l)(J3) tor Ucllow-.'

,)~,)ill"t Jny PlT..,OIl or tn make ,)ny durge t<Jr compl'n",ltHlJ) ,lg~lilht the B\)]ough I-Ulld l':\[LHHdill.lry CHl'l'r a;-; ,) printl'r. ..,(ilolar, dUIll.piDI\ of till' opprL'~"'L'd, ,\l1d pUf\'l'yor of
('4 30 M,lrch I ()OO, I S()-I)U.
l'l'l"l'lltnc npllllOIl..,.

(.~ .\lllll/reS, 1\',Kl' (:ommirrec, [t. 21) No,". IS<jI), 3J,lllLlary, -t- April Jnd ~June 1\.)00, LSF.
-, SIT BF. Mav 1')00, 11')-20 and J- RClllkl H,uris 10 Margarl'l Clark. J(, l\1;ty 1')00,

r,t, BF S .JLlIll' 11)00, [.~()-7.

'(,(llakcr Pf!nclpk<, Dox 3. WL
 British Qlf,lkcrislll 1860-1920 .\'('I'cr to nRllt witl: Carnal [1/capolls 257
2S('

Peace Conference early in Sy</J would seem to lend support to

I A perusal of QIl<1kcr StrollgllOlds reveals the legitimacy of this
Brian Phillips' argument that most of the prominent Friends who concern:
were part of what Phillips calls the European "high-life' peace
circuit were more e~lger 'to establish the Quaker point of view as It IS con1l11Only supposed rhar Friends have some specd srruplc .ibour the
an undispuredlv patriotic one' than to rcstify agaimt the sinfulness usc of physical t(1rce ... ThIS I hclicvc by no means true of the Society at
of tlghting with carnal wcapons.j" IJrge, althongh ... very likely to be tCJl1l1ded on t3et as regards individ­
Not that Bellows was let off casilv. One of his severest critics was uals ... I came to understand that the Quaker testimony against all war did
~lCting editor of the British Friend, Edward Grubb, who LIter not take the tl1rIU of any ethical theory of universal application ... as to
recilled: 'If that war could be condoned by so-called Parirists ... I the 'unlawfulncss' of w.ir ... I personally c.uiuot but recognize that ...
W,IS sure that 1I11}' WJr could be ... '7.\ Grubb concluded a series of rcrr.un wars appcar to be nor only inevitable but jusnliablc .... I r.mnor.
rhcrctorc. reg,lnl ,111 w.u' ,IS whollv ~1I1d uIl1uitig~1tedly hl.uucablc . 7')
attacks on Ikllows in the British Ftictul by noting rh.u "our Friend
has grievously compromised the Society by writing in support of
the war lI1'o//'edl)' ,IS a Friend [andl uscd his position ... otinrlucncc Stephen added that she could 'hardly imagine allY war which docs
to do ... irreparable injury to the Society ot' Friends and the CIuse not both conic from evil .ind lead to cvil, but there is nothing
of Peace'. 7(' distinctly Quaker about that, especially when most citizellS tend to
Still, Bellows had some outspoken Quaker supporters, including .ISSUml' that the national enemy will. by nature, both be evil and do
Caroline Stephen, Victorian Quakerism's most illustrious convert. evil.
Her influential Qlf'7!.:er Srrolll;!I<llds (I S()o) is gelll'Lllly ~lccounted a When Caroline Srcphcn apPl\ll'ed with John Ikllows at a meet­
ha rbinger of the Quaker Renaissance. ~7 H owcvcr, immediately II1g of the Cambridge Peace Socicty to ddl'nd the justice of the
.urcr it WJS published there were Friends who expressed serious South Ati-ic.lIl conflict. one w iruc» to their pertC)fJn,llllT,j. Rcndcl
concern about Stephen's rendition of the pClle testimony. A I larris, told a tl'iclld: 'It was very sad to have our c.ius« given away,
review III the leading Amcric,m Quaker cvungclical journal noted as it was by Caroline Stephen and John Bellows ... There is no
that while it WJS all very well and very tlattcring for Caroline doubt ill my 0\\'11 mind that we arc betrayed in the citadel itsdf'~o
Stephen to depict (~uakerism JS ;111 oasis of Light amidst the Bellows and Stephen were only two of the most prominent
materialistic darkness of the modern world, she appeared uncou­ public Friends who dd(-'l'ted to the war camp. Perhaps even
ccrncd with major sources of that darkness like the arms race and more jolting was the pro-w,lf -r.mcc of Thomas Hodgkin, the
militarism. For all her personal serenity within the (~uaker COIlI­ pre-e-minent public Qmker of his day. Hodgkin not ouly sup­
munion, Stephen, the author believed, had too little regard tor the ported the war effort but also depicted the Boers ;IS monstrous
centrality of the pe.lCe testimony in the spiritual witness of the oppressors of both natives and Uitl.mdcrs, unworthy, even incap­
Socicry. " able, ofmaintaining a civilized statc.~1 The controversy aroused by
Thomas Hodgkin's forthright support for the war engulfed other
members of his t:llllily, most notably his sun Robin, .I student at
j Scc 11/( .-tIlf()/Ji(),~l'llrll)) l:(.-tlldrcll' })/lk'lllI If "'lift'. 2 volv. (Nl'\Y York ] I)lh) , 11. '::~2-.;
\\ hidl lkpll't\ Bello\\".., ,1\ ';1 thoroughly goud 1l1,11l-"illl"l'lT. hone-r. c.uncvt , ,IJld hk\',cd Balliol. who wrote to The Fiicm! implying that many Quakers who
with g-lHld \L'Il'il".
7i I)hillip'i, 'frIendly' Parrioncm. (17-S.

~ Edward c;ruhh. 'SOJlIl' Pcr-on.il EXPlTICIlL'C\'. FC)!:', 72 (C)ct 1~3S), 307. _,,'tcphi/}/, (llltlkcr Stroll,lIl/olds, 122. 130, 1_" [.F)·
7(, 'John Bellow, .md the \Xl.lr,' BF. Dcc. I ~oo, 307-tj. For other protc,t\ J~all1st lkllu\\'~_
", J. Il..endcl Harris to Mar~aret Cl.rrk , 2.1 Feb. 1')00, 'QlI'lker Principlcs Box J. WI..
see ibid., Sept. H)OO, 2J{)-,s; C)cr. H)OO, 2()3-(l; Nov. 11)00 . .+ pp Supplement: ,111J Dec AI,o ,ee C. Stephen to L[lIeyl HlodgkinJ, I') Feb. 1\100, MS vol. 12~. LSF.
J()OO, J 12-4· " TF, 17 Nov. I~\I,), 7(lO a"d T. HodgkI<1 to K. M.Jone" 21 Jan. 1')00, RMJI'. Thonus
77 See Joncs, Ll/('j" Pt'tl(lds, 11,1)(0-70 and CJIJptcr) ,lbo\'L' }Iodgkin \; ,lttitllde was prob;lbly lIlHuL'llL'cd by the l'xtrCI11e ho~tihty tnward the Bocrs of his
Willian1 Edgertoll, 'Havc Fricnd,;; J TestiIllony Aga1l1st WJr?', Christiil1l If·~nkcr. 2r/l.+ brother-in-!:l\\', SIr l(.oblTt NichoLlS Fowler, a (ortner Lord Mayor or Londoll Sec Hewi­
(2 ApnJ 1~\lI). 212-IJ. SO", Hcd)?f ,,(lI'lld .~I""J"ds, 1O()-7·

25~ British QII(lkcrislIl 1860-1920
were not convinced of the immorality of the Transvaal War were
nevertheless cOlltinuing to take shelter behind the peace testimony,
thus 'bringing on the Society the shadow of hypocrisy'. To illus­
tr.itc the courage of his own convictions, Robin Hodgkin became
an officer in the Northumberland Fusiliers.'s2
What especially r.mklcd .iuti-w.ir Quakers about the Hodgkin
tJmily's declarations was not so much their assumption of superior
knowledge ~JS their insistence, in the words ofone critic', 'that they
must be strictly rcuardcd as vcrv true Friends' whatever thcv said or
did.~3 John W'ilhelm Rowntre~' expressed hi, iudignat iou t~) Rutu-,
Jones:
You would hardly bclicv« your C'\'es if vo u r.im« over here. Thus.
Hodgkin's son a Lieutenant, t]wugh still ,I n onu n.rl Quaker, he.ids a
pron:ssion to burn Kruger in dligv. T. Ilodgkill m.ik c-, the spenh .md
Lily [Lucy;1 Hodgkin lights the hgguts ... till' spirit otvv.ir. stalks the LlI1d
\Llked, un.ish.uucd & our Ie:lding Quaker gin's his henedictlon' .
There has been such a InoLI] ckb~lCle ,]S I woul.! not have deemed as
possible two iT,lrs ago. Our 'Khaki election [Nmc'l1lber 1<)001 h~1S
sh.rkcn my belief 1I1 democr.\cy & h.i-, opened 11\\' en's to the territ\lng
power of till' prc''' ... As for our pulpits, t hcv h:ln' been bcnc.rti. con­
tempt, , . we h.iv.: sutflTed ,I gre.1t mor.rl dis.isrcr . . , Until \\e c.m exorcise
the "hupcri.rlist' dc'nJ()n-guodbye to rc.il progn·ss,·S4
Rriwurrc« believed 'this wretched vvar had cast a pall over the
future of the peace rcstimouv:
I fl'c! that one IeSSOIl (If the vv.ir . , . is tlie need for the proper instruction
of our 01/'1/ people, E.lch gennation has to rcc.ipturc ttlr itsc!f Its spiritu:J1
herit:Jge, and we need to seize upon the opporruuitv this \\':H givc's us for
the n-sr.ucmcnr of our prinriplc». , , It is quite :\ mistake ttl assume that
TF \(1 Fd). !l)OCl, 104---5 ,\I)d l!l'\\"l\()IL Ilcd~'t' l!( II'r/d .-t/1/1l1Ild.\, J2()-30. (:,lrcdllll'
Stl.'phcll told Ruhlll Hodgkin\, motl]cr th,H thl'rL' \\',1" 'IlHIl"1l nt" Ilohklll'\\ ... lllUl"h
that .tppc.ds to ,111 lHll'\' lw\t t~'L'il1lg~' in Wh,l( llL"r \Oll Iud \,lid Jlld dOIlt'. C. Stl'pllL"n to
I.I","·! H[odgkIll!, II) Fe·b. 1')00, MS Vol. 12S. LSF Rubert II. Hodgklll (ISn-,I);[)
\urvived till' \\'.1r, rc"jgncd from Fnl'lld\ . .1Ild l'lljOycd cl dhtillglli~hl'd JCadt'Illlc lJrL'l'r 111
modern hi~tury .It C.,2l1Cl'll<; Collq.'!;l'. ()xtl.lrd. l'\'Clltl1.dly bClOJlllng PrOVO'i( of (hl' Collq..!;l'
(llJ3!-4(')'
·<1 Shipley N. Br,l)",h,,\\' to TF. ') M"rch ")00, 1\.1-4.
'. 1- w, R to R. M.J.. (,I"L'b. ")01, Bo" J. RMJP,
.L
."'('1'1'1' to Fi,~/lt u-itl: Carnal ~Vcapt'lls 259
our \'Ollllg people \\'ill gro\\ up 'right UpLlIl the wn r question', UllleSS we
r.ik« the proper steps to l\1cu1cate our principlc-.?"
It \\'as, Ro\\'lltree ronr inncd,
110 rime for sott speech, Then' .rrc elemellts ill our narion.il ch.u.u rcr
\\,hi(,h cal] tor stern rondcu inat io» , .. Our rcsrimouy agaillst war, if it is to
be vir.il, must not he mere rcstimouv 'lgainst the use of armed ttll"ll'-it
mu-t cut .ir the roor- of w.ir. at the pride of EIII pi rc. rh,: narrow, ., popul.ir
p,ltriotlslll rendLTed ignoble bv its petty h.irrcd« and the ins.rriahl«
hunger ttJr \\ealth wl url: vivihlv rhrc.ucns our ruin.'"
St irrc.], perhaps, by such rhl,torical tiourishcs, ~IS well ,IS by
\\idening public Indignation ag,Jill,t the r csults of t~ml1 burnu u;
and concentLJtion call1ps which Friend, had ,onle hand ill e"pos­
lllg.'s- Quaker prorrvts gradually became InOIT tiriu and more
united, Earlv in 1<)01, attcr Meetnlt'; lor Sufll:rillgs had issued ~l
"Memorial to the COHTnlllent' c01lL1L'llnJing 'the methods by
which the deplorable war in South AIl'tca is novv being pros­
ecutn]','" W, Lv.ms Darby of the Peace Society approached the
Quaker Peace (:olllllJittcc asking Friend, to org~lnize a COl1ll.TenCC
of Churchc-, to consider the qucstiou of war frorn J Christi~m
perspective in conjuuctiou wirh a Peace Congress to be held ill
(;LJst';0\\,. With public prote,t ag~linst British tactiL's rapidly heating
lip, the Pcacc Committee leapt .it the opportunity to Il.lrJJJ the
centre of an .mti-war phalanx. WeIghty rril'nds were enlisted to
,peak at CLJ,g()\\, .md, ill May, Yearly ML'L,ting issued a 'Plea for a
Peaceable Spirit', noting the baleful influcnrc of the continuing
nml1ict: death .md devastation in South Alriel, Jnd in Britain, 'the
J, 'J,./, ,1:,\,\,,)'.' d/ld ...Lidl"c\.\l',I. p, '\\.\.\1 [l'mph.\";i\ III ongllLdl
R
~r, FF 2Jlj.in. [l)OO, ';;()--, A\..,u \l'l' fir JUlll' IlJOI. [34- RO\\lltrcl·..., rcur.nk- were
dIrl'ltCL1 row.ird .u i l'.lrlll'r .ntilk In' All Ill' \Jy! RHIl.lrd,,;ull. 'A <'~U,d(lT VIl"\\' nt' W.lr'.
'/'/', 1.2 J'lll. [<Jell). [(}-.2.' \\ Inch l'(lIl1hl,lkd ·pJ..,\l\'l' rc\I\(JJlCl" ,lIld 'p,lt!cnt l·OIl\i...,tl']ll'Y··
1'\\'0 offll'i,d (.,2u,lkl'r..., dCPllUtll.)ll.., tourni ~oll(h Atr-lei. I hl' tlr~( l'OIl\j..,(cd ofJp\l111,l
Ro\\'mrt.'c. lluyor ot" SClrbof\lllglJ ,lIld fOrllllT fvlP t~lr York\hnl', hi..; \\·It~, .Ind llcphl'\\'.
I LlruldJ. ElJi\. thl' ";011 ot-J E, EHl\. Ml': till' ".l'cund \\',1\ ,Ill itl\'l,<;tig,ltl)r\' committl'l' ()t'thl'
Frii..'IHh South AfnlJIl Relicf C()Jllllllttl'l' (l'SARC) kd by LI\\Tl'llll' Ril'ILlrd~oll ,lnd
'J,. H, L Ak:'\,IlH1cr. Sn' I il,\\'i..,o[). Ilrd~(' (:( floild ,---I/II/()//(is. 1(')-224 /hlssiHl; Arthur 1\.1
I )~l\TY (nl,). 1"tl 11 '1"1'1/((' R.i(II<1I"d.\{ll1 .'le!c([cd ("\lrrc.''1!tJ/ldclI(( (1 l}().!-(1.)) t.C:a~)l' '!"l)\\'ll Ilj77); and
W:. AI'''] ")01 . .s~-"J'j .
..,:-. Rcprilltl'd III HLJlIl 1()OI.lj, /\1"0 \l'C L)'.\/, li.)Ol. lUI),

 2(lO British QII<1kcris/II 1860-1920
reign of prejudice, the t(.'ver of passion, the riots, the orgies in our
streets, the preaching of vengeance hv the Press and even from
<omc pulpits ... In condoning militarism the Christian church
destroys with one hand the ... ideal of righteousness and love as
the bond and foundation of empire. 'S')
Bd()re and after Yearly Meeting the Quaker press provided
thorough and sympathetic coverage of Emilv Hohhouscs dis­
patches and speeches on the calamitous conditions in South African
concentration camps. During June and July of I ()O I Quakers were
among the most prominent supporters of Hobhouscs speaking
tour 011 the horrors of British conccntr.inon call1ps. Indeed, in
towns like Hull and Scarhorough Quaker nlecting houses were
the only venues permitted to hcr.?" Thl' Friends South Afiican
Relief Committee reponed that the work of its representatives in
the CllllPS had 'resulted in the alleviation of bodily and mcnr.il
suffering, and in the spread of the spirit of PCICl". But a linglTing
controversy over the refusal of rhc: FSARC to publish the corres­
pondence of all its representeltives led to ,lccusatio11S that the letters
of Cl'orgina King LeWIS ami others had hccn suppressed because
they were insutfiricnrlv critic.rl of the camps.:"
In the wake of this new bout of divisiveness Friends needed a
1110Llle booster, and altliouph the Cbsgovv Peace Congress in
September 11)0 I W~IS indisputably ~I case of preaching to the con­
verted, the prominent role plavcd by Friends there helped provide
the required upli ft. ')2 When the war ended in May 1l)02, the
Society of Friends emerged, if not united, at least in somewhat
less obvious disarray and with a widely tl'lr need to defille more
precisely the Society's position with regard to its peace testimony.
The Yearly Meeting which g,lthered shortly after the signing of the
Treaty of Vereeniging seemed to be responding to this renewed
sense of urgency when it agreed to the appoinrmcnt of ,I special
Deputation charged to visit every Monthly Meetings ill Britain
.""'J .\ll1ll/fl'l, IJl'.\ll' (:OlllllllttCC, 20 Ft-b. J 5 April. 2. i'v1.1y .llld () June roo r. I SF H/" 10
June j<)OI. I...j.S-(); ,md L)'.\1, 14/(1[, J l_~_ Till' Pl'JCC Commun-e reported ill jl)02 rh.« 250,000
copic.., of'A Pie.] for a PC,KL'Jhk Spirir ' had heen l-irclILtrcd, LYM. Il)O.:?:, 125-(J.
')U SCl' IH<Jul:' 1001, lSI: AllgU"t I<jOL 211.220; Sept. '901. 233-...j.: Nov roo i . 2S()-j:
and J)CL' ll)OI, 21.1--1-. Aho "CL' Hcwin.. on. ll('l~I!{' ll{ rf'ild .i.llIltmdi, llj.1-200
'11 See HL Feb Ilj02. -1-0-1; MJrd1 11j02, 50; and April 1002.77. Al"o 'Ice Hrwisou !-{(lft!('
(l( rI 'ild Almond), 2 J -1--2-1-.
'" 13F, Sept. '00'. 2H .md L\".\I, I~"". l2S-0.
.'\'CI'cr to F(?/It with Carnal ~Ve<1p(lIIS 2() I
'\\'ith a view to arousing our members to their responsibility, .. of
!11.1intaining our "testimony of peace" ... "1.1
This 'most important' resolution galvanized John Stephenson
Rowntrcc to address a special memorandum to Meeting for Sut1l'r­
lngs. J S. Rowntrcc stressed that circumstances required this
VIsiting Committee to playa central role in rescuing the Society's
pc.icc testimony from its status as 'little more than a pious opinion',
which was separated trO!11 and 'almost independent of the other
p.uts of Christian truth'. Special care should be taken, he said, to
place the testimony in its historical setting as well as to address the
specific modern causes of its weakness, so that in the new century
Friends might truly be prepared to answer 'the cry of humanity,
groaning beneath the load of milicarism ... [and] demanding fj-O!11
the advocates of Peace, prayer and labour in her holy name'.":'
REVIVING THE I'EACETESTIMONY
Tile Peace Deputation appointed in 1l)02 to visit every British
Monthly Meeting for the purpose of strengthening Friends' attach­
ment to peace principles made its tlnal report to Yearly Meeting in
11)0-1-. lu the courxc of its travels, the Committee had been cncour­
,1ged b y indications of a renewed awareness the peace testimony's
importance, by the 'warm response' of the general public to appeals
tor peace and, most especially, by the 'self-denying and untiring
ctfort of younger Friends' in giving practical application to their
peace principles. 'J'
The self-satisfied ambience of this and other official pronounce­
ments of Edwardian Quakerism has been severely criticized by
lhian Phillips in his study of 'Friendly Patriotism'. E~lrly twentieth­
century Quakers, Phillips believes, were not so much a religious
body attempting to come to grips with historic principles as 'an
essentially conservative, respectability-conscious community with
no real appetite for risky political struggle ... trading something
of. .. Itheir] subversive theological origins for a bland set of
'J: I he revolu non W;I" brought by Bn"to! .uid Somervet (2u.lrEerl)' Mecting;. Sl'L' lU<JuI1L'
i ooz , 1:'-1-.
John S[ephCIl"on Rownm-e. "Mcmor.uidtun on the PL'JeC Committee. LYM I (j02',
()4 12
pp. !30V !ll/l2. LSF.
()~ LL\1, ll)t J -/ . 33-5.
 2()2 British QuakerislII 1860-1920
doctrines which gavc otll'ncc to no onc'.')!' Furthermore, Phillips
Jsserts that tIllS <clf-righrcous. self-congratulatory roue has persisted
ill 'the inevitable parochinlism of- "in-house" dcnominationnl
scliolarxhip" which, he says, has dominated rwcnticth-ccuturv
(~lIJKCr historiographv.?"
Phillips' strouglv argucd thesis ccrtainlv reveals SOl11C ullthttLTing
and even distressing tendencies wi thin the Edwardian Socict\, of
Friends. No one writing about c.nlv twcnticth-ccnturv Quakerism
c.in ignore his cri rique of ;1 (2lLIKcr 'peace c litc '-prom incn t
Fricnds incvitablv listed alllOng the delegates to sundrv highlv­
publicized and officiallv-sponsorcd Peace COllfcrcllccs-cllgagcd
III 'UllctUOUS posturim; before the thro nc« of Luropc while t:liling
to develop any 'critical. realistic pcrSpCCtl\T 011 the limitation of
monarchicl] convcrxio n to the peace 1110H'll1cnL Quaker 'hubris',
Phillips S;lyS, 'dr.isticnllv diminished the Socictv's crlcctivcn..« in
the cruci.il foreign policy dch.in-s Ie'lding up to till' l-irst World
WJr', 'j' As rcgJrds the Socictv's unqucvtiou.ihl v radical otlici,I1
stance during the (;rl"lt W;lL Phillips explains this as a sort of
l.rst-u iiuutc COllverSIon experience in-pircd hv a COlllhilLltion of
Norman Angellislll--'thc vcry salvation of a flagging QuaKLT
Pcacc TcstilllOny'-alld the clcar-hc.idcd, touuh-rnindcd lc.idcr­
ship of voung men lik c Phillip Noel-Baker (I Nl}2-Il}K2) and
Horacc Alexander (I KNl}-1 ')Kl}). Both of these men would attain
intcrIlJtiollal prolllincncc JS pcacc ;ldvocltcs ill thc illtcr-w;lr
period, but ncither ;lLihercd to thc absolutist positioll which WJS
supportcd by Mccting f()r SlItll'rIngs ;1l1d bccall1c thl' sLl11dJrd by
which thc twcnticth-ccntury QU;lKcr pcacc tcstilllony has comc to
bc ddillcd.'J'J
Still, if Phillips' expLl11ation t()r thc cl11crgcncc of thc stalwart
otliciJI wartimc StJllCC of British (~uaKerisnl is less dUll pcrsu;lsivl',
his ,'cnsurc of Edvvardian rriellds has, to J dcgrcc, bccll givcn
Cfcckncc by other historians of thc pCrIod. III jamcs Hintoll's
study of carly twcnticth-ccllturv flr(J(esrs alld [·'isioll.'·, he' l11ailltaills
that thc British pcacc movcnlcnt W;IS 'dccply scarrcd by oftcll
,)(, Phillip..,. Tril'lldly P,ltrJpri:--m'. 7(l. 333.
')- \\/hik Phillip,-, IbId. 22-4 . .2~ litl'" rill' \\'ork ot-the Lltl'
L()lllloll Yl',lrly MCl'ting (I l)75--:-7) , <1\ ,Ill 'lll-hOll\C' 11l'·;[nJ"ll'JI Pl'r(l'ptlVl'. I1l'itlWf llf rhl'
Or!lL'r hi..,(l)riall" "pecitlcl1ly ])}l'lltitllll'li, l:.llz,llwth hiL"hei .l!ld
her" of rhe' SOl'll'rV of Fnl'l1d;-"
')" Phillip'" ihili. 1,\5, I_'\S, 11)l),
')') Ibid. 307-42 Jld.'silil.
S('I'i'r to F(lZhr uith Carnal The/pOlL' 2(lJ
unrecognized imperialist assumptions. , . Iwhich j struck deep roots
in the British political culture' and haunts pacifists even to this
d,ly. I Validations of Hinton's view can be found in public or
private examples of Edwardian Friends giving apparently wholc­
hearted approval to the aims and ends of European. and cspcciallv
British, expansion. The tone might be fervently congratulatory, ,IS
UI the British h'imd's satisElction th.it British rule had resulted ill
ti"lTing the SIaH'S of Zanzibar .md Pcn rha. 'one more solid piece of
work . .. The value ot such all intiucncc alllong that child race ClIl
hardlv bl' overestimated." Or, Friends might take an cnuncntl-;
pr.utiral approach to cu tpirc , as in Edward Crubb's review of
lkn,l,unin Kidd« So cia! b'(J!lIrioll: 'The civilised peoples will not,
.ind ought nor to, consent to sec the richcst regions of the earth
remain pcrm.mcntlv unused. If rhcv could be propcrlv developed
It would nor o n lv supplv us with more abundant t(lod and raw
m.ircri.il. but it would atT()rd ;1 t~lr wider t uarkct tor 0/11' goods.' i("
liu.illv. (JuaKer comments might be merely condcsccnding, as in a
report on the inro.ids Christianity W;lS supposcdly l1laking into
tr.rdirional jap.mcs« religious beliefs: ';IS Christianity !Jrol'CS itsc!t,
bv its superior mor.il ctTicicncy ... it is likely to take hold of thc
thinking and cnquiruu; minds of the East.' 102
Still. lor e\'lT\ example of (~\IaKCr support for the' potentialities
or rcsulrs of British imperialism, two others might he found that
qucstioned or protestl'd ;lgai11St imperial advcnturcs. Ellen I~obin­
SOli, one of those Phillips illc1udcs ;UllOllg thc Elwllillg ;1l1d supcr­
ticial QuaKcr 'peKc ditc', personally Jddrcsscd cighty peace
I1lcctings in J Nl}S. Thc tone of hcr rcnL1rks to thcsc g;ltherings
might hc disccrncd ti-olll an Jrticle shc publishcd in thc Hrirish
!'I'ic/ld: 'the main trcnd ... of thc history of colonization has bccn
in thc dircctioll of opprcssion and injusticc towards nativc
r;lCl'S, .. I long tlDt our OWll Society should taKe a 11l0rc promincllt
and activc part in sccKmg to right sonIc of the grcat wrongs that ;lrc
bcing donc .... , ' 0 1 A ycar later john Wilhellll Rowlltrec, whom
Phillips dcpicts as 'not cxempt fmln thc spcll of llational respcct
l~l)~lT \)\/lholl, fonlllT (:krk of lllllL'" IlltHOI1, J>rt)fc,[S ,lud I ·i.,'illl!.' 1'(</(( PtJ!i'ics ill rIle TU'l'l/licrll (.'clllllry (Londoll I ():-II)) ,
Pl". 2 llld viii,
Th01J1,I" Kl'l1l1cdy, ,Ifl' Illl'l11­ 1 .. '1 HF rv1.l~ I Sl):, I U J -2 ,md E. (;fllhh, 'TilL' FlltllrL' of tilL' T fnpll<, Ibid" MJfCh [Sl)I),
i3-'+ [clllplLliii added].
I'" ]JF, SL'l"t. IS<jIj, 2~()
Elkn Robll1\;OIl, '('olonizJtIon Jl1d NJtl\'l It-I(l'';', nr, Nov, I:-I(j(j. 21j-t.-()
2()4 Bntisi: QllakcrislII 1860-1920
and reputation which so captivated the Society', condemned the
hypocrisy of those who, 'under the pica of accepting the white
man's burden ... exploit the lands of savages for the sake of divi­
dends'. R.owntree called upon Friends 'to be heralds of the
"peaceful Gospel" ... and to combat the insidious evil which mas­
querades as "Impcrialisrri'". 10+
The point, of course, is that while there were many weighty and
venerable Quaker voices, none of these spoke for the collective
Society of Friends. Whether they were dIscussing the Empire. the
Temperance Movement, Free Trade, the Liberal Party, Irish Home
Rule, socialism, or the peace testimony, individual Friends dis­
agreed. Only London Yearly Meeting and Its executive, Meeting
for Surlcrings, could make or approve pronouncements that repre­
sented the sense of the Society. To be sure, in normal circum­
stances, statements by either of these bodies tended to be bland and
inoffcusivc, full of earnest pleadings and pious generalities. When
you combine. as Phillips docs, the customarily innocuous rcsolu­
tious of Yearly Meeting wi th the usually cautious pronou nccmcnts
of Meeting lor Suftl.'ring and add in the occavioual obsequious
reference to royalty or naive complacency of individual Quakers,
the result c.mnor not tail to he disconcerting, cspccially tor those
who have come to think of Friends as the one Christian conunu­
nitI' that inevitably spoke truth to power and always maintained
the integrity of its convictions. Of course, such a view asks too
much, even for so small am! tight-knit a body as the Society of
Friends. A meaningful evaluation of the fl.'alty of any body of
believers to the principles they supposedly live by can only be
made in time of crisis. Although manv individual Friends tlced
personal or spiritual dilemmas regarding the peace testimony dur­
ing the Edwardian period, the peKe witness of the Religious
Society of Friends was not fundamcnrallv challenged until the
Great War began in 1<) 14 and not trulv tested until the passage of
the Military Service Acts of Is> I (l. Only then did a choice have to
be made between visions of God's will and the facts of carthlv
necessity. Prior to that crisis the more useful question is: How did
those who stood the test during the Great War prepare for the trial
that awaited them?
'''I Pinilip«, 'Frtcndlv Pamori-ru. 7+:JWR, 'Plc.. ror a Qu.ikcr Sl'ttkI1ll'llt'. r J S, 1+3: .uid
'\'(,rhclt has Icsu, to ~a)' to the Sr.m-?'. 37J--.t- III FISd}'-\ ill/d Rc!'/cI/J_I.
.-l~
Never to F(lIht u-itl: Carnal Weapo1ls 2()5
What follows is an attempt to trace the development of Quaker
peace witness during the early years of the twentieth century.
Public manifestations of the Quaker peace testimony included
protests agaillSt the administration of the I3ritish Empire (its aboli­
tion was apparently never considered), against the threat of con­
scription. including the compulsory military training of British or
imperial youth, and against the growth of popular militarism ill
both domestic and foreign affairs. Obviously, these combined
efforts were insufficient in widening the circle of pacifist true
hclicvcrv, but for an historian of Quakerism the critical question
must be whether or not the Friends who engaged ill these activities
were motivated hI' genuine devotion to their historic peace testi­
monv.
In the midst of the Anglo-Boer War, the Friends' Peace Com­
mittee was forced to admit that many Quakers were not upholding
their Society's peace testimony, Still, nearly all Friends and, indeed,
most of the general population would have agreed that enforced
military service, in South Africa or anywhere, was anathema. Thus,
when Meeting for SUftl.'rillgS addressed a 'Protest Agaimt Com­
pulsory Service' to the Prime Minister (Lord Salisbury) and the
Foreign Secretary (Lord Lansdowne). it could be confident of
expressing the Society's entire opposition to ':lIIY attempt to
enforce compulsory military service lasl ... an intr'ingelnent of
the liberty of COnSCle1llT which , .. is one of the gre:ltest privileges
of citizens of this country'. 10,
While any overt threat of conscription certainly ended with the
Treaty of Vereeniging in M:lY 1<)02, Willi:lIl1 Charles Braithwaite
simultaneously reminded Friends tint pe,lce in South Africa would
not terminate the 'Imperial policy of self-aggrandizel1lent and lust
after gold' that had caused war in the first place. To illustrate his
message Braithwaite pointed to two recent and ominous develop­
ments: the founding of the pro-conscriptionist National Service
League and the Board of Education's recommendation that schools
adopt a 'Model Course' for physical training 'taken in the main
from the Infantry Drill I300k of the British Army'. 10(, For his own
I", 'RL'PlHt ()f Friend,' PCdCl' Committee, I ()OO. to the Mcning Ior
SlIt"fnlllg..;', L~F; I .md
.\filll/ft'S, PCelCI.:' (:Olll1I1ittl'l', II, 2H Feb. IljOO, ibid.: .md L)",\/.
ly(I(J. [{H)-10.
,,,', \\'. C. I:J. 'Youth and Milirari-au, J+. (l. p.nnphlcr (k pp.) in Temp Box +/1. LSF
_

 2()() British Quakerislll 1800-1 lill)
part. lir.uthwaircs response \\/;IS ;1 motion presented to the Eighty­
Sixth Annual Meeting of the Peace Society dcprccutinj; 'the
strenuous efforts ... being made f(lr the ... r onvrrtins; of the
whole manhood of the n.iuon into a huge fightillg m.uhin« ... '
The motion W:1S. of course, 'carried with applauvc".!":
In the meantime, the Friends Pl';ltT Conunittcc determined to
meet the threat of military drill fix school children bv otl;:rilli!: cash
prizes to youllg scholars who wrote the best ess,lvs Oil 'Peace and
W;lr' ill the hop« 'that young people shall learn tor thrmsclvc ,
that ... patriotism tillds its higlics; tasks ill the development and
upliftillg of national life Wt' desire th.it they ... recognize stares­
mel I .irc most worthv who labour to ChC1~1C1l t()()d, reduce
taxation, improve cduc.uiou ... .md i!:elltTalk to et1l'ct soci.rl .nid
m or.r] improvement.' ,,,S This was, in hct, also all expression of the
hope that VOUIli!: (~uakers would. like their tathcrs. connnuc to
support tht' Liberal Party .md its policit's. Hut in the first years of
the ccnrurv, the Liberals were out of o ttl l'L' and in apparent disarrav,
and, f(lr their p.irt. Friends retained a lilli!:eriI1i!: fl'ar of what the
British h'imd ('alled ';1 wide-spread .md deep-laid plot ... to i!:et
military drill illtroduced into all schools of the n.ition ... ""')
Since the t(Hmding of the Uoys' Brii!:ade in the carlv I SSos. the
(~uaker and pacifist press h.id expressed concern about the 'dan­
i!:tTOUS innovation' of milit.rrv drill being incorpor.ucd into the
cduc.rtion.il system ;IS 'the thin edge of the v\Tdi!:e of conscription,
which i!:rimls so terribly in Conrincntal nations ... " '" U\' btt' I (}02
such spectral tl-ars had been i!:1\Tn substance by Admiral Lord
Charles Beresford's .nucndu icnt to the Education Bill that would
have lllade nlliitary drill compulsory f(lr all schools receiving public
tlmds. While the Uerestllrd Al1lendme!1t W;IS subsequeutly dedared
out of order. lll;lllY believed th,lt there rel1l;lined 'a real ;llld
illlllledi:lte dalli!:n of havini!: our schools "clptured" by the War
Ottlce'.'" Im1ced, the opponents of l1lilitary drill nlanai!:ed to
unc1rth a letter frolll Gennal T. Kelly-Kenny, olle of the Kini!:'s
1111' lJr'/",I1,](!f H'l/(t', lll'\\ '!(TIL'''', (lJ3, .2 JlllH' 11)02,2)3-).
rv'1i/HHl''i, U<.'JCl' CO]]lllli((l'l', I l l , J -'uk IC)U2. LSl
HL 1)(,'(.... 1()02, JIl);J.IIL Itj0J, J, .21-2: ,loll I-d) II)OJ, JI. Al",o \L'l' .'Iillure.'_ YorK,dlJrl'
(~lI.lrtn·Jy M<"i,'rillg. 21) ()CL IVO"::, 2Stj ,1I1d 2:-1 Jill. [iJOJ. 2l)-t-5, 13rorhlTtnll IlbrJry. LlTd,
Uni\'LT,>I(\'
l!c, BF, Sql( [SH:;, 2 q - ) Jnd })[:(;, I)Jllly [SS(I, 1<)-20.
III Tl'~ vJall. !(J03, 21-2 Jlld [.1 Feh. 'VO], IJS, Abo "CL' HLJlll, 1')03,3.
by llC\Y" ot-(hc liftl!l~ ofdlL' 130lT 'i1L'!:!;L' ofrv1Jtl'klng un IS M,\y '<)00.
.\"1'1'1'1' (0 r(r,zht with Carnal rfi',l!'l)/IS 2()7
hunting companions, indicating that sornc school inspectors were
hinting .it reduction of Covcrnmcnt i!:LlIltS tor schools that did not
'p!.JCl' themselves under the local drill-sergeant' for trainilli!: in the
so-called Model Course. London Yearly Meeting addressed this
threat with a Memorandum to educational authorities protesting
that the so-called Model Course had hccn 'born in the War Ottlc("
tor the purposc of 'f(lstcring the military spirit'."2
Opponents of militarv training for youth breathed somewhat
c.isicr nftcr an inrcr-dcpartmcnral committee tound the Model
Course 'so unsuitable for the physical instructiou of children ...
that it cannot even he amended".' '3 Still. the Quaker prcss
remained unc.isv about attrmpt-, to militarize the Nation", youth
.md, ill f:Lt"t, such tl'ars were not entirely chimerical. M;lIlY military
mc n , some polirici.urs and not a fl'\\ clergymen saw the military
tLlilllng of youth as an inexpensive counterweight to what thcy
believed was ;1 growilli!: physical and moral degeneracy threatening
Britains survival in the inevitable 'struggk lor national existence".
In November I (}O), lor example, Admir.il Sir John Fisher made the
point that 'urilitarv drill should be compulsory as part of the
national schoo] systelll, and but little is required to extend this, so
,IS to include rifle practice for a certain portion, .. it would be a
most ccouonucal cxpcnditurc!"'~
III tht' yc.irs following the South African War, QuaktT leaders
bcc.uuc increasingly sensitive to the relationship between domestic
III iii turixm and the dcfcn cc of l rn pi rc, especially w hell the Sou th
African War brought f()rth the 'Mattlcking"" tendencies of the
"ordinary l.rym.m" in whosc llIind 'the British constitution,
thc Uible, tllL' national Hag are hopclessl\" COlllllsed as being, . ,the
privatc propcrtics ofthc Anglo-Saxon ... or British Cod. , . ' III the
Spring of I (}02 thc British rril'1ld arLlIli!:cd I(lr Johll A. Hobsoll,
Britain's prelllier allti-imperialist, to publisb a snics of articles Oil
'1IlIperialism alld the Lower I~accs' which addresscd the question
of ho\\" the incvitable involvt'lllent of Western natiolls in the
11:3 April ")01. 2'S: m:, AprIl ")0;. sr'-7:.llld LL\!, 19"1, '2()-33
/Jr, M,IY ")O~, I' S.
I I I 'All Addcndulll' (0 J. fl'ihcr\ 'Nt)(L'" t(lr (~{)]],ldL'Ll(i{)Il' \\THtL'll for thL' (:OllllllittL'L'
Oll (hc Rc-{)rg.llll/,ltloll of (hc \\r,lr ()rticc, No\·. 1')03, Anhllr B,tlt(Hlr II.lplT'>, Ad. M",,,,,
-1-')710, Bnn,]) LlbLlry .1\1.111 !'L'IlIL ·j;/lXCfllI,1.? S(!lools: })/"ill, .Hilif,l,-i.';1/J dl/d ltlljlcrilllisllJ (I.ondu]]
'<)')')). Jddrc\\l"'" rill' qUC,,(iOll O(lllllit.try dnlllll Briti~h \l']ll)O]'i tlTIll1 ,S70 to l')I-t.
I I' ·~tlrt·1Ckillg' rl'tlT" (() d1L' hY'itlTiC1J p,Hno(ic cl,khr.ltil)ll'i III IllJjor Bnti'ih ci(il''i 'iC( off
z()g British QlwkerislIl 186[1-1920
development of the tropical lands 'may be so conducted as to yield
a gain to world civilisation, instead of some terrible dClJiiclc in which
r cvoltcd slave races may trample down their parasitic and degen­
erate white masters.' Hobson argued that the t~lte of undeveloped
places could not be left in the hands of unscrupulous freebooters
like Cecil Rhodes. The past results of 'barbarous dereliction of a
public duty towards the cause of humanitv' could be witnessed in
the moral and physical destruction of the Congo Free Stare or the
slaughter of native peoples by the agents of chartered companies
released from all leg;l! or mOLlI restraint. Wh~lt W,lS needed, Hob­
son said, was some 'International Council to accredit a civilised
nation with the duty of educating a IO\Vl'r race'; in the meantime.
the reality of imperialism was 'seltish, materialistic short-sighted,
national competition, varied by occasional collusion'. ,,(,
This analysis of Western expansionism prepared the ground lor
glowing reviews in the Quaker press of Hobson's cbssic study of
ltnpcrialistn (I ooz) as the tool of avaricious capitalists seeking more
favourable fields of investment and sheltered, at public expense, by
thoroughly co-operative political and military cstablisluucnts.!""
Hobson's arguments most certainly added force to the incrcasinglv
hard line taken by Qn.ikcr journals and journalists against 'the
boastful and aggressive spirit ofimpcrialisni' .md the maltreatment
of native peoples tint accompanied it." S Early ill I ()03 the British
lricud produced a series of articles 'lsserting that 'Imperialism
necessarily means Militarism' and 'the prospect of hopeless ruin
[which)" . inevitably awaits the present rivalry in armaments
... How any of our friends can support Imperialism, either here
or abroad ... and yet profess to maintain the Quaker "testimony
against war" passes our comprehension.' "')
While Quaker journalists like the British F,'iclld's editor Edward
Grubb did not advocate abandonment of responsibility tor the
'backward races' by the 'progressive races' who ruled over them,
the British Frictu! offered the example of William Penn's relations
III, }l)!lll A. Hobson '!rllplTL1It"lll Jild rh\..' LO\\Tr It,Il'L'''',
II}O...'., 53-5. ,s1-3. 1~()-32.
II~ For fnrollLlhk rcvicvs of} !Ob;-'Oll\ fllljlai,lfiml, vee TJ.:
I)Cl. 11)02, 3 J..f--.~.
II" Flo: 'EC0110lnic South Afncl', J() l.m. Ilj03, 33--J- .uid ibid.. "True lmpcri.ilism. J-J-.
II') 11F. 'A (;r.lVC N.H1Ull.Jl Pcril. Fd~ Jlj03, 31-2; "lmpi-ri.ilism .u Work', (,111 ,Hud.. on
the AllICriL";lIl Clll1pJlgn J~,llll"t the Morn ill the Philippine'i), March 1(j0J, 50: ,md 'Notn
.indC0111IllCnh', June I (j03, J 3 :-;-(1.
XCl'cr to Fi!;la u-itl: Carna! ~VCap(lI/S zC>()
\\ith American Indians as a prototype fix imperial trusteeship.
(;rubh believed that if native peoples could be guided along the
path of moral virtue and political responsibility rather than simply
e:-;ploited and dcgraded, the Empire might, in the end, prove of
great value to humanity. Out, if the Empire could 'only be main­
r.iin.-d by iniquitous methods, we would rather it perished, The
Kingdom to which we owe our first allegiJnce is the Kingdom, not
of England, but of God." co
For perhaps the first time since the seventeenth century, an
important section of the British Quaker couu uuniry held out the
hope tint the fundamental objectives of their Society-the cstab­
iisluucnt of universal pCKe and socinl justice- as well as spiritual
righteousncss-Illight actually be achieved on this earth. For these
products of the Quaker Renai"'ance, the great electoral victory of
the Liberal Party in January I ()oC> (including ten Quaker MPs)
scenlce! '1 portent for the triumph of cnlightened (;ovcrnIllent
over shadowy imperialism and international reconciliation over
,1ggrcssivc militarism. This same spirit might also be made manifest
in bold and sWl'cping new social legislation. 'lLtc Friel/d culled the
Liberal victory 'a declaration 011 behalf of liberty. , . for definite,
practical. earnest service on behalf of the poor and the oppressed".
Thc bst week h;1s witnessed ;1 great pe.lcdiI! revolution. DcliveLlnce Ius
COIllC. The ,pirIt of the Purit.ur- has tlH1l1d e:-;prcssion .it the b.illot-box. It
is no light pri\<i!ege to a great n.ition that such a Revolution I' aCCOIll­
plished IU pc.icc imtcad of Jlllid the horrors of anarchy. The patient
labour of ycars of teaching has borne tr uit . . the constituencies have
n-cu to their long overdue opportunity, they h.ivc recognised their
pown like a strong gi.lI1t, and ... they have WOIl the victory.,e,
How might British Friends assist the Nation ill utilizing this peace­
fi.d triumph)
HF reb. I (j03, 2() ,1Jld .I summarv ()f( ;ruhh \; rcru.irk- to ,I j1Llhllt- llll'l'ting in York. '1'1'-,
])1-: ~Llrch, ,Apnl .md JUIll' l() JllllL'[t)CJ5, }(j7. AI"o 'ie(.' HF, Oct. ]ljO-J-, 270 .uu! Ort l(jOj. 2()(j-7 0 fpr l'-"':;lI1lpk" .uui­
JIllpcri,di"t comnu-nt.rrv.
2/ N()\'. Il)O~, 7(l..J.-:'i and HF. rz r FJ'. l<JjJl1. 1')0('< JJ. 4 S-')
--l.-----­
 Renaissance !C'arS, 1902-1914 27 1

who felt left behind in an emerging and unfamiliar world .. .' Ingle
8
believes that Quaker writers. in pursuit of the theological purity of
,I 'Quaker Holy Crail', have tor too long ignored the social and
Renaissance Years, I902-I9I4
political context in which Quakerism was spawned. He gives non­
Quaker historians credit for having drawn attention to the
important role that radical Friends played in the revolutionary
decade of the I {j 50S, although he believes that they arc prone to
Ignorc or play down the 'inward religious principles of early
Quakers."
Fox's political and social concerns, Ingle says, grew out of his
A SOCIAL COSPEU religious convictions and were similar to those of contemporary
nullcnari.ms. i.c., the creation in their own time of the Kingdom of
Much recent historical scholnrslrip on the .ittcrmath of the Engli,h God on this earth wherein the mighty would be brought low and
Revolution has depicted (2uaker, during the I ()~OS as cmbodvinp the lowly exalted. The name chosen by the earliest Qunkcrs-s­
the radical hope, of a radical decade when Quaker religious idea, Children of the Light-evoked the biblical me,sage of the Chosen
were p.irt of ,1 millenarian vision tor tL1mt(1rI11ing Engli,h SOCIetv Few coming to grips with the powers of evil in a world dominated
into an egalitarian realm based on social justice a, well a, moral hv dark forces. Thus. early Quakers were a body of believers who
righteousness, I There is considerable evidence indicating that found the old social .ind political order w.mring and the expansive
many of their contemporaries were trightcncd bv what they per­ rhetoric of their leader 'demonstrated how a conviction that the
ceived to he the aims .md ohjectives of c.rrlv Children of the Light. Kingdom W~I' nigh could propel J millenarian into a vision that
()ne u rcrnbcr of the Rump Parliament described rhein as 'all the world might be subdued with only a hit more effort and a
Levellers. against m.rgistrarv and property'. Thi, accuser had per­ stronger commitment to f:1ith'. The most complete slllnmary of
haps read james Naylor's diatribe agaimt the rulers of England: Fox's vision of the Kingdom of Cod on earth was a 'nearly
'You have exceeded all that ever went before you ... Covetous and forgotten' pamphlet written in I (l5<J. Addressed to the Rump
crud oppressor, ... you grind the tacc of the poor ... And when Parliament, this declaration embodied fifry-ninc proposals, half of
you have got great estates, you s~IY God hath given you them; you which comprised a radical political and social ~lgenda f()r 'taking
arc up above them who arc made poor by you. '2 ~Iway oppressing laws and oppressors'. Proclaiming that it was
Quaker scholars have generally eschC\\·ed serious investigation \\Tong tor rich men, however righteous, to adorn themselves
of social, political, or cronomir radicalism alllong early Friends, with gold while the poor suffered, Fox called upon the nation to
but George Fox's latest biographer, l.arrv Ingle, has challenged look to the needs of the poor and helpless, 'that there might not be
prevailing Quaker views concerning the central vision of early a beggar in England'.-I This document, according to Ingle, was
Friends. Labdling Fox a 'unllcnari.ui' whose mes-;age 'targeted
the larger society and amounted to a cry tor justice from those
III .j ddm ou to Fir_" .--lil/()/Ig Frit'IIJ" Illgk\ work 011 l',lrly Quaker r.rdic.ili-m mcludcs,
I The pJ()Ill'CrIllg work of rl'J""c""ing thc . . ori.il .llld pulltll'.ll idl'cl\ or l',lrly I rJclld . . \\ ,1\ 'IT0111 Mvstirixrn (0 R,ldic.di"'JlL Recell( I {i ...t oriography Oil l~lI,lkl'r lkg-Innings', (JlldklT
W. A. (:o!c\ Ph.I). rhl':-.i .... 'The (~Ll,d,.l'r" .uid Po!inL''''', (C,llllhridgl" Ilj)5); .Ii'll) \l'l' Cole· . . lli.""ly, 71, (I ()X7), 7~-~-I: '()n the Folly of Seeking the QnelkcT Holy (;r,nl', CJII(lkcr Rdi~iolls
'(~ll,lkl'r ... clnd the EllgII ...h Rl'\"O!U[JOIl', !)d.i/ <111(11)"1'1'1'111,10 (I()5(l), Jl)-5-4-. ,6\\ noted .rhovc-. 1h"llglll, 2)/1 (Mel'· I~~I), 17-2(): 'Rlch,mi l lubb e rthor-nc .md History: The Crisis of 16W',
Chri ',ropln-r l lill, 111 both 'J'!Je If'odd Fllmcd (I).'lde J)\lll'lI (1()/.2) .md Fhc L\"jJITiCl/t-C l?(J)/)e,u JrJIS, 51'/3 (1~()2), IS~-200; and '(;eorge Fox, Milh-n.rri.ui'. Allnon, 2-1/2 (Summer 1~~2),
(I l)i'Lt), \'invcd c.irlv (~llJkl'r\ Lngcly rrom the pl'f''>pceti\"l' of polin c.il .uid \OCi,11 r.rdu.ih-rn: .2(1I-7 S.
B,lrry Rc.lY cou tnnu-d to .idv.mcc (hi \'lL'\\ point ill (.!II<lk('}"s dud the LII.l!.h.l!l He/ill/llli()/l -l (;corge Fox, 'j~l tlt« Parliament {~r the COlllllltl/l- r t ('!l!tll of England, Fifty-nil/l' parriCII/l1(S laid

(Loll don 1(jS)) .uid ,1 number o( .nnclc on .t...p ed.. ot- e'lrly Qu.ik crivm. .lou-nJlr tue Rf:itll/l1fillg r!lill,~.~· (London IfJ)l)). Inglc provide, an excellent sumrnarv in Fir»!
(~l1otc" trom IIilL t r 'lllid Tnrnc,! (Il.'lde ! )llll'/1, .24-() ,Illd L.\/llTil'l/d' l!f !)l)("lT, 13(j, .--lII/OIl,1!. Friends, 177-:';1, Also ,t'c 'George Fox, MtlIcI1Jri,II1', 275.

-.J. _

 27 2 British Quakerislll 1860-1920
Fox's response to a deteriorating political and social xituation which
threatened his millcnnial hopes, S
Attcr the Restoration Fox and most other Children of the Light
were tt)rced to defend their religious Society in an increasingly
hostile atmosphere." Thus, Quaker calls for ,1 new social order
were replaced by the scramble to survive, and this dctcnsivc pos­
ture, Ingle asserts, was increasingly accompanied by a push tor
respectability wliith led to the deliberate suppression of much of
the radical social and political material published by Fox and other
early Friends during the I('.'\os. To be sure, Ccorgc Fox and his
lieutenants worked diligently and well to design internal proced­
ures to assist Quakers who became victims of persecution as well as
to provide fur 'poor Friends', but post-Rcstoratiou Quaker leaders
produced no more grand schemes ttl!' the reordering of human
suciety so ,1S to create the l<.ingdOlu of Cod on earth.
The Sorictvs sheddlIlg of the raiment of social radicalism did
not, of course, prevent individual Quakers from becoming justly
f:l11lUUS for their work in varIOUS philanthropic causes during
the decades and centuries that tl.)lIowed. Indeed, the historian of
pre-twentieth-century Quaker social work claimed that English
friends 'laid the foundation tl.l!' modern soci.il work long before
the abortive ch.uactcr of puhlic poor relief as actu.rllv practiced had
been recognized at all'S Ncar the end of the nineteenth century,
Bishop Westcott noted in his SoriaI Aspects or Chnsti.init»: 'The
Socictv of Friends has achieved results wholly out ot proportion to
their numbers. No religious order can point to services rendered
more humanclv, more unsullied by selfishness, or nobler in tar­
seeing vision. ")
What services had Friends, in flet, rendered? Late-Victorian
Quakers could point with pride to a two-hundred-year record of
philanthropic achievements. They could begin with the work of
" 11l~k. Firs' .1I/1{11l,~ lricnd«, 2-_~-() .uid 'Rlcll.1nl Hublu-rthorm-". ! S<)----<)!: .uu! Chn"to­
phcr l lill. '\~U"kl'f' .lCld the Ellgh,h H",'\olutlOn'.jl;11S. ,(,/3 (I<)()2), 172-3. It W,1' shorrlv
.tttcr is'llin~ (hi" documc-ur th.it Fo x , ~lltt~nllg tor 'lTCT,d 11100lth~ from wh.u ,1ppCJr<., to h,l\'l'
bcen \t'\'l'fC depression. wirhdrcvv (rOI11 .ill public .u nvitv.
1\ As noted above (Chapter 7), Richard (;reJ\,e<." 'Shattered Expectations?", 237, 2)1)
d1;IJlcnge'\ thi~ view, J'isertillg rh,ic the 'domin.inr characteristics of Restoration Qunkcrisr»
Jrc !lot \vithdL)\val and quil'~\'..ellCl' but engJgelnent Jnd vigor.'
, H Lorry lngi<-, 'Oil 'he r,,/I)' "r Sl'l'killg ,h" (2lukn Holy Crail', 1')-20.
1\ Augllstle Jorrb, 'fill' (.2lfakcr.\ as Piollcas ill Social Ji'ork (New York It)] I), 2],S.
') Quoted by Joshll<l RO\\'IHrl't', Social Scn'i(c, S\vJrthrnort' Lecture, J()IJ (London 1')13).
II.
Renaissance Years, 1902-1914 273
John Bcllcrs (1()54-1725), wealthy son of one of the first London
-Friends, who developed an innovative, though ultimately untried,
pl.m tor eliminating poverty and was associated with nClrly every
important reform movement of his timc.!" Certainly, John Wool­
man's campaign against slavery, taken up by Anthony Bcnezct
(1713-S4) after Woolman's death, and subsequently associated,
perhaps without full justification, with Quakers gcnerally (London
Yearly Meeting did not threaten slave traders and holders with
disowm ncnt until J 7() J), put Friends in the forefront of the most
morally riveting social reform movement of the age. r r All would
h.ivc been aware of the work of Elizabeth Fry (17S0-IS45), who,
inspired by the courageous CX;Il11ple of Thomas Shillitoc (1754­
ISVJ) and with the assistance of her Gumcy and Buxton relatives,
made Quakerism a major force in the ninctccnth-ccutury prixon
reform movement. Perhaps the crowning moment of Victorian
r -'
Quaker philanthropy was the Society's reliefeffort during the Irish
t.uninc of the IS40s. While not large givcn the scale of the disaster,
Quaker cudc.ivo urs were entirely untainted by the infamous
attempts of SOllie Protestant groups to tic food relief with pro­
selvtizlllg an long starving Catholics. r 3
Quaker crforts to .uucliorntc the sutfcrings of the unfortunate or
improve the lives as well as the morals of the sinful were closely
linked to the doctrines and practices of evangelical Friends. Eliza­
beth Isichci noted that '[,1111 the prominent Victorian Quaker
philanthropists were evangelicals" .md that an understanding of
evangelical Friends was ccutral to au undcrst.mding of Victorian
philanthropy. 14 But if Quaker devotion to charitable activities was
Sec .lorn", -"Il)(i,d II '[11k. 7)-S() ,Illd /J.1.';.I;111 ,Illd Pun-hou. glrrr<llf ill (;rey. I [(}-12.
1[ For the role of Friend- III rhe .mti-xl.ivcrv c.IIIIJl.ligll, "l'\,' Jl·.IIl R" Soderlund, (!//(/k>lTS
and ,>';/<lllery:.-1 J)Il'it!cd -"Ipirit (Prunrton 1I),s,S) \\ho l·Olldlldc;.. rh.rt, III gCIIlT'11. (~ll.lkcr" were
nut olll~ 'ilo\\" to follow Jt)hll WDO]llUll ill cOlldl'lllllillg 'iI.IVl'rY but .ilso rh.rt dllrlllg thl'
uincn-cnrh CClltury the whirl' .IhohtiullI\t movcmcut .» a whol« 'vonrmucd . " .rhc gLldllJli\t,
\cgrcg,ltiOl11<.,t .uui p.ltl'rJl,tlhtlC pulil"ic" dl'vl'!opt'd t()r ,1I[1\o\t ,I .cnturv within the Society of
Fricnd-,'. [S7. for ,I more r r.rclition.tl and Llllllplillll'llt.lry \'1 c w , <"l'C Thonus E, I Jrakc,
(21/(11.:/'1".\ <l11l1 SltIF!'!)' ill .-11110/(,1 (Nc«: I LIVCll [l))O)
I.'. SCI.' .\!c/I/[lir ottln: LUt' (~r EIi'::'l/Jcth Fry, u-ith Eytrd(b);"\llll I fa Journal (Loudon I S47). The
<t.mdard bil)graphy i'i GcorSrillJ. King LC\\"l', Efi::aberh Fry (London 1(,)10); thc tnost rCl'cut
.I,m,,! R",c, {:/i:::,,""'h Fry (London I')Ho).
I, For J[1 cngJging, if lIIlC\'l'n, ,rudy of Qlukcr chJritable aeti\"itics ill I rcland, ccntering
t)llthe F.Llnillc. ,ce I-Ie1cn E, I lJtton, The LI~~CSf Afl/oullt (~r Cood: QlIllh'r Rclitf ill Irelal/d,
1(>_i~-19!1 (Kings!on &: Montreal 1')')3)·
I~ I'iichci, Viaon'l1ll Quakas, pp, xix, 214.
 27.+ Britisl, Qllakerislil 1860-1920
deservedly praised, it was also dccidcdlv gcntcel as befits pious
Christians with no dcsir« to challcnge the SI,III1S q1l0. In r XX<) J. B.
Hodgkin, noted, not without pride, that his Society's appro.uli to
social concerns had been m.nkcd by: 'Honest cx.uuiu.irion otsou ic
of the causes of human misery and patient. business-like endcl\'­
ours to remove them ... 1.1 mc tliod] more fj'uitful of good tlLlI1
visionary schemes. or wild. random speeches.' ,
During the tinal decadc of the n i ncr ccnrh celltury, leader, of the
(~uakL'r Renai",lI1ce embraced not only the el11erging liberal
theoloi-,'Y that was taklI1g British Protcst.mtism by storm but also
an il11pendillg interventionist philovophv that would enlergc as the
'Nl'\V Liberalism'. Anxious to incorporate the grcat inrcllcctu.il
rc vcl.uions of the nineteenth ccnrurv into the cOrpOLItL' tcstimonv
ofa ITnl'\\'l'd and revitalized Socictv of Fricnds .md convinced that
Quakerisln could pl.iv ,1 m.ijor role in the rch.ibilir.rtion ofa 13riti,h
socicry blinded by m.itcrial opukncc and <piritual povcrtv, these
libcr.rl reformers swcpt the field. sinklI1g Quaker ph il.uitluopv :1\
well as Quaker cV:l!lgelicallsl11 in the apparently cle:1l1sing w,lters of
modcrnitv.
One of till' piOIlL'LT, al110ng progrcsslve Qu,lker social rctoru irrv,
as III so i n.mv other things, was Edward Grubb. In I XX<) Grubb
produced ,1 nru nl u-r of articles and speeches inLjuiring as t o why
fricnd, as a bod V seemed unwilling even to discu", the CIUSC, and
dtl.'etS nf poverty: "lhcrc appcars to be no rccognition that as a
church we l1.Ive :lIlY dutics wh,ltcVLT in reg:lrd to thc destlt11tl'
l11ultitudes around us ... ' Quaker dC\'lHion to 'llldividualisl11' :lIld
',elf-help', Grubb said, predi,posL'd Fricnds eithcr to aSSUl11l' pov­
erty wa, nearly :l!W:lyS the rcsult of drink, or to l11ul11ble shibbnleths
,lbout the pnor bcing :llways with us, l)l', in extrcnlity, to l':I'l'
troubled CllIlscicnccs with donations to SOl11e beI1eyole11t org,lIliz.t­
tion, probably hC:llkd-up by one of thcir pr')l11ine11t co-rl'ligion­
isrs. III point of flct, Grubb asserted, <)0 per ce11t of :I11 poverty
'(;111 bc tr:lced dircctly or illdireetly to the ignoraI1ce, apathy, :lIld
,elfisl1l1cSS ofthc UppLT classcs ... ' It W,1S long past time, hc said, tllr
Qu,lkLT cOl11placency to be replaced by :1 policy of 'joint :1Ction for
the good of all ... fI If thcir Cospel W:1S worth anything it l11ust be a
soci:I1 as well as :1Il individual GospeL that the Kingdom of Heawn
was meant to be realized here below.' As a first step, Grubb
~ Jon.ltlLlll 13. Hodgkin. Fllln'
I P!llISC.\ ()( (211,lkalslIl (London 1 ?-iSlj), S.
Renaissance )1"lIS, 1902-1914 275
'L1ggc,ted the establishment of a Friends' Social Union to under­
r.ikc a sntcnntic study of the causes and cures of poverty. ((,
The t~lct that ucarlv a geneLltion passed bdlJre Fricnds fCit rc.idv
ro r.ik.: this 'first step' speaks volumes about Quaker rcticcncc and
"Iution. In the interim, the qucsnon of Quaker responsibilities in
[hL' social realm W:I, kept alive by Grubb and a tl.'W others who
bL'hL'\"ed QlI:lkerism should p1:1\' a role in shaping British social
\,tlLles and policies ill the impcndiru; ccnturv.!" In the run-up t o
rh. M,mche,tcr Conference. Willi,1ln Charles Bra ithwaitc :1rgued
I h.rt one of 'Prcsrnt-I ):l\' Aims of the SOClet\' of Friends'
,!l,ntld be to Le'I'" .lpprll;ll'hlll~ 'u,i,d probl.-m- wit li mcrclv scl1til1lL·l1l.d
1'!llLIIllhn,p\' or gllshL" l,hLlIlsicl1t L'l1thllSI.lSI11. TI1l' rn nc h.i- Cllllie t;Jr
u. ro dl'cLire", the tuud.uncnr.il prJIll'ipks whirh ,11Ould Clllltrll] the
1',-llllllllS llf me» tll o nc .mot licr 1Il '(Ki,t! life, WL' 0\\'[' it to EllgLlIld to
lilt III'. .unu] th« nlllfll'L'd b.irrk- which LtgL" .ibout S(ll'j,t! quc-rions. the
.pi iitu.r! b.uuicr gl\"l'll to our Keeplllg."
Still. 111 the course of the Mauchcstcr (:llnferencc, not even
lir.uthw.iitc huusclf g:I\'C :l meaningful rc,ponsc t o his own call.
IhL' rctormcrs were dtl,etive in prououucing .ind defl'l1dil1g the
l'rJl1l'lplc, of liberal rheology, but as rcg:lrd, hre,1king 11l'\\ ground
l)11 ,oci:llLjul"t'OI1S, they ,ceillcd to h.ivc little to OftlT bcyond the
Ilispiring but genLT,ll .idn ronit ion ,n tl)rth by joshu» R ownrrcc
th,lt (~II.1kLTS attitudcs to\\,lrd ,oci,d rl'tlJrll1 should h:lscd upon
'[ruc, rL'.d, C:lrnc,t tlTCdoll1 tl'OI1l thc tLll11l1ll'ls of cnn\Tnti,JIulisl1l
,llld \\'orldhisl1l, :lI1d \\ith spirits lighted by lo\'c of Christ ,1I1d uf
our tdlu\\ 1l1,m'. III
I )uring the ,e",ioll 011 'The Society of Fricl1ds in ReLttiul1 to
SOL·I.11 Quc,tiol1s', Hcnn' BLIdy Pric,tl1l:m (IX,~3-1<)20), director of
[hc Fricnd, Providcnt Institute :lI1d :1 noted pbttlJrln speaker,
Fd\\'dnl (~rlJbh, .( )ur .r...h.,\lilll, II. 'i(H ].)1." ((.2[.:, 2,1 (I S~()!. (13-:-12. }ld.\.\/II1. (~tJ()LltlUll
trUll) 'r I::::.dllll1lld I i.ln c\' )I.~, lI11puhli..,hcd llLlllll\Cnpt by i=:d\\',mJ II. tV1.11h~,1I1 III I ~F:
lhl,j \\ ItlJ PlTllll\\\UJL Aho 'ilT \\/illi,llll 11. 1\'1.11"\\ lcL '(~Ll.lkcr ~()l'ul Thuught', I [;lt1d/J!"I)(lj.:C
(h!LL,I(lll<1! fJ,lj1Cr_, . .2 (I\j()()), 11-12
"L'l' .\(ld',d .--1,p/'a",- l~( If It' (}II<1}..'(·/"Lurfl (llHldoll rSl)()). tl colkcri()11 (d- (;ruhb\ kctlln:\
.ll1d ,truck..; 011 "OCl.l1 fl'f()flll. Illll\t of \\'lllch 1J,1d Pfl,\-jOLl\ly Jppe,Lfl'd III the linusll j'ril'lId.
" H)F 2~ l[Julyl I S')5), 32 ')- 30 ,
"1 ,\ LIII(!,c,-rcr (_'(ll~!;'/'('II(L', 151. ()fJllefod (;rl'l'll\\'ood, Fnt'lld., .Il1d J<('/uf I ;U-- [ cdb ,lttl'll­
[l\11l to thl' tilllldiry o(hhcL1I FnClld\ vKi,l] qUC"tiOll' .1'1 cOl11p.lrcd to till' bold I 1(..'''''' ot'thl'ir
()ll
[I )~', )logic,ll rrnIHHII1Cl"lllt.'llt".
 27° Hritisil Quakerislll 1860-1920
exhorted the Manchester Conference to make 'an carncsr effort to
find ways and methods' of applying their spiritual message to daily
life that might match 'the passionate dcm.uid for justice which
animate and inspire /sicJ socialist writers ... '20 13tH the ellSuing
discussion was almost embarrassingly tame. Edward Grubb prob­
ably caused a brief fluttering of the dovecotes when. notwithstand­
ing an earlier speaker's Spencerian warning agailISt the 'new
tyranny of state socialism', 21 Ill' pointcdlv referred to 'the socialistic
side' of Quaker principles and traditions, but instead of an exegesis
on collccti vism, the remainder of Gru bb 's address was largely
devoted to methods of moralizing private property. The speakers
who followed Cmbb were inv.m.ihlv orthodox in the social sphere
and the l\lrIlest discussion that concluded the session scarcely rose
above noblesse oh!(\?c and the 'ncw philanthropy'. Until. that is,
Samuel C;. Hobson took the floor.
Sam Hobson (I S70-1 S>4 0 ) , an Ulsrcrman of considerable bulk
and acid tongue, was, .it age 25. o nc ofthe most politically radical
(1uakers of his d.iv, He h.id joined the Fabian Socicty early-on .ind
served :lS private Sl'uTt,lry to Britain's first indepe-ndent socialist
MI>, Kcir Hardie, Sori.ilisr», as espoused by Hohson, was not a
theory which 111any Fricurk found congenial, although, in I SS>3
one member had warned London Yearly Meeting that <ocialism
might prove all attractive alternative for young Friends who found
that contelllporary Quakerism did not speak to their condition
Whill' at the time such an idea llIay have seemed preposterous,
harclv two years later Samuel Hohson \V,lS addressing the Manches­
ter Conference on precisely this point, claiming personal know­
ledge of fortv to fifty young mall' Quakers, himself included, who
could find no scope for their social ideals within the Society of
Friends and had 'been absolutely forced to work outside.,. the
dilctr.mtc circll's of eminently Quaker society'. Hobson went so fIr
.IS to suggest that these lapsed Friends might be returned to the fold
along with a host of ncw converts, if Quakerism, bcginning at this
momentous Conference, could make 'some great corporate
pronouncement ... for social progress'. Socialism's struggle on
behalf of the labouring classes, Hobson declared, was 'essentially a
non-dogmatic religious movement. It only needs the guidance
\,1,///(!lc.\tcr COI!!I'fI'l/d, 72-3. For Hcnrv Pru-ctnt.m , sec 'J)(~lr, LSF
..'1 This ~pL'J.ker, EJiLl Pll'kard, a Conscrv.itiv« f-rie-nd. .rlso cautiom-d ".lgain"r (he
doglllati'ill1 Oflllodcfn scicncc' . .\fillh/IC:_IN COI!!i'(('I/(t', '(II.
Renaissance Y{'ars, 1902-191-1 277
of Friends of leisure and culture to give it that religious
c'llthusiasm which can alone secure a great future for social pro­
,"
~rl'~". -­
Hobson's dramatic appeal aroused no enthusiastic response.
Indccd, other than his being 'cldcrcd' by the weighty Thou ias
I-[lldgkin who firmly disavowed any connection between Quaker­
i-m and the idea 'of a ... forcible abstraction of the superfluous
\\cdth of the rich to bestow it on the needy ... ' none of those who
spoke after Hobson even addressed any of the questions he had
Lllsni. 2, At the conclusion of the discussion on Friends and social
Ljuestions, a minute W:1S adopted counselling members to seck
'Inore simplicity of litl' and more sympathetic relations with
those around us'. Hardly the ringing 'corporate pronouncement'
S,I11IUel Hobson cuvisioucd.""
Throughout the last years of the nineteenth celltury, discussions
concerning some systematic (~uaker appro arh to social questions
ITnLlilled peripheral as meaningfiJ! debate remained tlKlI.Scd on
how Quakers should respond to the theological and scientific
ideas that were t~lshioning modern thought. At the Scarborough
SUlnmer School III I SS>7, John Stephenson Rowntrcc warned his
.iudicnr« that (~uakerism required more than 'philanthropic work'
to otIset the not unjustified charge that their Society's religious
tcstimonv was mainly contI ned to 'matters of tradition-whilst
they had hccn almost silent Oil that which most wanted testifying
.lg,liJlSt... the l'xcessive love and worship of wealth, ami the devo­
tion to its .rcquisitiou' .2, Bur however cogently J. S. Rowntrcc
spoke to the general condition of late nineteenth-century Friends
in the social arena, he oficrcd no specific means for correcting their
collective deficiencv.
One Quaker more than willing to speak to this challenge was
the redoubtable Samuel Hobson. In an article published by the
Fricl/ds QUdrrcrly Examiner, Hobson asserted that a 'spirit of doubt
.nul hesitancy' prevailed in Quaker circles because most Friends
vrill cmbrnccd an 'etIl'te' Liberal syurhcsis that lay dead in the social
backwater while an invigorating wave of socialist ideas swept
toward the future. Anything that remained vital within the
.\ /1111(!lC.':h'l C(l/!f{'rClW', 1 ()7-<;- AJ.~o 'il'C Hob-on'< :lLl[ohint-.rraphy, Pi~l!rilll T» tire LA)i:
.\Jt'lIllli,..., (!t"d .\lllift'rli Rcvolinioni»! (Loud ou I()JX) .
11('\\ ~, .\/llll(lu's[ct" Contircn:«. 2o()-7, .'.--l IbId,202.
~, J S. H..o wntrec. P/,i(( t:(rhc SO(iCfY otFvicnd». :i()-j, oo.
 27~ Bri tislt QII,71','lTislII 1 8()O- 1i)2l)
outworn social creed of liberalism, he concluded. could be useful
only if it were merged 'into the splendor of an ampler system , ..
It is to Socialism we must look tor a new crmade>('
Reflecting a penchant for remaining at the cutting edge of every
aspect of advanced thought, Samuel Hobson believed that the
swing toward socialism was an aspect of 'the inevitable 'truggle
tor existence' .uid part ot 'a conscious ctlort to hasten the advent of
;1 higher org~1l1iSlll and to alleviate its inevitable birth pangs', Thi­
would he accompltshed most satl'ly and efll,ctively, he asserted. itit
orcurrcd within all ethical fr.uucwork provided bv 'the point' of
contact between Qu.ikcrivm and Sociali'l1l', Hobson believed that
it w.is no exaggeLltion to ';ly 'th.it Socialism is the ccounmir
.om inuit ,' of pri,tine Quakerism", our doctrine [)f the "nmcr
light" is but the spirn ual m.uufcst.ition of the S[)ciali,t doctrine of
cconomir evolution',e-
Still, tor all the points of convLTgence hctwccu socialism and
Quakerism, including their con uuon <t.nnc on questions such a,
'<ex cqu.ilitv .md peace', Hobson tl',lred that 111I10\'ative idea,
would m.ikc little headway ~lll]()Jlg Fneuds since they were too
much disposed to 'walk in the old grooves, to pursue the old
ideals'. pretl'rring the pleasant .uucnitics of the Adult Sl'llOol
where they might breed flwning sycophants to 'the rough-and­
tumble of Socialist agiLltion', e'
Hobson was certainly correct in prl'dieting that (-.!lLlkl'l's \HTe
not, by and large. prepared to rally round the socialist banner. Still.
at about the time his essay 'ConL'L'rIling Soci~llIsm' appeared, se\'['11
young Friends formed a Socialist Qu.ikcr Society (S(-.!S) founded
on their belief that the Univcr-,»] Brotherhood implied by the
l nncr Light could not 'be realised under the prcscn! competitive
sYStl'l1l , .. ,e') Within a year of tl)flllation of the SQS, John Wil­
helm Rowntree, writing tllr PrCSCIII DiI)' Papers, had concluded that
'CollnTlling SOCLlII\Ill'. [-()I:'. 3.2 (I ll))-j.
Ihid. r(n-'l),~, -':Ul-OJ . .20:'. 2()-'-: Ibid . .20S-ICL
')()culi-.r (~llJk\-,r SUCil't>", .\/I/III(t'_', April I ~l)S. lllicrotilm copy: Dnglll.Jl\ 111 LSF Ftlur
.2
\\"()JIll'll JIId thrl'l' IIH.:11 \\"l'rl' \lng-l1ul S(.)~ llll'll1hl'r). A 111\£01') ofthL' S(~S h TrOllY] Ad,1l11'i,
"I Ill' .'>uCl.di\t <)l1JklT ~OCll'ty. [s\)s- r t)2-t.', M.A. Thl· . . ].. . , Ll·]Ll· . . rl'r Ul1i\'lT\iry, I l)~ 5 \\ ]llClJ 1\
\llppkIlll'IHni hy hl\ p,llllphlL'r.-I /:<1,.-,\/,('111.,<: r 'i_,/ol/: Flu' Sl)(I,dl"'[ (Jllilkcr St1d/,[)'
pllbli\hed by rill' LUIHl'lll~l()1"Jry (~Ll.lkl'r S()C],J!]\[ SULlcry (L3l'dfnrd n.d.). PerlT (LA. JOIlL'\· . .
dl\cu""ipll uftlll' ()l"g,lllizJ[Jllll III FIll' (J,ri.,fltllI St1iiilll.I[ Rel'll'd!, lS;;:--lt)-j-j (PnllCl"tUll It)(l~),
3(l"7-,'\l) 1\ ]l''''\ p,lrti;-',11l Jild gl'!ll'Ldl~' IlH)rl' LI"dlil.
'.;""""'- , :~ 'F'
Renaissance y'('arS, 1902-191-J 27(}
't hc c.igcr, investigating, reforming, responsible spirit of Soci;d­
1'111 ... [\usl the healthiest spirit in modern politics','"
HO\\'['\'L'r promising john Wilhelm Rownrrcc found the social­
r-t spirit. the Premises Committee of I )cV'ollShire House, Quaker­
]'111" l.ondon headquarters, could not be persuaded to allow the
Sociali,t Quaker Socictv the use of a room at the I ~()lJ Ycarlv
:\1ceting, The SQS did meet concurrently with Ycarlv Meeting in
,I nc.irbv schoolhouse. where over a hundred Friellds a<;<;elllbled to
hCH earnest attclllpt, to convince them rh.it socialism was indeed
the vv.ivc of the future, but these wcr«. no doubt, chiefly curiosity
«-ckcrs. II Although the keepers of Fricndlv 'pace cvvntuallv
relented and SQS gatherillg' become ,I ti xturc at early twentieth­
,'clltury Yc.irlv Mcctillgs, Quaker soci,dists nude little progress in
their c.uupuign to l'nli,t members of their rcligiou« Society in the
-crricd rank, of the soci.ilist legion, AllLi If the SQS could at last
meet Oil (~ll,lker grolllld, It \V:I'. for m.mv ycars, refused space ill
Ti« lrictu] for cxpli.it l , sOl'i~llistil' articles. Not surprisingly, SQS
membership r.-m.uncd <t.itic at ;1 tl'W dozen members throughout
1110,t of the pre-w,lr period,'e
The SQS did lll;lILlgl' to att r.ut ,ol11e .irtrnr ion .md to double its
membership (to around 120) .rtt cr I<;<;uillg ;111 '( )pCIl Letter' to all
Friends ill IlJ 12, This h;lIH!,olnely produced m.mitcsto, widely
di,tributed and printrd in both Quaker newspapLTS, po inrcd up
the usclcssnc« of vvork ing within the capitali,t structure to
remedy soci.il ills which WLTC, in the main, caused by that Llpa­
,'ious ,y'teIll 3 l The i mpcrus for this m.mitcsro-s--som« lJ,OOO copies
were distriburcd-e-c.nuc from the organization's ncvv Clerk, Marv
F. Thorne (1~73-llJ:i7) who, with her husband Alfred (1~70­
[1)22), h.id joined the SQS in IlJOlJ, While Quaker socialists like'
thc ThorI!cS gencLllly pictllred thelllselves as 'a group of young,
ullL'stlhlished, intellectual radicals of Illodnate IllClllS' struggling
.lg;\illSt the pO\\ertlIl prljudiccs of Quakn officialdolll rcpresclltnl
1)\ the gll'.lt, sturdy QU;lkn business ElIllilies, deep-rooted,
Jt)hn 'Jhlhdlll l<'O\\·lHrel', 'Thl' Stl'\\',lflhlllp u( Wl'.Ilth', l'/I'It'I![ f)d)' I\/I)('I~I', April
I '\l)l), 1'-;
,I S()~ .\llIllIfl'.":_ 2,\ i\Lll"l'h "lnt! 2'7 /\pril I~()t).
Thl" S(JS .\lIt1/lft' Hl\ll~', [[ , 22 Fl'h. I t) I 0 li",tl'd ollly ~2 11ll'lllhl'r\. Borh rhe nrifJ"ll I:rinld
(1Syl'l'-lyl-j), ,llld rhc h'/Clld, (JlJ(1I"It'r/), E\Llll/llltT dld publl\h Jrtidi..'\ by S()\ 1\ll'11lh"r\. Sl'l', t(lr l'\:,llllpk,
HF Allglht Il)03_ 2-l-l ,\lld i\1Jry (),Bricil l1.trrb, 'TIll' SlH'Ldi"'t AltlTILltl\'l' tll (I0Vl·rt;/,
HJL, ~2 (I ()O,~), ~os-27,
" SlT AdJIll'>, h1l·~S(,C1I1.1! I ·i...:ioll, I [-12.
 2~0 Hri tish Quakerislll 1860-1920
socially conservative, pious and rich', 3~ they were, in tact, never a
solitary band struggling tor social change a1110ng indifferent co­
religionists. By the tum of the new century modem, scientific
social reform, as opposed to old-style philanthropv, C1111e into
vogue among non-socialist Friends. But while positivist theories
of a science of society threw out the baby of Divine Presence with
the bath-water of traditional religious norms, liberal Quakers,
desiring to remain both tullv Christian and acceptably all courant,
dumped over the water but kept the Divine Child to be cleansed
by a frenzy of good works accompanied by the latest scientific Ideas
concerning the evolution of the social order. This new approach
was mack easier by the vigorous revival of Inward Light theology
which created the imperative of iutusiug secular society with what
each individual possessed internally and spiritually. As John Wd­
helm Rowntree noted ill suuuuanzing Quakerism'« future mis­
sion:
The war betwccll c.ipir.r] .md bhol1r. the b ittcrncv; of scHilh compct it ion,
the Povcrrv rh.u sh.uucs our l.uid , the ]()\'clcssllcss o( loull that know no
C.hnst , c.lll with o nc mightv voice tin th« l.ibours of sL'W-sacrificing Ion'.
May tC;lChlTI and scholars lin Adult S,]]()ollj <hare the mantic and the
sr.rttofrhis scrvicc. .uid build in their n1l';\IUrC, .uid under C;od\ redeem­
ing power. th« City of Happy Souls."
In 1<)03. the long-anticipated Friends Social Union (FSU) finally
came to fruition under the leadership of Sccbolnu Rowntrcc,
whose study of J>('I'('I'I)' ([<)01) in York had already placed him at
the forefront of British social rcsc.mhcrs. Although the Union did
not officially represent London Yearly Meeting until 1<) [0,3(' its
Executive Committee was composed almost exclusively of res­
pectable ami weighty Quakers. Exceptions were Edward Crubb,
whose opinions were still too advanced for many cautious
Friends, and Percy Alden, a Fabian and future Labour M P, who
was appointed Organizing Secretary even though he was not a
1~ t~lIDtl'd by J()I1l'~, (JIrl'.\//(1I1 ,)'{Jell/list Hl'l'lr'll!, Jisn quorcs <omc
37s:
illdlglulH n,'\pOIl<;es to the SC,.?S 'l )pl'1l Letrcr. 3 So-S I. Also <c«: Ad.un-. Filr-SI'CIIIX r /".1'/0/1.
Il-[.1
" QUO[L'(j by Stephen Allo[[.)'1/1I1 If '''hellll R,III'III"·". [S.
-<1 It should be noted rlur rhc FSU\ t:1iluTl' to .lTOU"C cntliusr.istu .unong Edw.irdian
J(' See L)'..\1, IQ/(1, 1_~5-)(). Also :-'CL' Marwirk , 'Quaker Socidl Thought',
Inends should nor be cousrrucd ,1S all .lh~l'llCl' otQu.ikcr -oci.rl aud ch.rritahle activity. Mauv
c~t·. ""
Renaissance Years, 1902-1914 2~T
hit:nd F Claiming to be the first Quaker group to undertake a
vvstcrnati« approach to social concerns, the FSU promised 'to
l'llCOurage the study of social problems :lll1ongst Friends ... in
,uch a way as shall best evoke the spirit of justice and of social
-crvicc, and ... to apply our religious f3ith intelligently and con­
-istcntlv to our social and civic litl,.'ls
Subscriptions to the Friends Social Union during its initial year
\\'LTe inadequate to support the projected annual budget of £:500,
but the first Annunl Report nonetheless indicated involvement in a
dozen different areas of social concern, including housing, poverty,
unemployed ;md unemployable labour, constructive phil.uuhropv,
l.ibour colonies, and 'How to Form a Social Services Committee';
the FSU's lecture series included such notable speakers as the Rcvd
JmLlh Strong (on 'Social Services") and H. Rider Haggard (on
'Rural Depopulation'). While at the end of the first year, some
members expressed "disappointment at the small response from
Friends to the appeal lor work in the Social field', the Executive
Committee believed that the Union's work had the potential tor
strengthelling and deepening religious life in England. 3 "
Exuding what Peter Clarke ILlS called ';1 conllnon seriousness
about the dreadful importance of questions of belief as the source
otm.m's vision of ... society', the FSU diligently sought to 'evoke
the spirit ofIusticc and of Social Service, and to apply our Reli­
gious Faith consistently to our Social and Civic life .... ' Certainly,
the Union's .\lil/ules and published materials revealed an abundanrc
of unwavering 1110ral earnestness. Throughout the pre-war decade
the FSU continued to sponsor lectures, publish pamphlets, and
appoint an perpetual stream of sub-conunittccs to inquire into the
'correct sphere for social work' .~" But fill' all of that, the Friends
Social Union as a body produced what can only he called a paucity
of meaningful social consequences.~[ The lVlillllle Hook of the FSU's
1- Ad.uuv. LII-S('l'il~tZ [ 'ision. A, rl.um-, rh.it Alden ([ ~U))- llJ-t-J.) j( lillCd Friend» ill Il)O J. hut
othcr l'\'ldcIlC,-' indicae". rh.u while Alden \\,;1\ 'rlovc to Fricnd,', he \\'.1'\ I1l'VlT .r uicmbrr HI...'
\\,,\\ l'lcetl·d to Parli.nncn r III I <)o() but i-, not mcludcd 011 a li« orQu.ikcr MP", ill I SF
,~ 'The I ricnd-,' S(ki,li Uniou. -t. printed Hvcr ill LSr.
(') London .lnd Middlcvcv Qu.rrrcrlv Mec[in~, COlllllliuee on Povcrrv &: SocIJI Service,
[I)O~ ,1Jld FSU .. ~111111,11 FI."f'''''. [~o~. LSF.
JUllL'\ -<, Pete-r Cl.irk c. Lihcr~lIs Illld ."',lodl J)clI/,Ja(1!s (C.llllbridge 1<,0:-\), (J .uid FSU, .--l111111111
I?. CPlJr! , [')05. LSF. The FSU\ .\11/11 ttc«, Il)0-t--Il)! S, 1~)J(I-17 • .--ll/lIl/al Rcpon, and other
RL1)llr!.1 dlld HlIlIpIJlC1S. I tj0-t--I 5 JTC housed in LSF.
pll.'.iilll.
 2~2 Brirish Quakerislll 1860~ 1920
Executive Council is full of reterences to the proper work to he
undertaken aud the best people for developing it, hut these refer­
cnccs arc tI-equently followed bv lists of reasons why persistent toil
produced so tl'w results. When diligent Friends complained about
the 'indefinite nature' of various FSU proposals, of their senSL' of
inadequacy trw rcuicdviuj; known evils or even of being 'uu.iblc to
discover allYthing that needs to he remedied", leaders of the FSU
iucvit.ihlv responded. not with specific pl.ms of action but with
exhortations about the need tor more SYStl'IIUtlC studies of the
social ills that werc so obviously troubling British society.~c
The gL'Ill'r;l1 level of Quaker response to social ljuestlons might
he illustrated by ;1 p.nnphlcr on the 'Stcw'lrdshlp of WL';llth' issued
in I <) I 0 by t hc Ycarlv Mel,ting Committee on Social (~lll'stions
;lIld fc,;\turIng such bold iclc~ls for sOCI~I1 .ntiou ;lS 'Christi;ln <hop­
ping' .md not cxploiriu.; one's cmplovccs. The Soci~llist (~luker
Society rearted with ,I ,clth1llg barr'lge of critirivm. so biting,
iudrcd. th.ir 'jill' lriciu! would not publish it. though it did ;Ippe;lr
in the Hllriih lrictu]. This L'lnb,lrr,lS'ing eplsolk \ll;IY indeed have
h.id ,Ollie influcucc on London Yc.nlv Meet1llg's decision to dis­
ch~lrge the Committee on Soci;ll Quc,tion, and m.ik c the l ricud-,
Soci;ll Union directly rcspo nsibk- to Ycarlv Meetillg with reg~lrd to
social rctorm.":'
Rl','ponding to this nL'\V status, the Union, in its Atinun! f('jJorr
filr 1<) 12-13, .ittcmptcd to COllie to terms with the tcndcucv to
temporize .ind drift (or to bc pcriodic.illv blown hi thrr ;lnd von hy
the latest VOgUl' ill social cllgineering). Whik noting that 'much
pruning' ILld been done, the nCJ)(lrr .idmirrcc! that "little construct­
ive work' had been .ucouiphvlicd since the Union's cs-cntiallv
Illiddle-class membership had difhcultv realizing the degreT to
which ,tr;linl'd ecol\()nlic CirL'lllllstances halllpered spiritlul lkvcl­
0plllent ;llnong the workillg cbsses.++
f=ncllLh \\,orkl'd lunl ,l\ IIl\Jl\'ldu,l1.., or ,1\ 1l1l'lllbcr., P(]l)l",d ]lJl'l'Ollg" (0 ,dll'\Lltl'
\\']llL'11 ~lrO"l' frol\l PO\Trt~ ,)lId othlT \{h'iJl ill,,_ bur (11 l''' l' l't1(lrr" \\ lTl' l11'lJllly 11] J trJdltloll,Il
H'111 Jlld Ilot III .IlTord \\ nil 1ll0rl' llludl'rn pfllll'lpk" of llltq.;Ll(l'd "o(ul "l'rVl(l' l'''~1l111''l'd hy
(hl' Uillon.
1-~ rsu,
.~lIlIlId/ J«j)lln.," IlF-q.-lt)I,~. j1d_'.'"11 Jnd .\liIllHC.', Il)O~, ll)IO-I.2. F~U/3, LSF.
Ii L)'.\1, h)/(I, 15)~(1:JUlll''', (.'Ilrisr/l/1/ .\,',)(·/tlh.lr." 37:-1-<;: ,md Hj,~ No\'. ll)IO,
H F~U, /11/11/1.11 RC/JO/'r, 11)12-13, LSF. ()Jll' lll"( opponl1llity (0 pro\'ldl' Jp,lthl..'(JC or
\)hlI\,jolh FflL'lHh \\,jtll l'XJ1l1pk" l,t" thl' pl(lIll'l'ril1~ "o(lal \\'ork of dll'lr S(K]l'[~' W,h the
FSU\ tkc["iol1 not to "poll'\or rIll' tLlll"Lltion :Uld pllhlicltl0n of Allglh[(' .lorn'" ,1Cldl'lllll
"tLldy of '11/1' (!lIlII."cr.i as 1)/o/!{'{'/'.i ill "';l)(/iI1 'I'ln/.:>, pllhli'dwd in (;l'fllLlll 111 I () 1 I, In dIl Jpp,Ul'llt
Renaissance }('arS, '902-'9'.J 2~3
So, the Friends' Social Union wafted through the pre-war
,kc-IclL', actin' and earnest, full of respectably bshionable ideas
.ihout \Y.1\'S and me.ius for putting Quuk cri-an to the toretront of
the call1p~lign lor social justice and moral rejuvenation. The FSU
\\as certainly solid, sensible, and respectable, but, apparently lack­
Ing tl)(US and direction, it seem cd unable to fix upon any unique
role tor the Society of Friends in the realm of social action.
III the meantime. late in It) 12 the less genteel arm of Quaker
-ocial activism managed to launch its own jOUrIL11, au impressive
undcrt.ikiuu fix all organization so small and in rpovcrish.-d as the
\(lculist Quaker Society. 'lh« j)I01(c,;II.'i/dYe was to be 'un indcpcnd­
.-nt IlLlg;lzinc' which might better flI1tlll SQS .iu ns 'than by
'L'cking cntrv-s-and sometimes not tinding it-in the more widely
circuLIted journals of the Society of Friends' ." That Tt« J>loll,c,;li­
,1i,IYe appeared in eight oCClsional issues between November J <) 12
.uid August 1<) 1.+ was in large measure due to the dedication and
tL'cllllicll skill of its editor, Willian I Loftus Hare (I ~(j~~1<)43), ~I
cllll\'inced Friend from I )erby .md a pioneer in photo-engraving
.u id colour-print prncessillg. Hare guided the journal throughout
its stormy scvcu-vcar L':\lstence ;I1Jd, to a considerable c xtcnt ,
j)!cJlI,c,;IIS!JdYC projected his intense, passionate, ami highly personal
br.u rd of Christian socialism.!" That SQS itself endured was a
tribute to the perslstelIt enthusiasm of the band of true believers
who, with W. L. Hare, continued to see suci;llist pnuciplcs ;IS the
politir.il .ind economic counterpart to Quaker religious precepts.
I )npite its diminutive size and relative obscurity, the S(~S did leave
n i.nk s 011 the pre-war Society of Friends, especially .uuonj; well­
educated members of the younger geneLltioll.
III I <) II Young l-ricnd-,' Study Circles, looking to cxp.ind the
«xi.il a\vareness of thL'ir mellIbcrs, had requested that the Friends
Soci;J! Union draw up an outline programmc alld sylLIblls flJr the
guid~lIlce of Young Friends as reg,lrds social LJUestiolls.~7 This W~IS
dll' "lItkn!l::; agreed to Jnd ;lpparelltly dOlle, but it is ditIlclllt to imaginc Young
tn o( hUl11dlty. till' Union'" E.\:l'(utlYl' dl'clded tlut "llch ";pl)]}"ur,,hip \vollld "l'\,'lll too "e1f--­
,1~gr.l!1dillllg, Sl'l' FSU . .\li'I1If(·s, 2\) .lUlll' Ii) I 3, FSU/.:;, L.SF. J()nl~' bouk \Va..; !lot puhlished
111 El1glj"h until 1 (J3o,
.f~ Tile 1)1t)!/,t!h~/ldrt' (hcfl"lttl'r /lS). I (No\' Il)12),.2
.. r, Lly-Sccil/,t! I "i.illl/I. 1.~-23 f<)r
Sl'l' Ad.l1l1". lllforllutioll .1bout I tHl' and Tilt' fJ/ol/ghsharc,
AI"l) "l'l' C]Uptl'f t) bdo\\'.
I~ .\11111«(", q Sept 1<)' I, FSUi;, LSI'
 2R-t British QII'lf.:crislII 1860-1920
Friends as a body received much inspiration from the Union's
example. The FSU executive met rcgularlv and discussed a wide
spectrum of possibilities tor art ion, but concrete progress remained
discouragillgly slow. In October j() 13, I<Jr example, the FSU
secretary suggested that the next Council meeting should be a
colloquium 'to consider the rcspousihilirv of Friends towards
maint.uning simplicity of life', ming John Woolman's writings on
the issue as a guide to the discussion. It seemed an admirable
exercise, but the FSU Executive saw so Imny potential difficulties
with even this modest proposal that it W;]S ult imatclv decided 'to
appoint a special sub-commirn-i- ... to consider the matter thor­
oughly'.c(" Nearly two decades .rficr the Manehester ConllTence
had attempted to hrillg the Society of Fncnds into touch with
modern thought, such deliberate speed did not seem calculated to
inspire the sort of dedicated commitment to socia] and spiritual
change that many Young friends were prepared to give. Even so
basic ~I (~uaker issue ,IS living Silllply was not addressed hv the FSU
until a Confl'rellce .it Letchworth two weeks hd()re Franz Fcrdi­
n.md and his will' were murdered at Sarajevo. A report in The
lricud sunnuartzing one attcndrrx reaction to this Conference was
most revealing. Friends. he conllllellted, were still groping toward
SOllie meaningful plan of social action, hindered hy too much
emphasis on self-help, too much coucerIl for the details of social
service and too little commituu-nt to 'an absolute and complctc
surrender to the spirit which was the nUlllspring ofJolm Wool­
man's actions'.·I')
joseph T. Harris, a rounding member of the SQS, had also
attended the Letchworth Conference: his response was more to
the point: 'I have conic away, "vvith ;1 strcngrhcncd sense of the
need for the Socialist Quaker Society ... May the S(~S be
ready, .. to present our message when the Society of Friends is
ready to hear it."'· Within ,J few weeks of this exhortation, the
Great War began. Ironically, it was this enduring tragedy which
provided Quaker socialists with a unique opportunity for deliver­
ing their message to members of their own religious Society as well
as to the nation at large,
4" .\hllll/cs. 2'.) On. 1'.)13, FSU/3, LSF. 4" Tl, 12
S(~S Xlinun», 2/. JlIllC IS'.)'.) .ind 22 Feb. ")'0 .md J["'Cl'bl T. Hj.irn«], '!·SU Con­
tcrcnrc'. PS, 1/7. M,ly [()I-1-, X5-(l.
Renaissance 'IC'arS, 19°2-19/4 2R)
THE YOUNC FRIENDS MOVEMENT
ClearlY, by the turn of the twentieth ccnturv liberal theology, with
irs emphasis on a Cod of love reflected by Christ Incarnate, was
dispL,cing evangelical preoccupations with Divine Justice inherent
III the propitiatory Atonement. But old habits die hard and a more
ro1cLlllt vision of human goodlless and c.irthlv possibilities did not
J)L'L'essarily tr.msl.itc into a more relaxed lifestyle. Most liberal
iricnd« tended to raise their children as they themselves had been
hrought up, For Edwardian Quaker children this could be trying.
Elfrida Vipout Foulds (I <)02-1<)<)0) \V;IS a daughter of Dorothy
(:row]y .md Edward Vipont Brown of Manchester. Her Either, a
f)hysici~lll, was a liberal ill theology and a social democrat in politics
ihL' joined the S(~S early on). but tor all of that, Elfi ida recalled
surtl.'rillg considerable frustration as ;1 small girl in the Brown
huuschold. Beyond her resentment of the fact that both her parents
spL'nt part of each Sunday away IrOIll home, her father with his
IllorI1ing Adult School class ~Ind her mother with various charitable
.urivirics ill the .iftcrnoou, she remembered other lin nr.itions
nupovcd UpOIl young children, especially in weekends:
'iunday afterIloon \\',\S beginning to bL' more interesting to Quaker
,hildrL'n ... Thl'\'d [':ot p.ist till' sUte whLTL' you .ouldnt I'LlI' with any
"f vo ur ((AS, but wh.ir YOU could 1'1.11' with wa, lnuitcd. You could ...
p.ri nt thIng, ami YOU could draw tllIngs. But YOU couldn't possibly I'LlI'
L.lrd [':,1l11L', and ... ,111 thL' Jolly gamL's that [other] children pLtycd.
Whcn Elfrida'., brothers attempted to get round these prohibitions
h\ developing a Sunday version of one popular verbal galliC in
which phr.isc-; like 'Hallelujah or 'Praise the Lord' replaced more
secular ITspon,es, their mother refused to acquiesce in the decep­
tion. Young Elfrida was 'bitterly disappointed', not so n iuch for
lo\'l' of the g;l1lle ;IS in distaste for restrictions, 'When you cunle to
tlunk of it, I cxpcct n lot of Quaker children must have felt like,
that, ,"
Most local Quaker meetings had begun to allow fidgety young­
-rcrs to escape from the prospect of long, and often prcdominnnrly
J"lll' l'.)lc(, c(c(2. silent, Illl'eting, for worship by making provision lor separate
'I lutcrvir cv with I ltnda Pouldv. .A.u:;U'it lSJx6, YCclLlI1d Convcrv, Lll1C1S!1lT"l', EngL1nd
 -3 ~
;::-
~
.... ...
2 Sf.. =:
~ .......
3r-r--..-..:J

'-...;
o 0,.......

';>.
o"'
~
>. c>
c:
;;:: :;
~
~
~~
;:;:J ...
or.
;....-:
:..,
;:....

--:
'f.

'......... "E, ' ..............

--: -
~
""'::i ::::
(.I 7fJ ,
C""/12
':;;[, Z
f, 'f. :;:
'~ ~
c;
;.-.
c;
'--, l-. ~';:: ;:""':':;
...... ...- ._ l-. I­
2 ~
f
'~
~l-.--- _
;.-. o '-'
~
'-' 0
'.......
:) ~
'f
f
f
.~

f'ir.:
v.
'-'
::: c.r.
':= ~
o
o '-'
. . . ,c
r .......
~~ ...
~
;;
'-'
"....J-:::i .-L '-'
o ~ ~
"....J 2 ::. ~ ~ ...o
f
c ... ~ ~ '-'
........ 'J:
'"' r «
~ ~ ~ .. 'J::
 288 British Qllakerislll 1860-1920
two widely admired young men was the emergence of a rcvi tali zed
Young Quaker Movement which not only attempted to provide
Renaissance rears, 1902-1914
solace for spiritually troubled young people but also to establish
what one member called 'a fellowship of service' in which all
might participatc.?" As George Newman, editor of the Friends
QII(mcrly Examiner, told Rufus Jones: '0 yes, we Quakers hn vc
been given something of a vision: If onlv, if only we wjouljd
proclaim it. We might nuke the word just a bit nearer to a larger
0: truer thought of Cod. Now John Wilhelm has left us, some of us
must buck up 0: do, .. something."?'
One group attempting to do the sort of thing Newman had in
mind cOl1Sisted of a number of younger Yorkshire Friends and old
Booth.un School boys who, .irtcr a Whitsuntidc weekend gather­
ing at SCllby, the horne of John Wilhelm's widovv and t~nnily,
determined to initiate a series of 'tramps' through the north of
England for religious service .ind Christian tc'lJowship, The idea,
lust proposed bv Nc.ivc lklysh~lw, \\',IS to Iorrn bodies of voung
men (Ii-m.rl« members were e\'l'ntu~llly added) who would w.ilk
fiom village to vilbge in imitation of (;eorge FoC' ;Ind early
Friends. By visiting Friends meetings, organizing religious gather­
ings .md establishing personal .ind spiritual attachments. yOUllg
people could both act out the traditions of their ancestors and
honour the recently departed in <prcadiug the message of Quaker­
tsn 1.
The tlrst trampers who spread out over North Yorkshire and
Lanc.ishirc converged on l'cndlc Hill where Ceorge Fen had
related his vision of 'a great people to be gathered', This sort of
pilgri1ll,lge c'lught on among young Quakers fl)r obvious reasons.
not .ill of them pious, Tramps not only provided the possibility for
the sort of religious service so central to the enlerging ideals of
liberal Qu.ikcrism, they also afforded opportunities for brc.ik inp;
tree trom what was, for many, a still stifling social atmosphere and
spending mainly unsupervised time with young people of
both sexes whose interests and problems were similar to their
own. 111 old age, Caroline Stephen grasped the mood of the time
and the importance of such a Movement in writing to a young
Friend:
()() Henry B. Binns, Plr]? (r ooo). LjUO(cJ bv Greenwood, Friends
,.j Caroline Stephen ro Hannab Bellows. () Nl1\', 1 ooo. L. Viol.-r Hodgkin Papers, MS
(" George Newm.m ro It. M. 1-, 1 S julv Iy07. Box S. RMJP.
Vol. 120/3. LSF .ind to Georgc Hodgkin, 7 june I~OS, MS Vol. 12S!4, ibid,
'i;t;,
r
I think \'OU arc ILlVlIlg the experience which seems to be almost universal,
of a rather difliculr time midway between childhood 0: age-the table­
land of lifc SCCIllS generally to make weat demands on one's counge 0:
289
trust & \\T cannot help o nc .inorhcr vny much 1Il any direct or conscious
\\',Iv-but indircctlv ,1I1d uucousciouxlv [ believe we do, more than we
(,111
.
ever mc.isurc.
()~ .
While Caroline Stephen hoped that the younger generation was
'awakening to the value of,., a "prophetic ministry"', she was
rouccrncd lest admirers of John Wilhelm Rowutrcc succumb to
'the danger of letting the intellect have things its own way, .. ' As
she believed, the only way to acquire the sort of riveting ministry
th.it would shake the spiritual world as carlv Friends had shaken it
\\'as 'by being taught of Cod-in the depths. 0: mostly through
sutrL-ring-for which time and patience arc needed ... to be true to
our t~lith to our very heart's core is the only way I can sec to real
trui t-bc.iring'. ('3
These were prescient words in light of the events shortly to
transpire. Within ~l c!ccac!c young Friends would Elee the trial of a
Great War and confrontation with the secular State. In the end, it
\\~IS not the intellectual thrust of the Quaker Rcnnissanrc, however
powerful its influence on young Friends, but rather the willingness
to sutter, 'l'\'l'n unto death", that bore the fruit of Quaker Elithful­
ness to a renewed .md revitalized peace testimony.
Even as Caroline Stephen wrote, the Yorkshire IljO) Couuuit­
tc«, ~I sort of 'ginger group' dedicated to pursuing the objectives
xvhich John Wilhelm Rowntrce h.rd articulated, W,IS taking shape
In Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting, Among other things, this ad hoc
couunittcc made arrnngcmcnts lor more tramps of the type
recently undertaken. Since these walks over sacred Quaker ground
were intended to combine religious with social activities, special
concern was taken to ensure sufficient involvement of both male
and fcmal« Friends, Such tramps, in connection with religious
Summer Schools. continued on an annual basis, drawing young
people into a 'closer Christian fellowship, .. based on a conviction
of the value of Truths entrusted to Friends'. Such endeavours were
c.: Cnrolin.: Stephen to Lyra Trueblood. 1 J-m, 1 ~07, Temp MSS ,04. LSI'. Also sec
.",·lI 'dl/lI'!(k, It.)11, (1-7.
1111d Relict. I71.
2()O 13rirish Qti<lkcrislII 1860-192(1
seen as 'a time of great blessing'. providing the occasion tor 1110re
thorough instruction in Quaker principles. There were C\Tn ,1111bi­
tious hopes th.it these ventures could help to resuscitate dormant
Quaker meetings or establish new oncs .md, thus, be a source of
revitalization. not just for the young. but tl.)r the entire Socictv.":'
If john Wilhel111 Rowutrcc had been the chief inspiration for
till' Yllung friends Movement, it, leading expollent .md uurvim;
t:1ther w.is Ncavc Bravshaw." At the <;;1111e ti111C that he took the
lead in organizillg country walks .iud ,1rchelllogical excursions,
Bravshaw was .11,0 at p;lins to ensure that there was a 'dl'l'p spiritual
basi, for all our work.'. Wh ilc he was determined to root evangel­
ical theolo[-,'Y and prxtice our of Quakeris111, Braysha«: ,11',0 Iclt
th.it 111any young people, while rejecting the ev,lIlgelical ministrv
llf their local 111eetings, became too absorbed in Adult Schools .md
other forms of social .utivism or glllld t<'.'IIO\\"ship. The purpose of
the Young Friends Movement was, BLlvslnw believed, not simply
to expend exce',', energy or to make ncvv ti'iellLk but to inject
renewed Iitl' a Ill! vigllur into meetings Ior worslup. the central
spiriru.il cxcrci«. llf Quakerism. OVLT scvcntv years ;lttLT Philip
Rudlcv first became involved with Young Friends, he ITl1l,'l11bLTed
that Nc.ivc Br;lysh,I\\" had, tor the tirst time, provided him \vith 'a
sense of what ... 111eeting tor worship should be r«, 13r;lv,IL1\\'
cnvivioncd nor just silent waiting but also the sort ofvocal ministrv
'where the S\\Tep llf the divine tide' would catch and hold a
gathered meeting."? As he noted in a long letter on the strengths
weaknesses, and prospect, of the 'Tra111p' MllVClnC'llt:
if our 'tral11ps' do IH) l11orl' thall gi\'l' each of l1S ,1 good til11l' ... thl'\' are
l11issing the purpose. It is f()), us to be Cl'ntrl'S of hght ,md \\",mnth no\\"
that \\"l' h,lH' kno\\"n so l11uch of oursl'!vl's.... With our t;ICl'S set in this
kl .\/il/II!!'_', YDrk"lllrl' II)'.)';; COlllllllttl'l" r J N,)\'t.:ll1hcJ" !1)05; pnlJtl'd
'Yorkshlr,' 11)0) COllllllltrl'l", York.. hirc 11)0:' COll\llllttt.'l' P,IPl'1'\ (hcfl\ltrCf l()0.'i
t",,). III ,lIldJohll Hml.lIld. ·Nl'P-C~lI,lkc'fhlll·. H~L. [7" (Oct. 11)10). ~t>o-1.
(" -, he Yorb,hlrl' lYO) (:olllIJlHrl'v\ ,lttL"ll1pt to l'll"llrl' tl'lllak p,lrticlp,ttIOIl
,Idl\'ltll'" \\'.1:-' III IlLlr~l'd COI1[Ll;-,[ t~) Nl'.\\'l' BLly . . IJ.I\\'\' JppflJ.lch. SUJlJC tl'lll.lk
dll' ~1l'fiod tl'lt th,lt Br.l\'''!UW h,H"'I httk Ihl' t~\r WOllll'j) ill gCllCfJI. IlltCf\'il'\\' \\
RdWlltfCC, All~2,ll"t I ()S(l, StOlll,-ill-( )XJll'\', TL'll(L'fLkll, Kl'llt.
1,(, llltl'fvit'\\' \\'ltl1 Philip R.ldky, i<\llg~ht lljS(l, C,ullbfidgc .lI1d .\lnllllt',\,
(:OlllllllttCC, 20 JlIlll.1fY [ljOS,
'.- A. N,B. to Robert /),1\'1'. John S. Ho"LlI1d ,'l1d J E. Thorp. 1(,
LSF.
RCIl<1iSSilll(C Y£'<1rS, 1902-1914 2()!
c!Jrection \\'l' shall be 110 isolated gloo!llv company ... but \\'l' shall know
the .ittractivc PU\\LT of .n: ever deepening t(.'llU\vship.,. rooted
.uu! grounded in the love whirl: COllll'S only to those in whom the praYLT
1'( Christ is being tultillcd. Th.ir they ,111 may be one ... one in us."s
While he emphasized the spiritual ;lSPlTtS of the Young Frirnds
tl'110\\sh1p, 13ra\',I1;1\\' did not ignorc material couccrns of the larger
society' to which a spiritually reinvigorated Society of Friends
]l1ight re'l"lnd. 'A, a Christian tcllowsbip we are bound to be
deeply moved at thc terrible mass of poverty and wretchedness'
which made spiritual htl' impov.ihl« for those who suf1lTl,d under
It, he "lid. But while Friends as Christians should not tolerate ;\
condition of things that arfordcd ,0 111any human beings little ,0
ch.mcc to grO\\', Braysh,I\\' tl';1red the debilitating influence of what
he called 'aesthetic QuakLTi'lll' and warned agai nst using the
m.ucri.il wcak ncsscs of other pl'opk ,1S ,I rc.ixon f<:)r taking pride
i n Olll'''' oxvn xpiriru.rl ,trcngth. Soci;ll1y .uid spiritually active
Young Friends, l lr.tvvh.iw said, should 'culti\"ltl' the power to go
in the love of Christ to the uupopnl.tr. the lonely, the disagreeable,
rhc ugly in bodv or mind who arc sut1lTing more tl1;111 we know
tor whar \\'l' might give thc111'.''') Above all, he believed. it was
«
,'S'cnti,l! that religious seekers be ti'edy drawn to QuakLTism t<:)r the
inr.mgiblc blessing, of its unique nless;lge, not psychologicllly
coerced by the material potcntialitil's of it, penchant for gOlld
work-; 'Wc need to be kcrnlv w.uchful against the self-exultation
rh.u is ready to COIl1C pouring in like .I flood ... In particular we
-h.il] ,Ivoid anything in the n,ltllrC of being spiritu;d director of
,1l1llthcr. Christi,ll1 con1munities havc bccn grin'ously injurcd 111
these way,. and we do well to be armcd bd<:lrdland.'7<>
While it is unhkdy that many Young Friends clluld live up to
the standard th;lt Neave 13raysh,lw cnvisioncd, signs of'quickening'
,llh'crtl"l'Jlll'llt l\lr ,1I110ng thc young werc becoming obvious, ' ... ;1 nl'\\' tide of
C()J11111H­ spiritual litl' \\';IS flowing strong in our Society, loyalty was bl'ing
dccpcncd, W,I\'lTerS were being recllled. there was a clearer light
III ,til Ih
Fnl'nd" of on perplexing problel1ls, and ,1 1110re carllc,t dc,irl' to underst1l1d
lth jl\1I1
I,,~ A. N. l~" '1\lCl11nr.llldul11 nil "tfcl1~rh.... \\l'.IKlll''\'\l'" Jild pru"pcCh ut- [hl' "'1'l".lJ11I'··
Ynf~"hlfC 100)
\l\l\·l.'IIlL'II('. ~()\'l'l1lllL'r [{jIO, Sc.lrhnrUlll';h. Btl\: rIll. I\F
,,,' i\. N. L1. to Rockne [CLlrkj. !l'T. 1'1)10 .(lHI .''c. N. U. to TLlI1llx-r,. "'J"IlC il)[~, llux
O,T I I) [2. Uoxl, T 1/1. L\~.
A. N. l\ to Rudnil [C1.1rk[. !l,'c il)IO. !lox 'J 1/3.

 2tj2 British Q,I<lkcrislIl lS(J,1-1920
1
our special work and to do it.'7 One beneficiary of thi-, vibrant
spirit wa, the Friend, Christian Fellowship Union which began to
Renaissance )-('l1rS, 1911]-19l.J
show 'signs of renewed vigour and cnthusiasru'c?" At Yearly Meet­
ing in r o r o the FCFU arranged for a separate meeting exclusively
for young people. This gathering was followed in the autumn by a
Young Friends Conference at Woodbrooke where many expressed
their sense of growing possibilities for Quakerism amidst the trans­
f()I'Jning influence of modern theological thought. There \va" one
.itrcudcr put it,
.1 cryill~ need f<'lr the rcsrarcmcnr of C:hristi,mity in tcrm-, of rc.ilitv and
Silllplic·lty a rcsrarctucnr our own Socicty .,II,]/titl be prc-cmincntlv able-
to provide ;1 Nco-Qu.rk crivm ... .1 flTsh undcrst;mding both bv indi­
vidual and socicty of rhc I11canl11g of our grC,lt posiuvc principle--Itt<.'
lived ;Iccordillg to thc idc.il of Christ III c·I,,,,· .md \'11;11 conllnlllllc.Jtion
wi th Cod.
As a step toward providing this I1L'\V definition, those gathered at
Woodbrooke bid down pl.ms for a gel]LTal IneL,ting of Young
friends which might he cmplovcd ,IS 'a magnificent weapon tll!'
the service of the Kingdom of Cod at its present time of crisis."!
This planning session culminated in a gatherillg of oyer --1-00 men
and women at Sw,lIIwick in Augu,t 1tj I I tor the first national
Conference of Young Fric'lllk 7s The importance of this Confer­
ence tor nl;linuilling continuity in the impetus for rdl)I'J1I and for
underscoring the importance of both social responsibility and the
pL"lce testimony cannot be overstated. M~11Iv of the speakers at
Svvanwick were the same Friends, now middle-aged, who had
initiated the Quaker Renaissance during the previous generation;
the audience to which they spoke was m.iinlv composed of young
people who , in a tc'w years, would form the front rank of Quaker
resistance to the Great War. Links between the SW;11Iwick Con­
ference and wartime defiance of the State may be illustrated bv the
fact that at least eight of the eleven young men appointed to the
Young Friends' Sub-Committee of the Friends' HO!11e Mission
-J "Tlu- Young Friend . . Movcnu-nt, 11) SIII(IIlU'ick, /1)11.).
7' Hoyland. 'Nco-Qu.rkcn-m. 41'0 " lbid. 4('2-3.
A[lfred[ N[cl\'c[ Blr,l\\h,1\\j, 'The Young FricudvMovcrncnr.
dt iu ]()12]. 5-10.
r
.ind Extension Committee at Swanwick would later he imprisoned
or detained as conscientious objcctors.?" Beyond the importance of
2tj3
Swanwick to the revitalization of the peace testimony, there were
signs that the Young Friends there were also demanding that their
Socictv adopt a more resolute social policy on a wider range of
ISS U cs.
Travelling to the Conference in the midst of a strike of railway
workers, a number of Young Friends were deeply disturbed when
they saw soldiers occupying village railway stations to prevent
picketing or other activity by strikers. During the Conference
txvo members of the Socialist Quaker Society, Alfred Barratt
Brown (11\1\7-ltj--1-7) and john Percy fletcher (1I\X4-ltj(JI) 11I0ved
;1 resolution 'expressing concern at the usc of military forces ... and
-vmparhv with the workers on their efforts to secure better con­
ditions'. Although their motion eventually failed on the grounds
that It 'would not be helpful and might lead to misunderstanding',
Brown and Fletcher lett the Sw.mwick meeting as two of the best
known and most respected young Friends. In time. they would
emerge as leaders in Society \ resistance to the Great War and
conscri ption.
Nearly three vcars passed between the end of the Sw.mwick
Conference aIlL! the onset of the Creat War which brought on
British Quakerism's greatest trial of faith since the Restoration era.
A crucial development during this period was the publication in
Itjl2 of William Charles Br.iirhwnirc's The Bi:~illlliIlXs '!fQl/akcrislI1,
with its iuspiring ~ICCOU11tS of the faith, sacrifices, and sufferings of
early Friends. But tor m.u rv young Friends, the atmosphere and
inspiration of Swan wick in Itj 1 I W;IS probably the most significant
event to give meaning and direction to their faith. Whether or not
they remembered the exact words with which Ncavc Brayshaw set
the tone for the gathering, 111.1ny of them would act out the spirit
he was attempting to convey: 'May not we go aW;IY from this place
strong for the work that lies before us ... ltoJ put away .ill ... things
that keep back the work, and together build the Holy City ... the
\Yay of perfect peace is also the holy war ... the highest happiness is
not known apart from fellowship in the suficrings of Christ.'
Therefore, Brayshaw concluded, remembering Albrecht Durer's
I IhId 4('3.
""'dlll/'I,k. 1<)/1 ([I"n­ ~(, Sec ,~'lI\III[/'I(k, It)Jl. l() for a h.. . t uf <nb-couimirtcc mcmbr-r«. FlH di,CUSS10Jl of
manife.. . r.inon- of ,1 strengthened pt\lLT rcsrimonv at S\\'Jllwick. "'l'L' below
,­
2l)+ British Qllilkcri.\·/II 186,)-1 9ZI)
pica to Erasmus to lead the stmggk against 'the UllJust tvr.uinv of
earthly power, the power of darkness ... [and] in the t~lce of all the
sore need of the world, in this dav ot the battle of C;od ... Ride
tort]: by the side of the Lord Christ, defc'nd the truth, it may be for
some of you, to g,lin the martyrs crown!'r
PEACE TESTIMONY AN]).4 Y4rIO.\ IS .HU/S
In October Il)O(', the 13rilis/1 lrictu! provided a typictliY detailed
descriptloll of the Universal Peace Congrc« in MiL1l1, concluding
th.ir this g~lthering of peace lovers 'Ius probably had no eLJ1Ld as
rel!;ards the extent of its labours, and the lofiv ,1I1d fricndlv tone
wllich prevailed'. -,S Such g,ltherings formed an' integral parr' of the
liberal ilHlTIrational ists' II ('/I<1I1SC//IIIIlIl(1! ill the pre-war decade. Th cv
were often chaired by Friends-R. Spence W,mun (I :\.)7-1 I) I t )
presided at the Il)O() Hirmingh.u» National PeKe Congn'ss while
.J. E. Ellis, M P (I S+ (-1l)20), held torth .it SClrburough th,. t(lllowing
\Tar-who tl'~j(ernized wit l: like-minded (L'le-britiL's of wh.ir Brian
i>hillips has acerbic.dh· dubhni the' "hiuh-Iiti- p.rcifiquc" crowd'7')
III ,1I1y case, oCCJsio!1S like the Mil.m Congress or the London
l nrcru.ition.rl Pc.icc ContLTel1L'e of II)O,~ t(lCused 011 manv of the
deepest concerns of Quaker pe~1L'l' ,1dvocltes .md. rims, tended to be
celebrated ill glowll1g terms. The fnL'lllls' Peace Con unittcc
.muounccd that the I l)oS London Conti-renee h.id given the cause
OfPCILT '~1 place in the public mind such ,1S it never hd(lre Iud'.'" In
point of fIn, ,IS n'gards meaningful results such conferences
were essentially non-events, ILlving little or no impart on the spirit
or the direction of international .itt.ur-, Thl'y incvitublv tL',j(ured ~1
stock cast ot"performers. many of them Quakers, who spelH much
of their time praisinj; one another or hob-nobbing with diplomatic
or eVL'Il royal emissaries of various nations. S I
In his study of , Friendly Patriotism' Phillips has c.lusticl1h char­
actcrizcd these gatherings as the self-aggrandizing ~lttL'nations of 'a
Illuveillellt positively drunk with its own sense of ,1I11itv al1d
,\1I'1I1111'ld:, 19//. J7-S. !)L'lrcr Iud 11lTIl tIll' f!\lHlrJrL' \llbJl'd l\fJllhll \\'ll!1L"llll
tfl'\.'·" k·(tllfC" OIl rdlglOLl" .In,
-;-.. HI-, ()ct. I<jO(l. 2(q. -") Plllllip~. ·1·nclldly P,ltrHHhlll', 3U1
L\'.\I, J<)Oy, XO-2.
\1 I-or ,1 Vl'f': niticd 'I1l1ll1l1,1r\'. \l'l' Phlillp\, 'fnL'lldly P,ltrlt)[!\1l1', 1_~3-.2)t) p,b)lI/i
'"
RClIl1i.\'SilIIO' )('<11'." 19t12-191-/ 2l))
I·inue'.'" He has also taken .um .it Quaker efforts to promulgate
/\ng]o-C;ennan friendship which WLTC, in Phillips' view, based 011
the immodest belief that if the Kaiser and other prominent (;er­
m.nr. could learn to know ,1 representative group of British Friends.
,'onHin between their two 'br.mchcs ofthe Teutonic stock allied to
(HIe .morhcr bv ,1 common t.uth .md long friendship' would become
S
virru.illv illlpossible-. \ The Friends who headed the unofficial
(~lLlker Lkkgatio!1S on the Edw.udi.m PClee Congress 'circuit'
II LTC sonle of the s.unc people- appointed to the (~uakLT Anglo­
( ;LTI1l,1l1 Conciliation Con n niucc which remained active through­
x
o ut the prc-vv.ir dccadc and had the s.nuc nominal ettL'n on L'vents. "
l'l ullip«. scathing assessment of Edwardian QU.1kLT peace art iv­
](IL'S may provide a corrective to personal rccollcctions or historical
,kpictions of carlv twentieth-century l-ricnds as both individually
virtue-laden and colle-ctively prescient with regard to the cal.nui­
toux results of modern w~lrt;llT.,Si Some wL'i~hty friends WLTe, 110
.loubr . ovcrlv taken with themselves .md their supposed mor.t]
rutiuc-u.c over the great and t;1l11OUS with whom they mingled.
"tIlI, the ensuing account presumes that the SociL't\' of Frirnds, tl)J"
.ill the posturing complacency of soruc its mcmhcr-; W.1S.1 religious
cornruunitv honestly arrempting to come to grips with rapidlv
.iltcrcd theologlcll developments and wildly rluctu.u iiu; intcrna­
nou.il cirrumvt.nxr». the dtl-ns of which were barely compre­
hended bv. Friend, or .mvbodv . . else.
Throughout the Edwardian period a characteristically optimistic
Quaker VIsion otth« rising tide ofsocia! and inte-rnational brother­
hood', especi~I1ly .11110I1g the labouring dasses, was curiously
il1terspcrsL'd with dire \vamings of 'the impotence of Europe
under the crushing burden ot its armaments", of 'the growing
militarist tendencies ot'.l large section of the British people and
of the disturbing popuLu iuclinurion to associate 'militarism with
patriotism'. ,S(, This son of Jckvll-H ydc image of the world was
Ibld.200
Ibid, I"J-S .urcl LL\J. l(jO(l, I ()3--+, LJLlOtlll~ cl ,\JIII/lft' ot-Mccrlllg for SutllTlllg.... ()JUIlC
[(jO) .
~-I L)'.\J, ] (j(15 , M'; Jl1d I ()(J(). [(l)--(J ,111d Plllllip"', 'ITiclldlv PJtriotl\lIl', 2 <;(j-7 who citc,",
l(()\'>ll­ rJkll !ZObllhOll, JO\l'ph (;. i\k'\<lIHkr. ThollU.., IlodgkJl1 ,llld I. P. Nl'\\'JlLlIl ,1'\ TCpTl''''Cllt,l­
tlVl' tlgurl'~ of rhe Euro}'cJIl pCJlT l,lirl'.
\, PhillIp,"" 'Fnl'lldly Pcltrioti\JIl', J._-+. S, 23--+·
,,, HF. Fe·b. IljO!I. 3+. 55. AprIl IljOS,ljv-1 &: M.l\ ]<)U'). 1.13: n·. 2,'0 M,l\ ")0'). 3"7-'S ,llHI
1.\'.\1, lYOY. S5-!I.
1 _
I
 2<j() British QI/Llkerislll 1860-1920
bound up with a deeply-felt. if somewhat stereotypical, concern
about 'upper' class propensities to support aggressive imperialism
Reunissnntc tl.'arS, 1902-19l.t
and a warlike foreign policy as natural corollaries to the protec­
tionist creed these same clements wished to foist upon an unwary
British populace.
The relationship between free trade and international peace was
inevitably accentuated along with the wasteful danger of military
armaments, the mistreatment of subject races and the need for
international invtitutions which would regularize peaceful arbitru­
tiou and promote friendship between peace-lovmg peoples.
Within Britain there were particular concerns reg;lrding overt
proselytizing for compulsory military service and covert measures
to dLIW innocent youth toward the glaring flame of milit.rrivm
through the allegedly innocuous introduction of military drill and
training into the educational system. However naive or iuconsc­
qucnrial they may seem in retrospect, Quaker opposition to these
diverse dangers to a peaceful world were of real significance in
clarifying the Quaker peace tcstimonv and in preparing pacifist
Friends for the defining challenge of the First World War.
In February I <jo(, Lord lZ.oberts of Kandahar, hero of the Boer
War and newly appointed President of the National Service
League, issued a Manifesto calling for the establishment of universal
military training as a first step to the creation of a British Nation in
Arms s 7 The Liberal press was critical and even disdaintul of the old
soldier's ringing declaration on the necessity tor L'(llnpulsory mili­
ss
tary service. Quaker journals naturally tollowcd suit, believing
that one important reason for the recent Liberal electoral victory
was 'the deep resentment of the public at the reckless way ... the
wealth of our country has been squandered' by fruitless military
spending. The British Friend, reporting on a gathering at Mount
Street Meeting House in Manchester 'chiefly composed of
working men", to protest agaillSt Lord Roberts' propaganda',
concluded: 'If the Liberal victory is not to be largely thrown
away, the rising tide of social and international brotherhood
must be directed into such channels as will keep in check the
A copy of thi . . document. dJ[L,d 1 () Feb. II)O() i~
National Ann)' Museum (NAM), Londou
.",'" Sec, for example, rhc 1)'lil)' .'·t'II'.'· ;md r '"('''flllil/.'"fer
ITh. [ljO('
>.., .x..... J",!,"'~ ,',.., 0< ... "..,.,.,.
r
nlilitarism which is rapidly growing among the "upper" classes of
.
socIety.
, ''\')
2<j7
This indirect confrontation between Friends as the disciples of
)'l\lCe and Earl Roberts as the Prince of Preparedness set the tone
t(1I' the Edwardian debate over the most efficient means of main­
t,lnling the peace of Europe, The National Service League's motto,
'Hvou would have peace, prepare for war,' pointed up, said The
lncnd, the need tor Quakers to help in organizing an 'energetic
ettl.lrt' to contradict such militaristic views and to prove that the
'1lL',t opportunity fClr Peace ... is in the days of Peace' .')0
While most Friends believed, with their Peace Committee, that
the 'growing prevalence of the pacific spirit', especially among the
l.ibouring classes,')[ augured well for arms reduction and inter­
national good will, they also recognized a 'great need for the
exercise of unremitting vigilance lest the schciuc of Lord Roberts
Il.lr universal military training or some other scheme tending to
tostcr the military spirit . , . should find ElvOur with Parliament'.')2
Roberts' tireless eftl)rts in pursuit of the compulsory service
certainly gave new sparkle to the cause of the Nation.il Service
l.c.rguc, but, on the other lund. the old soldier provided opponents
ot compulsion a convenient target on whom to focus. Early in
I <jD() one Liberal paper published a cartoon depicting Roberts in
tull regalia surrounded by armed infants and holding ,1 Cllldy jar
labelled 'Uullscycs for Babes' .')1 For the Friends' Peace Committee
-uch drollery reflected its 10ngstandin[2: COllU.Tn about militarist
.ittctnpts to make military drill and rifle shooting part of the
curriculum of British schools, as with the so-called Model
Coursc.?" In October of I <JoG the Peace Committee reported to
Meeting for SUtlcTin[2:s on its renewed cflorts 'to combat the
[2:rowing tendency to introduce the use of the rifle in elementary
school,', rcficrtinu the co-ordinated exertions of the National
Service League an:-I its new affiliate the Lads' Drill Association.')'
,~'I lsl. lch. roo«, )). Till" 11ll'L'tillg w.i« org,llllzed hy John Willulil (;Uh,1l11
Tl. 2 March IljQ{,. 111.
flit' Brinsh rriclld bchcvcd rh.ir the tlfty \\\)fkiJlg-LL1~' members ill the new PJrli,lI11Cllt
wcr« 'till' vurcvt gU.lLl11tL'l' ... of ,I p,lCltlC (orclgn P()liL~'·. Feb. J{)o(J, 34. AI"o sec er-c,
v [1/2, 14 July J()O(I, 20,
in the Robert" Pcl}-lcr", R I 3C)/I). ,>' HE Marrh [ljo(" 7S. Abo ,Cc' TF. lj March 1')0('. q(,: .md LY\I, 1906, Report of the
Pe.rce Committcc of Meeting for SUftL'rlIlg"i, 1(11-3
ClI;:-ctr('. 17 lcb. I ljO() .md Frllih. 2.2 '1.' The Il "/lIl/ill.C Post, I () March I S/o().
')-1- Scc Ch.ipn-r 7 ')~ .\lilll//t'.'·' i'v1CL'tlllg tor Suftl'rings, 5 Oct. i oori.
__ 1 _
 2l)i\ Br!tish QI/,l~'crislll 1,';(10-19l0 Rcnaissou« }i'ars, 1901-19l.f 2()l)

Such a cL1ll[2:L'r WelS made manifest even III a Liberal-dominated ,lI1other threat in the torrn of Colonel Robert Baden-Powell's Boy
Parh.n m-nt. In the sprin[2: of Il)07 R. B. Helldelnc, Senctelry of State ",cout Movruunt. While recent scholarship has emphasized the
for W~lr. introduced the Tcrritorial &: Reserve Forces Bill which deltber.ltcl\' non-military nature of 13elden-Powell's organiza­
included provision fl.)r Otlicer Trainiru; Corps at Universities and non, "J' it would have been difficult to convince many Edwardian
public schools. The British Fricl/d labelled this 'el thoroughly rc.ic­ hicnds that the 13m' Scouts were not part of a nefarious conspiracy
tionarv mc.rsurc ' aimed at 'Iinkillg together the cduc.irional and t o militarize the nation" guilekss youth, We Indeed, barely a month
militat~' systems of the country'\)(' Fnends in Lancashire .md .ittcr Arthur Rowntrccs paciric proposal was overwhelmingly
Cheshire (~u~lrterly Meerin[2: protested to their loc.il MPs .md to rejected by the headmasters, Sir FranCIS Vane, formcrly a close
the Prcss th.rt Haldane's scheme would 'prostitute our universities ,1,soci,lte of Baden-Powell, rcveakd in the ll'cstlllillstcr Gazcttc 'A
.uid schools (() the service ofmilitarism ... [and] do [2:rieyous wrollg I ),lIlger in the 130y Scout Movrmr nr ' which contirJlled the
to the rising [2:elleLltioll'.')~ (~ll.lkers' worst fl'ars, Most of the Scouts' Council Board, Vane
For a time such protL'sts appeared to he crowned with sonIc "lid, including Lord Roberts and (;ellL'r.tls Herbert Plummer and
success. Whell ;1 (~Ll;lkL'r deputation waited OIl Prime Minister l.drnund Elles, looked upon the 'movement trom the military
Campbcll-Hanncrmnn .nid Ch.nucllor of the Exchequer Llovd r.uhcr than from the educational standpoint', and unless this
(;eor[2:e to ask them to rcmovr CL'rUlIl otfcndlll[2: clauses trorn the trend was reversed, he prnitcted that 'a system will be introduced
Arrnv Bill, Sir Hinrv told thcm th.rt ItL' too '\\',lS el[2:aillSt introdu­ into the country under the [2:Ulse of .ivil training which will have
cillg the u ulit.rrv spirit into Ciovcrmuc-nt schools, and had no .ill the l,yds of milit.msm without many ot its compensating vir­
sympathy with nuking little childrcu wave flel[2:s .md behave tues', '''3 Subsequently, SOIllC Quakers co-operated with Vane's
like soldiLT,-1t was iuiquit ou-; nilgar and ~Ibsurd',')" The Prime .ltll'mpt to org.lIlize the National Peace Scouts with a view to
Minister's wo rd«. L'lIt,)rced bv the (;OVLTlIllIcnt's .umounrcrncnt I,rnnlotillg 'iurcrn.itional friendship amongst our youth.' Indeed,
th.rt It vvould provide 1I0 tillallcial aid to c.idcts unde-r <ixtccu vc.irs (\\0 prouuucnr Friends, George Cadbury and 1'. Edmund Harvey,
ofa[2:c, W~IS reassuring to opponents otuulitarv training for the very rV1Jl, rc--cuforccd Vane's movement by joinin[2: the National Coun­
yOUllg, l-ricnds wrn: nonc-thclcv, chagrined to learn that Cudct L'il of the Peace Scouts, "'. Not surprisingly, Vane's movc-mcur
Tr;rillill[2: Corps were to he duly estelhltshed .it schools .md uni­ t.ulcd to flourish and co uccr us about the militarization of youth
vcrsitics as a means of enhancing the ,upph- of qualified ot1icLT­ remained a troubling aspect of the Quaker struggle ;1[2:ainst the
candidates tor the Territorial Army,')') Such CaLiL't Corps proved to National Service League's campaign to secure compulsory milit.irv
be very popul.ir within the cducarion.il cstabhslnncnt. When trauung tor youug men and boys,
Arthur Rowntrcc, headmaster of Boot h.un SchooL iurroduccd ;111 Early in 1l)0i\ the Friends' Peace Comnnrtcc , citing the [2:fOwth
;lIlti-llIilltary trelillill[2: resolutioll to thL' Allmul COlltl'rCllCe of the of'agitation ill thL' country in fwour of military sen'ice', Iud asked
Illcorporated ASSOC!eltlOlI of HeeldlllelstL'rs III [() 10, his 1Il0tion \\'as
voted down, (17 to i\,' ()() I d Sl'l' ,Vl,llTlll I kLlllLlll, 'B,llklJ-]\)\\l,IL l\ldH,lrJ"lll, ,1lJd till' "Ill\'l"ihk ('tlJ}(l'ihu(llr,,"
((l dll' 130\' SL'\HIt \lhl'l1ll', 11)ll-l--11)20', IWl'II/1t'1fl (,'('IUllr)' nrilisfl Jhlrll/Y -l-13 (11)1)3),
While Associated Hcadmasters \\'LTe proclaiming thcir enthu­
2 I ()- .::.~.
Si.ISlll tl.)r schoolboy military trainill[2:, peaL'e lovers pLTcciYcd still FOf l'OIlLlTlh .lh\HH the 11l1hUTl"tJ( tl'lllkllL'iL'" <lfthL' Boy SL'Ollt", "L'l' HE Sept. I t)OI) ,
.::J{ll-'\: ()l'l, I()O')~ Jlt-(;, -/J) [."' ()d, J\)I)\), 225-2(l: ,Illd 'J'F, 2-l- SL'pt., (qS, I ()ct., (l(l), oS
()ct., M';o. 1-' II) Nl)\', ]l)()(j, .,~(.
'II, HJ.. i\1.1~ II)(n. lVI, q l .llldJlllll' ] ()OJ. 1-t-7. RcpnntL'Li J]) JU:' t\lJfch !{)[U, 7--;-\ ,1l1d 'IF, 2) M,lfCh 11)10, 1~2, Aho :-'Cl' Ricll.lfd
.\!t/lll/[',\, I'l"ll-l' ('(llllll1ittlT. 1\ . .2 LSI- ,Illd Hl. NLIY Il)0j,
011.1)' !(jOj, AI,,\) "l'C
13(l. \X/L,\tbkc Jr. .... !c((L'r (ll HI, t.lklll~ l'XL'L'P(ioll (0 dut joufIl,ll\ cntiCl\111 Llf B,tdL'll-Po\vdl\
MllHlrC ffl)J)) PI(klTI11~ ,lllll t lull i\lullrhl~ Jvll'l'tillg, r --; April IlJOj . •\JIII/If/,' LJ. 2( April J l)O-. 11]()\'ClllCIH, HI, t\l.tfch [lj[U, --,
.\Jillllft'.\. York <"~ll,lrt\"rly Ml'\.'Clllg, -t-1 ::i-(l. BL. '" Sl'C C 13right\\'l'11 Rcm Iltr,',·, . Ih,' Adult School ,,"d thc Boy SC()ut', H.)F, ••
'J'~ HI·: .I1111L' J(jo/, I(q, AJ...o "L'e .\lillllfC_I, ~1L'L'(Illg fOf SUtTlTlIlg", _~ (kt. JljO(I. LSI- ,lIld [l)JO). 32-l--31. III Jl)I-l- (~ll.lkl'r ivlP Anltlld S, H..ll\\,IHfL'l' jOillL'd tbe' llJtlOll.ll Boy SCOLlt
1\'.\1, 1<),'(1, .('-7. CUllllC1L lllllch to thL' L'OIl~te'nl.1(ioLl l)t- 'IlllllC r:nL'lld-;. Sl'L' .\!tl/llles {:( the flt'l/({' C<)l1l1l1irrec. 30
'J<J HI:, JUllL' J<jOj', l(l-l- ,llld J7(l, l~L 1-l'l1, Jlld Apfil 11)10, -l-l)-jO, IOi-) '''pnl ,llld -l-Jl111C [()[-l-, [7(j-7, IS3·

~ '!!:i.:.. !;'t'l,.,; .. ~.<,,,

..~, s4 _
 30° British Quakerislll
Meeting for Surlcrings to ensure that special consideration be given
to 'the subject of Peace' during Yearly Meeting. At the same time,
the Committee noted its own increased activity, listing seven
1860-1920
r
Renaissance li'ars,
throughout the country discussed [he role their religious Society
.hould play in the debate over war and preparations for war,
questions arose as to whether Quaker resistance to military spend­
1902-1914 JOT

separate projects on behalf of the 'Peace cause'. fi'0111 promoting ing, military service and indeed to war itself could or should be
Peace Sundav to urging colonial politicians to reject all fe)fJ11S of ,lhsolute. Letters in the Quaker press posed ~1 number of awkward
compulsion. Hut while such endeavours doubtless involved con­ queries concerning the legitimacy of their public stance given the
siderable expenditures of time tor earnest peace workers, some ('omplexities and dangers of international atbirs. Were Friends
sense ot the limited scope of the Peace Cornmittccs work l11ay right ill rtjecting R. 13. Hnld.mc's proposed Tcrrirori»! Force
be gathered from its ,lVerage annual budget of just over LT -+ T when such a voluntary body might be 'the only preventive of
between T<)05 ~1I1d II) I -t. These figures may be compared to the conscription'; Were not military and naval expenditures merely
thousands regularly collected and spent by the National Service the equivalent to putting locks and holts on one's doors? Since
League to advance the cause of compulsion. ,,,' (~uaker opposition would never result ill the abolition of military
Throughout the Edwardian period, agiLltioll tor compulsory forces. were Friends rCl11y supporting pcacc by attempting to make
service and increased naval expenditure were aided and abetted -uch forces less ctkctive:O Finally, could those, who claimed liberty
by recurring alarms concerning the size ofthe Gerlllan fleet and the of conscience ~lgaimt conscription, 'deny similar liberty of COll­
iutcntro ns of its statesmen. Alllidst such cl.imou r, the Quaker press «icucc to those who tL'cl tree to volunteer tor military service'? r ox
.rttcmptod to ensure that Friends were apprised of the 'pestilent Immediately prior to the Ycarlv Mceting of 1l)0l), an editorial in
nonsense embodied in this inexplicable 'outbreak of urilit.tri-a n in [he Hritish lricnd responded to such questions by noting that the
a time otprotouud .md growing peacefulness'. [(Jr, 'Ilu: Frimd struck ovcrwhclmim; majority ofthose who apparently wished to modify
a hopeful note early in I l)0l). citing public concern about arms the pC,leC testimony were 'not younger Friends but ... more
expenditure, the rising pOWLT of democracy, the growth of 'higher mature members'. Werc such members really prepared to permit
~111d saner educlt1on' as well as the cstahlisluucnt in 1l)07 of [heir Society's traditional testimony ag~linst all war to go the way of
the Hagu« Tribunal as developments rell(!cnng 'the claims of the pl.iiu speech and dress and become a nlCIT cccentricity observed
militarists ... out of date ... we Illay therefore look tor a growing only by the uufishiou.ihlc and out of touch? Were they willing to
demand among tile n.rt ion , te)r reduction instead of increase of 'upport the right of members 'to make fortunes by manufarturing
aru r.nucntv'. At the same time, Friends were reminded 'to be l-ombshclls?' Whatever moral authority (2lukLTS possessed in Brit­
earnest in paper' by wririnj; to their MPs to urge support tor i,h society, said the Hritish Friend, it had been established through
Quaker mcmbcr ]. Allen Iiakcrs resolution deploring the increased the expression of an enduring vision 'as to what the Christian
spending on armaments reflected in the Naval Estimates tor religion really requires of its adherents ... ' Unless Quakerism
I <)0l). r "7
maintained an 'unswerving loyalty to the highest we know, what­
Still. for all the solemn piety and liberal optimism reflected in ever the cost ... It had better not speak if it had only platitudes to
such Quaker .ittitu dc-, and activities, there were also disturbing utter ...
~ I (H)

signs from within the ranks. As Quarterly and Monthly Meetings Some Quaker pcace activities did seem to produce fruitful
results. Notable dmong these W~lS the publication in 1l)0l) of
" Xlinntc«, -+ lcb. [(JOS ,llld Rl'port ()fthc Pl'aCl' Comnurr.-« to
l)l'Jl'C COJl)Il11ttL'L', IY,
MlTring for SutfcrillhT\, 5 Mar.h Ly',\l, ll)t)\",', 17.2~4. M,HL'riJ] DIl the NSL'" tin.uuul
IljO,-";. Edward Grubb's The True n'ay ofLif£', J collection of essays which
support (,111 bl' found III both th« lz..olxTt" I\lpcr" .it the Nanon.rl ArJlly J'1u"nlll1 .uu! the initially appeared in the British lriciu! which offered a point by
Mtllll'T P.l]JlT" ill thL' Hodlci.rn LIbrary, (}\:ford.
lUI, Hr i\.1,lrch 1(JOt), 57~:-" The Friend ,1J<.,0 exprl'<;:--l'd nl.mn cit 'J rhtll~ \\",l\",: of iuihr.ir­
point refutation of A Ncu. ll'ay (~rLifL' by J. St Loc Strachcy, editor
ism . ' I t) J\brch [\)O\). [7 _~-().
1';\ Sel' lcrtcr-, [0 "J'F, N lUl. 1<jOt), [I). 2:-<: ,mel .2 July [ljOt), 4-30
FJ'~ 5 Feb. I (jolj, ."\ 1; 1.2 MJrclJ I (jOI), ] ()o: ,md [() March [ljo(j. 17 5-(): Hj.~ March I"'J '( )ur Tl'\tlllH)ny for I\';\c(", HE May 1\)0<). [.U-4-. '1 hI') Un"l~-'))l'd Pll'(l' W,l'; proh'lbly
I (jOI), '\ S
\\ nrtl'1l by Ed\\",lrd (;rubb

_. 1 _
 British Quakcrislll 1860-/920
3°2
of T!« Spectator. a celebration of the SOCi~lL economic, and moral
bcncfit« of compulsion. 1 10 In a letter pledging any royalties from
his book to the National Service League, Strachcy told Lord
Roberts that his aim was 'not to preach moral righteousness .. ,
but ... to prepare ... a new and more serious tvpe of men and
won len' who would throw off the 'attitude of smuj; .md casv
going optimism' which was imperilling the surviv.il of the British
Nation and Empire. [[ [ Grubb\ rebuttal a'iSerted that the growth of
individual liberty, C0ll11110n rationalitv .ind spiritual perception ill
modern socictv wa'i working to 'brc.ik dovvn the u.irrow pagan
concept that each nanon is ... the highe'it end for which its citizens
can live or die'. The alleged durv to lIght and kill, Grubb said,
violated the Christian \ obligation to pr.uticc a taith which could
'xupplv the Ideal. the impulse .md the moral dvn.uuir. that \VIII one
day make HUnLll1 Brotherhood ... ,I rc.ilitv.
Friends, of course, believed that Edward c;rubb h.id much the
be'it of the argument[ [3 .ind, in t;lCt. 1itc Fmc II II)' also seel11'i to
have won the battle of the book stalls. WhereJs Strachcv admitted
to Lord Northclirlc that the 'iale'i of.'-I .\"Cl/' II ;1)' had been 'very
disappointinu indeed", Grubb reported to Rufus Jones that his
book WJS 'selling t:Jirly well'. Evcntu.illv, Tlu: Fmc II II)' or Lill'
LUI through three editions, .ridcd to be sure by ordcr-, like the +00
copies purrhascd bv the FriellCls Foreign MIssion Association tllr
divtributiou in China. [[~
I)uring Ycarlv Meeting of Il} I 0, the Clerk, Henry Lloyd Wilson
while citing Tl« Fmc II II)' ofLiti' 'as an example of the useful work
individuals could do to comb.ir milirarivni' also referred to a new
book called LuX/dud's Isic I ()ptir,71 IIlusio/l as worrhv of Friends'
consideration. r t c Tlris first official Quaker recognition of Norman
Angell\ soon-to-be-famous conuncntarv on the disastrous eco­
nomic consequences of modern warfare between interdependent
[I" J St. lOl' StL1C!JC\'. 1.\-('11' ff:l)' (!( L!!t' (I ondon [()Ol))
1I111I.dl) \lTl,dill'd ill '[lit' l1f1li.\/i lnviul iv: \l'pt. .uid ()l'[ [lJOl),
IIj \tLlchl') to !.(OhlTh, I JlIlll' I ()()() , !.(olwn" P,lpl'r\, {.( ~)/.27, Narion.r: Armv ~111"L'1l11l
(NAM). I ondon.
t t "Ihe Irue W:1V of [ [1,". B/, Ocr. [')0'), 27~.
111 Sl'l'rC\']l'\\ ot-'Ih{' True II'tI)' l:( L!k ill BF Nov I lj()l) , 303--t-.
11-1 lii, II tr: , PCJl'l' Conumttc«. 1\, () ()et. [(JIO: C~rllbb to n.llfll" .\'1.J011C", 2() J)L'l'
.\
IUvlJI': Dud["" Ldll',lId emhh, ~7-~: md \tr,lCht" til Lord NIlrthc!Jl1c,. i2 Jul\-
~rrachey P,lpcr~. HOll<.,C of Loni-, Rc(urd CHlicc, L011do11
1[, HF,Jlll1C IljlO, I ())-(),
~4£." ..~lliP.T.""..-,.,-. ,,·:·c-' ',""" _,..~ ....
3°4 British QlIllkerism 1860-1920
I kel [Angell wrote] that we have arrived .it a POll1t 111 Europe.in
civilisation where Quakerism 111lght play, .. an incstimabl-, useful role,
perhaps a dctcnuuuug o nr, in fixing the direction vvc arc to t.ik c in our
geneLltion, , .und [ believe that the Socicrv of Fncud-, h.ivc it 111 their
pOWLT just now largl'ly to determine vvh.u Engli-h policy shall
he, , , [Therefore] the Society, .. shoulr] take' some definite ,1I1d practical
,tep for seeing that the rising gl'I1L'LltlOn IS equipped to justif, inrcllcr­
wally that t.iith th.ir i, ill t lum . I~"
Angell's message of cucour.igcmcut elicited an enthusiastic
response amonj; the delegates. One speaker exhorted Friends to
respond to Augcll'« challenge hy setting up a Central Peace Bureau
to unite till' struggle agail1St the 'war-org.mizcd interests'. John
William (;rahal11 declared that for too long Friends' testimony
;lg.1iIlSt war 'had been .IS ,I lighthouse upon the rocks, surrounded
by surgillg W,lVl'S of military en lotion .md mihtarv preparation' but
pe;lce advocates like Angell had added IlCW ttJrtllS of illumin.ition
based UpOll practical l'lJllsideratiom like the fdling stocks and
'jul11py bank rarc-;' th.it resulted tl'OI11 wars .md ru mours of \V;JrS.
Such practical ;lrgulnClltS were not sordid. Cir.ih.n n said, but, to be
truly dfc'nive, they required the sort of spiritual b;lse of support
that Friends could provide. I ~ I
Graham seemed the idc.il Quaker to respond to Nort u.u i
Angl'll's cdl ttlr ;\11 alliance of peal'l' lovers. As ;1 liberal ill politics
;IS xvcll as religion, Grah.un was also \\l'll knO\\'11 and highly
regarded outside the Society. An ardent campaigner tor social
justic,: and smoke abatement as well ;lS lor pl';llT, Graham's articles
regubrly appeared ill the .lIlll/dlester Cu.inli.in, edIted by his friend
C. P. Scott. [22 Cralunu had also rccl,lltly published his first book,
Evolution and bllpirc (1l)12), which was full of praise for The Crcat
lllusion and touched upon many of the same theml's. ' 21 In tact,
Supplcnu-nr
t() TF 14 Feb. If)!]. I. -t--.~
Ibid. 2, j-(l. The llkJ t~)r;1 Ccnrr.il Peace ()111cl' \Y,l<., <.,uggc<"[l'd b~ (' Eru, ..... ( Elcock.
hut rhi.. body ,1I1d the Northern Frund . . - PC,lce Bo.ird obviou-lv rdlL'L[cd the dl'l'l,lri"bc(]nn
ot "\)llll' F~ricnd" with the lunitcd 'lCOpL' of .ntivim-, uudcrt.rkcn by rh., nH\I'ul l)l',lI-e
l ~UIIl[lIi tree.
See, tor cx.unplc, 'Indu-rn.rhsn: .uul N.uion.il Ch.rr.nrcr. Tl. l-t-J.ln. i o i o. 21-2 .md
hi" ,[rtlck" Oil 'Elllplre Building', ill Hr,J)J) ..1nd iv1.uch II)!!, (j-,,\ &. (H)-71.
I _c1 (;rah~l1n cOIl1p,lred thl' intelleetll,l] imp;let Df 77,c er('(l! II/IISioll with I ).lrwin'" ()r(~i/l 1:(
SptYic.l. 'iee 1:1 10/1111011 mJ(i 1:·lIIpire (London I<)! 2), 1l)3-7. Aho see Angell to Graham, 2-t- IV1.1~
1<)12, JWC;p, thanking hinl t"i.)r J. lOPY of the hnok .:mJ for the ~llPPOrt it gave to Angell''i
work.
Renaissance 1cars, 1902-1914 3°3
II1dustnalnations marked the beginning of an informal partnership
IlL better, marriage of convenience between potential allies who
were seeking the same objective from very different perspectives,
i\CtLu\ly, the British Friel/d had already reviewed Europe's Optiml
IIII/sio/l, noting that while Ange\l's thesis was 'quite too materialistic
Il)]' our liking ... it may be ,111 the more convincing to many who
think that Peace advocates ,lIT impractical vision.iru-s."!"
After Ange\l's book was revised and reissued as The Crciu Illusion,
it .ulucvcrl astonishing instant popularity. By then the British Frictu!
h.id discarded ,1\1 reservations regarding the book which a second
reviewer called 'by Ell' the most important contribution to Peace
literature winch our generation has 'ilTn." a really magnificent
,ktL'nce of the maxim that "what is morallv wrong will not be
Illln1d ccouomicallv. ri<Tht".'[ [- The reviewer unrcd Friends to read
~ ~
[[2
,1Ild re-read Angell's plea Ior pe,lce before passing it on to others.
lo ensure ,I wider circulation of Ange\l\ ideas, the Yorkshire 1l}0)
Committee .innounccd it would prepare a penny pamphlet sum­
Ilury of The Crcat Illusion. The Pc.icc Conuuirrcc demonstrated its
cuthusiastir approval of this project by ordering 10,000 copies for
distribution in Friends meeting. and Adult Schools. r r x
In the final veal'S of peace, a mutual attraction developed
hl'twlTn Norman Angelli'im .ind (~uaker peace advocates. The
British Fricl/d, tor example, began to tL'ature pearls of pacific wis­
dom ti'OI11 Angell's works. [[') Furthermore, the me,sage of Tlic
(;rcclt IIlusio/l wa'i in large measure responsible tor the cstablislnncnt
of the Northern Friends PeKe Ho.ud in the wake of a Joint
Confcrcurc OIl Peace convened by the five northern Quarterly
Meeting'i in Il) I 3, This new body, whose creation rcflcrtcd the
view of many that the official Peace Couuuirtcc had grown too
cautious and stale, was celebrated in a special supplement to The
Fricn« as 'a distinctlv forward step in the Society's work for Inter­
national Ill'ace', The Chairman of the Joint Confcr.-ruc , Dr
Thomas Hodgkin, had stirred delegates by reading froiu Norman
nit' '11'11(' [I'd}' l.l( LI/;' \\,1'­
2-t-0--t--t-_ .2()(j-7-t-
Angell's letter to Quaker MP, Arnold Rowntrel':
"" 11/·, Feb. I~IO,)O, ~2-1 r i -: BE Dec. I~IO, .J23-~.
l(JOl).
I J." .\lil/l/fe.l. Pl'<lCL' COllllllIttee. I V. I I )ec, ll) I 0; HI:, April I l) I I, I 13-1-t-, The PeJce
i')'Y).
C:Ollll1l1ttl'C·... orit-,rillal order of 3,000 COPll'~ "'JS rJi~l'd to 10.000 in March Il)l I.
II') Sec Dr. MJy Il)l I, lI(l.
______4 _
Renaissance Years, 19°2-1914 3°5
(;rah;lm'.s book was, to a considerable extent, a compendium of the
sort of ideas popular among liberal/progressive Edwardian Friends.
Citing the dangerously unhealthy connections between the aris­
tocracy, protectionism, militarism, and imperialism, 12~ Graham's
.Ilulysis ranged from the positive Social Darwinism of the Ameri­
can peace advocate David Starr Jordan to John A. Hobson's depic­
tion of Empire as the playground of 'unpatriotic financiers' who
made 'social welfare and Imperialism ... two competing ways of
living ... ,12, Still, while he assumed an ostensibly anti-imperialist
line, Graham admitted that because Western societies needed the
truits of non-European lands and because 'the natives arc too
indolent .. , to do the needful work ... We are driven ... to the
cvr.iblisluucnt of pl.mtations worked by 1110re or less unwilling
native labour'. To be sure Graham expressed uneasiness about the
lll'cl'ssity tell' such continued European control of the tropics, [21,
but he seemed unaware (or uuconccrncd) that questions concern­
illg the abuse and exploitation of native labour had for some time
been especially crucial for Friends in light of journalist Henry
Ncvi nvou's revelations that native workers in the Portuguese Afri­
can possL',siLlns that produced most of the cocoa for the Quaker
chocolate firms of Cadbury, Fox, and Rowntree were kept in
conditions of virtual slavery. 127
EI10/l/ti(11l 'lIId Empire, for all its faults, contained much earnest
goodwill, but the shallowness of Graham's intellectual grasp as well
;1, his self-confident moral superiority would seem to make his
book a conspicuous cx.unplc of ' the Society's ambiguous relation­
ship with Imperialism' ;IS well ;lS the 'Euroccntric racism wide­
spread in pacifist thinking' of which late twentieth-century critics
have complained. 1 2 '
)';-1- "There I". thr dO'le"t ,1lJi,l1lCL'. rho«: \\"110 w.iut Protection .md rho«. wilt) vv.mt
l mprn.rlicm So rh.ir a protcctlve r.mri' h ou« of the commone-r ,ICCOlllp.llllllll'llr'l o l
u nht.mvru Lr'l)!rlfill/l 'lIld 1:"1I1pll"e, 1-t-7-.'\.
I~, lbrd. 12lj-31, 173 (;ralulll\ book ,11,,0 rcpcau-d Hob-ou'< \·;lgucly .mri-Scmin. tom-e
III ~',~~til'lZ1J)g South Afncan JcwI"h b.mk crs .ind busin.-v.nn-n.
- Ibid. [1.,-1(1, [2~
Hcurv W, Nevin-on, .-1 .\l,)dCrJI S/ll!lt'ry (London IljO(,; reprinted with introduc­
J-'-- SCI:
tion by BJ"i! !).l\'id"OIl, New York IljoH), IH7-210. For l~ll.lker rC<lction", Sl'C H/Z Nov,
Ilj07, 303--t- cllldJlInl' IljOX, 1-t-1. In I ()Ol) the QUJker ChnCLlLltl' tirIns, Ob'iervlllg IlO 11l1'Jn­
lllgfid rd(Hnl at (0(0,1 plantation.;; at Sail Thome ,Iud Principe, Sll'ipL<ndcd all purchase" frolll
thuse islands, ibid., April l'}09. 8(1. Protessor Lowell Satre's study of the Locoa plantations
scandal and its illlpa(t on Qluker chocobtl' J1lJllutacturer~ is eagerly aWJIted.
12'\ Hinton, PrMc,ts and l'i.'itHlS, 2lj ,lnd Phillips, 'Friendly PatriotisIll', 7-X &. Jhlssim.
 3 0 () British QuakerislII 1860-1920
Certainly, a, a conspicuous public Friend and a widclv-rccog­
nizcd spokesman tor his religious Society John William CralLlI11
presents an excellent target tor such criticism, but it docs not
ncccssarilv follow that Cruhar» was ahnys as well received by
fdlow Quakers as by non-Friends who perceived of him as
,peaking for the Society, Indeed, the limit, of Graham's iurlucncc
among young Friends had been .uuply demonstrated at the
Swanwick Conference, As noted above. this gJtherillg of Young
Friends deserves to be lTIl1elllikTed a, a seminal event in preparing
younger Quaker, tor the challellge of war and conscriptio n .
Att cndcr-, at Sw.mwick shared a deepening seriousness about
the import.mcc of religious and social issues in their lives, Crah,lIl1,
as a leader of the Quaker Renaissance gl'nl'Lltion ,llld a
cclcbr.ucd public advocate for the .ipplir.ition of Quaker peace
prinripl.-. to British foreign and imperial atl~lirs, w.is invited to
address the Swauwick Conference on 'I )itliculties of the Peace
QUl'StiOll' ,
The ground t()r (;rah~lIl1's prcscnt.ition h.id been prepared hy
Ncavc Brayshaw's int rodurt orv rcm.nk« reminding Young Friend'i
that '( )ur tcstinionv concernillg war is not <omcrhing that we can
put in or leave out just ~1S xv.: like, , , It is a ncccssarv outcome of
our root helief"e') But Cr.ih.nu', lcngthv, somewhat tortured
speech took 011 a diricrcnt tone, Application of the peace tcxtiruouv
within the social and political confines of a modern state, (;rahalll
noted, raised serious practical ditllcultie, concerning the role that
Friends, particularly young Friends. might be called upon to play in
,lily future armed conflict. For hi, part, (;rah~lm franklv stated hi,
conviction that Quakers should be prepared to assist in ddl'lllling
the Nation-s-most assurcdlv a'i uon-combatants-e-in any war
threatening British security, The defeat of British Empire, he
said, would 1l1ClIl: 'Materialism and brute f()rce would he
enthroned where humanity and freedom and progre» have their
chief scat; till' premier Shllllt of the climbing ivy of humallity
would have bl'en torll trom the wall.' I \0
The officiJl rl'cord of tIll' Conference reveal, that '])isap­
provJI, , , was keenly present ill the minds of lllallY , , , during the
12') SII'r1In/'/d:, 11)11,27.
Ill)Ibid. 5()-75. Two Yl~;Jr" LHcrGr:111,1I11 (old his SOl1. 'I rhlllk our duty tl" cinZl'n" l"Dll1Pl·j..,
11\ to defend the (()U1Hry ;lgJllht ,lll 11l\'Jdcr ... · J. Vv'. Grah,llll to RIchard, J r Ft'b. IVI3.
JWCI'.
~
RCIIIJiss,JII(C h'ars, 1902-1914 3 07
lecture, , ,[andl \'lTY strongh' expressed in the discussion which
tollowcd . , ,a number of young Friends rose", to voice their
uncompromising witness to our principles.' Several young men
protested that rhev vvould not he willing to serve even in nOII­
combatant roles, A tl'male Friend added: 'We women do not wish
11lL'n to sacrifice their soul, for the sake of our bodies,' I \ I Thus, as
the orfirral record noted:
the llleeting \US confirmed in the dl'sIrl' , , , to Ill,dsc the suprclllc vcnrurc
ott.urh. .md to prep,ln' our hc.ur-, in the spIrit llflll\'l' .md pe:lce to the cud
t1L1t ill ,\11\' cmcrgcncv. , , \\'l' 1l1ight Ill' sO lilkd with the spirit ~1I1d so sure
111 t.ur h rh.u \'iolcnce", [would] hecoll1e il11po"ibk to us, ,1I1d th.ir the
.unrudc llt' pe.lee .ind preln'!' lllight ,tllllll' h,' n.uur.rl.
,A final, ironic rourh \\'as added when, ill a 'quiet and sympathetic
rcplv, (;L1ILllll reminded hi, critic, 'to be modest ill t hcir l':\!lrl'S­
e
sio!l'i .ibour di-t.inr cOlltingellcies','.1
One lc.idcr of the Young Fricnd-,' Movcu rcut rcr.illcd SW;lll­
wick as 'the outward and visihl« sign of a great .md growing
movciucnt . , , beginnillg to make itself kIt in the Iifc of our soci­
ety, , , To lllany of us the challenge callle , , , to live out our Illes­
\,lge and our bith in a way which must cost us dear.' 1~3 Whell he
vvrot« this, 22-year-old (;eotli'l'\ Hovland could not know that the
'distant contingencies' of which John (;L1h,1II1 spoke would SOOll
require that. in their tidclitv to till' pl'an' testimony, he and many
of his companions would be forrcd live out their witness for peace
in arIllY guardrooms and prison cells,
Prior to I () q, under Nc.ivc Brayslu\\''s leadership. the Young
Friends Movement increasingly stressed the centrality of the peKe
rcstimonv, but there remained wide ditllTences among Friends as
to the exact 1(11'111 that testimony should take. One prominent
cx.nnplc \\',IS a long-standing controversy brought on by thr dis­
['0\'0)' tlut 'iOllle Quakers were joining the Territorial AnllY alld
Justil\'ing this ~lction on till' twin grounds of fulfIlling tllL'ir patriotic
duty and preslTvlng the Nation trom compulsorv Illilit.lrv 'iCrvice,
These Quaker volunteer, argued th~lt since tlll'y slured in the
,ecurity alld prosperity pro\'ided by the Illilit.lry systelll, their
1,1 .~'l{'dl/lI)i(k, Il)l!, 17). Ibid. 17" '" Il)J(j. 12
 ~
30 8 British Quakcrislll 1860-1920
consciences impelled them to assume some of the burdens as
well. I J-I
Response to such arguments was generally negative. One peace
advocate maintained that he could have no respect for those who
'go to meeting on Sunday ... while they hobnob with ... the Tcr­
ritorials in the week'. A Minut« of the Lancashire and Cheshire
Quarterly Meeting asked if there was not 'need for loving caution'
for those who by joining the Tcrritori.ils were 'weakening the
Christian ideal'.I.1\ A Minute of Kingston Monthly Meeting re­
printed by the British l-riciu! spoke directly and decisively to the
same Issue.
Many of us arc seeillg more and more «lc.irlv that our peace principle is
not an isolated tradition. but all organic outcome of our Quaker lifi-: th.it
it flows incvir.ihlv out of the rock upon which the toundcrs of our
Society built their t.iirh ... With all love and sympathy, we submit th.it
this is not the time f'lr weakening our [pc.ur] tcsti mo n v.
And when a revised version of Cluistiun Practice, Part [I of London
Yearly Meeting's Christian Discipline (revised I ooo), was published
in l(j I I, it specifically warned Friends 'to beware of joining Ter­
ritorial or ... of undertaking services auxiliary to warfare in posi­
tions where they would be under military orders'. I37
In May l(j 12 when Yearly Meeting gathered at Manchester, an
enlarged Peace Committee created in I(jOlJ out of a concern for the
'growing militarist tendencies of a large section of the British
public' '3~ presented a document entitled 'Our Testimony for
Peace'. The purpose of this document was to define precisely
how a witness for peace fitted into the modern practice of Quaker
faith. When it was accepted by Yearly Meeting, 'Our Testimony
for Peace' became, as the British l-ricnd noted, the first official
111 Sec l':'lpcciJIly J letter of H.lc]urd Wc..;rbkc JI , 'I" Puniorivn: UnChri\riJI1?'
I () I o, [()-t-.
'" LY.\1, 1911. III and BE JUIle &: Jul\' I'." I. I(Ii. IS~-~O.
11"Hl'~ Sept. l(jl I, 2(lJ--t-, and 'Friend . . .iud the Tcrntori.u Armv, ibrd ..
2()2-3·
117C/lrl_,II1111 Prlkli((' (London ll)! I), [41.
I,:; L)'AI, 1909, l(l2-J and .\li,IIltl'3. PC,ICC Commitrcc-. J Junl' I ()ol). Tlu- Cornmitu-c
consisted ofo7 Fr icndv. only nine ofwhom wcrl' W0111l'I1. It did not repl.rr« the Mccnug f'or
Sutll'ring'i Peace Committee. but the two bodies merged in 1t)12 to avoid duplicunon of
effort. The .irrangemcnr proved unwieldy and the (:OIlIIl1Htee incre.isnuzlv incttccnvc.
,,:.;~-ib
_ 1-............--
3 10 British QlldkcrislII 1860-1920
other Christian body, Friends believed that their tcstimonv for
peace could not 'be ah.mdoucd without mutilating our whole
nlessage f(1I" the world'. This Illess~lge would only be fulfilled
through 'all active movement towards the oucncss of all huru.mirv
.nid the realisation of the Kinudon: of Cod 011 earth ... in a cam­
paign of the most strenuous character agalllSt organized Iorccs of
evil.' Ij3
The Y c.uly Meeting's acceptance of 'Our Testilllonv tor Peace'
was of immense siglliticlllce in linkillg the ideals of the Qu.ik cr
Rcuaissanrc to Friends' rcxisraucc to war and cOllSLTiption after
I <) I -1-. British Friends did not, however, have to wait until I <) I -I- to
test the mettle of their revitalized pe~lCl' tcstimouy. Since early 1<)0<)
warnings h.id been sounded about the d~ll1ger of cons cripti 011 being
imposed in both Auvrr.rli.: .md New Zeabllll.'~~ On I january I()I I
by prov isious of the Austr.ili.ru I )efL'nce Act (Ncv, LeaLll1d soon
Iollowt-d suit), all malcx from ,Ige 12 to I S were subject to coru­
pulsory milit.irv tLlining, without c xcn ipt io n tor rcligiou. or .m
other type of objection. Munv members of the tiny Austr.ili.m
Ou.ikcr
'-
couununitv. determined to resist the I )efL'llCe Acts .uid
the s.u n« Yc.nlv Meeting which cudorxcd '()ur Testimony for
Peace' received a report indicating that <orne hundreds of n)llllg
men in Australia and New ZClbnd were being prosecuted, fined.
and impriscuu-d lor l.iilun- to c()]llplv with the I )efL'nce Acts.
Yearly Meetillg responded by suggesting th.it British Friends pro­
vide not only monetary support for this struggle but also voiuntccr-;
who would go out to the southern I )oll1inions to organize resist­
.unc to the Acts .md to agitate for rhcir repeal. /I,
One Friend who took up this ch,I!lenge was John P. Fletcher,
the z.i-vcar-old Yorkshircm.m .md budding soci.ilist who had
played a prominent role at SW~lll\\'ick.'~(' Atter working his pass,lge
to Australia in c.irlv I <) I 2, Fletcher helped to touud the Australian
Freedom League which took the lead ill organizing ~lglt.ltion
against the Defence Acts. Moving to NC\\' ZcJ!~llld in 1<) 13,
[1, '()ur Tl'"tiIllOIlY t(lr Pl',ln" L)JJ, It)l.!, I [J. liS. AI"o
Sept. 1<)1 J, 2(lJ--t: ()l'L It)ll, 2()2: ,11ld ivtlY I()I.2, lJ-t. ()\"IT 2).000
Tl'..;tilllUllY (or Pl',ICl" \\"CIT prllltcd ,lJld dl..,tnhu(L'd.
III Fl', .s-"lIL I (jO(j. 1\) l \ 23 Del", ]()IO, ''')_~: HI-". Feb. [ljIO,
]()ll, [I J-1-t.
Il~ L)J/, 1Y12. 1()2-). ALl) \Cl' HFJIll. H)11. .23-'-+: Apnl I()I L IIJ:July
JJldJlIllC 1()12, 1(13.
Ill, Sl'l' ."IIl'IIIIIII/(k, /91 I. SO JIld pho[o~, I-t-O. 17.2.
.d~i> JlIa';~~""
_ 1-...........--
Renaissance rears, 19°2-1914 30 lJ
document in the history of Quakerism to state explicitly that the
peacl' testimony 'follows necessarily from the foundation principle
on which the Society ... is built ... our belief in and experience of
the Light Within'.lw This official recognition of an explicit con­
nection between the peace testimony and Inward Light theology
represented not only the triumph for the liberal tenets of the
(~uaker Renaissance but also the creation of a rock upon which
future Quaker war resistance would be anchored.
The range of ' Our Testimony for Peace' was comprehensive and
its provisions were both specific and timely, incorporating, for
example, both the positive Social Darwinist argument that the
'fittest races and nations' were those who 'care most for human
personality' and Norman Angell's tenet that modem warfare in an
intertwined capitalist world was 'useless and ruinous to both con­
queror and conquered'. '-II)
[1('
Wl' recognise that each generation ... must Ell'C these great questions for
themselves ... [Butl to lc.ivc- our .ittirudc in regard to Peace and War
cntirely to the individual conscience, means that the Society as such
.ib.uidons ,lilY distinctive testimony on the matter ... War, with the
whole milit.rrv system. is .ontrarv to the Spirit of the (;od whose name
is Love [,1I1d the peace testimony is] nor au artitirial appendage ... which
,',111 be dropped without injuring the whole ... [but] an organic out­
growth of our Faith as Christians. [·1 [
Friends, said the document, were bound in faith to lead and 'to
Christianisc the opposition' to compulsory military service and
thus to 'save it from becoming merely the expression ofan indolent
2
.md selfish materialism'. '-1
Although 'Our Testimony for Peace' clearly asserted that the
acceptance and practice of the peace testimony was a defining
characteristic of Quakerism, it concluded on a conciliatory note:
ill l~LJlIly 'We do not desire, by hasty acts or harsh judgments, to drive from
us those who, f('eling themselves attached to our Society and
(Jet. i o r r, spiritual ideals, yet cannot honestly subscribe to the abstract doc­
trine that War under all circumstances is wrong.' Still, unlike any
I,') .\lilll/tt'S, PCJce Comuuue e. MJy H)12, 134 .ind LY.\l, 1912, (07, 114.
1+) 'C)ur Tc-rimouv tor Pl',ICl", LL\1, /1)12. 11()-17.
Ibid. r i«.
1 2
1-1- Ibid. I07-oS, 1'12-14. 1-1-
_
RCII,liSSl1I1Cl' 1('drS, 1902-1914 3I I
Fletcher's anti-conscription activities brought a brief jail term .it
(:lnistchurch.'~7 In al], Fletcher spent over three years in the
Antipodes, receiving financi.il and moral support from London
\\hile gaining the experience that would thrust him into a leading
role in Quaker resistance to the Great War.'~s
III the Spring of 1<) [-I- during the tinul , optimistic pre-war
~,lthering of London Yearly Meeting, the Friends' Peace Commit­
tel' introduced ~l rl'suIlll' ofQlLlker peace activity 'since the close of
the lamentable war ill South Africa'. Proudly citing the prolll­
11ll'IlCe of Friends in the Norman Angell Movement and the
tin.mrial .md personal aid provided to Australasian Friends in
their struggle ag.lillSt the compulsory military training, the report
l'(11lcluded th.it .lS a result of such 'devoted labour ... the peace­
m.ikcr is no IOllger .m object of ridicule', his numbers in Parliament
h.id grown and 'his voice W~IS hc.ird with attention and
!'eS!Kct ... The ground is prepared .md the good seed sown. Let
LIS then work on, ploughing and sowinj; in t.uth .md hope.' I~')
And thcv did work OIL In the midst of the hc.rutiful xumrncr of
I <) I -1-, 'l lu' !"I'fl'lId reported Oil ~l camp.ngn undertaken by Sussex
lricud-, 'to place hd()IT rural people the evils of nulir.msru'. Si:-\ty
to seventv llleetings h.rd been held tor audiences of up to three
hundred .ind despite the occasional 'rough crowd'. as at the Rom­
sn' horse-fair, the pcaccmak cr-;' llless~lge had been well-received.
'Sun'lv', s;lid editor T. P. Ncwm.m, such sustained and well­
organized work would 'have its effect in the promotion of a
pc.iccablc spirit ~llld ,I right understanding aIllongst those who
h,I\T not hitherto considered whether there is not "a better
\\,ly '" . '1";0
These comments \\cre published on the last day ofJuly, 1 <) q.
~lT \NT ilh.: III N. ().l[\, "lhc (:,llllP,l1~ll Ag,lill:-,t (:oll'iCnpUOll III Atl"tLtll.l, 11)1 I--I()I-t-'.
.111 J.\, .")/-; (1 (jS(j), .205- 1(j: I.c-Jic (:. JllII1Cl'Y, Flu' Sril!")' (!{ ("'olll(njlri(JII ill "·III.\/rlilill (London
[In)), (l)-l IT .utcl R I. \x/clucL 'P,lclti..,r-, ,Illd Auu-Milit.ur-t-, 1Il New 7.C,l1,llH.L [(JOt)
J Ij 1-+', "!J/(' .\'('11' /("I!,1!/d j(JlIl"llld (!{ fIiS/il!")', 7 (( )dobcr [()7 3), 1.23--+7.
1.1" 11'. 23 MJy [1)13. JJ5-(l .11ld L)J/, 1t)13. IO(l, J()S-I-+, [21-2, -.?[)- 17· rrolllllll. 11)[ I
til Apnl 1()I-t- till' Londoll Yl'.lrl: !"v1LTtillg (:OllllllittlT 011 A u..,tr.tlJ..,l.llI I ktl'!H.l' Ad..,
\l'C nr. July I()l I, 1t'\(j-ljU:
rl'll'l\'l'd ..,ub\lrip[Jolh Ofl)\"l'r 1'-+,3°0. Sl'l' 1.)',\1. /t)l?, IO(j ,llld !l)l-/, 122.
l'UPll'" of '()ur
II') L)J/. 1yI-/, IIC}-I(l. 1,,, "II-", 31 July [1)1-+, yl3.
5-t-: .lIlLl L)JI, IYl(l. ,"3 L'\.
I\)I!, I~S-S():
_


9
half mill ion recru its needed to crush the Hun, 3
'A Ghoulish Terror of Darkness'
enlisted during the first flush of patriotic enthusiasm and cvcnrually
'FRIENDS DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY ARE'
Where were you when the war bcgan?
sittlllg Oil a bellch lookillg out over the Irish Se,l as my t:lther talked with
brc;lkillg hC:lrt". .ihout how the world would never be (he same
agalll ... The hc.iurv of the sea. of the long stretching line of (he Welsh
Coast, seemed to mock at us, To think that thc long I:\. p.iucnr work fix
Peace should bring-this"
Two Quaker recollections: ~1 hoy of S and a liliddle-agcd man,
both spending the final hours of peace besidc the SCJ and both
equally perplexed as to wh.it had transpired or would come to pass,
'All is bewildering, confused. d.irk and hidden.' The r:riClld l.nucn­
ted in its first wartime edition, 'som« ghoulish terror ofdarkness or
pestilence that wastcth at noonday." 'Many Friend» do not know
"where thcv arc",' mused Ernest Taylor (I S()lj-llj55), Sccrctarv to
the Yorkshire Ilj05 Committee, three weeks after his return from
Wales, Taylor feared that some Quakers, 'raught by the "urgency"
and "righteousness" of this war'. were bccoming 'very cold' with
regard to pcacc principles, Colder, perhaps, than he il1lagincd, It
may not have been surprising that the two Quaker Conservative
MPs, Frank L Harris and Alfred 13ig1Jnd, abandoned pcace for the
national cause, But it must have been something of a shock when
Hcnry Marriage Wallis, rcccntly rctumed from aiding war victims
in the 13alkaIlS, announccd at the first wartimc Mecring tor Surtcr-
J \\liboIl, 'lk~t "l"lling"", () ,Illd Ernest E. T,lylor, 'I)iJry, J () J -t-- J Augu'it Il) l-t-, Tl'lnp.
U"" 23/" LSF.
2 TF7Aug. I<)I-t-, 575-()
......
,_. _._'. l..
~.,....­
3 14 Bvifish Quakerisl/I 1860-1920
opted for military service because, prior to the Great War the peace
testimony remained 'an unexamined inheritance' tor the majoritv
of Quakers on both sides of the Atlantic. It was, he said, due only
to the stand of a staunch 'remnant' th.it 'the otficial position of the
Society of Friends remained unchanged'.'
I )esplte their considerable numbers, Friends who enlisted were
of little or no sigllltlclIIce in the development of an official Quaker
position on the war. When they marched away, they relinquished
:my influence over the stance their Society would take. The official
Quaker policy regarding the war W~IS determined bv stov-at-homc
Friends, lIlany of them young and some of them tl'lIl,Jll', who
resisted the war ,1IId consrriprion. As few the inrlucur« of older
horne-front w.irriors like l lcurv Marriage Walhs, their status
among parifist Quakers W,IS nc.itly summariz.-d in the recollections
of a female Friend: 'One just did not listen to them. ")
In addition to that third of the SOCIety who openly supported
the Creat War, there were an i ndcrcru iin.ttc number, voung ~1IId
old, who drifted. confused .md demoralized about which way to
tum 'under the present app.illiug circumstances'. In the spring of
I()I), a .'lillllfe of Po ntcfr.ict Monthly Meeting in Yorkshire
rcm.rrkcd upon 'the dcprcsxio n ... and ... perplexity which so
many Friends arc tl'eling as to the right attitude to adopt'. I " Leader,
of the Society, individually and corporatclv, attempted to speak to
the condition of these w.rvcru u; brethren with an outpouring of
advice and exhortation. Meeting tor Sut1lTings published :111 .ippcal
asking members to recall the historic responsibility of Friends to
uphold their Christian testimony agaimt \\',11', reminding them that
'our n-xr imouv loses its efficacy in proportion to the want of
consIstency ... amongst us'. I I 'l li: l-ricud noted in its mid-Septem­
ber issue that the peace testimony W,IS 'the candle th.it \\T must
,,, JOllC:--, Lila jJ('I'iod.l. II, 7.2.", 7.~7. JOlll':-' dol''' not incnnon Londo» Yc.irlv tV1cCtlllg\
j()J2 doc-utncur ou '()l1r Tc-rimonv tor PC,ICC'. Cc.idc]. Hrlri,ll jJ<7(!/islII 1t)I.J-IY.J5. File
l)t.'!illil~1!. l!(l/ lait}: (Oxford Il)SO), IS m.tkc-, rhe -.uuv pomt conrcrmng the ljr invh PCclCl'
movcnu-nr .I" .1 whol«.
() lnrcrvicw with Llfrid.i Vtpour Fould, Yc.il.md Convcrs. Lmc.ivhirc, Augu"t !l)S()
,\/illil/(' 2, 2X April IVI), ,\!il/llles ottl« .\I{'('rll~\! 1!{Lldn's, York -, iJlIT (~u,lrtLTly ~1l'crll1g,
Hrorhcrton Libr.irv (I3L). Umvcrvirv of Lee'd\ .md [d",m! C;rubb to /I .. 4 ~cpt. ")14. ('47
"Llylor. 'l ri.irv, ") 14-', '0 Sept. I <J 14 ,llIdl 't, I x Sqlt. I <J q. 1'~2. 1'~7-~. The
quotation \\';l~ ukell fronl London YC.1rly Ml'ering\ Cllri.\'f/'lI/ fJr(/((icc (IYI I). 141 I he
Meeting flJr Suffennp' .\lc.\'sll.\!c (tl "/ell '1IId rJ~llll(,1/ l:( (;oo£1ll'ill. pnnrl'd copy in LSF. \\'.1"
i.. . ~lIl,d tllrl'e dJys Jftcr BnLllll e!ltered thl' \\',If: Ill'Jrly lulf J millioll copie'i WLTC pruned.
......
."" ,-.,
'A Ghoulish Terror (?f Darkness' 3 13
ll1gs that he was forthwith appealing for Quaker youth to Join the
And they did join, More than two hundred young Quakers
nearly one thousand or one-third of all male Friends of military agc
served: over a hundred of them died." The usual explanation tor
this considerable defection from the peace camp \V~1S that most of
these Friendly warriors were birthright Quakers without serious
attachment to the religious litt.' of their local meetings: 'Strain
proved too much tor any whose Quaker principles were not
rooted in something br deeper th~1I1 mere tradition or inherited
beliefs. '.i A study of Quaker rcsponse to the war in local meetings
has challenged this perception, While l.rrgclvlirnircd to East Anglia
and including one sizeable meeting, Norwich. with any unusually
large number of working-class members, this work SCCl1IS to indi­
catc that m~l11V carlv culistcrs were serious, thoughtful Friends
who had been' artivc in their local meetings," On~ scrupulously
cam est young Fricud who cvcntuallv volunteered W~1S John Wil­
helm Rowntrcc's only son Lawrence, who was killed on the
Western fronr.? In his pmt-\Var history of the Later Periods of
QUllkerislll, Rufus JO!1es expressed the view that many Quakers
Lrvlor. 'Di.uv. ]()q.-", ::.-; A Lq..!,. , -t .md .2) Sl'pt. l(jl-t- ,1I11i l",iLhl'l, ['/(((11'/(111 (}ltllkcr."
.2Cl[-.2. A couvm ot' I I ,1\;1. W,ll lr-,, l Ior.uc Alcx.mdcr, rl'c.llkd bl'ing ;H1Ll7(,:d [iv the
vehemence of W,lih",' "uppon for thl' war. l nt crvtcw \\ rrh I {OLllT Alrx.urdcr. Lung\\'twd,
P,I., NO\'l'111bcr Il)SO. III the ~pril1g of l(jlj .I Comnurtcc 011 fTIL'lllt... .nul Ellll",nlH:l1t
rcportc-c] to Yc.u-l-, .~kctlllg t h.u tlttl'CIl lncnd-, \\TrL' known to h.iv« 1'llg.lgl'd ill rl'L'ruitlJlg
.unvitic-. 'IF, 2:"\ 1\1.1\' I() I ,~, -t-oS-(J(), AI",o "'l'l' (:Iuptl'r I I,
-I L)'.\I, IQ15. JO: Tl. 2S M,ly [l)[j, -t-oS-(j; .md 1.)'.\1, 1q.!,l , .2.1.2. AI",o \Cl' J\1.lulk
IZ.oblll"tlll, . "LL'"r v..,'l' Forget"', J.
-; F117.1bL'th Fox I (l)\\'.tnl. rril'lld.\' Scrflit"l' ill 'I :lffill/c (London n.d.). 1 t .
I, LUl"Y Moul.uul, '(~llJkl'r PJcitl"m .uid the Firvr World W,lr' (Third Ye,H l rivccrt.uiou.
I kp,ll"tllh..'llt (It'llhrnry, UI1I\"lT"lty of(:Jl11hndgl'), 12, 2(j--t-t. The working-Lias" nn-mbcr­
<lup o t Norwrch L~kL'til1g W,I" clc.rrlv not rcprc-cnr.urvc ror Bnnvh (~Ll,lkcn"'l1l. Ellwood
Brockl)Jllk.., conuncnr .rr the Mauchcstcr Conference that thirtv-Iivc nu-mber- ut- the
Norwich (;t)';pcl U,llld Iud recl'ntly l11ergcd with Nonvich Friellds Ml'ctillg helps to expblll
[he \t1rfeir llt" w()rkitl~-(Lt"" Fnl'lH,k Sel' .\f(lIId,csrcr Co!!!i'rcl/((', [o-t--o).
~ Aftcr "LT\'lllg t~lr llC.lrly t\\"o yl'ar" ill the ~riel1d, AlllbuLtlllT Unit, LI\\Tl'lllT (Lluric)
RO\\,llrrCL' L'1l11qL'd during the I,UillllllT of [VI() ,Illd was killed ill Nov. l(jl? In ,1 ll)CIlIOir
cllrirlcd .A NIghtl1LlrC', kindly pruvidl'd by' hi" .;istcr, JCJll Rowlltrec, Lauric rdkcred upon
hi" l"olllln[ expCriL'Ill"l': "The l'xcitillellt of It, evcn the fear is cnticing; tlw glunou, fL'ding
whcll vou O\"erl"OIllt' dltilL-ultil'~ ... ,Ind the Jolly cOlllpallion~hip ... you get ill the [tee of­
COIlIIllOIl (hIlger ... ', I C). Jl',111 RO\\"lltree bclie\'l" rlut her brother enli'Stl.:'d heclLl,e hl' could
no longer watch other lllen "uffer ,lI1d die whilt- he W.ll, hrgdy illlIlllllll' froIll thl' hazards
they \\'ere reqUired to taCl'.
_
'.--I Choulish Terror of Darkness' 3 J5
keep alight 111 England'. Sccbohm Rowntrcc, attempting perhaps
to convince himself as much as others, urged Friends to stand firm
in their convictions, so as to become the 'rallying point around
which all the friends of peace may gather'. 12
The need to generatl' a sense of solidarity, not just with peace­
lovers, but WIth all of sut1ering humanity, was the burden of most
tracts and letters produced by anti-war Quakers in the early months
of the conflict. The cmphasi« was on the peace testimony as a
'direct incvit.ihlc outgrowth from the ... distinctive 111essage of
c.rrlv Quakerism ... the ... univcrsalirv of the Divine indwelling'
.md, thus, the sacredness of every human personality touched by
that which W,lS of Cod. 'No one', said WiltlTd Littlcboy (I Xg~­
I ()7()) in 1111' Friend, 'can honestly take our Quaker stand against
all w.ir without bl'111g committed to a higher and more exacting
serVIce, one leading to love and life ,111d not to hatred and death'.']
Soul-stirring words, to be sure, But were young Friends prepared
to heed the utterances ota Birnungh.uu chartered .iccouut.nit while
the siren SOllg of Rupert Brooke called out tor 'the red/Sweet wine
of youth'? As the former MP Joshua Rowutrcc noted: 'It is very
natural that with the seething ofth« war fever all around S0111l' ofour
Hlllllg people should long to do something to lessen the misery &
prove that they do not shirk enlistment from cowardice.' q
Quakerism, both officially and otherwise, did, in fret, attempt to
provide .iltcrn.uivcs to young friends. The most fllnous of these,
and doubtless the most immediately satistying, was the Friends
Ambulance Unit (FAU), a volunteer nursing corps that was the
brain-child of Cnllbridgl' scholar and future British Olympian,
Philip Noel-Baker (IX?\<)-I<)?\2). Eventually, over 1,)00 men, less
th.m half of whom \\'LTe Quakers, served in the FA U, but, in time,
the Unit became tainted by the accusation of a too-cozy relation­
ship with the military authorities. Indccd, after the introduction of
conscription in J()I(l, the FAU became the centre of a serious
inter-Quaker conflict. I \ Another smaller group of about 300,
I': ·Frlend-, .uid Enhsrmcnt. Tl. 2 (kt. Jl)14. 724. Al:--u '\ee, ibid. 2) Sl'pr. It)14, 713. A..,
one of Lloyd (;eorgl'\ clnctvv.rr-tunc- .uivtvor..... Secbohlll !Z.O\\'lltrCl' could 'iCHeely be s.ud to
h.iv.: pr.uuccd \\ h.it he prc.nhcd.
'3 WIilUI1I Lirrlcbov, lnciui: ,1IId 1'(',1({' (London I<JI,), II., WillI-cd E. l irtlcbov, 'Our
Pecll'L' Tc-ruuonv .md SOlllC ofIr:-. Illlp!JCHIOll"·. J'J-, 2 ()et. tYI4. 722-4 (Wilfred Llttkboy
\\'.l~
Sccrcury to thc YOUllg Fncllli....' Home Mi'i . . l011,lllel Fxtl,ll . . ioll COllllllittcc cfc,l!:ed ,It the
S\\".lll\\'ick CUllferL'llce); ,1IldFE 2J ()([. 1()14.
" J"'hLl.l [l,()\\"lltrc'C to HCllry J Mc'I1llcil. 17 Nm·. 1')14. MS Box ,.114, LSF.
Az _

, r

3 J () British QuakerislII 1860-1920 'A Cilolllisit Terror l!f Darkness' 3[7

including some women, served in the Friends' War Victims Relief However quixotic and unpromising such an assessment appclrs
Committee (FWVRC) in France and elsewhere during and after to be, in fJet, Henry Hodgkin proved to be among the most
the war.' r, realistic of British pacifists. It was largely through his initiative
But it was not only young Friends who needed an outlet for and leadership that the Llandudno Conference became a launching
their eners'Y and anxiety. Older men like Ernest Taylor also felt pad for what Martin Ccadcl has called 'Britain's most thoughtful
drawn toward what he called "some supreme act of self sacritlce', pacifist society', the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The FOR was
some escape into active service which would dcrnoustratc Lither not exclusively Quaker, but it W;IS, in its origim and continued
than violate his peace principles. 17 The seed tor such a movement existence, a permanent Quaker contribution to the twentieth-
had, in t~lct, been planted at the Socil,ty's Conference at Ll.mdudno century peace movement.
21

in September [1)[4. Within the Society of Friends, Hodgkin bee.nne a force in

Long planned as a discussion of 'the discrepancy between the moving official Quakerism toward alliance with Idt-wing oppon­
teachings of Christ and the conditions of litl' in this so-called ents of the war, especially the lndcprndrnt Labour Party." His
Christian sute',' ,S event, narrowed the Ll.uidudno Conference's uncompromising convirr iou th.u opposition tLJ all war was 'the
considcr.itionx to the challellge that war presented to Christianity \"lTy' hc.rrt of the Christian ethic' won littl.: support from fellow
in geneLl! .md to the Society of Friends in particular. I'J The Chair­ non-confornusts. although it did command a l'l'rtain grudging
nun at Llandudno was l Jr Henry T. Hodgkin, who had spent tivc rl'S]1('c1. The Scottish theologian D. S. Cairns wrote that while he
years (11)05-[ 0) as ,I mcdi.al mission.irv in China. Hodgkin had could agree vvirh neither the logic nor the theology of Hodgkin's
been one of the delegates t()rced to scatter trorn the last pre-w~Jr positiou: 'I .uu thankful that you and the Friends arc there to
Peace Confcrcnc.: at Constance. On 2 August I I) [4 in the midst of tl'stify ... Ito such] an ideal in a lILJd and wicked world.'Oj
his flight from the war-threatened Continent, Hodgkin wrote to Yearly Meeting in late May of [I) I 5 provided Quakerism with
his father that he felt no anxiety tor his own or other peace its tirst opportunity to give corporate witness to the peace ideal. In
delegates' safety because the German Emperor, who was 'in tull the rUll-Up to what Henry Hodgkin considered the most monun­
sympathy with the Conference'. had gi\"l'n his perso]];] I assurances t ous gathlTing of Friends since the death of Ceorge Fox, he
tor their wcll-bcing.:" expressed high hopes to Rufus Jones:

I -, Sec bclovv. rill' otfll'Ld lnvmrv o lrhr ITll"llli" Ambul.in.:« Uuu J\ :\ll'.lbufll Tarh.uu .uid
JIIlH" E. Mtk-v, 1//t' lrirnd,' .-llldJl//,II/I"l' f '/lif, Iql..;-ll)IcJ (Ltutdtm [l()[{)IJ. lor ,I fl\LlILltlllg These are gree1t days tor us. At the Meeting tor SlItTl'rlllgS last Irid.rv I
IHlIl-C)UJk.lT vu-vv of the UIllL -,n ' '};dbIJ,~ .·L·/",I,I,I rllt' II ;lrld: ih; /.(1J'(' [f/{n" ':( ( >I,!!, Sr'7j1/"dt1/l bclicv,' that \H' \\'L'H' H',1Ik b.iprizr-d into sOllle SpIrIt ot- cOllr,lge Illstead
.in.! A,l,'I!(,s .\flllcr, l'dltl'd by lz..obLTt L'r o ...... ky (I !.1I}U\·l'r. (:OJl1l. 1()i"i)
I(l ~l'l' Pl'JCl' Couunitrcc, .\ 11/1 I/lt'_", V, 3 Sq1C. J')l-l-_ LS[- For .111 .uc-ouut of f\'(/VRC:
of... the spirit of t(,;ufulness wh nh h,ls so often taken possessioll of
(\)nl'll l',llkd '\\·',If \IIC" b~' Prn-nd...), "'l'l' A. Ruth ITy" -, k]]gth~' .tcco unt o t 'Friend- Rl,hd­

\\ipfk SlIll'l' J 1)1-1-,' n.d.. Temp. ,r-v1SS -1-~ I, I SF. All Ellll'q.':;l'IlCy C:oIlllllirrl'l' t(lr rhr A...... i... LII1Cl'
of( ;el"l)),II1'_ Ausrn.u» and I hlllg.lfUllS JI1 I )1'trl'''''' \\".1' ,11'0 COll\"l'lll'd tl) .ud l'lll'llly rr.ippcd III
Hru.nu by till' onrhrc.rk of rh« \'(/.IL All AIllt'nclI1 (~L1,lkl·r. Dr Hc-nrren.r Thom.i-, (I ~7l)­
II) I ()), lll,lde .,i.'\ trip' to till' Contnu-ur to rcp.un.uc (;lTIllJIl .in.! Auvrri.m nou-comb.u.uirs.
\l'l' till' (:Olllllllttl'l", (:orrl''il)()lldl'IKl' ill thl' \V'oodbrookl' I ibLU;; .llUl l'lltry t(Jr Hl'llnl·tU
M. Tholll,I', J)(.!I;' L~f.
" E. T;lyloL 'Ilian.', 2i ~cpt. ")q. ·ll'mp. B"" 03/1. L~F.
I;" ,\1clllorwulllll'JJr tltc L/,1IIdlldllt1 Cl)/!/("-C/w' (()rih'lILli copy in LSF). prilltl'd .It SL'lIy l),lk,
BirJJ1ill~h,llJ1 [I~ql ,md n·~ II ~ept. 1~14, ('()).
I') 'Prd:lcc', [:ricl/ds (/nd tIl(' ff;n IPnKccding'i of the I.Ll11dudilo (:ollflTl'IlCl'] (Lolldon
[") ,~i). X-IO.
", Hl'nrv T Hodgkin ([ L T H.) to J B. Hodgkin, 2 Aug. '~l~. HeTbcrr M. Hodgkm
PapeT' (lIMHP). Temp MSS 3)), Box II I). LSF AI", \L'e H,TbeT[ C. \Vu"d, H'II')' T
f-l,,,I~kill:.~ :Hem,)lr (London 1937). q.,-().
..:'1 (:l'Jlkl. 1)'/11/1"/11 ill Hil/dlll, 3 \. lbr prul'l'l'dill~' (It- till' ll.mdudno (:ontl'fl'IlCl' .uicl
other m.u.-r i.rl o n rill' ()rlglll' or rill' Fcllp\\·..,hlp ot RCCOIlCili,ltlOIl .ur ill tltc l Icrbcrt M.
IlodgknJ (',jill''', l.Sf
Henry 1 Hod,L';klll. 'The Church .md \'\/Jr', '[11(' CO/lSrruct/Fe C2Iltll"/('I/y, M.lrdl 1()15,
.21 Thl' '( ;L'lll'r.d Rl,\·il'\\" lIt' (he LlJIldudllu COllkrl'llcl', t()lIo\\"ing the rl'cOlllllll'lldJtJOl1
ofJ. T. \V',llrtlll Nl'\d~ul,L .L 111l'111/1l'f o( the (L1) .Iud thl' S()S, urged Fnl'llli'i to ntahhsh
dO'l'r rl'LthHh \\,[(h (he ILl). Sl'l' I-"flt'I1(/.1 dl/ll "/e ll~lr, I~, 2.1. Abo ~l'l'Johl1 \V'llli,llIl (;r.t1UIll
(J. \Xl. (;.) to H..ICh:ud (;r.dUIll Oz... (;.L (I l'vlJrdl 1l)15.J\V'(~P t()f ,Ill account ofa l11l'l'ting ,1t
till' Ilotel Mctropok in M,lllChl''\rl'f, ,Hlcllded by R<lm,.ly MJd)ol1,dd, CIJ,uk" Trevelyan
JIld othl'r~, 'to "'l'l' If(~uakt'r c1piul J[ld 1.L.P. labour could cOl1lbinl' 1ll "Llrtlllg ,1 Pl'JCC daily
Ill'\\ . . paper 011 labour line,. " The nLlttef \\,;1'\ dropped bCClll<,;l' onl y I~ I 200 of the needed
£:3°,000 \\"a" ~\.lb'iLTibed,
" HodgkIn, 'Church and \V,lr', 21~ ,1Ild I). S, c'lir", to [JTH. 23 Nov. 1'!!4, Temp MSS
J .ii. Box V / ~\I. LSF.

,"--<­
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.... "V~ +
 T
.~

3IK British QuakerislII 186o-19.!(] '.4 Gllol/lish Terror or Darlencss' 3 It)

US ... there IS a grcat 'l\nkcIllllg aI11011g the yOUllg pcoplr, .ind .I rrcmcn­ Barlov, continued to play ,I key role throughout the war years in
dou- desire to do sOl11cthiIlg <trouu. I believe that Yc.rrlv ML'L'tll1g will SCC rcsistlng every effort to soften this unyielding stance, Perhaps
,I big forward !l10\'CI11L'I1t ... whrn th« vounjrcr portion of the mcmhcr­ llL'clllsC he lacked flamboyance, Barlow has received too little
ship ILlS all opportunity to cxprcxs Itself 2~ recognition for his influence in keeping the Society faithful to its
2S
p.lcifist traditions during the First World WaL
After Y l\lrly Meeting commenced, the reports Jones received 011 Another of Henry Hodgkin's heroes of the I t) I :) Yearly Meeting
its proceeding. seemed to confirm Hodgkin's expectations. 'I alii w.is Alfred Barratt (Barry) Brown whose speech to Yearly Meeting,
glad to say th.it Truth is prevailing,' wrote Edw.nd (;rubb. Hodg­ l Iodgk in noted, embodied the 'fire & power & intcnsitv of pur­
kin himself W,IS carried away with cnthusi.ism for 'the splendid pose of the young': 'If they ortlT us exemption from conscriptio»
stcadfasmcss of our yOllng iucn . , . It docs make me hopdlll for the .IS Quakers, unless all those who agreL' with us trorn conscientious
future of the Society, s,ly 20 or 30 yC,lrs hence, \\hl'I1 thovc who motives .uc exempted too, the position will be intolerable. We
h.ivc stood this turn.tcc so well shall tln-msclvc« be the leaders. '2i nuy IUH' to leave the Society to fight it out with them as IIICII, ,2')
Afier Yearly Mcctim; established the yOllllg 111CIl's Service COI11­ /\s a member of the SQS, the ILP and the No-Conscription
mittrc 'to strcngthen the Peace tCStilIlOII\' ,nllong l ricuds of mili­ Fcllovvship (NCF), B,lrry Brown would, with other left-wing
tary ,IgC' .md .ilso endorsed a .\liUUle rctonuuc-ndiug th.it ill the Quakers like Robert O. Mcnncll (I KK2-j I)()o), a tea merchant,
event of conscription no cxc-mptiou bL' gl\'CIl to Friends th.it was journalist Hubert W. Pcct (IKK()-It)5I), and fL'mak Friends such as
not equally ;Ipplic.lblc to non-(~u,lkcrs, HodgklIl .uid (;rubb Fdith Ellis (IK7K-It)()3), Edith J. Wilsou (IK(1t)-It)(l3) .1I1d Dr
believed that w.ir-Fncnds and thcir w.ivcrim; allies h.id been routed I icnrictta Thomas (I K7t)-1t)1t)), help the Friends Service Couuuir­
by the ste;ldflst pacifists. -c, III rel'oulltill~ those 1110St tum in t cc to chart the path for Quaker war-resisters. Eventually, .md .it
upholdillg Friends uncoIllpnllIllsillg OPPOSItIOII to the w.ir and times rclurtantly. London Yearly Meeting resolved to follow aloug
conscription, I lrnrv Hodgkin singled out the 'wi«. steady this \;1111l' track.
rulinus & solcmuly lu-lptul prL'sence' of the Ckrk, John Henry Parifist Frirnds were, in gClleral, satisfied thut the tirst wartime
B.lr1mv, who had responded to the crisis by risillg 'onto all entirely Yearly Meeting had had the desired affect. Ernest Tavlor noted in
diHlTcllt level trom ;1l1vthing I had . , ,kllll\\1l in hi111 before', The his 'Diary' that 'Y, M, did good' in making Friends 'more con­
<rcrn-fcaturcd B.lrlow, .I close associate of Cl'orgL' Cadbury \\'ho tented', StIlI, Taylor rcm.nucd deeply distressed by the continued
had played a role in LlUllching Woodbrollke, composed the .\liullle cnlisrmcut of young Quakers and by the t:Jct that 'ministers of the
which sununarizcd the Socictv's otfici.il position on the w.ir: Church & of the Sects [arc] teaching hate to their peopk', LikL'
llthcr p,ICltIStS, he was growing restkss ~111d searching for the IIll';lnS
We kl\'C gin'I1 prolollgcd .lIld C.lf1lL'st COIlS!lkr.ltioll to our 1\"ICl' Tl'Sti­ to rake lip thl' tIght agaillSt war 'in ways tlLlt SOll1e peopk l'all
1110IlY ... 1\\·lnchl Ius bcell ek.H ;lIld ullllmuk.Jbk tl'O!ll thl' l',lrhc'1 da\s "radical" ',1<i As the thrcat of cOllScription grew during the fInal
of our )nstllr\' to the prcscllt alld ' .. wllll'h Cl'IIlCS \\'dlillg up ti'ol11 \\ithill.
1Il0nths of J I) I:), the opportunity tor more radical action seenlcd at
It sprillgs trolll thc \Try hcart of our flith, .. I.llldll11ust bc .I rellit\ ill our
hand, 111 Septcl11ber, MeL'ting tl)r Sufferings issued a ktter to all
livcs,
MPs protesting against tllL' possibility of compulsory military ser­
,I II. T. H. to R. M.J C') M,,,,'11 ")'.\, RMJI' vicc and denying 'thc right of any Government to compd its
1c.(;toR.M.J,ccM.1\ "JI',lIldH.I.11 toR ,~\J.c'JI\1,,, ,~,."I(MJl'.
Sl'l' {J ',\1, 1l)15, IlJJ--t. Fnr [he rnl'lld" SlT\"lCl' ('Ol1l11llHl'l' J11,lllltl''''W Jild dll' li'i( of :" Tlh:.J- (I. B,lrJOW ]J.l~llT\ l·O]]t.llll .1 grnup of po"thlllllOlh (lIllllleJld,ltioll:'l by HCIlf)
()n~l[ul t\VCllty 11ll·lllbl'r~. \l'l'
J·S(,' ,\ li ll II (cs, l~('('t)fd, (1/ rf '(lr1.: dllrll)()(fIlI1CIIIS Issl/ed. .\ qd\. JUlll' H(1dgkin, Hubcrt PlTt, Ed\\'Jrd Crllbb, Erllc\t TJylor ,mel otltlT\ Oil the vital rok Ibrlo\\'
I I) 1~-i\tIY 1')20, LSF Al"u "l'l' rhe rccolkc(Il)ll\ uf HOLILl' AiL·xalllkr. ,lll ongllLlI llll'll1bl'r. pLlYl'd J]) prc\lT\Ting a 'itrong 11l'']cc tntilllony in the flee cd' Lllll"iderablc prcs<.;llrc to
111 CLI/,II,'",- fli'I,',-)', 70 (Spring I ~~ I), -1-S. l-OJllprOlllisc both Crolll the (;(H'l'rlllllcnt Jnd from Fncnds v,:ho \\I'ihcd to ~lCCOlllJllodare
2­ L)',\l, 1l)/5. 112-13: ,11\0 quoted III rVLtbel (',1\11 B.lrl\l\\'\ 1.1l1pl.lbh"hl'd Illl'llllllr nt'Jullll rhc Jurhoritie".
I kllrv 13JrJO\\ in lhc J_H. f\-tlry f\.1illior B,nIll\\" BLlltll\YJitl',
13.lrlO\\· PaplT;o, ill P0'\'\C\"1011 of ") H. T H. [0 R. M.J., 31 M.l\' '~I\, Box~, RMJP
Londo!l. ," T,ylor, 'J)!,,,\,' '-tJul\' I'.: 20 Aug. I~I\, Temp Box 23/3, LSF.
 32° British Quakerism 1860-1920
Subjects to do thi n gs th at their conscience disapp roves' . 3 1 In the
m eantim e, the Frien ds Servi ce Committee h ad become an active
force bo th wi thin the Society and in allian ce wi th n on - Quaker
w ar-resistan ce organizatio ns like th e N o- C onscri pti on Fellow ­
sh ip.32 In a real way thi s sort o f activity was a blo ssoming o f the
seeds planted by N eave Brayshaw and o the rs in th e p re-w ar Young
Frie n ds M o vement, a fulfillm en t of th e p ro mises m ade at the
Sw an w ick Conference 'to liv e out our m essage and o ur faith in
ways th at m ust cos t us dear'. 33
Fig. 8 Alfred NC3ve Brayshaw ( 186I- I~ 40), take n in 1928 ;
spirit ual leader for the Yo ung Friends M ovem ent
J I 'C om p ulsory War Servi ce-s-A dd ress ro th e M em bers o f Parliam ent ', 3 Sep t. 1\)15 ,
M eeting 1,)( Sufferings , Fr ed eri ck An drew s, Cl erk, Arnold S. R own tr ce P ap ~" (ASR P).
3 to/ 512, L~F AI, o see L s'M, 191 6 , 2 2 \)-3 0.
J' See Pe ace C om mittee . .\.fill/ ll e.', v , 3 june 1 \) 15 no ting the FSC \ desire ' to work in
harm o ny ' w it h th e Peace C omm ittee an d FSC Secr etary IF. 13. Sm art ] to C lifford Allen . eo
July 19 1 5 . agreeing to j o in with the N o- C onsc riptio n Fello wsh ip and the Fellows hip o f
R eco nciliati on in a J oint Advisory C o uncil of am i- war, aut i- convcript ion or ga nization s.
] I Swauu-icl«, 19 11 , 12 fro m remarks by Geoffrey H oyland , all o riginal m ember of the
Friends Serv ice Committ ee .
......
'A Ghoulish Terror oj Darkness' 32 1
Braysh aw had long been a respected an d, for some, a beloved
Friend, but in many ways hi s life pri or to the Great War might
h av e seem ed disapp oin tin g. Forced ou t of B ootham by an uns ym­
pathe tic h eadmaster, Arthur R ow ntree, and shove d aside at \Vo od ­
br o oke as a 'good but very injudi cious man ' by Ge orge C adbury,
N eave appea red to be approaching o ld age w itho u t real accom­
pli shment in hi s ch ose n rol e as a teac he r and m entor to yo ung
Qu akersr'" But Braysh aw 's sp iri tual lead ership in the Young
Fri en ds M ovem en t an d hi s un yieldi n g adherence to pe acc prin­
cip les durin g the war make hi m a truly sign ifica n t figure among
early tw enti eth-century Friends. I n keep in g 'with the tone of h is
pr e- war minis try, Braysh aw co nsisten tly uph eld 'the uncompro­
m isin g Quaker standp o in t' during th e w ar. H is w artim e co rr espon­
de nce with 'old bo ys' from th e M ovem en t invariably pursu ed th e
th eme that the WJr and the threat of co nsc ript io n w er e exactly th at
tri al o f faith for which Q u akerism had b een pres er ved and that
th o se unequ al to the task of facing up to thi s o rdeal had no wa rran t
to contin ue calling themselves tru e Frien ds. In a tra ct on ' Frien ds
and th e Inn er Ligh t' , Brayshaw n o ted :
th e sole justifi cat ion for th e survival of Friends as a separate body w as th at
it was doing work . . . no t b eing don e elsew he re . . . W e Friends arc some­
thing 1110re than a social or sem i- religious club .. . W e exist not for
ourselves but to make our co ntrib ution to th e w orld in bearin g wi tn ess
to o ur belief .. . An impossible positio n is reached w hen th e claim is m ade
that o ne w ho go es out pre pared to kill m en. in obedience to his ' Light' , is
as much a 'Frien d' as ano ther w ho .. . wo uld go to prison rather than
en list. T his is to turn th e back o n th e w hole history and testim on y of
Quakerism .",
Braysha w 's w artim e activ ities w ere de dicated to th e you ng men
wh o were 'w alk ing in acc ord w ith th e be st traditions of o ur
So ciety' an d w ho, w he n co nscrip tio n w as en ac ted, w o uld fill
' long rolls of honour' by acc ep ting perse cution, just as their sp iri­
tu al anc estors, th e first Friends, had do ne . 36 In th e m eantim e,
J 4 See Taylor . Personal F-Ji.<lM )', 49- S I and G eorge C ad bu ry to \V. C. Br aithw aite
(W . C B.), 1 3 N ov. 1\)00 . GCI' , W L.
H A. N C3\'c Bravshaw (A. N. B.l , Pricuds and theI nner L':~ JIt, (London [ I \) I S !) . 70-2 . Also
sec A. N. B. to T F, \) April I\)IS , 78 , SI & 2 4 Dec. 1\)1 5 , \)0 1.
jl, From A. N . B.'s addr ess to m embers o f the Frie nds' G uild of T each ers, 13 Jan . 1\)15 ,
Box T 1/ 3. LSF.

 rj '::, .-:
::
'""1--. -
~, ~
?:i ~
3
z
"....J :.,...
.... .s:
~L ...... E,
'..:: ,..2 E
c,
2 'f
S
'./
.... ,.., v:
~
c....~
-='~ c:.:;
V
...,
'...;

...,
:-
:- '..J
:­ ~ '/- ~-g
S '..)
c:.:; C'''':: ~
'E, '..:: :J ~ Z
~ ~ :: "....J
~ G
'...; 0 """C "....J
.... ~ :J
E ~ ~...J f. ~
-e :- ~ !""'"
'-I s..... -:--:: 'J: v
~ ' .... '..J
'...; c... V 'f
c...:­
:: "...J f. ' .........
:J :J ~
~
~ ~ ~
-..I ,:
::; ~ J:
'..J t- :: u,
< :-
~.~..
';-J
~
:-
S --t
::> £.j....I
:J :- I ,;,~ t
.... ~ ~
v: '-' r'
'..J
'. .; u:: r'
~ C'
'T
. : c, J..-,
C' ~ c:.:; :- ;"
~ ), :T
: C ~1 ~
'...; .... "'": ;....-, - C'
~f., ~ 7- "'": ;. . ':f" -:::; J
=
.... ~'"V5"£~~
~ r:""': ~ :::
:::-r::i
~
~
~:-
. . E .... r- = ;....-,v
...-::
:- "...J =-r::i
..., ~...J ."-,, :J ~...) ':JJ
'..J ~:::;
'"" :.>
'..J
(..) ~ .~' :::: 'f
~ C ~ '...J
CVj'..J ~ '~
C /.
'f: -r::i
~ '..J ~' ~ ~ ~
n...._
::c.C
l:,..,
c
;:; :J "...J
'-' ,...
~ '-I
v
..., ''0 .j....I ~ "...J ....
;3 'r, '...) ~ .: ....
'..J .i:
6 ~
J: 2 '..J >. .~
~ ~ ,... '..J J": ,­
'..J ,...
..., ..., '..J './.;: C'~
c:: ,....-:.<:
~f) ~ :- :.,. . 'j ...c
'£ ~ ~ 's
~ r

324 British Ql/akerislII 1860-1920 'Il Ghoulish Terror (~f Darkness' 325
reaction of certain weighty Quaker leaders, who were apparently Friends with its gripping accounts of the courage and constancy of
in the vanguard of Society's anti-wolf element, to the activities and the first Quakers in their strnggles against a persecuting State, was
pronouncements of the Friends Service Committee. While the counselling the sort of co-operation with the Government ,111d its
FSC: ,vas proceeding on its no-compromise course as regards con­ war-machinery that the Friends Service Committee had specific­
scription, one member of that Committee. Arnold S. Rowntrce. ,lily rejected. He did so because, as he told Arnold Rowntree: 'we
Mil, was consulting with influential Quakers, including two prom­ ought to make it easy tor the State to get good equivalent service.
inent lawyers, Willia111 Charles Br.uthw.ntc and E. Richard Cross Our duty to our country is just as clear a demand on us as our duty
1
(11\(14-19I(J) of York,4 on the fClsibility of attaching a special to parents or neighbours, and holds us bound by ties from which
conscience clause for Friends to ,1111' proposed conscription bill." \\T cannot separate ourselves, and which are part of the relations of

The responses that Rowntrcc recieved contrasted sharply with the lite which are to he discharged in fear of God. '44
attitudes ,111d ideals of most members of the Friends Service Com­ Richard Cross expressed similar views with an additional note­
mittee. It WetS not surprising that lawyer Braithwaite found the cvcu as the FSC: strengthened its ties with the No-Conscription
exemption L'L1l1Se supported by the FSC and NCF uns.rtisfartorv. Fellowship-expressing his opinion that because Quaker objection
Even the staunchcst potential war-resister recogmzed that a statu­ to military service was ',I matter of high spuitu.il conviction',
tory declaration would appear to be 'too easy an opportunity tor Friends 'ought not to dishonour that conviction by joining forces
the "shirker" At the same time, it is somewhat startling to discover with disloyal cranks. who want to enjoin lenjoy?1 rights without
that Braithwaite was contemplating a bill that would not only performing dutil";.4'
specifically exempt Friends, without further proof of conscientious The third Friend approached by Arnold Rownrrec, Edward
objection, hut would ,1!sO require that those so exempted 'offc:r Grubb, made rccommcudations for c xcu rption that were more
some alternative service approved by the authority'. Auiom; the moderate than the Service Committee's no-compromise position,
possibilities Braithwaite listed were hospital service for the Royal but, like the FSC, he was emphatic in asserting that 'Friends should
Army Medical Corps, minc-swccpinj; ,111d other 'indispensable not ask tor an exclusive clause'. Grubb had, of course, recently
work', including muniriou-, uianufacturiug.:'' Thus, William become Honorary Treasurer of the No-Conscription Fellowship,
Charles Braithwaite, a leader of the Quaker Renaissance genlT­ the organization Richard Cross so roundly excoriated.""
ation whose HCi;iIlllillgs (If QUI/ken.IIII had recently inspired young It seems unlikely that Arnold Rowntree revealed the contents of
these letters to his colleagues on the Service Committee. Certainly,
II Llrhu IJ... uh.ml (:ro"" who h.ul ccuuc llltl) Fncud , Jr()J11 Mrthochvm III I Sl)S. Attcf ,l
the gennal sentiments expressed by Rowntrcc's consultants stood
tour-vc.u -riut J'i town rouucillor ill ~l·,lrb()r()llgh. hl" 'pCllt l,jgIHl't'll :"l',n" (ISl)5-I()13l;l''I in marked contrast to the FSC's hard-line policies regarding con­
(:]crk ~)fM,q.~i)(Ll(C:-' in rh.u city, bl,foreJoll1lllg the IZ.lnnHrl'l' <:hllCllLltl' tlrm. H« \\',[:-' .rl-.o
scriptiou."? In auy case, by the end of 1915 it became increasingly
bll\llll·"" [11:L1Ll~lT of ']111' .\·(ili1l/l ,lIlt! "l'cH'LLr: to the \()-l .dll'L1 Brycl' (;rllllp \\ lnrl: dl'\Tlopu1
idl'j" ror .I Pll\(-\\',lr I eJgue ot' N,ltion~ to prl'\lT\'l' rill' pl'.ll'l'. \l'l' I Irnrv Wrukh-r. TIll clear that the burden of constructing a serious war-resistance policy
L{'lI,{!lIc l!( ,\',lfi1l /I.'· .\IO/'{,IIICIII, 1() .uid E. M. lor-rcr. (;t1/d.11I't1rtJI)' L111'[".' ])ld'iIlS(l/1 (London among Friends was shitting tr0111 the official Friends' Peace Com­
1<).14) 1('4· mittee to the FSC. Furthermore, the Service Committee's intract­
.f~ In mid- [I) I S Arnold Rownrrc« h.id con"ll]cl,d F. \\'. Hir«. c-diror ot" Fllc l, (Jlltlllll.,r,
l'OIll"lTlling historir.il cx.unplc. of exemption. from l"on"crlprion: Hrr-r .idvi-r d him to able stand seemed to have the support ofa considerable majority of
ronvulr with (;. P. (;OUl·lJ, '.I w.rlk im; l'IH.-ydopcdi,1 of hivronc.il kllll\\'kdgl'" F V..I. Hir-r young Quaker men. In a poll of over a thousand male Friends
to A. S. R., r oIum lljl5" 310/S/2. LSL /\pp.lrl'Ildy on the h,l'm oronc 'drc.idtul Illccting.
Bcrtr.uid Ru\"ell, \\·ho :ldlllirnl 111,llly o t the Qu.ikcr. with whon: he wor kc.l durmj; the w. C. ll. te' ;\. S. l~., Iy NO\". 1<)15. ;\SRI'. Temp. MSS 55'.SR .1IO/S/c. LSF.
war, rormcd a untLttrcring opuuuu ot Arnold Rowntro«. noting ill J letter to Orr olinc -1-'E. llil'1JJrLi Crl)""; to /\. S. R .. 21 Nov. lljl), ibid
Morrell: 'If llLlllY (,Ju:1ker'\ Jrl' hk c Iz..owlltrl'l', I under-t.md why they mvnrut cd <ilcnt ." E. C. to /\. S. I~. (copv), 4 Dec. 1')1.\. ibid
mccrinu.' lz..L1~~l'll to Otrolmc. [I Aug. 1<)1-1-. T. IO()(), C). Morrell Papcr-, Univcrvirv l)f r In J letter ot J 3 Dec. llj I) to yOLing Friend'\, l luhcrt W Peer. r\( ~ Sl'Crl'tary, noted
Tc:\a<., Librarv, ALl\t1l1, TCX,j\. rh,ir the COIlllllittel' \\".1" pn'p~Hed to ,\Utl' it'i 'l111,dterable oppO.;.ltiOll tl) (()Il.'>(nptlUll ,1l1d tu
.' w. C. ll. to A. S. R .. 1<) NOI· 1<)15. ;\SRP. Tel1lp. MSS 55S. Sf\. .1 IO/S/c. LSF. C t: llLlkc it cleJr that we Jrl' \\orking ill do'\e\t cOlljunctioll with ClHl'\Cll'lltIOLl'i obJcctor\ of all
\\,)[h '1\11\..'1110, Rl', '·Coll~cil'llll' CLll1\l''' '. I S No\". It) 1 j, r~C, JIll/we" VoL I, 22_ LSI­ 'ion" .
 3H) Britisl: Qllakerislll 1 S(iO-19':0
'.4 Cholilish '} ,'/'1'(11' (!f Darkness'
(apparently excluding all who had previously enlisted) conducted
by the FSC, over l}00 otthosc who responded, or about i\) per cent
(sonic 700 of these wert' of military age), affirmed 'their determin­
ation to rcfu«: to enlist, to make u umitions. or to do xvork entail­
ing the military oath '. Leaders of the Service Coriunittcc were
confidrnt thiS respunse confirmed the existence of 'a strong and
convinced hndy of yuung men determined to hold flSt to their
convictions at all costs'.4'S
If the results of the fSC poll were a rc.r-onablv accurate rcflcc­
rion nf the opinions of younger Quaker m.rk-s who had not
enlisted III the Armv bv the end of 1l}1), they indicated that the
opinions of III en (and women, as e\'l'nts would show) under -1-0 h.id
cnormouv iufiucncc on the Society's nlliClal refusal to co-operate
with the n.iriou.il war cfiort. And while no important leader of the
previous generatioll openly supported the Il}1-1--Il} I i\ war, rn.mv of
them, like W. C, Braithwaite, worked hard to reach son rc .rccom­
mod.ition with the authoritic-. that would permit Quakers to be .it
o n cc f:lithftd Friends .uul patriotic citizens, Such diltlTences were
not entirely generation,d, older Friend- like Bravshavv and Edward
Cruhb upheld the FSC's uncompromisiug st.u id , but the discord
that emerged on these matters was surlicicutlv sharp to hccoruc a
troubling distraction flJr m.uiv Frn-nds. A case in point \u.., that of
John W illi.un Graham. the well-connected voice tor 'liberal
Quakerism, and his son Richard, who was an Oxford undergrad­
uate when the war began,
(~u~lker historian Elfrida Vipont Foulds (horu I ()02) related that
.IS a young person attending the Manchester I\!kl'ting where J, W.
CLdnl11 ministered l'very First-Day, she would never have qucs­
tioncd his whole-hearted couuuir mcut to peace, However. she
also recalled hearillg snatches of grown-up conversation indicating
that Richard Ciraham had kept his lather finn on peace in Il) 1-1-. 4')
Craham's P;IIXTS contain evidence that appears to confirm this
unprcssron.
In October ll} q john W. Cirah.un told Richard of his irritation
with anti-war commcnt-, bv his good tricnd (Elfrid.r Foulds' fuher)
I)r E. Vipont 13rown: 'To 13rown the \vhuk husiness seem.., sim­
plicity itselt~ but I conll'ss th~lt I shuuld nut he easy to stand aloof
j\ lz..ohl,rt (). MCll1ll,l1 and Iluhl'rt W, Pl'l't UI.Vv: [).1 to Fr, 171)('( /1)15.
E.rnl'~t T,rylor, '])I,lr< . .20 I)c(. IVI), Il'Illp. BI):\ .2J/3, LSF.
I') Intl'fyicw \\ ltll F. \' Fould.." Al.Igll\t IVS(I, 'y"L"d,llld COIlYl'r.." LJllc1..,hlrl'
r
327
frorn the Armv unless I also found S0111e equally useful work at
home,' A fl'\\' davs later the elder Crah.uu wrote: "If the GO\'l'rlI­
111L'nt deem it wiser I think that they arc also within their rights in
demanding compulsory and universal service to repel an invader
, . , If liowcvr-r. xvc can gl't the (;o\,erllillent to relieve us of actual
lighting, I feel that this would not be too great a concession on our
part to n.itur.rl and patriotic Il'eling' '"
Richard (;Llham's reSp0ll",l'S to his tarhcrs w~ltt1ing arc not
extant. but apparently, as Eltrich Foulds suggested, the son did
stcadv his t.itbcrs resolve. Bv April ll) I S the elder Graham seemed
to have revised his position on conscriptiou. llOting in .m article flJr
'[fIC lrictu! that if compulsory military service W,lS introduced, 'the
refusal to serve tro m the Society of Friends would be almost
univcrs.il, and rightl\' so'." 13y then, CralLllll had come to he
considered .rrouud Manchester as somcthinj; of a peace crank,
",pclking and vvritim; against cOll",cnption, publishing ~l pamphlet
on rJ ',11' /"/'<)/1/ IIII' (2111/ker j>oilll 4 I ';1'11' (ll) I s) and taking ~I promin­
ent part in the activities of the local branch of Union of Ikmo­
cratir Control. ,2
Still, John Willi;lm Graham never Sel'llIS to have been entirely
.omtortahlc with his position. Horace Alexander, who would later
become Graham's sou-iu-Lrw, and who, with Richard Grah.uu,
\\'.lS an original member of the Friends Service COlllllllttee,
recalled how the elder Grahalll. 'ill the midst of the ... War, .it ~l
tnnc when he \\'as most active in supporting and cncouDging
C.O.S, . ,sLlrtlcd me by sayIng th.ir, of course, it was a good
thing that there were not too nlany pacifists, as that might seriously
undermine the ..,trength of the Allies and lead to a Ccrman victory.'
Alc x.mdcr charitahlv concluded that (;rahalll's reflections showed
that he was 'not bigotl'Li' in his pe.lce advoclcy>3 A less generous
appraisal might be that Jnhn Willialll was simply going through
pacifist motions ill the full knowledge that while hc could not
" J. '0/. (; t o It. (; .. [2 .uic] I() ()ct. [1)1-t.J\\i(;p,JltL. (;r.dUlllll.l.d.l1l flO, ";,)Jd .ilmo-r
thl' s.unc thlll~ L'\'l'll hd~)rl' t11L' \Y.lr:J. '0/. (;. tu J{.ll·lurd, II rd). jl)13, ilm.1., \l'l' (:h,lptcr oS
,lho\T.
" J. W (; .. 'The Sutc .1l1l1 til.' rlid"'idl,,,I', n', V April 'V", 2('7-')·
., J. \Xi. (; to R. (;, 27 J.lIL ''.,23 No\, IVI).JW(;1' 'll1dJ. W. (; to RlIttl\JOI1L'., 24
All~. It)I). RMJP. The C;rJiJ,llll I'JPL'f" cOllt.lin I\\'O brge '\IT.lphook,, full ofJ W. (;.\
()-l:, .tlld .il1urJulhtic ctfort..;, includmg dl)zcn\ [)f .IIHi-\\",lL cll1ti-conscriptIoll ,nuele"
f!,)Ll(l' Ak",lI1dcr to I\lIdl,1,11(;r.J11.111lI, 15 AlIg, IV(JO, JWCI', AI"I Sl'c'J. W (; to
R (~.) JlIlll' ")1), Ilml
,.
r
'A Ghoulish Terror of Darkness'
32 R British Quakerislll 1860-1920
affect the progress of the war, he could retain his place of honour
and influence an long Friends. Probably the most accurate judge­
ment would be that Graham W~lS engaged in a very human effort to
resolve war-induced contradictions between love of God and love
of country, powerfully overladen with t~ltherly concerns for the
bte of two SOlIS of military agc.'4
By the end of I l) I 5 conscription had become a virtual certainty
and while Britain's first Military Service Act and the exemptions it
might include were being debuted in Parliament. the Friends
Service Committee was breathing fiery defiance. Robert Mcuncll ,
FSC Secret~lry', stated in a letter to The Times that bcrnusc the
Service Committee objected 'to the whole organization for war',
they would never accl'pt alternative services like mine-sweeping or
even the medical corps." During this s.uuc period J. W. (;rahanl 's
letters to his son continue to reveal the .uubiguitv of his position as
an outspoken anti-war Quaker, a deeply concerned father and an
earnestly patriotic citizen.
In late januarv II) I (), ~I ft:w days before Friends were to gather for
an extraordinary 'A(~iourned' Yearly Ml'eting to dctcru unc their
collective response to the imminent introduction of compulsory
military service;" J. W. (;rah~llIl provided his son with some 'very
private information from Lord I)erby, director general of recruit­
ing, vr.i Arnold Rowntrcc. The Government, said Graham. wished
to avoid ;JIll' implication of religious persecution and were 'per­
t<:ctly willing to give friends anything', but they would never
accept the 'political objector'. '7 In other words, by showing special
consideration for Quakers, the (;OVerIHnent contemplated driving
a wedge between rdigious COs ,HId the more numerous and
Iargdy socialist objectors of the No-Conscription Fellowship.
Ultimately, this strates')! tailed because leaders of the FSC. some
~·l The -,ccond sou Mnh.ul Cr.t1ullll'\'l"!Hll,dly l'1l1i,,(cd III the NJ\',d AIr Sl'f\"lCl'. when-in
hi, sorncwh.ir "hclrl'fL'd upbringing Clll"l'd lun: to be pr otoundlv "'!Hll'k.l,d hy th.. ordm.u-v
LlllgU,lgc orb.irrucks COIlVLT",Ir]t)ll, SCl'J W. (;. to R. (i., ()JUllC t"\." I Nov. [fJr() .md [JJUllL'
IY I7,JWC!)
~, The Tiiur«. 12 J-1I1. [Sil(l, Al-, o -,cc f>S, III (lcl». l(jl(l), ,lJ1d ,1 krrcr ttl (~Jbillet
Mirusu-r- tiorn Edw.ird Cirubb , j<un Marv Fry' ,wei It. O. Mcnncll, n-pr inn-d in '1"1-'.7 I.m.
I I) I (,, '\.
~r, ,A. Military Service Act which applied to ..;mgle m.ilr-, bcrvvccn IS .md 4! \\",l'i p,l'i-, ed 1Jl
l.irc J1Jlll,ny I (j [(J; ;1 :'lL'dH1d Ad rcqun-ing :'llTVice of all males between It' ,111d 41 bcc.uuc Lt\V
on 25 Muv ll) I (1.
J W. C;. to R. C. 20Jll1. IYlo,JWC;I)
329
of whom were also socialists, were dctcnu incd to make common
cause with the NeF.
The Military' Service Act which became law in late January Il)I()
offered exemption on the basis of ill-health, grave hardship, con­
tinued performance of work of national importance and, most
controversially, 'conscientious objection to undertaking combatant
service'. Evidence indicates that the Government inserted this
'conscience CLIllSl" late in the day so as to preclude anv large­
scale defection by LIberal MPs.'s 'Still, the Act in some ;ncls~lre
reflected Quaker influence on the legislative process since it
included an .uncndmcnt proposed by Quaker MPs Arnold Rown­
tree and T. Edmund Harvey. offering exemption to gelllline con­
scientious objectors who agreed to perform civilian work of
'national i mport.mcc" in lieu of military service. Because this le­
gislation incorporated the principle of l'Xl'mpting all COs, not just
Quakers, trom any form of military or quasi-military service, it
represented a clear advance on earlier proposals Arnold Rowntrcc
had received from Quaker advisors like W. C. Braithwaite and
Richard Cross. Indeed, as finally interpreted, the conscience clause
allowed not only exemption for noncombatant military service and
alternative civilian work of national importance but 'absolute
exemption as well. This tiual form of exemption would seem to
allow for recognition Df even tile h.irdlinc position of the Friends
Service Committee, but events would show that the authorities,
tor the most part, construed 'absolute' exemption very differently
from the FSC and its allies.
When the terms of the Military Service An became known,
John William C;rahaln, no doubt breathing ~l cousidcrahlc sigh of
relief, advised Richard to apply for absolute cxcmptiou. as the law
allowed, but to further cover himself by declaring his intention to
take up teaching, an occupation that might be defined as 'work of
national in rporr.tucc.'" The problem with this entirely practical
advice was that it ran counter to the decision by a special assembly
of 450 Quakers of military age in conjunction with the Adjourned
Yearly Meeting. This group of young Friends overwhelmingly
endorsed a resolution adv.mrcd by the Service Committee that
Friends could best give witness to their historic peace testimony by
,~ The hcsr disruv.ion of the pJ'i";,1gl' of till' COJl\cflptiotl Jet'i i'i Juhn Rae, Politics and
Ct 1I L\ d t ' l }tc (London 1(j70), 27-35.
", J W. C; [0 R G., 7,ll1d I, Feh. i<)II,.jWC;1'
~
3)0 British Ql/l1kerisl/1 1860-1920
appcarll1g before the tribunal, established to hc.ir petitions for
cxcuiption but rcfiJ,ing to undcrtak c any alternative service
and acccptirn; only total exemption from all provisions of the
Military Service Act('U This dcrision of the young men's mcctinj;
was subscqucntlv endorsed by the entire Al~iourned Ycarlv Meet­
ing in a Minut« aHirIlIing 'Our testimony, , "lS a Society IS ,lgaillSt
all war, and on behalf of the supremalT and liberty of consr icucc.
This we lInhesitatinglv re-affirm, and where our members arc
brought into dithrulrv or sutfcrim; through ohcdicncc to con­
SCIcnce, we LIke our stand beside them, and asxurc them of our
loving sympathy and support. ,("
Despite this and other Yc.irlv MeetIng ;\lilll/tes giving support to
the rSC's stand, J. W. (;LI!Lllll still believed that the Service
Con nnittccs position W;IS unrealistic and short-sighted. It would.
lie said, not only bring on an u nnccc-x.rrv coutronration with the
SLItc but would al,o create SerIml, intcrn.il dirli cnltv tor l ricudx.
"lhc most th.it we c.u: hope tor fl'OI11 the tribunals is exemption
conditioned on useful n.ition.il service. Th.it is a t.iir Ot1lT. ,I,e
A l.ur otter for John Willi~1l11 (;Lllul11, but not nrccss.irilv to the
yOllng bloods of the hiends Servicc Committee. l ndccd. the FSC
took the initiative in COllt,lctlng even' prr-p.rr.ru vc ll1ccting 111 lirit­
ain with suggest]()]]s as to how to advise local conscientious objec­
tors, both Quaker ami non-Qu;lkn, tor their ,lppCar;ll1lT bdl.xe the
tribunals, In addition the Connnirtcc dispatched a snies of COlll­
muuications to male l ricuds otmilit.irv age which, while acknowl­
cdging that each individu.rl would have to 'dcridc tor himself what
service he can r cndrr", emphasized that' [p Iracticallv .ill l ncrids ILIVC
asked tor absolute exemption' and made clear Its own sense that
anything less than absolute exemptIon ll1ight 'implv a compronnse
with the militarism which underlies a COllSeriptioll Act'.('3 Indeed,
Ill' FS(', 'Prl'lillllILlry COllllllllIllCltHlll'. -t- Fdl. [()[(l, Il'lllp. I\;1SS l)u:,\ J [ ,llld 11\\/1' ttl
Leur", 3 I Jill. [l) [(1, FS(' FI!L-:--, LSL Al..,o '-;Cl' Ll'lgh rucker. "Fllgli"lJ (~lLlkl'f'\ Jl1d
\Xi,IITl'll
\x/odd W,lr I, [lj I..t--[I) [</, (i>h.D. dl~~lTLHIOll. Ull!\"L'T"ny ofNDnh (',Irolill.l, 1(j7.2), l0-t--~).
(01 LL\/. I-kid III AltJuUTllllll'IH the 21-1th tl) Joth ufhr,,[ .~1(l1l[1J 1l)I(l, _'/lIlurt'.' C0l1llT1111lg
thl' MilIt.lr) SlT\'IL'C (No 2) Al't (prilltL'd COP\ 111 LSF),
"~" J W (;, to R, C. 4 M:nch ,t), II, JW( ;1', 'I hrouglwut thl' tll})e J V./, (;r.I!W}) \\'.l'
cleting a.., ,1II advl<.,l)f to cun'>Cll'ntiou" OhJl'(tor", (.)lLlklT cllld Ill)J1-(~LlJklT. \\'ho (.1I11L' [ll
Mount ~trl·l·t t\1Cl'flllg Hou"c III M,lIll'ilc"tcr tlX cl..,..,i..,LlIlCl'. ~L'CJ 'J."i (J. to R, (; .. ;. 12 &. I:'
rcb, I ~ Ill, ihid,
I"~ ILW,I', to Clerk, or"I'rcp, MCl·tlllg', I I' h'b, I ~'I'. FSC Ill), 12: I~, () ,,>\. /'.. I L W, 1',
to l-ricnd:-- of rVlilJury Agl" .22 M,lrdl &.. ~ A.pnl I 'J I (l, FSC llO" I J &. I); cll1d Jrd
COJllll1l1l1icJrioll, .23 March It) I (l. FS(' IlO. l-t-. L~F.
>1 Ghol/lish Terror or Doriaicss' 33 1
in its desire to ensure the purity of it, peacc testimony, the FSC
eventually wcnr beyond rejecting Covcrnrncnt oHe'rs and began to
question Quaker alrcmativcs as wcll('4 When local tribunals began
assigning Quakers to the Fricn ds Ambulance Unit while denying
that option to non-Friends seeking .iltcru.rtivc service, the Service
Committee condemned this gr;ll1ting of 'preferential treatment to
Friends ;IS a violation of 'the spirit and concern of the Adjourned
Yearly Meeting .. to umtc ourselves to the fullest extent with all
conscientious objectors' .("
This incidrnt W;IS the first in ;1 sCqUl'IILT of disputes which
produced a serious split bctxvccn the vouthtul Friends Service
Comn nttcc and the middle-aged leaders of the Friends Ambulance
Unir. e,pccially the Unit's Ch.iirman, Sir Gcorgc Ncwman.?"
Mclny (~uakcrs, including John William Gr;lham and Willialll
Charles Br.ntlrcaitc. looked upon the Friends Ambulance Unit as
the crowning jewel in their Society's crlort« to provide uscf u]
national service lor young men while .rvoidinj; opcn support for
the \\'ar('~ At one point, Cral],]m ot1cred to contact Sir George
Ncwman on RiclLlrd's bchalfund fIX up the Unit tor thee without
,my trouble to thee'. Whcn RIchard demurred, implying that
Newman was undermining FSC crlorts to establish a solid anti­
ronsrription front bv pursuing a hidden ;lgellLb in collusion with
.rurhoritics. the elder Gr;I!LIl11 staunchly defended Sir Ccorgc's
motivations and character. Furrlicrmorc , he suggestcd that his son
was being unduly influenced by h.rrriliucrs like FSC Sccrctary
Robert Mcnncll whom he LIbelled 'an outsider' whose radical
1,\ "ll'l' ~.~(:, 'Prelmuu.uv M. S. A.. [l)l()', -t- Feb. 11)[(1, I ~f:
<':llllIIllllllll',ltioll. Till'
'~llrl'''' Oil 1~l'll'l}( 0,.1l'l'tll1g',.2() 0,.'1.lrl11 ]l)](l.I=\C J/illllft'"", II, I Jlld Il, (), M. IIld
II. \V 1'. t" rnl'll(L"I'~1]htll"\ A~l', 22 M.lllh ")'1" rCIll\' MSS.ll", 3',1 SF TI1I\lcttLTI\
.lpp,lrclltly .1 Illucll tOllnl-do\\"1l \Tr"IOII of OIll' \\'Illlll fr.lllkly ,Iccu"l'll lc.ldcr" of the Fril'lllis
i\lllhuLllH"l' Unir of COillproIl1i"lllg till' (~u,tl',l'r pO"ltioll '1Il dlrl'Lt OppO"ItHlIl to rhl' pro­
1}(HlIll'l'Il1l'IH" of till' I\1l'dillg tl)f Sutkrillg" Jl1d rill' "pirit ot-thl' Yl'.trly Ml'l'tillg .. .' IhId. JJ]d
II. \V I'. t" I krhLTt C"rdLT p; M.lrl'lt Il) I I" ibid
(,I, (~l'orgl' Nl'\\"IllJll (I :-170-1 ()4SJ \\",l~ (:llld- N1l'dic,d ()tiil"Cr Jill! Pnllcip,ll i\""I"Ullt
Sl'crcury of till' BO.lrd ot' Fduc,HIOIl frolll 1")07 tu 1")1"). Hc Iud hl'l'll klllghrcd JIl I()ll
!()r Ill" P]()lll'CrJllg \\ork III child lll',dtil C,lrc, lllcluding hi" h()ok OIl 111/;1111 .'/llrIiJllfy (llj07)·
I k \\ ,l~ ,11'\0 l'xtrl'llll']y ,Idi\'l' ill (~ll.lklT "iollflLdi'>ill .1" l'dHor of rill' I:nelld,' (Judy/cdy LXlllllillCf
([")00-43) ,lllel h(lTJry ,ld\l"Or (0 1'1it' J.'ru'IJd (1{)12-32)
1,- W111uIll C:lurlc" BrclH!J\\,llrC "LT\'l,d .I" Trl'.I~l1rl'r of thl' FrIl'lld" i\lllbuLllll'l' Ulllt
throughour thl' \X/elL IJrotl'""or n.. lclurd Br.lith\\'aHl' noted tlut hi, 1l10(!ll'r JJllct l'v1orLllld
BUH!l\\,lltL' did Ilor ,lppnn'l' ot' Ill'r hu"h,llld\ roil' III (Ill' l"i\U. IIl(l'rvil'\\': \'lith P.... lclurd
BLllth\\"Jitl', (:.lIl1hndgl'. i\Uglht I "),I-;(l. i\1,,0 "l'l' Thoillcl~ ,Illd EIlIIllOtt, l1'ilIilllll (JlilrlCS
[)r,lIrl111'dlrt' . .....
~
332 British QU'lkcrislll 1860-1920
VIews, however admirable in the abstract, paled in comparison to
the mature judgement of supporters of alternative service like Sir
( 'leorge N cwiuau anoJ W .". C 13 rait
. Iiw.ntc. (,.~
Much to his f~lther's consternation, Richard Graham threatened,
in keeping with the FSC's hard-line, to argue his case before the
Oxford tribunal solely on the basis of absolute exemption. At the
near edge of panic, the elder Graham replied that it would he utter
foolishness to 'base a decision carrviug with it such large practical
consequences upon the temper of the tribunal', which would at
best be uusvmpathctic and more likclv be filled with bloody­
minded aldermen and town councillors who would not blink at
rdilsing any exemption whatsoever: 'we have not only a moral,
but a legal right ... Whatever holes, therefore. we can pick in their
armour of unrighteousness. we are justified in doing, both [sic] in
morals, law and equity."")
The Friends' Service Committee h.id taken the position that,
whatever the repercussions, every individual's actions reg:lrding the
war and conscription should be based on faithful adhcrcurc to his
or her own interpretation of the peace testimony. What John
William C;rah:1I11 seemed to be ,lrguing was that one should by all
means tollow the peace tcst imouv but should not allow this fidelity
to principle to have 'large practical convcqucnccx", such as fllling
'foul of a GoVerI1111ent which is trying to do well tor us'. and, as a
result, bcing the possibility of imprisonment. He believed that if
Richard would simply indicate that while non-combatant military
service was unacceptable, the Friends Ambulance Unit would
satisfy his scruples, he would not only be upholding the Quaker
refusal to fight with carnal weapons hut maintaining his legal rights
as well. 'Friends', the elder Graham concluded, 'may surely be
content to serve their fellow men and leave the Iwounded I soldier
0
himself the responsibility of what he does when he is wcll.'7
Richard Graham's reply is not extant, but the case his father was
arguing lay at the very LTUX of the emerging differences between
the radical pacifists of the FSC and their more cautious elders. The
(,,~ J. w. c, to R, C;.. 3 May IljI6,JWC;P, (;L111;1111\ rcm.irk-, .ibout Robert Mcnncllv
I &
et<.; well ,l~ gLltuirou..,. gl\'L'1l the t.ict that Mcnn.-ll trace-d lu-,
bl'ing ,111 out-ndcr vvcr« jlLh.'l'L1Lltc
(~lukL'r ancl".,tr y.' on horh 'Ide" bJck to the day'" of C;corgL' Fox. SL't' Mcnnell", obituary in
T/'~ 22 januarv I<j{lO, IOJ-S
'''I J. W. C to R. C. 7. X and 1.\ March 1')I(,.JWC;1'
J. W. C;. to R C .. X .md 1.\ March 1')1('. Ihld
'A Ghoulish Terror of Darencs:' 333
widening split over the legitimacy of the Friends Ambulance Unit
as a special Quaker preserve is a further indication of the Service
Committee's role in pushing their religious Society toward a vcr­
siou of the peace tcstimouv, i.c., non-co-operation as well as non­
resistance, that was bcvond anything previously practiced or even
imagined by most Friends, at least since the seventeenth century.
For if FSC: leaders were saying anything, they were saying that it
was the 11',11" rather than :111Y single action or group of actions arising
from the war that the peace testimony was about. The ccntL)]
question, they believed, was not: '])0 Friends refrain from fIghting
with carnal weapons?' but: 'Were Friends trying by L'very possible
means to stop the war)' Most other Christian conscientious object­
ors, including the numerically larger Plymouth Brethren and
Christndclphians, refused militurv service because. as they saw it,
the conflict in Europe was not their war; they were. however,
\\'illing to satisty the State by engaging in other than combataut
service. Quakers absolutists, on the other hand, would not perform
even alternative service because the w.ir emphatically was their
war-the testmg time tor which their Society had been preparing
tor two and a h.ilf centuries and the one lrorn which it would
emerge as a prophet society for tr.mvtornunp; the world into the
Kingdom of Christ,
The militants of the Friends Service Committee. probablv a only
bare majoritv even within that body, WLTe intent on making their
line of war-resistance the Quaker line, despite the ElCt that only a
vcrv few Friends (not. in the end, to his father's immense relief
including Richard Crah:11n) took so extreme a position as that of
the 1 +) Quaker absolutists who chose prison rather than any
compromise with the wartime State. These Friends were joined
in their stand by over a thousand other absolutist COs. 1110St of
them socialists from the NO-COI1SLTiption Fellowship. But. as a
body, the Quaker absolutists went beyond the NCF and, indeed,
cvcntuallv divided with it over the question of how the anti-war
movement should respond to the imprisonment of conscientious
objectors which began in the spring of 191671
-I lor .t di~ctl""iOI1
of the division-, rln- Jppn.uch C,lU"c<.' both vvitlun (he pC,h'L' movcnu-ur
.md ,ltllOllg Quak cr-. ,Cl' below Jl1d Kcnncdv, 'Fighting About PC.1CC: The No­
COll.;,cnpcioll lcllowslup and tlu- Brrn-h Friends Service Committee, 1915~I<)10', (JIIl/ker
Hi'r,,,)' r,,)/ I (Spring I oxo). 3-22.
 ~
334 British QlIllkcrislII 1860-/920
]) I V II) E J) S T l~ U C; C; L E
In late March 101h, the first conscientious objectors. 111,llIY of them
members of the No-Conscription Frllowvlup, were being arrested.
court-marti.illcd and jailed. At about the same time, Sir J1l11eS
Rcckirr. ~1 wealthy Quaker patron of the Friends Service Conuuit­
tee, wrote to FSC Secretary Robert Mcnncll ~Isking tor darirlca­
tion ,IS to the Connuirrcc'v relationship to "outvidcrs. Mennell
replied that while the Couu uutcc worked 'prim.uilv for friends',
they were, ill keepillg with the wishes of the recent Yearly Meet­
ing, closely co-opcrating with groups like the No-Conscription
Fellowship ill order to giye assistance to as l11any COs ,IS posSlhle 7 2
Two mouths later, the Service Couunittcc« report to Yc.irlv Meet­
illg e:\plained that it would continue fratcruizing with the NCF
bel'ause 'Friends were .onccrucd not Sl) much tor their own
traditional right as ttH' the lihcrtv of thr individual con'iCienCl'
whereve-r deep rouviction W,IS involved.' A, 011e of the rruit-, of
this CO-OPLT~ltIOII. the FSC lr.id l':\lTli'ed it, iuthu-ncc to secure the
usc of ))evon,hire House tor an NCr enlergellcy l'0I1H'llti011 ill
l'~lrly April I') I (). The Sen·iCl' COlllllllttee also cout rihutrr] moncv
to .i id the Ncr's ctl(l]'ts ill collecting intorm.rtion OIl the arrest,
couvirtion, .ind sentencing otall cOl1Scil'lltious ohJector,. The FSC
even released its paid org,l11izing seC!'l'LlI,', Hubert Pcct (I SSh­
1(51), to hl'lp the Ncr organize a Pre\>; Ikpartl11ent.~'
Evcutually. the fSC would adopt a IIHHT critical attitude tow.ird
NCF .utivitics, but during the carlv days of the struggle agJlllst
cOllscription the Service Conu nittcc's leaders seel11u! unable to
rind sufficient words to praise their .illv, The f:1Ct that the ideo­
logical emphasis vvithiu the NCF W~IS cnrirclv sccular and l.rrgclv
socialist was not a concern tt)r prominent Service Committee
members like Mcnncll, Peer. 13~lIT\' Browll, and John P. Fletcher,
all members of the Socialist Quaker Society. When Mcnncll pre­
sented the FSC's report to Yearly Meeting ill May 101 (l, he
e:\pre\>;ed a ",Cl1Se of dehtedness' ft)r the priyilege of workillg
\lrj,lllll" ICl·,kH[ '" Ic. (). M .. 2~ M,lrlh 11),1,. fl. \\. I' 'n R. () I\\.. 2S \Llr,h 11)1(1
& Ic. Cl. ,\1, [" ICl",kllt. 2l) M,lrlh [1)11,.1\(, iIll". I \f-. The IC",kllt t:llllll\ tinll \\,1'
Itt.'l'kitt <--".. ('okm,ll). (llll' ot- BnLl1Il'~ 1.lrgnt ,Ind llimt ~lln'c..,\f111 plLll"Jl I,ll l'l1til'.ll l'ump,llllC\
Sir JUlle,> Rl'd~i(('.., L'\llHIlWcd \UPpurt of thl' FSC \\-1'> iIllport,lllt lWC-Ill'>t' the COlIlmlttee
rl'l-l,j,'cd Ilt.l direct tiILlIll'1.tl h'ld\.l1lg ffo!1l the ~OCll·ty ~lt'fnclJ(k Sl'l' 'J'L 15 I)l'l·. 1()J(l. ():-;I.
-; IZ. (l. M. to l:.. C .. 2S i\1,lfCh j()I() Jnd 'Note" llllllll'etillg'> of the FS(' 11)")', () AprIl.
4 M,l\·. K JUlle & I, Jul\ 11) I (,. 1\(' Fill". LSF.
...
..- . '~",'
'A C/lIllllish Terrell' ofDarkness' 335
with the NCF and absorbim; something of that body's infectious
l'nthusias11l and 'immense enerh'Y" Fletcher told a Conference of
Young Friends that this socialist/pacifist Fellowship was a harbin­
ITer of 'the religious revival tor which the churches were look­
~lg'.~4
. EYl'n t1~e old-line Liberal ­ [olin W. Graham rcmiudcd
readers of The Friend that Quakerism might not have been able
to cope with the conscriprion crisis without the help of NCF.~)
Such expressions of solidarity with this novel ally reAeetu! the
mixture of excitement and apprehension that surrounded Lo ndo n
Yearly J'vkcring's deepening confrontation with the State.
Quaker" 10Ilg perceived as p~lLlg011S of civic virtue, seemed to be
IT\'erting, in the COl1lpaIlY of extreme social r.rdirulv, to seven­
tccnth-ccntury patterns of hch.iviour. Still, by l11id- 1 0 I () even
souic anti-war Qlukc'r, were becol1ling quietly w~lry or openly
<uspirious about where alliance with the NCF might lead. Six
\\eeb after Ycarlv Meeting Edward Crubh felt sufficiently COII­
ccrucd about these rorcbodings to puhlish ,I letter in The Friend
wliirh. ill .rdditiou to heaping more praise on the NCF and its
leader Ciitlord Allen, assured lIlICISY Friends that the Fellowship
had succe',Sridlv n1anaged to exclude revolutionary socialists from
Its r,mb 7 (' Gruhhs sorucwh.ir misleading rc.isvur.u tcc represented
more than an orl-h.ind gesture, appearing, as it did, in the midst
what Quaker MI' T. E. Harvey called ',I strenuous effort' by certain
(;overJ1l11ent ottlci,lb 'to divrriunnatc between "political ;Igiutors"
8- IT,d COs'.~~ 13y autoui.iticallv CLlSsitVlllg religious objectors like
(~u,lkLT'i as genuine, the W,lr Oflicc \\as clrrying through with the
idea of dividing anti-conscription ft)rces while xiruult.mcouvlv
gaining a freer hand in dealing with obstructionist, "political"
COs who pwtl'ssed sorialist, .m.irchist. or other unpopular
beliefs. ~,
-I 'IZ.( )1\1';-. ()b"l'IY,It!OIl\ III mrroducnu; I·S(' lZ-ql()rt to Y. M., M;l'y I<)l(l', FSC lilcv,
L\F
l l-, lO i\'Lly I()I(J, Cull,un told ln-, '>Oll t1ut the ,>pn'l'hl"\ ddl"Cfed to ;l
V1-::-, yH).
lL'.ldl'r\ CiJtf()fd Allell ,llld Fl'lllll'r Brl)ckw.lY, '1llIght
I\l.lllllll',>tl'r pl'.Il'l' llll'l'tillg by N(:!
ILl"\..' hCClllll.ldc III Yl'Jr]y Ml'l,tlllg·.J. W. C~. to R. C., ().JuJle Iljl(),JWCP.
'·1, E. C;., '()n till' N-CF', 11-, 14-July ]()I(l, ,~51-2. AJrhol1~h C;rubh W<I,> Tfl'a\Ufcr fUf rlll'
NC}-, ill' \\,1" pruh,lhly Jlut '\TlI-1I1t(ll"Illed .lhOllt till' bro,hi "p<..TtrulIl ut' opinion'> within rlll'
Fe]]()\\'"hlp \\hldl Irlc]ulkd ,1 fur ntlIlllwr u( nlliltallt '>oci.dl\h who werc lllUIT anti-<...lpitJli~t
thall Jll[]-\\,1r,
Ed"h Ellh (l, E.) tIl ROM, lSJIlI1L' 11)1/" F\C fib, LSF.
-" This '\[T"aregy W-IS devised by Lord Kltlhenef ill conjunction \\'ltl1 the War ()tflce
I )irt'ltof of PCf'ionJI S<.'[\·in,',\ (;elleLl] W\'lllillJlll Childs. Sce 'Coll\ciclltIOU'> ()bjl'ctors: I
A _
- ~
3yi British Qllakerislll lS(Ju-192u
For a time, it seemed that this ploy might succeed in splintering
the peace movcmcut.?" In the end. however, it was not the specific
principles behind a man's objection that divided war resisters but
rather the type of exemption those principles permitted him to
accept. At first, the NCF, in keeping with an emotional resolution
endorsed at Its emergency convention in April, resolved to coun­
tenance no plea other than absolute exemption. But, despite clear
legal stipulation tor tOC1] exemption, local tribunals rarclv if ever
allowc.! individuals to escape from all provisions of the Military
Many COs, t~ICing imprisonment tor rcItlsal to
S U
Service Acts
accept the dL'ci'iioll of their tribui ials, chose to embrace the proviso
.illowinp; them to undertake alternative work of 'n.ition.rl import­
;1I1ce'. Thus, those who refused milit.rry service c.nnc to be clas­
sificd as either nbsolurisr- or altcrnntivists. While the latter group
were ;1 decided majority, some members of the ahsolutist minority
held .iitcrnativists in disdain for, a, one Quaker put it. 'giving the
show away'." Eventually, both the NCF and the FSC sorucwh.ir
grudgingly r.imc to recognize the Iq.;itim;Icy of less th.m absolute
rcsisr.nir«. but some FSC Friends retained ,I lingering sense that
.iltcrnativists had chosen wh.rt was 'spiritu.iliv "second best" ,.,S2
In the end. the rSC would not sanction any corporate action on
behalf of those who accepted alternative service, refusing either to
set lip a sub-comniirrcc to tind work of national importance tor
them or to support a kgal case challenging the right of tribunals to
determine the state of a m.ms conscience. Although many Friends.
.JUlle l(jr()', Kttchc-ucr P'lpCr\, 30/:-;;/7-+ ,I lid 'Cp!l\(IC1HHHI\
PIZ.(). Al\o "L"C Kl'llllcdy, 1/(1111/11 (!I (,'(l/l.I(it'l/u', J .'<) "-FJ .uui Vcll.uort. J<11.'_'cll .in.! II/(, fJ.hlt7';I:';,
71-~
"1 \V!IL'1l the POhl"Y \\",1\ mvtuu tr-d. Nt T k.ldcp., tl'.m.'d th.u t hc Fcllov,'.. lup nllghr 'go
nnclcr" if thL' FSC did not -upport r» .ill type . . of objccror-. L F. to R. ( ). 1\.1., ix .JUIlC [(j I (),
I·SC Fill'" lSI·
~II 1\.1o..,t !oCJI mbuu.rl-, inn-rprcrcd ',lh~olutl" cxcmprion .h lllC.lllillg rclc.i«: trcnu mihr.irv
nbllg.J[Joil to pcrform work of n.ttion.tl lIl11h)rUllcc. ()nly .ibour 3.'\0 CJ).., rcccl\'ed .lnd
m.rinr.uncd ab~,)llltc cxcmptiou. but rrtbun.i]s g:lYC ..,(HIll' rorm of cxcuipriou tt) over So pcr
cent oftilc C()..; who .ippc.ircd bdl)]"C them. Scc R,ll', flt)lit/(.\ dud ClJI1.i(it'IW'. 13(}-12.
,'\1 lntcrvicw v,,ith Philtp !<..;ldln·, Aug. Il)S(l, (:,II11bndge. The SLltCIllCIH, JCLl1rdlllg to
Radlcv. W;}:-; made by C;con~c Suthl'rlalld.
."2 i.ordcr C;ltch~;()()L ();, 7/./10 Froll/.' (London 101 X), 1)-1--55. CJtchpooL .lftcr cightL'l'll
mOlH])" \vith the Fnend" Ambulallce Unit, rL'turned to Engbild to pkJ ab"ollitc eXclllptlOl1.
WIlL·n hi~ plea W~h ckllied, he "efvcd more dUll t\\'o yc.lr" in prison .I'" a conscicnuou"
ubjcCWL Wilfrid Ltttkboy, Jllother (2uJkcr ah"ollltlst, cOlllmented 011 the ,1ppJrl'nr "piritllJJ
di;;;contcnr ofrhe 111Cn \vho Iud chosL'n altern:lti\'L' sef\'j<.:e. Wilfrid Littkbo)' ro his parcnt".
I I Jail. I~I7. Wiltrid Littleboy Paper> (WLP).
T
',-l Ghoulish Terror (~r Darkness' 337
trorn the beginning, protested against this sort of hands-off policy,
Meeting for Sufferings supported the Service Committee's no­
compromise stand. SJ Increasing tensions among Friends over
these matters mirrored growing differences between the FSC and
the No-Conscription Fellowship as to how to respond to Govern­
ment treatment of Imprisoned COs. M;l11Y of those initially willing
to suffer imprisonment were deeply shocked by the harshness of
the conditions they (ICed as prisoners in the third division of
Britain's penal system, a status reserved tor the lowest class of
C01111110n criminal. I u late September 1<)16, while the FSC met at
jord:llls. the burial place of Wilham Penn, to decide its 'duty
toward« the N.C.F. Movement'. Edward Cruhh used the columns
of The FriClld to issue a plea for unity: 'We cannot afford to divide
the Peace party :IS the Temperance party has long been divided
because the extremists believe that to accept half-measures
would put back the cause Our right course is, surely, to support
the movement, using our best powers to guide it, if poxsiblc-, into
sate channels. "s~
(;rubb's appc.rl was obviously deeply felt, but there soon were
,igns that it had t.illcu on deaf cars within the FSC. When, for
example, Robert Mcnucll responded to a letter from ;1 female
Friend suggesting that the FSC and NCF get some 'prominent
person' to influence the Home <. )tfICe to allow special tood p.mcl«
with 'plum puddings' and other treats to be delivered to im­
priso ncd conscientious objectors, he stated emphatically: '( do
not think the N.C.F. or any of our organizations ought even to
()hJl'd(lr.. ', \\/() 3.2/)-1-1)1. suggest this kind of thing. The N.C.F. in the opinion of a good
many is already becoming too much a society for the prevention of
cruelty to C.O.s.'s)
fl. W. 1'. to Is.i.ic Sh.lrp (Clerk of Meetin~ tor SutrnIIl~')' I(, Sept. ,<)I (, .uid R. (1. M.
t()1::. ROt1l' I'homp-on. l() &: 2~ Sql(. 1()1(1, I'S(~ hk.." LSF. ThtllllP"OIl w.urtcd the Service
(:Olllllllttl'C to provide kg,d .uid rin.mci.rl J .... .,i'LlllCC tllr hi" C.I'C .1)2;Jillst the trrhuu.t!s.
-, H. W. I' [U Il... O. M .. IS Sq,t. '<)11<. I'SC hies. LSF .mel F. Crubb, 'Short Cuts [0
PC,lce '. Tl-, 22 Sept. I l) I (J, 7J7-1(). Abo 'Cl' E. Taylor, '1)iarics'. X Aug. 1<) r (), Temp. 130.\
2.1/3. LSF.
'. R. O. M. to Daisv Harl.md, 2, Oct. II)I!'. FSC hies. LSF. Scebohn: Rowntrcc l11.1y
luyt' been rhe prolllinl'nt pcr"oll HarLInd hJd III mind. Ill' had aln-,.ldy written an l'IllotilH1­
JIly-cllJrgl'd personal letter to Lloyd George <l"king him 'JS a fricnd & as an upholdcr of
liLxrry' to l11irigatl' his tre.ltIllcllt of '"iJlCl'rl' but cxtrcll1e COJl~cit'l1tlOu~ objectors'. Seebohm
Rowntrce to Lloyd Gcorge, 20 Aug. 1t.)1(), E/4-/1/3:', Lloyd Ccorgc Papers, House of Lords
Rccord ()fficc, Lolldoll. R..o wntree did not, ho\vcver, resign frOtll Government service
when Lloyd George iglh)red his plea.

33 H Brifish QlwkcrislIl 1860-1920
Before the year W3, out, this private exprl',Slon of philosophical
differences had become a public dispby of serious discord within
an increasingly shaky pacifist alliance. J P, Fletcher .md Barry
Brown, who were members of the NCF national commirtcc ,"
believed that the Fellowship's political ;lgit;ltlon to redress specltic
gricvances or to push tor further exemptions. w.is ill lhnger l)f
undermining 'the witness tor Peace whicl: the Fcllovvsb ip h.id cone
IsicJ into existence to bear', To acccntuarc this point, the FSC:. In
its ycar ending report to Yearly Meeting, emphasized that the
Service Con nnittcc h.ul been formed, not to negotiate with the
e ;OVlTIllllent tor redress of grievanccs or special considerations,
but 'to create a real and strengthenillg seme of tillovvvhip
;1111011g those vvho by their uncompromising tldelitv arc hearing
witness to the Truth', Politlcl! action had never been part of their
s­
clLlrgl', /
Above aIL the FSC: wished to dcruon-tr.itc the pO\\er of its
conviction that the primarv struggle \\'as not against auv C;overn­
mcut policv, hovvcvcr unjust or dcrcptivc , but 'lgaimt the w.ir
itself TIllS did not mc.m th.ir the Committee could sunply ignore
the e;uvernlllellt, but its v.irdst ick tor responding to State actions
was wlu-tl icr or not these .urious advanced the w.ir m.ichincrv
I ricnds were arrcmpting to Lkt~'at, While the FSC: could not rc.illv
;lrguL' th.it rmstrc.mncnt of consricntious objcctor« actuallv
cnh;lllced the w.rr dfurt, the Service Conunittcc still refused to
t.ik c ;lllY steps on behalf of those lX'ing punished for conscience's
sake. asserting that, in any lase, soldiers at the trout suffered 61'
more than COs in prison, Thus, while thc NCF \US agiLlting on
bclialfofprisoners and the Fellowship ofRl'cullciliatioll \\;1S \\ork­
ing up 'a "pulitiClI schcmc" , , , to cltlh the pr.ll'ticd Ill;lll', the FSC
could only t~'el justitlni in launlhing ;1 Pe;ll'l' ami I Jis;Irln;\lllellt
call1paign whilh, while it lllight have no l,tll:ct on the war, could
,~(, Hctchcr tr()Jll rhe N(:t· lUtlOiLli CllllllllJttCl' {)1l thi, J""l1l' ill the \llElll\lT llt'
rl'..,lgncd
]l)l(l; 131\)\\"11 \LIYl,d Oil until MJy J\)17 \\)1l'1l he ~tL'ppl'd dl)\\'ll hn',lll\l' rl1L' Fcllu\\',hip":-'
policy' w.\,-; 'quire oppo"'l'd to illy (OI1"CIClllT .Ind my -lUdgllll'IH·. ~l'l' Flit, FnhulJ,l1, .~ Aug.
[()I() ,llld Browll to C.lthlTillL' 1\1,U"]LlII. 23 Mel)' 1l)1-:. L,Hhl'f]ill' E. i\.1,lr,,}ull P,lpcr..
(CEMP), ClIll1bri,l Record ()ttlCl'. CJrli;.-k. (Microtl]lll cupy "'l~l'n rhruugh l'lltIrtl'''y Dt"Jn
Vdl.lcott.)
"7 'Norc;.- COll1l1l1ttCl' Mel'ring" . .2 No\'. IljI(). FSC . .\1iIIlIft'"'·, Rt'([)fd.\ [!( /1 ·[nj.: ,1IId
of
UO(1/IIICIIfS ISSlIcd, 11,
I(l. LSF; Tril'lld" Sen"lce COll1Il1irtcc Rl'P0r[' hy Robl'rt Menndl. 1
\ kc. I') I n, FSC hll", ibid,; ,1I1d TF II I kc. I VI II, VO I.
~ 1
r
'A C!Jo//lisl, TC/Tor 0( Darleucss' 33<)
hrlp its own members to 'raise their ideals' and. it W,lS hoped, to
illHucllce the NCF 'to revise it, b;lsis's"
f This potcntiallv divisive <ituation \V;lS mon u-nr.uilv deflected
.vhcn David Lloyd George, in one of hIS tirst .IltiollS as Prime
~
'\l1Inister, appointed Neville Ch.unbcrlain as Director-General of
N,ltional Service for the purpose of org;l1lizing the civilian popula­
ti Oil in more efficient prosecution of the war. Members of the anti­
I
vv.ir movement. logically though crruncouslv, saw e.h.n nbcrl.iin as
,I sort of czar commissioned to impose universal compulsorv scr­
\icc for industrial as well as mil it.trv service. For its part, the FSC
\\ishcd 'to torcstall the usual stampede into some wonderful inuo­
I ccnt cruplovn rcut \\'hich our quaker Isicl MY,s will probably dis­
c()\'er t()r men between .io &.- (10 and tor women". and therefore
'L'llt ,1 'McllloLnldunl on Universal National Service (prepared in
I
co nju nction with the NCF) to all QU;lker Qu.utcrly Meetings
,Iskillg thelll to r.ik c a 'firm stand ag;limt aClJuicsccnce in Industrial
( .ou-rript iou. U nitcd resisunce, they tclt, might m.ikc 'clear to
the public till' nature of the principles which have led lllany men to
nIu-«: milit.uv ,cr\,ill' on conscirntious grounds',")
/ e
As events transpired, Lloyd ;eorgc pulled back from industrial
lllllSeription .md Ch.uuhcrl.nu, without real powcr or a workable
I' 1.111 , t:liled IlllSCLlbly ill his ncvv post.')" Within the Society of
lricuds. however, the crisis over National Service revived animos­
ItlCS cuncerning what was and w;\.s not acceptable Quaker service
ill xv.irtiu rc. As noted. the cx.u nplc of Sir George Newman and the
Friends Ambulance Unit was ottcn cited hv those who desired
'Oille cOlllprolllisc with the e;OVerIllnellt to show how Fril'nds
Illight bithtlIll\' serve both C;od ;llld coulltry, When, In l',lrly I 'J I 7,
F!Jc FnclId published a lead articll' that not only ;lppearl'd to
\\'l'lcolllc the idea ofcivili~lll National Snvice and but also cxtolled
Ch,llllberLJin's qualitlcatiollS, as a civilian, social worker, ,llld
J I) F, t" R, 0, M .. 2') No\" [')11,; A, B. II. I" IZ \) ,\1. 12 I)"" ['J"'; ,II lei I F. t"
lZ. (). ,'-1 .. 12 Ih'C 1()I(l. F~(: FlIl, .... L~F Thl' idl',1 tllr tlJi" (,lllq).lJ~Jl h,ld C()JllC ti\)111 rlll'
I rJl'J1d" PC,ICC COJllllllttCl'. but thl' ~lT\"l(C ('lllllJ1llttl'C tppk till' IllltUtJ\T III Illlpkllll'[Hlllg It
") 'Notl' ...~lllllJ( Ad\"l.. ory (:OllIlCir. I [) I kl-. 1[) Jfl. FS(' .\Jil/llfl'.i. II. L\l': A. H. HJ\)\\,ll
t(l R. (). 0,.1..12 l)l'c. Iljl(} .llld ll'ftlT to rnl'lllf.., frPlll I LnrhD)) B,IH(l\\ ,llld Ldirh 1\1. FIJi....
J I Jlllu.lry I () 17. \\"irh dCl'l)lllp,lllyillg Illl'IIlOLllldulll, r\(: hk;.-. Ihld
'!' hn di.. cu . . ..,lOIl ot- (:l1JIl1bcrl.llll .... i11-Ltl'd ,h.;l~')lllll'llt. \\,hll'h l',lll'-l'd him t{) ILlrhuur
t1lTllUJ1Cnt cnlIlity to\\".Ird Lloyd (~l'()rgc. "Cl' IZ J (), Ad.1l11S JJld Philip ~--L PoinlT, ']Jit'
C."(lll.'-(fljltitlll C.'t111{n11It'l".")' ill (;,c,l( Hritllill, 1~)(l[1-JyI8 ((:n]lllllbll . . I()S7). 1()2-()) Jlld Keith
(;nl'\·l'\. "11It' nl!itl(., (:(.\/lllljllll/ier, lY!.J--1S (Nn\" York 1 ();-';S). I.n--t.-t. ,Illd j)(/.\.\//11.
_

r:
34° Brifish Quakerism 1860-1920
Nonconformist, for directing the scheme. the debate among
Friends heated up ;lgain.'JI The reaction 6'om the FSC, already
dubious about the FAU's close co-operation with military autho­
rities, was immediate and fierce, Wilfrid Littlcboy, in military
custody while awaiting court-martial. told his parents that he was
'pretty disgusted' with wh.it had transpired. Robert Mcnncll and
others, sirnil.nlv confined in Kingston Barrack's guardroom, wrote
to The lricuri that Neville Chamberlain's record of eftL'ctive public
service was no more reason f()r accepting universal compulsion
than Lord Robert's sterling pcrvou.il character had been a reason
for accepting universal militarv training before I() Lt. L10vd
George's real purpose, thcv believed, \V~IS to 'complete and make
more effective the mobilisation of all national rcsourccsv'" 111e
l-riciu! defended its position by noting that 'public service tor the
hcnctit of all was [an idc.r] ... which commended itxolt to Friends'
and that those who disagreed with this view should engage in
positive discussion rather than negative insinuation. 'We ~l1T all
fdlible,' an cdirorial pointedly remarked, 'even the youngest of
us."" Writing from Wormwood Scrubs prison, the FSC's torm cr
Organizing Secretary, Hubert (leet, reminded his wife of an cldcrlv
Friend at the Adjourned Yc.nlv Meeting who had 'rljoiced that
the spirit W;lS greatly into the dry bones of the Socictv in its
younger members' and regretted that a year later the hone»
appeared to be drying up once ag~lin. Certainly, the divergence
of generatio!lS as well as opinions was all too clear. As Edward
Grubb related to Rufus Jones in late Febru~lry, 'we arc vcrv tar
trorn being united here at present', adding, perhaps tor consolation.
that this had probably always been the case with Friends during
times of war.r"
As if differences among Friends were not sufficient, serious
discord re-emerged between the Friends Service Committee and
the No-Conscription Fellowship early in I() I 7. The central issue at
')1 TF, 12 Jill. 1\)17, 17-[().
'J' W. E. L to p,Irt'llh. I4).m. 1012. W, 1.. 1'. .uid R U. M.. Rodcri,: K. CIJrk e. WIll. F.
Newhy to TIr" 1'1"11'11,1 (copy) qJ,IIl. [')[7. 10 FSC FIll". LSF. published 111 1F)'II1. I'l17. 52.
Also sec ihid .. I2Jan., 10 &: 1I)J.m, ")1(',57. .uid ]. W. C. ro R. (;.. 23 )'1I1. 1017.JWCP.
'Il Tl, 2(I.lan. 1917, 5(L TIll' anlL'k~ OIl national ~l'f\'ill' were pn)bably written by
Fricl/d's middJL'-aged editor, E. l:b...,,,Lt Reynold-, (I ~(q-[()JS), ,1 \truJl~ "L1pponer of Sir
(;corgc Ncwm.in and the FAU.
"" H. W. 1'. to F,thLT Peer, 1~.Jan. [<)[7. Hubert Pcct Papers (HPI') .uid E. C. to R. M.J.
" feb. T~17, RMJP.
r
I
'.'1 Ghoulish Terror or Darkness'
dispute was still the matter of whether seeking relief and redress for
Imprisoned COs was, in fact, ~I legitimate activity for organizations
whose supposed chief thrust was opposition to the war and con­
34 1
scription, In early March 1()I7 the NCF's Catherine Marshall told
Edith Ellis, who had begun acting as FSC Organizing Secretary
.itrcr the arrest and imprisonment of Hubert Pect, that she had been
dccplv 'hurt and disturbed' by the FSC's censure of her activities at
the NCF's Conscientious Objectors Information Bureau (COIl3) ,
The Service Committee's chief objection was to Marshall's detailed
negotiations at the War Office on behalf of absolutist COs who
were being repeatedly tried and convicted tor refi.Jsing to co­
operate with military authorities or to perform any non-rrnlir.irv
work under Covernment supervision, TI1l' FSC, of course,
belIeved the only legitimate pacifist activity \v;JS attempting, by
vigorous propaganda or silent suftc..'ring, to end the war.'ll This
damaging split was accidentally but precisely timed with In attack
hv a disenc1Llllted Quaker prisoner on the Service Committee's
determination not to seek redress for prisoners of conscience.
On I I March I() 17 Edward Grubb received a letter from
Wilfred c. Hinde complaining about the Meeting for Sufferings'
refusal, under the influence of the Service Committee, to take any
,teps to aid imprisoned absolutists. 'I c.innot sec that there is any
advantage in allowing absolutists to continue in prison, Our lot is
undoubtedly better than tint of many soldiers but this is surely
beside the point. Because one evil is less than another is no reason
for allowing that evil to exist. "J"
In passing Hinde's letter on to the Service Committee, Grubh
expressed his own belief that Friends, as a Society, 'ought to
register some kind of public protest Jgainst the administration of
the ... Acts on the ground of penalizing conscience', Within the
FSC, however, some expressed the view that Hinde apparently did
not 'realize the breadth of the service for peace rendered in prison',
or that he was merely 'beating against the bars & losing sorncrhinp;
of his confidence'. In the end, after much discussion, the FSC
'hCarhcrinc Marshall til \)r.[HCIlrIl'tt,I! Thomas, I M,lrch I'J 17. with cltt.lchl'd
'nit' 'REPORT FRUM MISS MARSHALL'. 23 Feb. 1017; Marshall to E. E.. 0 Marrh 1017
.in.! Harnson lJ,urow to E" E., 12 Ivl.lrch J l) 17, f:SC FIle", LSF l-or M,u"h:dl\ intcr.u-non
.virh \V,u ()ffiCl' ul1lciJI..;, parncul.irlv Chlcf of Personal Services c;cllcfal Sir \VyndhaIll
(:htld~, SCI..' Vcll.uon. Russell ,1IId the Paciiin», r2()-29, 17?;-S,
"" Wiltred C. HInde to E C .. [I IVL;rch, FSC 'Corre,p';Ildcllce', II. 44, LSI'.
:r
3·1-2 BrilIS!1 Quakerisl/1 186(1-19..!() ',"i CIit1l1lisli '/('1'1'01' of Dnrlencss' 343
persisted in the view that it was 'not the tumtiou of any pacifist ,'[JUlltn' tor conscience sake'. r o.; Their argull1ents t()r some action
body to agitate for the release of conscientious objectors till public 011 11l'lulf of COs were historical ~lS well as libertarian and hu­
opinion desires it'.": nLlniLlrian. Critics of the non-intervention policy cited a Quaker
The controversy did not end there. III April, Hcnrv T. Hodgkin, ('()llt(TCnCe of I (17'i which had urged, contrary to the advice of
with the support of Edward (;rubb. John W. (;rahalll and others, ..uurlv Quaker pioneers like William Dcwsburv, that when Pricnds
gave notice of his intention to introduce a concern to the next \\LTC unjustlv imprisoned. the Society should 'take such course to
Meeting for Sutferillgs 'that there should be turthcr action Liken by Il,llcfand case to the oppressed as may not be prejudicial to Truth's
the S. of F. conccruing the continuance of pcualncs upon C.O. r,',timonv'. including 'bringing the oppression horne to the pnse­
members'." Subsequently. however, both Meeting lor SuttlTings cutors'. Indeed, Mcctiru; for SUttlTillgS had tirst been appointed in
and the Yearly Meeting of I () 17 attlrllled the r:S( "s policy of I (17.~ 'to h.ivc oversight of all CI"'S of sutrcnng. whether by pnsl'­
,\ppealillg only to the public conxcicncc and not to the (;O\Trn­ .unon or misfortunc. ,n3
mcnt as such.')') (h,TL1\'ing the situation of imprisoned ( :Os \\'as .morhcr long­
This decision left: lllany Friends 'troubled In their minds not just sLlIldlng Quaker concern: the methods, and even thc lcgitimary, of
bcc.ruvc COs were continuing to be punishl'd with repeated sen­ the entire l iritivh pcu.il sv-rcm. Irouicallv, (~u~lkcT reformers like
tences lor the s.uuc ottc'nce but also because thcv realized that 'the Lliz.ibcth l rv had gl\'l'n strong support to the principles ofsep:lratl',
Govcnuncnt would bc dclighn-d If Friends wit hdrcvv their support -ilcut confinement and 'rcfonnatorv and economic labour Iscwing
fl'OIll the NCr'."'" 'I .u n afl'aid·. J. W. (;ralL1111 told Catherine nut! bags!,. under which C()" suffered and about whirh lll:lny
Marshall, 'our C.O. Cclllse resembles the Apostle Paul, III that PlTS1StCllth- cOlllplaillcd. 'O~ Th" phvsic;ll h.udship and mrnt.il
there arc tlghtings within and tC"lrs without'. "" ,ktLT10Lllioll sUrlcTed by conscientious objectors under the ettc'cts
So I(mg ,lS the Quakcr struggle ,Igainst the war continued, so did Df sllch'llpposl'dly redemptive conditro ns stunned even the
such internal skirlllishing. Wh,'n. lor example, Yorkshire Qu.ntcrlv -t.uuichcst .ibsolutists. One (~uclker prisoner. JlIlll'S Cr.ivxh.iw,
Meeting g;lthcrcd at Bradf()J'd in July 1\) 17. it approved a Minute told Edith Ellis that aftcr observing 'the cttc'ns of prison treatment
urglllg Meeting lor SuttcTlllgs to rccognizr the duty of Friends 'as a .. 011 the momlj.j rncntal, & physical condition of pnSOllers, he
Religious Society which has always stood lor civil .uid rcligious h.id IT\'LTsed his position .md sided with the N( :Fs campaign for
[ihcrtv, to prcss for the absolute and unrondirional release of all n,licf After personal cxpcricnrc ill the third division, even John
these men ... who ,\IT now persistently persecuted III a ChristIan f'letchLT, thc COllSUIllIlJ;ltC no-colllprollliser, Iloted 'the rd()rllling
7l,;t! of Howard surely did Ilot illtl'l1li the solitary systelll to
hCCOlllC-1 Clnllot bL'ttcr dcscribc it-a hUlil.lll dog kCllllcl..
I (; to I E q.'~ ,\ 22 ,'vL,r,!J [')1- .11,,1 I [,r1l<TI B[n,,!Jtj Clotll1LT to L L 2('
i\1Jrch 1 1)17. t·S( (;l']]') ("HTl'''P()[llkllCl'. ,lIlli ' I l k " II]] r'S(' ,\In'(lllg. 2() '\'LII-dl I()I-.
Moral diseasc C\I\not be curcd by trelting a Illan likc a dog.' '0\
,·v:.. \lIIIIIIl'.'. [I. ~S. 1\1
l)" 'Nutl'''' Dt·"llh.ll'l"t t{)J" COll;o,llkLHlOIl <it lll':'\[ f\..1. t'ur \ ..' (\X/Jr \/idllll\' !(l,!Jl't'C(lllllllit­ .\1111111('.\ nl()~". ISl}-i-ltj.!t1, 'y·prk ... hirc (~u.lnl'rl: Iv1L'etlllg, 17 .Illd I '''.1l1ly I\)I~, HI,.
[l'l' April Il)17, p.,(: flk:--, LSF
..,UllulH:ry),.2r.J SLT ('llll"Ulll"l' BLl1rh\\ ,l](l', 1.<,l.!d{ jl/'(lh/CIII.\ , { ("'\l/LI(il'lIlitJ/LI ()I:/1'1 11(1/1 III I ;,fhll/.< ( ,'(llll]!l1l­
')'1 NO[l"\ ()ll FSC: mel'tlllg" Of2() 1\tlfl·h ,llld :; 1\1-1Y ll)I-;, r:~(_ \1111111('-'. II, -l-:-;, 50 (51): '11'11.' IIl1dO' !JIIII.'!1 Lll1' (I llllllull Il)ClSl. -,-,"I-l---'''.':;' I hl' qlllJutll)ll Oil till' l"LthIJ ... hllll'llt of
A. ll. II. 'n F. F .. 2 M.1\ 1') 1 A II. II. t" c',th<TIIlC .'vI.lr,]u]1. 2.; .'vl.l\ ") I~. 1\(' hie,. I \F !\ih'l'[llJ~ t\l[ "lItknllg" h ti:Olll ,r-vLlrg.lrl't I 1111''''(, File CJ.1/11~'n" III 1)('(/([' rll/II 11',11 (l.!llldo]]
-Illll/.)".\I, 11)18, 'PfOCl'l'dlllg" of till' j\kL·tlllg fOf ~lIt1l'flllg", Sllllllll.ITY, 1()17-]l)I;-';"-l-5 I ().2.'\I. (ql1
F. L tn A. ll. B. (COp\) ,IJld II.JlThnl1 B.mo" (,np\). 3 I .'-1.1\' 1') [~. f\C hi,". [ \F. 1'1 l"lL·lll'l. I '/iftl,-idll (,2I1,lh.,..'. 2)0 tHC" thL' l"".I111pk nt" WdllJlll 1,1I1.1cL !Ollg-llllll'
Akx,lllliL'f COWJIl Wd"ol1 (1,'\(1(l-I()5.';;) ,\lId ]lUll tVLlry Fry ~\K(l2-1()5)), hoth 111Hlll'IJtJ.d Sl'LTl'Llr~ to the l~o\\,lrd Ll'JgUC, .I" ,I ddt'lllkr pfthL' "tknee "Y"[l'l\llll Bnti"h
(\,'\()(l-\qOI)
J])l·lllbl'r., of Iv1cl'tlllg !()f ~ut1\:ri])g., \\L'Tl' l·... p.. Y lally lIIlCI"y \\'ltil thc I·S(: pO!Jl'y f'or hi" p,ln. pn"OIl", A]"o "l'l' ivlirh.1L'] IgILltiL,t1", ,-I J/f.I{ J/CiI.'lIrC l!{ ed/II" llie /lr'/IIlt"lIlidry III fill' IlIdIL'rf/il!
Wil"oJ) .tttL'lllptcd. lI11"uccl,,,,'..(ully, ro get till' LILWLltlOll Slll'll'ty to ukc up thl' Cclll"C ll( Rt'I'l)/l/riol1, /-;50-1l~'5(1 (Nl'\\' Yurk, Il)7,s). -l-l), 5 ?\-() , I-l-K-53
l'Ull"Cll'lltiou" obJl'ctnr". SL'C A. C Wi]"on tn EXl'llltl\'L'" or
Sl)L"ll't~ f{lr LlhlTJtJ1l11 l)( Crcly"lu\\' to E.E., ()JlIIll' I () I .llld f-ktclllT to E_ E. (l':\tLld). () I kc I l) I 7. FS(: I-Jk",
['J,

Rcligion" from SUtL' P,HrUll.lgl' .llld (:Ol1uo!, [I ,\1.ly I \) I -, LSI­ I SF. Four IllOIHh" l\lrlier. Fkrl'hlT lUll \\Tlttl'll J long ktteT nppn"ing .my !lninOllllJg of the
"" J W. (;. tn (EM. 23 M,1\' I~I~. CEMI'. Ah, ,,',' M.lr,h,JiI to E. E ...FJ ,'\pnl 11)1~, (;O\'LTI1111l'llt 'to "cl\'C OllT"Ch'l'" .11lc\. nur frIclld" from Pl'T"ol1.1l "iUt1lTillg' S,'l' fktclll'T to
IS(: Fik" LSF. Thl\lllP"O]l ElJotL [() Aug, 11)1;, ibJd

..
l~ __
~
344 British Quakerislll 1860-/920
Still, even alarming reports ofmcnral derangement' did not alter
the Service Committee's position that no cntrcarv to improve the
lot of imprisoned conscientious objectors should be made directly
to the Government. 10(, The FSC did agree that the Socicry of
Fncnds should appeal to public opinion by issuing a 'clclr state­
incur that we regard all penal methods as opposed to the spirit of
Christ's teaching'. To this end, the Corum ittcc delegated three
members 'to draw up a careful statement of the Society of Friends'
point of view'. A declaration on 'Friends and Conscientious
Objectors' WJS duly published in Tile Friend, although the Service
Committee's apparent presumption ill spe'lking for the entire
Society continued to irritate Quakers and others who believed
that every possible means should be used to end the travesty of
justice represented by the continued punishment of COs. ["7 Those
who protested ~lg;lillSt doing nothing certainly represented the
majority of conscicutious objectors and probahly the majoritv of
British Friends .IS well. And while, orficiallv, the Service Commit­
tee never wavered from m.nnt.uui m; the purity of its position, in
May Il) 11< Loudon Yearly Meeting did issue an official Appeal to tltc
Conscience Ill" the Nation: charactcnzillg the imprisonment of COs a,
all assault Oll freedom of rcligiou which, 'at this dark hour ... the
nation r.in ill-afford to COlldolle'. The national conscience as well
as the Government remained largely unmoved and absolutists
languished ill prisons even atter the war ended lOS
I',{, "( .lmvn.mirv, (:rlllll' &. l'unr.luucnt'. L"i( .\ II 1/11fe'-, I I, 1() 1 7. no <Ill thor or ddtC: '( :JSL'..,
otMcnr.rl I)CL\ll,l';CIllL'lH', 2,sJ-1I] [<)l,s, li"rill,l'; tv cutv-tivc men. t\\·o ()(WhOIlllud .tlre,ldy
died ;\" J rc-ulr of the rhcrr privon cxpcricncc-, ,1', l'\.llllpk". I-·SC FIIe\: .md FS(: -'/iI/IIll'S. 1I,
~ Oct. 1')17. L\f.
',>7 \ee e",,'Cully. Hcrrr.md P..lI\'ell to E. L. I [ \ept. 1017 & E. F. to B. R. 22 \ept.
Ilj 1 7, FSC File». Al..,o «:c FSC, ,\1illllles, -\. ()et. 11)!7. II, S3 &. FL 2 Nov. 1(j17. SJi"I-J(j:
.\1/11l1fl'_\, York-Jure (~llJrlcrly Mel'tlng, 2(j ()d. 1 1)17. 1 [.I, 2-\..1-111. II)IN. 27 1\;1.1Y 1(j[S, ijo &.
I~ (let. 101S. 1~(l,lJL: FSC, .\/illlll",' April 101~. III,~: .uid F\C [Arthur W.\ml t" R",.
Ley ton Rlch.lrd, (copy), 2~ April, 10' K. LSF
lOS All A/)jJc,ll (0 tln: C\l/lscicI!Ci' (!( it« Xnnon, trcuu till' London Yc.irlv J\1cl'ting of the
SOCIl'ty ofFnl'lld" May, ISlI x. "Ignl'd hyjohn H. B,lrlOW, (Jerk. (~()py in LSF. Bq~illll1ll~ in
DlTl'Illhcr 1<) 17, ,l nUlllhl'r, of .lh\o!uti,t C( )" including Clifford Al1clJ ,1Ild till' \;Illltl:-­
(~luker Stephl'll Hohhol1'l', wcrc rL'1l'a,ed -\, 'Illcdicdly untlt' rhl\ ,1L"tlUIl, ";lIpportl'd b;.
Lord Milner ;lnd othcr Cabinet offlccr\, \Va, Lng-ely .1 fL';1C[101l to I .-4/11'/'rll l "!lfll Cilc.'\lr. a
book dc\cribing the plight of lI11pri~ulled C(), J.ttnbutl'd to Srephcll l--IohhousL' .... mother
M,lrg-arl't, but actually gho~t-\Vritten by lkrtrJ.nd Ru"ell. See R,ll', CIl/I.\ci('II,·C and [J(ll/fl'CS,
207-.25; Ju VelLlcott Nt'\vberry, 'Rus,ell as l;h()st Writer, a NC\\· Di\L"I)\'cry', Rl/s_,t'II, I:'
(Autllllln 1t)74) , ISl-2J Jnd '111{' Col/c(fn/ JJd/IOS {:( Heftrl1lld 1<,/.\.,('/1, Vo/. x I v, ]J,k(li."/I1 dlld
R('/'(,Jlllioll, 1916-1920, edited by I<-ich"rd A. l<-eIllp"!. cr "I., (L"nd"n .lnd Ne'\\ York I<)9j).
p. '>xxviii. ]--krcJftcr cited J~ CPBI<, with pJge.
'A CiJ'llllls!l Terror (~I" Darkness' 345
In the meantime. the FSC: and NCF had fashioned In uneasy
cOlllpronme which limited activities of the NCF Record Office
.md CO 113 to '[ c Iollccting, recording and tabulating all available
J11tortu anon regarding CO's'. Obviously, these gu idclines were
.nrucd at eliminating Catherine Marshall's personal mediations
\\i th (;OHTnment officials on behalf of prisoners for conscience. J 00
But the partial resolution of one murky internal complication lor
f',lutist allies wa« soon overborne by another event with u nivcrsa]
r,llniticatiollS, the revolution in Russia. No ,ingle event so raised
rill' morale and aspirations of the pacifist movement and none, ill
till' end, was more disillusioning a, regards its ultimate effects Oll
f'eace .ind non-violence. The much ballyhooed Lenis Convention
III e.ldy June Il) 17 had established the machincrv for Workers' and
SoldiLT" Councils in Britain which would, it was supposed, begill
rill' pnKe\S of ending the war while ,weeping away the militarism
\\'ilich had produced it. As one expectant C() wrote trom prison:
'Isn't ... litl." worth livint; to be in at the beginning of,l new .Ige like
· '1](1
t Ius.
MO\'L'd by 'the spirit of Lccds, the executive ofliccrs of the FSC,
NCt' and Fellowship of Rcronciliation met for two days in mid­
July 'to cousidrr their relation to the l ntcrnatiou.il movements for
ti'eedoIll'. As ~J result of these deliberations, the participating organ­
izutions suuun.ir izcd their cxpcctatious in a special supplement to
the NCF\ nl'\v,paper, Til(' Trihnnol. The essence of their collective
reSpO!l\l' W~lS to depict events ill Russia as the harbinger oLI world­
vvidc non-violent revolution of which the war-resistance move­
mcnt might gt'JSp moral leadership. 'Only unite and organise your
tl.']]ow,', said l3clrry Brown for the FSC, 'and you can achieve a
revolution bv the irresistible methods of non-resistance.' I I I
But, in tJct, new complications arose for FSC just because SOIIle
conscientious objectors, inspired by the Russian example, had
ceased to be interested in methods of non-resistance. At a newly
,,'" FSC: .. \/lIIIIIc.'. 11.0 ,lJId Jo)ulle 1017
r I() P. Hetcher to E. E., I Sl Aug. I () 17, FSC Flk'\, LSF; Fletcher \\.1'\ lJuoting Hubcrt Pecr.
Fur thc Ll'cds COl1r'en..'l1ce, \ec 'WlLlt Happencd ,It Lccd,' (l.ondon It) 17). pLlhli~JlCd by the
(:OLlllCiJ of Worker,' <lnd Soldicr'i' I)c!cgate,; Rl'1l1Pl.), 1'( <11., (:eHl?, x IV, pp. :'\:'\xi\'-xxxvii:
,lI1d Stephen \,(/hite, 'So\'\et, in Britain: The Lced\ (~OIl\·CIH10Il of 1\) 17'. 1I1fn-/latiollal I<Cl!iClI'
(~r .')o(i(7I Hi.\tory, 11)/2 (11)7 -\.), 1 ()7-(j 3. Also ,t'L' Ch;lI)fcr 10 helow.
111 Supple1l1ent to TIlt' Trihllll,-i1, ICJJuJy 11)17 The .lrtlc]c.\ III the four-page supplement
\\ere written by Brown ,1Ild Edlth Elll' l'lT the FSC:. He'rtr.llld R",,,,11 l'lT the NCF and
Henry Hodgkin I,))' the' FOle
,.
34() Brifish QII'lkais1l1 /860-1 L).l0
reactivated prison on Dartmoor, authorities had gathered a group
of COs willing to accept the so-called Horne Oftice Schellle. This
policy had been devised by the Covcrmucnr to .illow CO prisoners
to hc released ti'olll jail, collccted in one location under restricted
but not penal conditions (c.g., no locked cells or enforced silence,
possibility for weekend leaves, ctr .) in order to perform useful
civil work under civili.m supervision. 112 The Home OHice Schellle
h.id been in operation since August of I<)I(1, and while several
hundred COs chose 'the schellle' in preference to prison with hard
labour. the programme never carne c!ml' to success, ()n the one
hand, COs complained about the miserable conditiom under
which they performed mele" work. On the other. public opinion
was outraged by what one new,papcr subbed 'C.O., Cmy Club-,'
where 'coddled Conscience mcn ' connnucd to whine even a, they
esclpcd both the .irmv and prison. I I ,
The I )artllloor experilllcllt, which commenced in Fcbru.trv
1<) I 7, was the GoVerIlIllellt'S attcillpt to meet .ri ticisru ti'()Jll both
sides. It proved a dism.i] t;lilulT t()J' lIlany IT.I'OIIS, not the least of
which was the org.Inizl'd resistance oh\h,lt QU~lker Sr.inlcy Kne-el­
ing c.dled the '''r.Ibid'' t\'pe' of soCiall't, inspired h y the Ruxsi.u:
Revolution and led hy ,I tlnlllding mcrnln-r of the NCE C. H.
Norm.ui. I I I Norlll.In, whom Kneeling culled '~I real danger here',
.md his lollowcrv. apparently including SOIlIC Quakers, '.lte their
food, took rcmuncr.irinn, Inn did nothing to justitv it'. I I , Thc
,itu~ltion was further l!luddled whcn Norillan thn',ltened to brIng
Il'g.I1 action .Ig~linst official, who .dlegedlv llli,tre.Ited hilll, .Ind the
Service Conllllittee, which rlJected 'prosecution of thosl' who
lll.Iy h~lvl' oftl.'nded m', rcfihed to supplv doculllellt' pcrtlncnt to
his Cl'C. 11(, Writing fi'Ol1l prIson, Huhert Pel'( ,upported this dcci-
II~ l'Of the II~lJlll' (hil(L' SChCflll' 'IT JCll', /\)/1/11.\ 'Illd (;()II.'i!t'lI("C,
Kl'llllnlv. I/o/II/d (ll (,'\ll/.I(J('}/(C, I )()-!7
II l r<)r ,ltUek., ~)ll rill' Ifnille ()IIll L' "l-!ll'Illl', ''IT /),111)' .\/l/il. 23 JO April I () J --; .1\1\0 \l'L'
-, hOJl),l'" (. Kl·lllll'd~. ']'l1hlIc ()pllllUIl Jild thl' (:OlJ\l'iL'lltlllll\ ()hJe(tor, II)I "-l()j~', Fl,l'
JOllfll,d {l/I1I'1[LI/I SllIdl(,.'-, XII/':: (M.l~ 1~7J), 113-1'+,
II ~ <. 'LrL'llL'l' Henry' NOrl11.l11. ,1 rJdiL'JI \Ol'l,di\t, pllhiJC1\t, ,llld t-oulld1l1g 1l1l'lllbl'r of the
N<.T, IllHiatl'd ,l 1l111111xT o( 1IltLTll.d dl\~H][l'" within [he Fl'ilo\\\hip ,llld Liter bLllll'Ll the
(~U.lKl'r'i tlu thl' iIH:rtlYtl\'l'lll'\\ ()( thl' NCF\ \\',1 rtl III l' protl'~[\. SL'L' Kl'lllll'dy, l-fllil/lil 1:1
(:(lIlS(/('II((', 27(J-7
", Sr.lIdcy V. KllC'''hlig to Mi" II ll'llrlctul Tho!1L", )J.d. IM,l) IV 171. I·Sl. File\, LSF. For
Qtl.lKl'r \upportl'rs o('tJm'([ lldl()/I' ill rl'\poll.\l' t{) till' RU";\1J11 Rn'o!u[lo]}, .\L'l' Sd\\ Y11 HJYl'\
to IlcIlrll'tU TilolllJ'i, 1(\JUlll' 1'.)17 and l::.nll'q C l::.\'l'fl'[[ to rhOlll,I". 2';' JllllL' [l)17. IbId,
ill, C. R, Rindl'r to E. E" 20July 1()17 ,md E. F. ro C. Rindl'L 20July }()17,lbid
h­
'A C!lol/li.\·1i Terror or Darkness' 347
,JOI1 as an aspect of the FSC's mission 'to educate the Society of
Fricl1cb, and the much larger circle with whom we arc 1l0W ill
touch'. Edith Ellis agreed that it was the sort ot thing that might
help 'to dccpl'll the spiritual side ofthe NeF."17
Members of the Service Committee might have felt their efforts
tLl r.u«: the spiritual consciousness of the NCF were crowned with
,OIlIC success when 1)1' Alfred Salter (I l'In-1 <)45), a socialist and a
l'llll\'lllccd Friend, replaced Bertrand Russell as Chairman or the
NCr jmt before Russc ll was charged with publishillg subversive
.n.m-ri.r] in 'llIe Tribui i.t! and subsequently imprisollcd. " s Edith
UiI, could only have been pleased when Salter related to her that
the idca of ,ccuring the release of COs, ElVored by some NCF
lc.rdcrs ,I, ~I tirst step in ddl'Jting conscription, 'carrie, no weight
\\ith me at all'. Salter was also instrumental in the drafting ot an
N(:r Manifesto published In Illid-I <) I l'I which muted any
political nlc,qgc while stressing the l nward Light and other
1','liglOlIS manifestations of pacifist rcsistaucc." "J Members of thc
Ncr like Clifford Allen, Bertrand Russell, ami Cltherine
l'vbr,lull were dccplv chagrined by the to nc of this doculllcnt.
lnuucdiatclv before beginning his pnson sentence, H.. usscll
remarked: 'I should entertain him IS~dterl with examples of unsuc­
cc"ti.I1 martvrdoms." for his part, Allc n who had been rclc.txcd
ti'OIII prison because of orficial fears that he might himself suftcr a
martyr's dc.ith. had l'llille to the conrlusion that pJtiellcc ~lI1d long­
sllftcTing would be 110 lllorc lIsdi.Il to the pacitist struggle thall 'thc
QUJkeri,m of ccnturie,' ~llld would calise all C()s to EIlI i1lto the
'trap of p~h"vi'lll' which he believni had ensnarcd too 1ll.lllY
Fricnd,.'2"
Such criticism, of the FSC pmition were, of course, accuratc in
the 'L'me that the idea of embracing a martyr\ crown was central to
[_~v-S() ]1<1.,"_,'1111 ,lll(.l
the Qu,lker ab,oluti,t,' stand. Neave Braysh~lw had llude pn'cisdy
If. W, P. to Sen-ln' <'~()ll\[l1lt[L'(,:, 27 Aug It)17, Ibid, ,llld E E, to Stq)!l('n 11ohIHHl'il',
- I'l'h. H) I s, ibid.
I I" The lW'it JCL'Ul!Il( uf Ru""ell\ trul JilL! llllpn'iOllillelH 1\ VelLll'o(t, /{II".I('I! 111111 r!l('
223-~O.
Alfred S,dtn to E. 1:.. 2(, M,Heh I<JIS. f'SC Fdl'\. I.SF.I he NCI' M,ll1llc'\[o W,'\
pnlHCLi III FI/e Fn/Jlllldl, () J Lllll' II) ,.,",', The SlT\-HT <. :OllllHLt[l'l' dl'(llkd ,lg,lI11"C 'ilgnillg thIS
dOClllllL'lJt hut 1ll0'it Illl'Jllbl'r\ \\crL' 'iylllp,tthctic \\,][il i(~ L'Olltcnts; \l'C I,S(: ,\/illllrn, 2. M,ly
I l) I ,'\, I l l , (>.
") RLI"c)) to Allel1. n.d. ILlt" ApI'll IVI71 ,lid Alll'11 to P..mSl')). 27jUI1l' IVIS, 13ertLlI1d
Itu..;\ell ArL'11i\'c'. l\lcf'vtl'itl'r Ulli\'er,ity, I Llil111toll, <')nLHlo.
.1. _

348 British Quakerism 18 60-1 9 2 0
th is point at th e Swan w ick C o nfer ence; 121 G eoffrey H oyland , a
leader of th e FSC abso luti st facti on, had no te d at Llandudn o in
Septemb er 191 4: ' I h av e felt very stro ngly tha t th e greatest wo rk
w hich m an y of us can do fo r Christ in th e ca use of p eace w ill not
b e in intellect u al argum ent between ourselve s an d those w ho ar e in
str o ng disagr eement w ith us .. . the root an d b ackb o ne of o ur p eace
testimony lie in th e C ro ss o f J esu s C h rist.' Trad iti onally for Fri ends
'the C ros s', as an exp er ienc e of sp iritual struggl e, h ad be en th e
m eans of bri dging th e tw o re alms of life-that whi ch is of th e
cre at ur e and ultima tely deceptive and that w h ich o f Go d and
alwa ys au th entic.Y" Th e me an in g and impo rt an ce o f th e C ross to
the resistan ce of Q u ak er abso lutists m ay in some measu re b e
graspe d by clos e consid eration o f the stru ggle of one middle­
class, professio nal , p ious, an d pr evi ousl y law-abiding ab solu tist
Friend .
' T H EY I N THE LO R D WH O FI R M L Y TR U ST '
On 18 Janu ary 1917 from the guardro om of Budb rook e Ba rrac ks,
W arwickshir e, Wilfrid Littleboy (1885- 1979), recently qualifi ed
ch art ere d accountant , future C le rk of Lo nd o n Ye arly M eeti ng
and pro spect iv e inmat e of His M ajesty's p riso n at Wormwood
Scru bs, wrote o u t fo r h is paren ts th e w ords tha t , for him, h ad
b ecome 'a sort of wartim e motto' :
Th ey in the Lord who firm ly tru st shall be like Z io n h ill
app rop riate starting point for an ana lysis of th e w art im e resistan ce
W hic h at no time can be removed and stand eth ev er still.
by Qu ak er absolutists lik e Wilfrid Littlcboy in suc h unlovel y places
As round ab o u t jerusalem , the mou n tain s stand alw ay,
as W ormwood Scru bbs (w he re , suppos edly, at o n e p oint d ur ing
T h e Lord H is fo lk shall c o m p ~ ss so , fro m hencefo rth and fo r aye. ' OJ
the w ar the largest Fri ends m eeting in Lond on was being co n­
r a Brayshaw, 'Intro ducto ry Addre ss' . S""1I7 l1'irk 1911, 38. Also see Anne Wa kefield
Ri chardson, 'Th e Spi ritual Application of the Q uaker M es sage' , ibi d., 1 3~ : 'Ami d th e
vo ice colling fo r w arlike preparatio n . . . rthe Frie nd] kno ws th at un less he himself is con­
cern ed to a fte r a deeper. mo re real. mo re C hristian, and mo re u nselfi sh Service to hi,
co untry in the co m mo n life . . . the Spirit that calls men off from war . '
r z Geo ffrey H oyland, 'T he R eal Argum ent for 1'<'3c e', Friends " ", I lil t IT'ill", IO l and
Pu nshon , 'Pe.u-c Tcsrimon v' . 0 5.
" J W iltj-id littl eboy to' his ' p3re nts, 1 s J an. 1917. Littlebo y's p rison letters (hereafter
'N' L1') are in th e possessio n o f his daughter, Mar garet E. N ash, and are used w ith her
permission. Fo r Liu lcboy's recollect ions o f hi, wartim e experiences. sec ' I ~ q - I ~ 18 ,
" I re mem ber." VlII, wit h the e. O .s in prison " , T/.: 92 ( I ~ H) , 8 5')- 6 1.
350 Brifish QllakerislII 1860-1920
prisoners of consricucc like Wilfrid Littleboy filully revealed the
inadequacy of both liberal religion and political liberalism as guides
for the twentieth-century pacifist.
Like most of the Friends who became war resister", Wilfrid
Lirtlcbov grew to maturity in the sort of stable, comfortable. mid­
dle-class familv to which birthright Quakers typically belonged.
After attending lsoorhnm, Littleboy moved to Birmingham and in
1<)05 spent two terms at Woodbrooke where his Uncle Wilham
and Aunt Margaret were Wardens, Certainly, his subsequent career
fully justitied the hopes of Woodbrooke's founders that the Settle­
mcnr should be a seed-bed for nurturtng the future leaders of their
religious Society,
After hi, YClr of study at Woodbrookc, Wilfrid set out upon his
apprenticeship in .iccou ntancv with a Birmingham firm ill which
he would eventually become a senior partner. After accOmp,Ul\'lng
Thomas Hodgkin's f:lll1ily on a trip to Australia in 1<)0<). Littlchov
starred his W;IY up the Quaker atrsus liouon, II 1 with .m .ippoiutmcut
in 1<) 10 as secretary to the Sibford School Cormuitn-c 'ldllIng ;1
,tep in the next ye;lr as a member ofthe Woodbrookl' Council. He
continued to serve in both these capacities until he was imprisoned
in 1<)17. At the Sw.mwirk Conference in 1<)11. Wilti"ld Linkboy
was named secretary to a special Young Friends sub-committee
charged to work closely with the Yearly Meeting's Home fVlisslo!lS
;lIld Extension Committee with ,1 view to cxp.mdim; Quaker
influence throughout British society. 12<
For Littlcbov. ;1'0 tor many young Friends, the S\\;mwlCk Con­
tc.'ITnce was a particularly riveting event. One .ittcndcr recalled that
'the ml'ss;lge of the COnfc.Tence", stood out ever stronger and
clearer. We were brought t~lce to free with the hard flets. , . Sel­
dom has a call so high and so masterful come to l1\ , , , and we go
torth , , , with what seems to many of us, , . strangely little tC.';lr.' 12(,
Whatever challenges these young (2uakers had expected, most
of them were profoundly shocked in August I <) 14 by the sudden
cataclysm of violence that broke upon a world that had seemed to
be moving, however haltingly, toward the tultillmcnt of the
Quaker dream of an end to wars .md strife. But while popular
enthusiasm for the war caused an agnostic peace-advocate like
Willrld Lir tlchov", cntrv, /)(211, LSI·.md SII'<l/lll'l,k, 1<)11, Q-[7.
SU'<IIIJI'id', 1911, 1.2~q_. The sr.ttenu-nr \Y.L'i written by (;l'otfrcy i lovl.md
'A Ghoulish Terror of Darkness' 349
Fig. 9 W ilti-id E. Littlcb oy (1885- 1979), taken 1934;
Q uaker prisoner of conscience
Littl eboy had taken his w atchwords from a Sco ttis h m etrical
ve rsion of the ope ning verse s of Psalm 125; they p ro vid e an
du ct ed ).12 4 Su ch resistanc e h as b een co nsidered in the co ntext of
th e progressi ve id eas and imp ulses, politically an d theol o gically
lib eral, which influen ced th e gen er ation of Quakers to w hich
W ilfrid Littl eb oy bel onged and whi ch o bv io usly co ntrib u ted to
th e an ti-war struggle fo r w hich th at ge ne ration has becom e justly
fam ous. Ironi cally, the ex pe rien ces of many war re sisters an d
" < W . E. Littleb oy. '1 remem ber . . .' ~ 5'J and Maude R o binso n, ' Lrst '·I e Forge,': A
Melli"' )' q(tllc S",;c/y oj Frirnds ill thr 1,I 'i" )'fill"S, ' 914-1 9, $ (Lo ndo n n.d .), 2 1. One C O wr ote
th at there w ere 'abou r 20 Frie nds' wo rking in the lau ndry .u rhe 'S crubb s' James J on es to
W illi311l T. Ecroyd. S Apri l 1l)17, W illiam T . Ecroyd Papers in possession o f H enry Ecroy d.
......
'A Ghoulish Terror ofDiII"k Il CSS ' 35 1
lkrtrand Russell 'to revise my views on human nature' and reso­
12
lutely, even perversely, to set himself 'lgainst the popular will. 7
Wilti'id Linkboy responded like J boxer momcnrarily stu III led by J
severe blow, halting bricflv to clear his head, then continuing on
to\\'ard the infinitely more distant victory to which he aspired, In
,III article published in October 1<)14, Lirtlcboy addressed the
.iltcrcd circumstances of young Friends. .uid the flct that they had
to 'be willing to tacc unpopularity and hard criticism in true
patience and to draw our line of what we may and llIay not do
,1!Jsolutelv, according to the guid,lIlce of our conscience IlO matter
wh.ir the' result. , .' ~s •
Such were the circumstances and beliefs that brought Wilfi'ld
linkboy, respectable Quaker ,lCcounUnt and apparently model
rinzcn , into the hands of the military authorities at Budbrookc
lbrrxks in Jal1llJry 1<)17. lkcause he was over 30, Lirticboy had
been called to the rolour- later th.ui many of his tl'llow Quakers,
vo n ic of whom had already served several months In prIson by the
time he was arrested hv a 13irlllingiLlIll policeman for t:liling to
report for duty and subsequently courr-martialk-d by military
.iurhoritics for rctusinr; to obey the order to don an army unitorrn.
As ~l member of the Friends Service Committee, Littlcboy had tcw
illusions .is to what awaitcd him as a prisoner of conscience.
It hears rcpcanm; that Wilfrid Linkboy's st.md was not typicIl.
even tor Quaker COs, since fewer than 150 or about 5 per cent of
Quaker males of military age ulrim.ircly took the extreme or
.ibsolurist position of refusing to co-operate in any t~lshion with
military or government authorities. In the end, of course, absolut­
ists within the Society of Friends established a moral influence that
flr outweighed the paucity of their numbers. 12')
During the twcnrv-c-ight months of his uupriso muc nt , Wilfrid
Littlcboys resolve was apparently never seriously shaken. Snll, In
letters to his parents, generally written at intervals of about six
wccks, a gradual but perceptible change emerged about the
12- The .-llllll/ Ji(l.i.(fllF'I}' (l( HI'I"rnmd Russell, 191-/--19·{4. VO!UIlll' .2 (l (Jillion I ()(lS), 17- [S .uid
jil/.'S/III. WI1l'Il, for l·:'\,lI11pk. ItU'l)i.:IL .l !ollh"(,lIldlllg n-ctot.rlk-r. dl'iCOYl'red that Klllg (;corgl'
V had. ,\\ ,1 \\'.Helllle :-.acnriL"C, "topped scrvnu; .ilroho] at P... oy,d functions. he TC:-'lll11Cd
drinking .il.ohol«: bI'Yc'Llgl"';
1.2\Litdd)()\". '(JUT Peace Tcstimonv. 722--t-.
1":'1 TuckL'r.' 'Engh'lh Qu.ikcrs ;Uld' \X/orlJ W,lf 1'. 2..P-3. 2(l(J; L'}'.'\1, 1.:)/1). 7S: .utd
Kcuncdv, 'Quaker Rcnaisvaucc. 270
:r
35 2 British Quakerisl/1 1860-1920
meaning of his experiences. At the beginning, Littleboy found the
treatment afforded him so bizarre as to be positively amusing,
'more like a camping opportunity than anvthing else ... I am
disposed to laugh at one thing after another ... I suppose when
wars ... arc all things of the past, the world as a whole will shout
with laughter as we arc const.mtlv tempted to do.' [3" But however
amused or bemused by his circumstances, Littleboy reported that
neither he nor his comp.inions felt a 'shadow of a doubt that we arc
in the right place; one that we would not wish to alter from
our personal point of view, or trorn the point of view of the
rausc'. [3 1
For Litrlcboy and his fl'lIow absolutists 'the cause' \\":IS 1I0t only
the general struggle :lgai!lSt the war but also the finn conviction
th.n such a struggk could only be eftl,ctive if it embodied the
ste:ldflst refusal to cOlnpromise with Caesar. He did not condemn
the men who took some flJnn of alternative scrvi.«. but he did
contrast his growing sense of spiritual peace[3 2 wirh the uucom­
fortablc anxiety of altcru.itivc-xcrvirc COs he met at intervals
between hIS lour courts-martial and terms of imprisonment. [33 As
he told his parent»: 'You may rely 011 IIIV not coming out of Scrubs
on the Home Otfin' Scheme ... I do not sec Inysl,lf cOl1ling out
except on absolur.-lv unrestncted conditions.' [ q
Linkboy. and other Ouak , cr ahsolutivrs believed that the war
would end only when a sufficient number of people hcr.unc
convinced, by argument or example. that war, ,IS :1Il .itlronr hoth
to hUIIlJ1I reason and the Divine Will. was ,llways wrong. There­
fore, they felt that pr isonc-rs of conscience should play out their
parts as silent witnesses for truth. As noted above, these Friends
believed the No-Couscription Fellowship's policy of conducting a
propaganda c.unpaign to protest the repeated sentences and harsh
co nditio n-, imposed on C()s was a purely political str:ltagem
Il() W. E. L to p,lfCllh,.2 .uni .i j.m Ilj]', WLP.
; I W. E. L. tp p.rrcnts, [S Jall. J() I 7, \X/LP.
1,2 for cx.unpl«. W. E. L. to p.ucuts. 'a 'll"n"c nf serene PCJCl' .utd C01H(,])[111l'11(', 10
March It)J7: 'my [l'<11 feeling j<., quite peaceful &: ronfidcnt. .2) April IlJ17; "I Jill full of
h.ippinc« Pl'.lCL' &' conn-ntnn-nr'. IS JUlle I<)! 7; 'l h.iv« litcr.illv not bcrn "off colour" f()f J
day "illl"C ti rvt couung hcre .' JO July 1(j17, \\/LP.
'.n W. E. L. to p,lr,·Ilt', II' Jan. [~l 7 and 2S Sept. Hi [7, WLP ,md Lrttlcbov, ... ,
rcnicmbcr. ". 8(Jo.
'.14 W. E. L. to parent', ISJ1I1. [~17. WLP.
he.
'A Ghoulish Terrell' of Darkness' 353
which, while it might relieve the hardships of COs, would make
110 contribution to ending the war. '-1;
As regards activities to secure the release of COs, Littleboy told
Edith Ellis of the FSC that the more he and his companions
thought about it 'the more we come to realise that Conscription
is absolutely wrapped up with the whole war question. We cannot
ronccivc England or any other country continuing as a war state
without sOllie form of Conscription, and therefore ... calling ...
.ittcntion to the evils thereof is rcallv a sort of .uldcndum to the
whole question." [3(' Furthermore, Iw' believed that those who had
ill the past suttl'red for conscience sake 'would have been the last to
call attcnti on to their own sufferings". While Linkboy believed it
vv.is presumptuous to link oneself too closclv to 'the grl':lt army of
those who have suffered tor ideals ... we now know that we are of
the s.unc make as they were; and It is the same power that lived ill
them as shall live in us'. It was, hc said, the 'old casc of the drc.nucrs
of the dream who asxurc the tuturc ... ' a lut urc that he felt xure was
in 'perfectly safi..' hands'. []7
As the weeks in prison stretched into months and then yClrs,
Littk-hovs confidence was not shake-n. What did seem to emerge
\\':IS a growing sense not only that he was personally in Cod's hands
but also that all human efforts \\"LTe insufficient to resolve the
misery' of the world, whether that miscrv arose fr0111 war or
imperialism or simple seltlshness. 'Olle is driven", he said, 'to tl'd
th.it one's onlv hope lies in God .. .' When he heard of somcouc's
saying that Cod would 'send pealT in His tinu-', Linkboy
responded that the nations had had the opportunity to achieve
Cod's peace but had been too blinded by materialism and sin to
recognize it. So, in the end, mankind would have to do with some
imperfect human peacl', 'probably :1 financier's peace ... This docs
not mean that it is no good praying for peace ... only we must
realize that the answer to that prayer will not be confined to the
actual negotiations at the close of the war, but must be viewed as all
a piece of the growth toward the establishment of His will on
earth.' [3" The mistake that he and others had mack ill their spiritual
l~-; Scc Kcnnrdv, l louru! (~(C(lII..;(i('lJ(('. IlJ7-21) .uid 'Fighting About Pl'acc', (j-20. AI-,o
,ee Rempel, ('I nl., CI'£3R. XlV, pp.xxx-xxxi, ()I.
,,,, W. E. L. to Edith Ell". 27 Sept. [~I 7, FSC: Cnr n-spoudc-nc-e , 1 'i 1 ; - [~, LSF.
W. E. L. to p,leellts, IS and zolan. l~17, WLI'.
'.1" W. E. L. to parellts, 25 April I\I[S, WLI'.
.J... _
,.~
"r
35--!- British QllllkcnslII 186()-1 y.!()
IiVL'S duriru; the previous ten years, Littlcbov concluded, was to be
overly concerned with method and insuffir icutlv aware' of content.
'The nicssagc . , , must centre in (;od, We shall grasp it onlv as we
begin to understand jesus ... ' III the meantime, Littlcbov believed
that, ill their strugf.?,k with Caesar, Friends 'must keep our
"unmitig.ucd 110" in our testimony' to ensure they did not ,uc­
curnh to the "superficial ebb &: How' ofmerely human emotIolls.' ,')
Littleboy sL'el1led to have discovered ill prison what manv ill the
peace movement never understood or appreciated, th.ir pacifism.
Quaker or otherwise, could not be based on a political iLkolo~'Y or
all advanced social thvorv or ;111 optimistic view of hum.in potell­
tialitics. Rather, it could on Iv he ';111 L'xading personal t.uth '.' +" [11
other words, Linkboy's p.uifivm. whatever its starting point,
finally carne to rest 011 the ,lcceptlllCe of ,I niartvrs crown and a
n iartvrs f:lte as his spiritual xvitucss.
Herbert (;. Wood, who succeeded R.cndcl HaITi, as Din-ctor of
Studies at Woodbrooke, tornmlatcd this s.n nc argument to the next
gcneration of Friends durillg rhr d.uk days of I()--!-I. I t was not the
Inward Light. Wood s;lid, but the 'Cross of Christ' that justiricd the
QuakL'r stand against war. Oilly hv s;lcriflcc, suttl:rillg, or martyr­
dom ill the name ott.iith could Friends give expression to the Light
that was within each of them and thus conuuuuicarc the p.icifist
testimony th;lt .it some point might cOll\illce other (i.c .. sinful
mankind) th.u there should be an end to w.n-, and striti-.' II
When Wilfrid Littleboy W;IS released Ir orn prison ill I () I(), he
must have recognized that his protest had neither shortl'ncd the
war by a day nor saved ;1 single hum.in lite. ThIS sort of realization
led Bertrand Russell, who had lost hi, acadenlic post and even­
tually his personal freedolll f()r the Cluse of pCKe, to COllllllellt
bittcrly on the flltility of eftl)rts undertaken Oil the strength of
liberal ideals th;lt proycd wodidlv iluc!cquatL' f()r the task of rescu­
ing hUlllanity frol1l its propellSities for irr;ltionality, 'augery. and
self-destruction, In the aftLTmath of his experiences, IZ.u",dl cea,ed
to LIl' eithLT a p;lciflst or a Iiber;lI.'+2 Wiltrid Littleboy's paciflslll was
W, E, L, tu Allred, 12 Sept, II) I ~ md tu p,lrl'llt,. 13 M,lrch II) II), WLI',
I I" CC;Llkl, Hriri.\fl !'(l(iti.\III, 1 I ".
1
1-1 I IcrbLTt \\food, '!Jdciti,,"lll' and Politic,', F()1:", 7) Uuly IV-t'), 1(){)-2! l. Aho
PUIl,,!lOll, . PCJCL' Te\tilllOIlY', (q.-72.
l-j-c lZ,.u""cll, .illr(lhi(~t?rdf}f,)\.+o Jnd ThOI11,-h C. Kl'Il11l'dy. 'Nouri,hing Litl': Ru,sdl and t11l'
'1'\\'l'lltil'th-Cl'lltury Uriti-dl Peace MOVCllll'IH, J (jOO-I <J I H', III IlIfe11c(( 11lld SOo'l/! COII.\(il·//(I',
',,! C!Iolllis!I Terror ofDarlencss' 355
also 110 longer intormcd by lingering liberal sentiments, but he
cxprcvsrd IlO distressing doubts about the value of his wartime
cxpcricucc-; A, he told his parents from Dorchester Prison: 'I am
qu itc content ill the thought that God will not let Illy time here be
\\';I,ted but will continue hi, preparation and constantly lead me Oil
"to see greater things than these": &. whether it he weeks, months,
or IOllgLT, this sLlge will cud when I can serve His purposes better
l'l'ewherl' ... ,q,
III the end, Littlcbov did not dare to hope that by suftt.'ring he
nlight somehow aid ill a human resolution of till' n)I]Hict that
would produce a better world. Rather, hl' ;Iccl'ptl'd the daunting
prospect of a personal Cross 'a, all ;1 pil'ce of, . , growth toward the
cvrablishu rcnr of Hi, will Oil l';lrth'.111 Througll this acceptance
r.uuc the redeeming pO\\Tr of the absolutists' sacrificial act. [11
imit.irion of the Cro« of C:hri,t and III the grl';lt tradition of
l2uaker xvitucss. they achieved ;1 \Illashing vi crorv O\'lT militarism,
\ioiL'ncl', and death. It \\'a\ not, otcoursc. .I uni vcrs.r! rriuu iph , ;lIlY
more th.m (2u;lkerislll W;lS a universal frith: hut It W.lS this victory,
the rho icc of lifl' over death, that Briti\h l ricnds collectively,
wh.in-vcr their individual degree of war resistance or 11011­
re,isLlI1Cl', CI III l' to recogllizl' as the most important OUCL'Ollll' of
the rri.il of filth imposed hy the Gre.lt W:lr. l t also bee.nne, ;IS
Martiu (:e;ldel h;IS noted, the <t.mdard by which all ,uh,eLjuent
pacifl\t xv.rr-rc-ast.nu« would be measured, 'I \
Tvvcnrv-tivc vc.irs after Wilfrid Littlcboy bccuuc ;l prisonrr .it
Hudhroo]«. L3.lrr.lcko;, he \\',IS Clerk of LOll don Ycarlv Meeting. His
llless;lge to Y L';lrly Ml'etillg in I ()+2, whether rectlling I Icrbcrt
Wood" recent adlllOllitioll to look to the Cn)" or hi, own ,'xfKTi­
l'llces a Lju;lrter oLI century e;lrlier, reHected hoth the persistellc,' of
hi, pacifIst f:lith ;1I111 the illspir.ltion f()r it:
Thl' \\'llLllc world I, dLl\\'n into l'l1l1l11ll1n ,utfering. I, there 110 way out of
its l'\'il, but bv \\'aging \\';11' \l't tllOrc' ruthlc",ly; W;lr i, evil amI wrong:
l'dltl'd h~' ,\1,lrg,lrl't .r-...1nr.m ,llld (:Jrl "p,HiUlli (f 1.lllllitOll, ()llt. [VS-t), 232- 3· A ]lL'lll'tLltlllg
. . tudy of Rl.I . . . . l'Jr.., lhll'111111,l ,h ,I "l'dlLlr p.ll"ltl"t I" Luui" (;rl'l'll"p,lll, 'I hc I//U111l/)drih/c j)!{l]J!ICSIC<
lJi.,.rrdlld J<I'-"sdl (1/1 .'\lll''''('( LIII(//.ibc/I)' CY\ll"~, ("lll.ld.l IV7V).
\l'l'
Jl~ \'I..;'_E.L. to pJrl'IH,. [SJLllll' [()17. \\/Lll
J--l---l- \X/.E.L.. '(;u,lrdrLlUJIl !lntc,,·. 2';; .;\pril 11)IS. \X./L1J.
l :l"ldvL I\k!frs/II III IJrirt/ill. (lO.
 ;;..,
-
,'­ :::
~2
........

~
. ......
C
'I: ......
U ~ .....
o -::i
,­C
~
o C/)
H
.....i
.....i
«
:r
I ~
~
; 'Si
-,.­
';j)
':.J ~..)
:....~
~-----
,.,-, ~ '.......

~i ~
~~~
~ ~",~..
::-=:
'-- ~ ::::
-:::;
-r- ~,
"
"J ­
;;;
~ -f'~
.;: ­
"
 r
35 S Hrifish QII,I!'cerJ,llI/ 1860- J 920
courageous Jury had refused, even altn imprisonment. to accept
the judge's dircctcci verdict of guilty, thus fi"eeing Penn and Meade
lro m rcluriou , persecution and future juries from the whims of
tyrannous judges. Might this n cvv Quaker ch'lllenge also produce
some kg,d or mornl milcsronr thut would hegin to loose the bonds
of war from suttl'ring huuianirv? Friends, as ~Il\\ays, h.id hope.
The defiant (~u,lklTS in the dock included the Friends Service
Coun nittccs acting chairman H~l1Tison B~IITO\\ (IS{)S-I')53), a
former city councillor .md Lord Mavor of Hinninghn.», \\"110 h.id
resigned from his civic ottices in I') I -+ because of his opposition to
the w.ir.:' Also on trial \\as FSC treasurer Edith Ellis, daughter of
the late JLllm Ldward Lllix, MP, Cabinet Ministn and privv
couurillor. She had become a commanding presence ill the FS(:
;Iftn most of its younger male rucmbcrs were sent to j.iils or l lomc
(mIce C;lI11pS fLlr resisting cO!l\'Tiptlon. The third ddl:ndan(,
Arthur W,ltts (I SSK-I ,)5S), seCfeLll y' to the Scrvice COllllllittec,
was ~11l engineer rroin Manchester and torun-r SeCfeUr\' to the pre­
war Ausrr.ili.m Freedom League. He ILld .ilrc.rdv served scvcr.il
months as a CO prisoner until released trom th~' Army in Marrh
I') 17.(' All tlm-c had .uccptcd rcsponsihilitv tor viol.uing Regula­
tion 27C which required th:ir m.ucri.il relating to the war be
approved hy the (;ovenll11ent CCllsor prior to publicorion.? The
(;uildh~lll tri.il climaxed months of cautious sparring over ccnvor­
ship between (;oVerIllllellt authorities and the Souety of Friends.
Mcctiiu; tor SuttlTings was first approached by the l rircrtor of
Public Provccurion early III I') 17 concernillg the Society's possihl«
, l)l'l' llL'\\'''PJplT l'lip~)1l1g 011 B,lrnl\\"\ \\ idldLl\\"1I1g trcuu lltfll"l' ,j\ I \lrd ,i\'LlylH"-l'1l'd,
"ll'Jllp. Btl'\: ...'.3/3, ,llll! clary t()r I l.urr-on ILIlT(l\\ 111 l)(Jl~. I~'"
(, IF. I() rVLlrdl 1 1) 17 . ...'.03. W.nt, \\"J\ ,1pp,lfl'IHly rl'll\l\l'd OJ] ,I tl"llll1ll,dity hl'l'!U\l' otlu-,
pr vvrou-, rC"IHklll"l' ill ALh!r.diJ \\'lllTl' he- h.id .10I11l'll rill' tJ~IH .lg,lJlht ,"llllplll"ory 11l11Jury
[r.lllllll~. II1J11ly of 11).20, W,ltt" tr.l\l,lkd tu ltll""l-l tIl Ul~,lgl']Jl rl'lIC(\\OrK tllr frIelld" .Illd
till' Briti"h S.l\·C till' Clllldr,'1l hilld. l-~\ l'lltlLJlly, Ill' tonk "-l,I\'ICl l J[]/l'mhip ,lnd, l':\,'lT[ tllr
pl'riodil" \'h][" to FJlgl.lnd, ITlll,llllL'd III Rll""i,1 t(lr tll,' l"l'"t llf Ill" litl,. Sl'l' Itldll'nL1,1 (" ~curt.
(!IIt/kef'; 1111</1.1','111 (l.(lildoll [1)(J4), 2.21)-S4/\'-"'ill/ ,llld (;recll\\'()od, r'l"Il"I u I., dlld /(,1-1/1'/, .240-44
,lIlel J)(JJi, IlllJ(
Ll'igh TLlL'Kcr pn'\'Hkd y.du,lbk ,ll'l'Ul!I\t" of till' 'A Clulkn[-':l' [ll ,~1i]lt,Hl"IIl' ,-",\:--l', ]]1
hl)th 'rllgli"h Fnl'llL{.., ,lIld (:cll",-)J""hlp, \x"/urld \\',lr 1', (}II. ;1/2 (1,,111 (I)S2). 114--.:'.4 ,Illd
'rll~lL,,1l (~lIc1KlT" ,llld \\"tnld \\.",lr J", 170-:'4 ..-\1,,0 "Cl' till' F~C p,lIllplJkt F//(' . .·;rIJ/J t!( <111
( '1I(t'II,lort'd IJi!t?1'1 (Lund()1J Ill) [ XJ) ,Illd tlll' "l'l"tlOll ()Jl R l'gulJt]( III 2 ~(: ill /\ lldrl'\Y (;. BOlll' ....
dOdoral tlll'''l'' 'lkyolld dll' I'Llk o( LI\\': A"pl'd:-' ()f till' 1)dl'llll' of t11l' Itl'alIll Al'r" ,llld
Rq..';uL l tio l1s, 1()14-1()r~.;' U\lci\'L!"tl'r UlllYer"ir~', [l)()..j.), 11)4-213. BUill' hl'lll'\l'" tlut
Tlq~uLHiull 27C \'"'1<; t11l' lllo;-,r V]\>ld I1hl"tLltWll l)( th,' \X/.!r CJhillcr'" dCl'P-\l',Hl'd ,lllXll'ry
,1huLlt tIll' pO""lblL' ralllitjl"Jtion" of lI11fl';-,[riltcd publlcity for ,I l"tHllprUllll;-,l' pl',l(C' (21.1).
.....
300 British Qlla/.cCl'isl/I 186o~ 1920
whole of Y.M. without a doubt-in spite of Mfarriage] Wallace­
was at the back of the FSC'. '2 Those Friends who left Yearly
Meeting to attend the trial gave unvarnished witness to the Soci­
ety's official support for the defendants by holding an impromptu
meeting for worship after the magistrate had retired to consider his
verdict. Following a period of silence. they collectively prayed for
an end to the war and to the persecution of all who, with Friends,
refused to accept the war system as the means to a better world. All
the defendants were convicted and sentenced; Barrow and Watts
received six-months and Edith Ellis served out a three months'
sentence after rdllsing to pay ll)O in tines. '3
It was a climactic moment for British Quakerism, the culmin­
arion of a f(JUr-year struggle to maintain, despite the pO\H'r of the
State and the force of public opinion, the coutiruntv of their
Society's two-nnd-a-halt-ccuturv tcvtn uonv against all war. Ordin­
ary citizcnx, reading newspaper reports of the hizarrc and provoca­
tive behaviour of this tiny sect might, undcrvt.indahlv. have been
irked or ofl(:nded or at least seriously puzzled. At the very moment
the Germans were pushing ahead with Ludcndorffs ominously
successful oflcnsivc on the Western Front, Quakers. hiding, as it
seemed, behind the bulwark of religious toleration, attacked the
national Clllse trorn a difllTent direction, Bur the three members of
the Friends Service Committee sentenced at the Cuildhall for
defying Covcrnme!lt censorship represented only one aspect of a
multi-faceted Quaker challenge to British society at war. In one
guise or another the war crisis caused some Friends to confront not
just militarism and conscription but underlying features of the
entire social order, including the status of women and the legit­
imacy of capitalism.
'THE CREAT WORK OF FRIENDS'
However much British Friends might deplore the traumatic impact
and tragic conseljucnces of the war, tor some of them, especially
I': Esther Pcct to Hubert Pcct. -l-Julle j()It-l. Peer Papl'Pi.
Ii For ,1CCOlllU'-' of the courtroom veeric. Sl'l' "["Ilc Slor)' (?(Illl l"/I(t'lLi(ll't'd Lt,<!tJcr (London
IlJ I X), and Tucker. 'Enghsh Fricnd) and Ccnsorvlnp. I Lt.-24. Acconhng to the cntrv f()r
Harrison li.uro,v in the DQn. LSF. during rhc time he' \YJ~ ill pri-ori. Barrow \\.~\'i .iw.irded
the Ordcr of till' British Empire t~lr his earlier «-rvirc 011 beh.rlf of 13c1!:-,11'11l rc-fllgl'l'" and
milirarv fl111ilin.
~ ..l,
JJ ",II" and tlu: Socia! Order 3W
.issoci.rtion with certain materials published in opposition to 'uni­
vcrsal national service'. The Friends' executive body denied direct
rcsponsibilitv Il)r the materials in question but also made clear its
unconditional opposition to any li"OI11 of ccnsorship . The battle was
not fullv joined until the promulgation of Regulation 27C in late
November 1')17 which occasioucd the Friends Service Commit­
tee's dccision to dctv the new Regulation" 'We fcc! that the
declaLltion of Peace .md gomhvill is the duty of all Christians and
ought not to be depcndent upon the permission of ;lllY (;OVCrIl­
mcut Ofhci.il. We therefore intend to continue the publication of
such kafkts ;IS vvc il-c! it our dutv to put torth , without submitting
them to the Censor, .. ' The rSC's action was swittlv endorsed by
Meeting tor Suttl:nngs which noted the Christi.m 's 'paramount
dutv to be free to obcv ... the law of (;od, a law higher than that
of any st~lte'.')
The (;O\TrIlIllent took the bait. In February I') I K two women
vvcrc charged with distributing copies of,'i Ch,li!mgc to ;\/ilif<lrlSII1, a
Lither inllL1CUOl!.S I(Hlr-pagc pamphlet cxpl.unini; the position of
absolutist C()s and quoting .iuti-w.ir tcstimonv from some of
them, II> I )uring ~l subsequent hearing, Harrison L3arrow testified
th.it the Friends Sn\"IL"C Couu nitrcc. prou rincntlv listed as 'Authors
and Publishers', W,IS prepared to take tull rcsponsihilitv tor the
ottl:ndillg tract. At this point. the three executive ottlL"erS of the
FSC \\"LTe arraigned .uid their trial fortuitouslv set to coincide with
Yearly Meeting in May.' I
When Yearly Meeting .isscmblcd. Esther Pcct recounted to her
husband how representatives of the Service Committee had conic
'nght ballg into the middle of Y,M, &: one could fl'c! how the
-, Sl'l' .\ 111111((" (1( ,\ 1('('!l1I1.! JIJI :<IIt/;TlII,I!,' , MS\ Vol. 1 \' 1 I (It) I (l -I ()). !creer of.2 i\1.m:h I () 17,
"lgllnl h~ h",l( (;0"", Itl'l"ordlllg (:ILTK, Aho "lTJ \\1. (;r.dl.l111 Wl'I(IJ,lrd (;r.t1l.1ll1, 22 h'h.
I I) j-,J\\:C\l \\ hl'rl'ill Cr.lh,llll prOlllhl'd thJt Ill' \\'(Hild 'try tIl gd tlll' Mectlllg ItH" ~lIjkrill~"
[U "ulld by thl' ~lT\'ln' (:OlllIlllttCl" Ull the lluttcr of n'(lhlll~ to "Uhllllt to Cl)\,l'rllllll'llt
l"l'lh(lr"hlp.
') I hc F\C\ kn'T \\",1" cIHior"l'd by rill' Pl',ll'l' (:OlllllllttCl' ,lllt! t()f\\ ,lrded to iVkcrlllg tur
"-lllttlTlllt-':-,. \l'C .\1111111,'." Pl"l(e COllllll1trl'l', ,M\S Vol. L\'I (1{)1(1-21). () I)l'( 1()lj, L~I' ,Illd
.\ 111111((," (If .\ li'('!lI/.\!. J T. Elliott, ,I" (:lnk. IbId.
1;11' ,""'I~O;'IIII.i(_'. 7 I h'c. I () I;, "1~ll"d by
I Al-l'ordlll[-': to rs(' rl'l'()Hk h~' Jllld-Apnl I()IS "'2,000 copic" of rill' p,ullphkr \\Tl"l'
plllltl'd ,1l1d 74,000 dl"rnburcd, 1:."(.' ,\llIllIfe\, II. 14 April Il)r~,..J-. LSF,.
It Ttllkl'L 'EngiJ-dl (,2LuKl'r" ,llld World \XlJr 1'.17.\-7, ,'\frcr thc illdicrlllCllt, Edith lIli~
\\ ,1\ yi<;ltl,d by 'dHCl' dl'rl'l'tl\'C<, ,I "Ollll'\\ lut l'xtLI\·J~.lJlt U;-,l' nt' \\'JrrilllC llUllPO\\ l'r, \\ ho
confj"l·,Hl'd llLHlTUh rcLltil1~ ro till' L,I"C. Sl'C' E. E. to FSC I\lL'Jllbl'r~, I M"y 14)1.'1, fS(:
Rl'COflh, II. LSF
.....L _
fl;1r and the Soria! Order ]61
for xvc n uc n , the conflict provided opportunities never previously
,l\'aibbk nor even imagined. Whatever form Quaker wartime
.lctivities took, aiding refugees, joining the FAU or Friends' War
Victims Rr-licf Conuu ittce in France, enlisting in the Fellowship of
RL'conciliation, serving as a 'Quaker Chaplain' to imprisoned COs
or becoming involved in some t~lcet of the anti-war movement,
the work was often as radicalizing as it was stimulating. For female
Friends, as for women in general. the Great War offered the
possibility of breaking free to become involved with ideas and
movements that, in tumultuous times. seemed capahk of ch;l1lging
the world.
When British Friends gathered at Ll.mduduo in late September
1<) I-J. to consider their SOCICtV's collective rL'spollSe to the war
crisis, L. Violet Hodgkin (I S()<)~I<))4) spoke of war's effect on
(~uahTism's relation to British society as a whole. Friends, she
s,lid, could never .Igain he 'merely the same looked-up to, respec­
ted ... easy-going ... Society ... Wc are going tLl count either lor
\'ery much more, or very much less, in the national life.' In
responding to this sort of challenge, a group of Quaker women
presentL'd their assessment of the situation to those who had
.1ssL'lnhled at Llaududno: 'We believe that to us, too, a call has
CLHl1e ... It is the time for women to join hands ~IS sisters. Do not
let us wait till the darkness is over. This is the creative time in
which \VL' must draw together and unite in a conscious effort all the
forces which have been entrusted to us ... "4
Some of these women were instrumental in m.ik ing the Llan­
dudno Conference a launching pad for the Fellowship of Recon­
ciliation's hattie to restore till' spirit of Christian harmony in
Europe and the world.'; But the longer the war lasted ancl the
more destructive of life and liberty it became, the stronger was the
tendency among Quaker pacifists to see the conflict as an embodi­
ment of all the dark forces their Society had pledged to overc-ome
in Its mission to establish Christ's Kingdom on earth. The Fellow­
ship of Reconciliation, with its emphasis on spiritual witness as the
means generating 'a grl'at wave of moral feeling as to the awtll!ness
of. .. [war] and the sin of having been led into it,' seemed to sornc
Lj. Fron: the published proceedings of the Llandudno (~ontl'fCIlCe, Frit'l1iL' .uu! the f1:11
(London 1<) [~). 77 & 13 [ .
I, Ceidcl. PiICi!i.';1I/ ill Biiuiin, J). Al"ll cc-e Herbert C;. Wood, Hellry T 1Io(~~kjll:."1 ,\klJloir
(London 10J7). J -l)-76 IhlS.,illl.
_
 362 British Q llakerism 18 6 0- 1 92 0
an in ad equat e o r at least inco m plete ins tru m ent for accom p lishing
thi s goal.:" As Ed ith J. W ilso n (r869- 1953), a m oth er o f fo ur
re ce n tly nam ed an Assistan t C lerk of Yearly Meeting, told FO R
founder H e nry H o dgkin early in 191 5: 'th ose of us wh o tak e th e
" unco mpromising" attitude abo ut wa r must think out a scheme
w he re by o ur p h ilosop hy may b e syste mati cally & rapidly sp read
thro ugh o u t E ur o pe . .. We wan t a rea dj ustm en t of p er so nal lives
th at w ill b ear w itne ss to an irresistible enth usiasm for rati onal
righteousn ess.' 17 To acco mplish such an exa lte d aim, m an y Q uaker
w o m en, including E d ith W ilso n , so ug ht to d evote th eir energies to
o ne o r another of th e m ore so cially and p olitically rad ical m o ve­
m ents as th ey confro nte d wh at th ey p er ceived as rampant forces o f
evil lo osed u p o n th e world .
Fig. 10 Edith JaJl L' W ilso n (l S(,9- 1953), (.19 00:
a leade r among Quaker absolute pa cifists
", Henry T. H od gkin (0). H o pe- Mo ulto n. D .0., 17 N ov, 19 1.1. Tem p l"l S ~ .1 5.\. V / -I4.
!·IM I·ll', LSI'. Also sec Wo od, H mry T H. ,(!~ I.:II1 . 157.
17 Ed ith ). W II,o n co H en ry Ho dg ki n, z j an . t9 15. FO R File, HM H !'. LSF.
..........
h;, 1' and the Social O rder 363
Militarism w as, o f co urse, th e m ost fami liar an d consisten t of th e
evils agai ns t which pa cifi st Fri ends felt co m pelled to struggle . Sin ce
th e R evol uti onary and Nap ol eoni c W ars, Q uakers and thei r liber al
intern at ionalist allies had warned th e n ation of the da ngers of a
growing acc ep tan ce of violence as th e most efficacio us m eans of
resolv ing pe rso n al or national diffi culti es. As the battl e aga inst th e
wa r an d its att endan t horrors len gth en ed and escalated , ne w,
h ith erto less obv io us, antagonists emerge d . A n umber of Friends,
including wo m en , b egan, for th e first tim e , to d iscover an inexo r­
able co n n ectio n between th e w ar and the so cial and eco no m ic
order th at had spa w ned it ; o the rs, esp ec ially women, ca me to
asso cia te th e o rigins and prol ongati on of th e w ar wit h th e same
prin cipl es of force and do m in ati on w h ich had kept fema les in a
state o f p erp etual su bj ectio n . For th em , fem inism and pacifism
became in sepa rable w eap o ns in th e struggle for hu m an emanc ipa ­
tio n. As H ele n a M. Swanwick of the W omen's Internation al
League no te d in The Ploughshare: 'the w ar h as re veale d to m an y
anti-s u ffragis ts th at their p olitical phil oso ph y wa s precisely th e
d o ctrine \V hi ch . .. all . . . execrate as P russianisrri' . I S
During the co urse o f the G rea t Wa r, a num ber of Frie nds added
cap italism an d the suppressio n of w o m e n to th e list of m oral, an d
m o rtal , ene m ies to both human progress an d th e establishm ent of
God's kingdom o n earth . Aft er 1916, the thrust of Q uaker p acifist,
soc ialist, and femini st acti vity w as to a cons id erable ex te n t d irec te d
by radi calized female Friends. T he fo cu s of m uc h of thi s ac tiv ity
w as the B riti sh State's ill egitimat e usc of p ow er to suppn.:ss o ppos­
iti on to its reacti onary poli cies. As on e A ngli can o bserver at the
Adj ourned Yearly M ee ting in Fe bru ary 19 10 n oted : 'the re were
...lth ose] who lo oked upon th e State as an alien, anti-social, an d
ce rt ainly anti- re lig io us o rga niza tio n , leagu ed w ith all the power s of
ev il . .. rand] antagonisti c to th e effo rt s of th ose seeking to establish
th e Kingdom of God .' !"
, < H . M Sw.mw ick. 'Th e \Vorld After th e \V.II'. . . Franc hise R efo rm ', i'S. I/') n .s.. Oc t.
I I) 16, 27.'1 . Also S C l~ .10 Velhc ou ', 'Inrroducn on' to :\ lilir.1rism IWrsU $ Frmil/i.lim : 1f.', i t ill.~s ()II
"'<""t'1l mId IV" r, ed ited by Vellaco rt an d M argaret Kamcstcr (Lo ndo n l yS7), j - 34 1,)1' a
d isc ussio n o f the vie w that th« h isto rical relations hip betw ee n militarism an d misogyni sm
ma de pacifism .1 ncc cssarv :t . ; pecr o f [he tl'I11inist strugg le.
" 1 'T he Adjo u rned Yearly M ee ting: A C hurc hm an's lmp rcssio ns", 1'.'>. Il. S. I I I (Feb.
19 l1i). 4 1.

."""

3()4 British QlIakcrislll 1860-1920 I t~Jr and the Socia! Order 3())

The association of female emancipation with the triumph of In june of I<jI() Clothier wrote to Robert Mennoll, Chairman of
absolute pacifism over the militarist State as well as the victory of rhr Men's Service Committee. expressing extreme displeasure at
democratic socialism over capitalist materialism is reflected in one the E1Ct that, despite the impending crisis, the chief recent activity
women's expectations after attending London Yearly Meeting in of the Women's Committee had been to 'sit in Lucy Gardner's
I<j I (): 'the Society ... is about to be called again to renew and house praying to God for concerns'.
widen its peace testimony, its Social message, its attitude to (and
of) womanhoo.l ... After this war the triple Labour, Peace and
Women's movement ... will surely fInd Friends concentrating I don't think it quite sound rh.ir It Ithe FSCI should bC;J COlllllllitt!l'L' of
men onlv: I think in Pricnd-.' things \\'l' ought not to exclude cirhcr
their all to the task of human emancipation, '2U This exalted vision
«-x . .rho I .un quire willing to admit WOIllL'n Friends at present arc in :1
was about to be put to the test.
poor .md backw,lni W:1\', Still. it is just this kind of rrc.rtnu-nt that keeps
Shortly .ittcr the appoinn ncnr of the Young Men's Service rhein so .. , AftLT ~III. the work thr Friends Servlcc C(llllllllitt!ec is doing
Committee a separate Women's Service Committee was also LTe­ h the grl\lt work of friends at prcscnt and womcu have to share in the
atcd, although, at the time, It seemed merely the traditional after­ hkssing rhut CO!l1CS 111 such work-l ~1111 sick ofbci11g told Conscription is
thought to maintain the appearance of fl.'male inclusion in what ,Im.in. qucstion-e--it isn't-and I know you and prob~lbly all the Service
many assumed to be primarily a male activirv. In the first year of ItS .omjrnitt lcc \\'(HI1d agrcc."'
existence, the Women's Conuuittcc, however strong its resolution
to support the men in rcsisting conscriptiou. WJS given little to
Withill a mouth of this c1ullcngc, despite some lingerillg hcsit.i­
dO,21 After the passage of the Military Service Acts, the Womcn's
tiou alllOng the n ir n , Robert Mcnncll told Clothier: 'You will be
Service Corumittcc, seeking to expand its role, prepared a Minute
happy to know that wr .irc inviting the Mens and WOlllens Service
outlining some 'practical points in which we kIt we might be of
Committees in tuturc to meet as one Committcc-e-an entirely
usc to the Men's Service Con nuitrcc'. Several women who were
original suggestion of mincl:"' The Frie-nds Service Coinmirtcc
already working fl)r the Men's Couunittcc , induding Henrietta
ceased to be gCllder exclusive just in time. As more and 1I10re
Thomas and Edith Ellis, offered to take on 'more rcspousibilitv' fl)r
male Friends were consigned to prison or dcrcntion camps, QU:1kcr
the FSC's operations.":' When the actual imposition ot conscrip­
women took an increasingly large and ultimately indispensable role
tion in the Spring of I<j I () brought the inevitable thinning of the
in keeping their Society in the torctront of the struggle against
ranks of FSC men, tl'nLl!e volunteers bcgan to play a more central
conscription and the war. 25
role in maintaining the Scrvice Conunitrcc's afElirs. Still, the status
The presence of women on the Service Committee did not alter
of these women remained that of auxiliary 'helpers' rather than co­
thr policy of non-ro-opcr.ition to which the FSC had determined
equal partners in the strugglc {l)r peace. This situation became a
to adhere, On the contrary, till' WOIllCII sL'l'mecl to sharpen and
source of cousidcrahlr- irritation and resentment among fl'male
harden the Committee's resolve to maintain a hard line agaillSt the
Friends. One outspoken critic of continuing male douiinuncc
was Esther 13right Clothier (I Xn-I<j3)), suffragist, educator, and
a grandlbughter ofJohn Bright. -,; :t"thlT BnglH (:]~)rhier to Robert O. Mcuncl]. [I .md 20 JUlIe I()I(), FSC: File", LSF.
A1"o <vv Kl'lllwdy. '(21Llkl'r Rl'ILli"".lnce', ,2,{1[-2
c, ,~klllldl to Clothier. IlJu]\, t'Jt("I'S(: Iil.« .llld FS(: Aftllll!"S, I, Xs Abo scc Clothier
to Mcnncll. It, &: 20 JUllC Iyl!' .ind Mcuncl] to Clotln.r. I'J JUllC Iylt,. Ibid .. I.SF. U',\1,
.~l) L!lll')') F. M)orl.lIldl, '1IIlprl'..,..,inll~ of Yr.u-iv Ml'l'tiJ)~: The Slll-Icty 111 Unity .uu!
191 ;:-, 170 11"t.. ()J)]Y rlnrrccr: felllale 111Clllbcr'i. lllcluding E"ther Bnght Clothier, .uuoug the
"Under (~(JIl\'(Ltl01l"', 1>.\., 11.";. lI(l (July ll)ltl). J()fj-7 0 ,
thirtv-six mcmb.-r« ofthr SlTYICL' Comnnucc. but by' l',uly" It)l7 lllO"t of the COllllllittee\
-21 L)'J/, 1'1/6, 3() ,1IldJohll W. (;r.dUlll, COII.laiJ1ri'l/J ,lIId CtJJL\cin/ct' (Londoll 11).22). \(1111.
lluk lllcmhl'r..; were in pri"nll or "OTllL" other typc of detelltion.
Al...,o "llT Fl·: 2,s May 1<) 15, 4- I 7 for J sUtCllll"ll( of \Olil1Jnry [rOm ynung \\'Ullll'll rriclld~ to
2~ For l"lm"ideratioll o( the \\'Jnillle .lctlvitie.., ()f fellule Friend" Sl'e TholllJS C. Kelllledy,
YOllll~ !lICIL
·(~l1.lkl'r Women ,1I1d thl' PJcitl'it lmpul"e 1ll Hrit;llll, Il)OO-[()20', 111 TIll' p(/c{tlst IlI/plIlse ill
-'-' 'J\linllte to thl' fv1l'n\ Scrvill' COllll1litrl'l'·. undatcd jSpnng j()I(lj. ,ignc'd by Edl'L'J)
Ih'lNit",l! fJtT\pc(fir't' . .1 Fcstsc!lr[fr for Prott'~~ur Peter B. Brock, edited by Harvey Dyd,.
B,lrLltt Brown ,lnd SylviJ M. Agg'. f·SC. ,\/ill/lrc.\. 1. ""5"
(Toronto I S)t)(l). I,'U-20().

I
~ +
~
3M Britisi, QI/akerislll 1860-1920
(;overnmCllt and agaillSt the pli.uicv of Friends who seemed will­
ing to compromise. Late in I l) I (J. for example, as older and
influential Friends were attempting to strike some bargain with
the authorities fClr a torm of alternative <crvic« that would bring
about the release of- imprisoned Quakers ,1I1d prevent turthcr
detention of others." Edith J. Wtlson, who h.id become one of
rSC's most active volunteers. .iddrc-scd the question ot- Quakers
.ind alternative service in an .irticlc tClr 'll« J>1"1/,~hshi1n"c- Although
it was, Wilson said, quite n.itur.il tl)r older m.ilc Friends to trv to
work out sOlne means hy which younger members could avoid
both the spiritual inconsistCllcy of milirarv service and the phvslcal
unpleasantness of pnson, such arti vitics WL'H' unncccptabk-. Onrc
individuals determined to place their religious convictions before
the cOlnlllands of ,I SLlte ellgaged, ;IS they brlicvcd , ill .i n evil
cnnrpris«, such individuals, Wilson s;lid, were no longLT at librrtv
to compronnsc with th.it State .md thcrchv. .it least implicirlv, to
condone its evil .unous. lh arr.lIlging schenles tor spcci.il treat­
mcnt, older Fricnd-, were, Wilson behl'\Td, tempting the (~u,lker
couscicntiot», objector to strike a 'harg,lin with ;1 thlllg he reg,lrds ,IS
csscnti.illv cvi l. and, in dkct, to become a ddl'ctor tiom the battle
ag;lillSt milit.irism. 'It is ;1 tragedy of .idvanr ing \'(',Irs th.it wc.ilth ,
and honours. and position, and comfort. gain such a hold upon lIS
that it bccouu-s well-neigh imp osvihlc to believe that young men
arc willing to s;lcriflce all these things, and Iifl' itself in the' pure JOy
of- ,I quest tor truth,'c,'
III concert with the absolutist fIction of the FSC, Edith Wtlson
consistcntly maintained th.rt ,lilY attempt by Qu.ikcr-, to gaill
exemption or concessions Iroiu the (;overnl11ent \\';IS 'un ack now­
ledgillent that thc laws of (;od .1re not really applicabk in thc
KingdOlns of this world, ;lIld therl'tc)]'e it is 110 lISe tr\'lllg to Illake
thelll universal" ,it lisl. , ,an unCOIlSCIOUS vielding to the telllpLl­
tion to lISe a religious conviction as a plcl fllr;1 political concession
rather th.1n ;lS an illSpiration to sLTvice ;llId to sacriflcc, 'c')
Jo Vellacott has lloted that tL-IllJIe mcmbers of the Friends'
Service COlllmittee, including Edith Wilsoll and the FSC's ,Icting
-'.(, Sec Ch,lptl'f () ,lbO\'l'
. "Altcrn,lti,'c SL'[\'H'l''': Fnl'lld ... Jild ,I Pcrplc.'\ll1g ProhlcllI' [\0..;. 1/7 Il.~.
20 3- 4 SCl" Elh" to Ru..,..,dL 22 Sept It) I 7. quotiJlg BJrry Un..) Wll \. JS~lTtiOI1 that till' rsc
-':-' Wil"OIl, • "AltcrllJtl\T SlT\·llt'''·, 204-,~.
~') EcbthJ. Wil . . oll, ·Ll\\-,A.bldlll~ ('J[]i'l'I1\', [l,";, [1/2 n,\ d\;1.lrl'h 1<j17J. ()2-J
II ;11' and tlic Social Order 3°7
.h.ur Edith Ellis, genl'r~dl\' tended to take a hard and even intolcr­
.mt position with respect to what constituted legitimate or faithful
,Ollsl'lentiol!S objection, Wilson, Ellis, and other fl'll1ale hardliners
not only insisted that 'true' COs should refuse any tl)[ll1 of alter­
n.invc to milirary service and ;In'ept imprisonment as the logical
rL'sult of their stand but also rljected ~1I1Y attempts to mitigate the
,utilTings of those, non-quaker ,IS well as Quaker. who had been
imprisoncd.!" This stand brought flow new recruits into the radical
«.unp: indeed, the FSC's apparent inflcxihilirv \\';IS severely criti­
clZL'd even by those who h.u! heretofore been its closest allies.
lkrtLlnd Russell, ,IS Acting Ch.urm.m of the No-Conscription
Fellowship, admonixhcd Ellis and the Service Committee tor
m.uut.uniug ;1 <t.nrd whi.h seemed to ignore the 'duty to human
kindness' and to sm.ick of 'the cruelty of t:Jnaticisln which is the
1
vcrv spirit th.it supports the \\'ar'.3
Edith Ellis remained 1111l110\'ed even in the f:lce ofsuch blunt
critil'ISlll from ,I formidahk- ,dly." Many, including fl'1l0W Quakers.
thought the FSC's refusal to work on behalf of imprisoned C( h
<m.uk cd of obdurate sclf-rightcousuc«. Still, if theirs was not ,111
.irtr.ictivc st.mcc, it accurately reAectL'd their radical vision of the
struggle ag,lil1St the (;oVerI1I1lent and the \\';\r as a controurarion
between the fC)rl'L's of good and evil; certainly, it made Quaker
milit.mts t.u more troublesome to the pOWLTS that he than their
minuscule muubcr-, would seem to have warranted. Tlu-ir flith in
the righteousllcss of the struggle most assuredly g,lve Quaker
.ihsolutisr-, the resolve to carry 011, but so too did what thcv S;\W
.1S the impeccable logic of their decision not to compromise.
Another aspect of the coutribution of (~lLlker women to the
,lllti-\\'ar struggle \\,IS outlined by Dorothy Riclurdsoll, The war.
Rlclurdson concluded, had played into the hands of radicd fl'lll­
inists 'by delllol1Strating the social ettlciency of WOll1L'n .md by
gi\'ing unprecedentcd urgcncy to the probkms of WOIllCll in
~')lT VdLIlPtt.
/(1I."dl dlld rht' g'iltl_ih. [()(1-7 .llld PrJ\".I(<.' llltlJrJll.ltlOll. Al"o . . cc KCJl­
lll'lk. "Flghting Abollt Pl'.Il'C·. I (j-l S.
" 13ntr,llld P,lh,cll to Edith [IiI" II Sept, 1i)17 ,\Ild Flli, ttl Rm'C'11. 22 Sq,t, 1i)17. FSt:
Flk.... L~X For the \.1 111l' .lrgLJJlll'J1( c.lrlie!" J(h',lI1lTd by .1 (l'J)Ldc <')u;lkcr, ,Cl' E[dithl
J, 1311~l.llldl, 't)ur 0\\'11 Ruth],',,","" .A. W:1rllill~ Th,ll W,' Need'. !'S, [IS IU, (Sept,
(Aug, II)j(lj. r <j I (>). 232
Iud
,1]\\'.1';-'''' 1'IlcourJgl'd 'the hUIlUI1 touch' ,lllei 'pcrvl(u! ";),'l11p<lthy' ill its Jppro:lch, FSC
hie,. LSF.
I
. .T
T

3(j~ British QU{lker!sl1I 1860-1920 11;11' ,HId the SoriaI Order 369
industry'.33 In the immediate future. she said, women needed to have felt that the practical results of such pious phases were less
exploit this situation by building than tlI1ly realized."?

their POWcf upon th« basis of industrial organisation ... [aeh"ll1,ingj in ,1

THE WHITE-HOT WAR
body, boldly and consciously, taking their old rank as produccr-, ... [and]
dOIng the world's housckccpim; in the world ... The world must bccom«
a home. lu it W0111en will pursue sorinllv vnluablc careers. responsible to Yc,i, tln: IS the wlutc--hor w.rr". Who is Oil the Lmd's side' ... III II
the c0111111unltv fi.lf an crononiic statu« .lc.ir of sex .md ... set tree trom the ~re,ltest, the nohle-st, the goellJest light man has ever yet put
up ... The SOl'ialJst Movcmcut ,li111S 'It sweepJl)g ,Iway the competition
their dependcnce' upon a singk masculine pocket tor e'\Trvthlllg they
desire .. ti)! e"istl'llce ,1I1el replacing it by the Chrisri.m J1)c"tlwd of organised l"l)­

opcr.inon ... To this holy vv.tr IS the Church called. f I.rvc you
cnli"tcd in the Nl'\\' Armv? Arc you dpillg your bit?
Only by doing away with 'THE (;REAT DOMESTIC CANT, Dr Altlni S,dtLT '111" !J/OlIg!lS!l'lfC. Feb. I 'J I (I.

Richardson concluded, would women 'find it possible to live ,1 full

Ii tL' .. .' H In June 1<)21 Tlu: Constructive Quarterly, an Oxt"lHd-based 'jour­
So, the urgency of the wartime criSIS opened the way for some nal of the Faith, Work and Thought of Christendom', reported
Quaker women to do things they might not otherwise have done that l3ritish Quakrrism, long thought of as 'an embodiment of
and think thoughts that might not have otherwise occurred to middle class virtues', had, as a result of the Great W;lr, awakened
them. In the longer range, however. attcr the crisis of the war 'trom its "dogmatic slumbers" in the matter of the industrial
.ih.rtcd and tl'll1ale citizens voted in national elections tl)]' the first system' and undergone a 'silent revolution' which reflected 'not
time, the Society of Friends, if it did not revert to pre-war form. only a widespread discontent with the old social order but an
certainly adopted a less dun revolutionary appro.i.h to the pro­ intense mental (and spiritual) activity in planning for a new one'.
blcms of the social order, including the question of tcmalc cqualitv. The chief catalyst tor this dramatic metamorphosis, the article said,
To be sure, during the tirst world-wide Conference of All-Friends, was ;1 special Quaker Counnirtcc on W;1r and the Social Order.
which met in London in I <)20,1' the point was made th.it the 'low Created in ,1 super-heated wartime atmosplu-rc ;111d heavily laced
estate of women h;lS been shown to be .ilwavs the direct fruit of with members of the Socialist Quaker Society, this Committee,
w.irtar« and a militant society' and that, hy way of contrast. .ncording to the Constructive Quarterly, had proposed that London
Quakers had trom the heginning 'taken scriouslv the view that in Yearly Meeting endorse a radical social and political critique which
Christ Jesus there is neither male or t"l'lllale' and, rhus, they had a portrayed ;111 intimate relationship between the capiralist economic
'message and approach to the world that is peculiarly modern and svsrcm and till' modern warrior State and called tor drastic material
timely 3(' Hut. in the intervening decades, soruc female Friends a;ld spiritual modifications of that system and that State. 1 S
Christopher Hill has made the point that 'a Quaker of the early
[()50S had far more in common with a Leveller, a Diggn or a
Dorothv M JI..I,lunholl. 'The 1l.,·Jht\ "fh!l{IIII'Il\·. !'-\ III,s (s,·pt. "J'7), 241-(,.
q Ibid.
i - Whc» Yc.irlv Ml't'tJllg met at Exeter 1Il 10S(I, tlll~ topic Ior till' annu.il S\varthillore
" Sce .4/1 l-ncnd, Coutcrcn«: (Wi",,/ 1<<'1'0'1 (I Int",lftn .4I-"C". Ollin,1! R"I',"I) (London
l.crrurc WJ~ the hi.. . tory .ind role of Quaker women. This 'Iccrurc' took the torrn of a
[1\l201! .uid Thu111J' C KCllllnly, 'Whv Did Fricnd-, Rl'\I,t' The W.lr. the l'eJee Trvtunouv
cl)lh:nlvL' and radical tcminist critique ofrhc Society'« t;lilurc to mc.isurc lip, ill either rhe
and the All Frh..- nds Confcrl'J1L"L' o( 11)20', Peac(' dud Ch'lII.l!£', 1..l./-t (()L,tohcr I ().'i()), 3S5-7I.
pn'\cllt or 111 past gl'I1erJtioIls, to Georgc fox's admonition: "The Lamb of God . . is but OIlC
j(, Quote- rrom Report of COl1l1ni"SIUIl VII ('Thc l utc rnat i on.il Service of Pricuds"},
ill all His males .uid rcm.iles, sons and daughters. .ind they all arc one in Christ, and Christ
Hcnrv T. Hodgkin, "The (~lI.lker Movement ,1I1d rhc Modern World', 7 and Report of
one ill them all.'
Commisxion III (Personal Life and Society). "Introduction', ), in Th» PC(j((' 1'I'.i(llllOll)l (!t" tuc
S[l(icry l~r Fricnds: R(Tl)rLi (!f COIJlmisSIOIiS i5.~-II('d /ly /I/c Ct1 /111ll i r rc c l!( rl/c /)('(1(( C.'t)/!I£'Y('II((' (?( All l' Herbert H. HOl\vI1L 'A Quaker Socialist Movement'. 77", COllslrlloiv" Q"artcrly, Ixl2
l'ri<'lld, (London [J \l20J) Unt1c 1\l2I), 318-31, p,W"'I.
II""'"
37° British Qllc1klTisl/l 1860-1920
Ranter than ~1 niodcru member of the Society of Friends ,1') This is
undoubtedly true. Gut in response to the c.iraclysmic events of the
Great War, a small body of early twentieth-century Friends COI1­
corted. hkc their spiritual .inccsrors. ,1 schel11c of uon-violcut
insurucncy for transforming both human society and the hUI11:1l1
spirit. With ,1 view to :lChieving victorv tor the new Children of
Light over till' dark forces of n nlit.ui-m .md grel'lJ, iuilit.mrlv
pacifist Friends, c1nsely councrtcd to absolutist conscientious
objector» in both the Friends Service Couunitrcc and the No­
Conscription Fellllwship, \\l're able, ttlr ~1 time. to c~jok, push.
tl"ightell, or shame the le.llkrs of their crniucntlv middlc-cl.i«
Society toward ,1 political and <oci.il agclllb rcruinisccnt of the
millcn.ui.ut vision of George fox .ind his compatriots durillg the
I () )os,
Whl'll the war lwg~lll, Tlu: Jllol(~/I.\hdrC, organ of the Soci.llist
Quaker Society, took a position th.it seemed .11111ost sl11ug not onlv
in its 'wc told YllU so' dcmcauour (the journal h.ul w.irucd from its
first issu« in 1<)12 that the prolongation of the L.lpit,llist system
would "incvit.ihlv' bring w.n) but also with the flCt th.it the war
crisis would torcc c.lf1Italist/il11peri.llist Governl11ents to cu.ict
numcrous collectivist InL';lsures tor 1110rL' dficient prosecution of
the w.ir.'!" Thc war, .1S seen by the SQS, \V;lS being fought .1S 'p.irt
llf.l ~elleral struggle to Illdkc profit out llf the industrv ucccssary to
m.uut.uu lifc ' und could oilly bc ended by tliovc vvho like the first
Friends, were not averse to turnint; the world upside dO\\"l1.~'
While the Socialist Qu,lkLT Societv W;lS primed for .utiou in
what ouc member cllled 'the White-hot War' of Haves ,lgail1St
Havc-uots, the wartime t(Jeus nf its n101T moderate counterpart the
hil'llds Sncial Union \\',lS the 'wick-spread dcsirc to grapple with
soci~ll cOilditinl1S , , , espccially , , , thc rcLltlOl1Ship bct\\'L'cn the War
&: the Soci~ll Order',~2 By Fcbru~lI)' 1<)1), the Exeonivc Council nf
the FSU had ~lppointcd ~1 spcci~11 cOlllmittce charged with introdu­
;'1 IfIll, 'f~)rld 'J'IIr1/cd l 'j!-'1l/c !)(11l'1I, 14­
." Fr, 7 Augu..,t ](j14, 575-() ,\lH1 /):...... S (Augu"t !(jI4). S;-tj(1/1 7.\ si llJ cllHJ '\X,.lclr'" ALllll)',
(Np\'. j()12J, J 1-12. AI"o '>Cl' 'FIll' J«l(ltS (:F ~f~7r', ibHl. -l (Augu"r !<jI3), .+'7-)0.
1
-1- 'TIll' \'(,/Jr, the Undcr-\\/;u ,111d [he CL1..,';; \X/Jr', PS, 10
ScttlCllll'llt ,H Rcig.ltc', ibId" 7 (M.l)" IljI4), S4 Elllph.l..,i" 111 origllul
2
-1 Tht' rclariomhip bl,.'(\\·CCll the \\'ar and tl1l' vh-Lll ordcr W.l.., flf.;;t ,lddrc\\L'd by llll'lnbL'f\
L)( thc S(~S at thl' LLllldudllO COIl(L'rellcc ill Sq)tL'lllhCf r <) 14: <;Cl' .\ /nlllll"lll/(/IIIII JlI'
HIIII/lldllo COII/,'rm«', 21-30 Septelllber Iyq, Temp MSS 355, Box VIII/S~, LSf ,lIlU th,'
(;roup Rcport, '\X/;lr ,lnd tilL' Social C)rder', in Friellds ,md ,llc l[~n, 12()-2,s.
rj ',11' and the Social Order 37'
clllg to 'respective Qjuarterlv] M[eL,tingJs a minute urging Friends
ro consider the relations between the War and the prcvailiru; Social
Condition',~.1 Believing that Quakerism might 'be called to a gre~lt
experilllent III social rcconsnuction" which would provide 'the
opportumtv of making a gre:1t step forward towards the realisation
of the Kingdom of Cod on Earth'. the FSU's Council abo moved
to bring the question of building this new social order to the
.utcuuou of Ycarlv ML,l'ting,~~
When the FSU presented its report to the Yearly Meeting in
May 1<)1), th.it body was sutTlciently impressed to call tor the
appointment ot a committee 'to investigate what connection
there is between war and the sorial order. , . and to consult with
those Friends who have been led. owing to the war. tn.,. a
pcrso n»] rc.idjusnucut of their way ot Iitl,·.~i The resulting War
.uid the Social Order Committee (WS()(:) had thirty-six members
(twcurv-fivc men, eleven women). h.ilf otwlioiu were drawn lrou:
the Councils of either the FSU (seven members) or the SQS
(eleven I11L'mbLTs, including the co-editors llf Tlu' Ploughshare,
Wdliam Loftus Hare and Hubert Peer). The Con mutrccs l l l CLl l-r­
bcrship would change and ~row during the course of the w.rr, but,
in whatever guise, thl' WSOC proved to be 'the most lively
Llllldnll Committee .md, in most ways, the 11l0St rndic.rl as well, I"
I )urillg the first tcvv months of it, existence, the activities of the
War and Sllcial Order Committee seemed to rcflcct the moderate
influence of the Friends Social Union. Pamphlets 011 sorial ques­
tions were published and Study Circles were pl.mncrl to encourage
Friends 'to dedicate ourselves to a better way of Iitl', and to a
Christ-like e-ndeavour. no matter at what S'lcritlce, .. '.17 Of course,
during the earlv stagcs of thl' war the nuttLT of sacritlce by British
Qu,lkns was really a 1ll00t ljm'stinn, Unks,s nlale Fricnds of lllili­
tary age abandoned the peacc testimony and enlisted in the ttlrlTS
or joincd thl' Friends' AmbuLlIlcl' Unit or War Victillls' Relief
COlllmittce, QU~lkcrs, howevLT much thcy deplored the W~lr,
1
" I'SU. \11111111'.", " fdl. I')'i, FSU/:. LSF
1()1 )), !.~,r) ,llld
(Feb. 'Friend..,
H FSU, .1.11)/11.1/ RC]J(lU, [()Lt--I:,- 4, ~-s
FSU, \lillll[t'~', () JUIlC !()J), quoting tl-olll rv11l111tL' ()) ofLY,~1. I'SU/~, L"I
..(( LL\/, lQ15, 27-l-~7). Tht' W'Jr ,llld tllL' SpcJ.lll )rdLT COlll1111ttL'C \\-,1\ rl',lppnllltl'd l'.lch
en,c \T.lr by Ye,trly Mccting. The qUOLltiolll\ tl'OI1l ~l krrl'f LlfRog<.'r (~. W'il~oll (I (){J()-l)2)_ (~krk
( ) f LOlldoll Yl"lrly J'vkdillg 1\1 tl1l' ll11d-[<J/o<;, [0 thL' ,!lHhor. () Augu,t llj,sS·
,- FSU ,\lillllrc.', ~JLlIll', 7 Juh- md 30 No". IYIi, FSU/1. LSI.
"....­
37 2 British QlIakerislll 186o-192()
could continue to live much as they had bdl)re it began. They
were loyal, hard-working, law-abiding citizens; few of them had
the sort of German names that might elicit attacks by their neigh­
bours and while they could, as some did, give public speeches or
write letters to the press condemning the conflict as a monstrous
denial of Christian principles, even then they were not likely to be
visited by the police enforcing the more odious provisions of the
I )dence of the Realm Acts.
However, as illustrated above, with the pJssage of the Milir.irv
Services Acts, Friends had to choose whether to make some
accommodation with the State or to continue unsullied adherence
to their traditional peace testimony regardless of what the author­
ities might do to them. The extraordinary Adjourned Yearly Meet­
ing of late january Il) I 0 decided upon an official policy of
resistance to conscription and non-co-operation with the war
et1()rt. Thus, pacifist Friends were placed into a position l'is-'1-l'is
the Govcrnuu-nt not unlike that of their ancestors during the
RestoLltiun whcu the imposition of the (~uaker and Conventicle
Acts thrc.itcncd the free exercise of their [lith.
While some friends were uneasy about this advcrsarial relation­
ship, the radical socialists of the SQS celebrated the opportunity to
expose the war .IS .I conspiracy to preserve capitalism by sacrificing
the lives and tortunc« of the working classes. From February Ilj I ()
the Socialist Quaker Society trumpeted its struggle against the
capitalist war machine ill an enlarged and expanded version of
'l lu: Ploughshare, which the editor of one radical American journal
called 'a beautifully printed, adrni r.rblv written, landj very impres­
sive paper' 4 H
The first issue of the new series of 'llt« fJlo1(!?hsharc depicted anti­
war socialists, representing the interests of all hum.uuty. as con­
fronting 'the Real Armageddon ... not a war j,ctl/'CCII the Kingdoms
of the earth but aoainst them all: We believe that the greatest of all
issues-the Armageddon issues-r-are becoming clearer than they
have been for many a long day, and they who perceive them will
infallibly fIght on the right side in all the lesser wars here below. LI')
4" Floyd Dell, editor of the Marxist paper, .\Ia ...,<'.< (Ne« York), 'ill'Hcd ill 1'\. lI(,. Jllh
U) J (I, 1<.>(1. Monct.irv support for (he l'nbrgl'd \'L'r"ioll of rh« S(JS p,lpL'r \\',1-- pronded by
alloIlYlllOll'i .mti-war Friends.
.\') 'Couuncntarv: The- Seven Wars'. P,.. '. , 1/ I, Feb. 1<')1 (), J.
h •
!Val' and the Social Order 373
Who were these Friends pronouncing an apocalyptic vision In
hopes of moving their Society to reaffirm its radical roots am! once
,lg,lin to become Children of the Light righteously struggling
,lg~linst the dark forces that blocked the way to the realization of
the Kingdom of God on earth? In the main they were members of
the Socialist Quaker Society, which in September lljlO could claim
.ill of seventy-five male and fifty-two fl'male utcmbcrs. The males
wcrc usually under 40 and middle class, with rather better educa­
tions than most Quakers. Nearly all were of military age but most
would have eschewed any relationship between their vulnerability
to military service and their militant social and political opinions.
SQS women tended to be slightly older than their male counter­
parts, although just ~lS solidly middle class; many were veterans of
the pre-war suflr.igist movement. As was the case with the Friends
Servil'l' Committee, female members of the SQS came increasingly
ro the fore after a considerable number of their male counterparts
wert: arrested and detained as conscientious objectors.
How, then, might the radical vision of this tiny Socialist Quaker
SOCIety be ctfccti vcly transmitted to London Yearly Meeting and
through Yearly Meeting to the inarticulate masses seeking spiritual
.ind material relief from capitalist-induced poverty and war? The
most obvious agency lor spreading their message to the Society was
the War am! Social Order Committee. After the imposition of
comcription, socialist members of the WSOC insisted that any
(~uaker scheme for transforming the moral and social order of
British society must include the dissolution of the competitive
capitalist system which was, in their view, the handmaiden of all
wars and strife. The effect of this tiny but doggedly insistent
minority on wartime developments within London Yearly Meet­
ing was not insignificant. Jonathan Edward Hodgkin (11I75-llj53)
may serve as a case in point. Scion of an old and weighty
Quaker family, a consulting engineer and successful businessman,
J. E. Hodgkin, who would eventually serve as chairman of sixteen
companies and as a director of four others, seen led an unlikely
social revolutionary. Yet during his tenure as Chairman of the War
and the Social Order Committee, Hodgkin became the chief
advocate for many of the radical proposals advanced by socialist
members of the WSOC. so
,c. J. E. Hodgkin (IS7\-IYS3). <I brorhcr off lcnrv 1. Hodgkin, \\'<lS one orrhc LISt English
Friends rccordcd .1:-. ,1 nunisrcr (J()07) .1<; well a~ .1 tOWIl councillor ill l)arlingtl)J} .uid .1

v:

37+ Rritdl Q/lakerislIi 1860-1920 [LlI' alld tuc Social Ordcr 375
Early in I () I (l, J. E. Hodgkin set out his vision of the Commit­ fulfilling this SQS objective, although not all WSOC
tee's objectives for readers of' 111c el,J/I,i;/lsllclrc: members accepted 'the root thesis that competition is itself an
evil thing ... ' StJlL in addressing what many believed to be the
Wl' IlT] that the !Hl"l'nt <ori.rl svvtcm ]Ll' ,1' its outcome .1 <r.ir.. of most important Yearly Meeting in the history ot' Quakerism,
inrcrn.mo nal W.lrt:llT. It I, to a new W~IV otl ifc th.ir men .irc lo,)kin~. if Hodgkin, as Committee spokesman. pused the question: 'Is the
\\'l' em l'mbody III prartic.rl lill' all cx.nuplc oftln- tc.. tuuonv \'l' hold. nor Society ... content to remain ~l highlv respected body ot'spiritual
only tl'!.tlillst .1]] W.H, but tora new World l )rdn. \\l' <hall . . nr.-lv h.ivc m.id« epicures, or i.. it realising, as in the -; tirring davs or its c.rrlv history,
.ui l'tflTtivl' contrihntion (0 our (by .ind f':l'l1n.ltilll1.' I that it ha . . a message tor the world which must be gin'n, cost what
It nuv?"3
Yearly Meeting provided no definitive answers to J. E.
'l l« nOI(i;lislldrc maintained that beclllsc the c.ipir.ilivt \\.lITIOr
l Iodukins searching inquirv. 11'//clI({' COllie [l;lI's) was received
State "vas, by it'> very nature, '.lllt~lgonistiL· to the etft)]·ts of those
with thanks and discussL'd at length but finally acknowledged
seeking to establish the Kingd.n n of Cnd', winning the son of
onlv ,IS 'the first suge' of the Cou unittccs work. SOl11e Friends
legacy Hodgkin envisioned would require direct confrontation.
\\Tn' disappOinted at the indeterminate nature of Y carlv Meeting's
The fi'ont-line fighters corniug to 'grips with prcscnt-d.r, evils'
dchbcratious on the rclationxlup between War and the Social
\\'CIT young men .ind vvomcu willing 'to suffer in .m unpopular
Order: others were impressed with what they perceived to be a
r.iusc': the inspir.inou f(Jr their "'~Icrifice. . would be 'those early
<en...e of urgl'11L'y 'to work lor and with their brothers tor a lICII'
Qu,dser.. who did and ,bred eVLTything lor the nght to expre..,..,
. . oci.il order'; still others lefi: Yc.irlv Meeting 'unsettled, ... h~l­
the truth which \\~l'" \\orkillg through them .... The ,bys of the
ken ... Ith.ir] one 01' Yearly Meeting's own couunirtcc's was asking
Apo.. tlcs .md the priuurivc Qu,lkLT'" .nr with us once ~lg.lin" one
wlu-thcr thi-, comtort.rlilv middle-class Society ... was either rclc-­
Frund noted. For ",oL'i,di,t QU.lkLTs, .it lc.ist. the role mode-l was leo,..
v,111t or usctu!' itit did not rise to a new level of rcsistancc."" For its
Cl'urgl' Fux than CeLlrd WillSt.lllley who, 'whilst voicing the
p,Jrt, Tl« Jl /(l/1,i;lisiLdl'< ' was pleased that the WSOC had 'directed
religiuus \in\s of Friends. h.id a practical expressioll ... fIr beyond
attention to the theoretical and historical etfl.)rts of a more or less
.mythuu; of which ... our It)reflthers dreamed", ,2
rcvolut iou.trv kind ill the realm of industry .uid the social order'. At
Wlun the W,lr .md the So.ial Order Committee met in April
the same time. the p.lper warned that: 'The Ballks, the Tribunals,
I () I () at Jonblls ill BUL'kinglulllshire, the burial place of Willi.ll11
the Press, till' Armv .md the Churches arc ,JlI against us, and the
Pcnu , to prep~lre its first report to Yearly Meeting, the struggle
people ~lIT still unaw.rk c to the truth that we wish to tell thcm."
ag,lillst .onsrription had h~lrdy lwgull, but socialist mcmhcrs of the
Some Quakers who were, in the deepening LTi ... i.. , rcdi ...covering
Couunittcc sounded an ,1gglTssive tOlle, pre..,..,ing It)]' .I genLTal
their rachcll sectarian root'i might indeed begin to sec their con­
endorselllent of their view that 'Unin'rsa] BrothLThood Cllnwt be
li'ontation \vith the Covcrnllll'nt a.. ,I 10ng-~l\uited rl'\'iv~Ii 01' the
established under the present cOlllpetitin' svstenl ot' illliustry'.
strnggle between the fl.)rces of Lbrkness ~1l1d Children ot'the Light.
Many Friends believed tlLlt the COllllllittee's ellSuing report.
For them at le~lSt, the eschatologiClI implicltions ot'this vision were
entitled Tf1le/l(c COIliC Tf;1rS~. went a considl'f~lble \\.1y tow,lrds
reflected in the perception of one Friend who sa\\>' Ycarly Meeting
~lS 'xtlully engaged in the age-long battle with "ft)rces tlut cOlltrol
llLI~_6"trJtl' un thl' I )Urll.lIll Coullty lkllch. "1 hl' f)(JH dl'''lTlbl'\ JJJIll ,1\ .\ l.lr~\" !lUll, Illl·11ull~
.lllll phy'iIC.llly, \\"ith J 'dOlllill.ltmg PloP,OILllity. ill1p.ltil'llt O(OppO\][ll)J] ,1Ild IHH ,II"·.!\",, "ILlll"k
lO 1Illder'iLllld <IllY POlllt uf VIeW bur hi" o\\'n·.

'I J
F. r-Iodgkill, 'W,H ,md. Soci,d (hdcr (:OI1l111It(Cl", PS. I I J . I-·cb. I () I (). "13-4. Al"o 'il'l' 1)\.1/.+. ]\;1.1'y ]()l(l. 10(1. I.2S ,\lId I/lj, ()ct. II)I(). 2l)()-1

JIIII//[/,S,rl'S()(:, 3 Fdl. lljl() WrIttCIl by I Iodgkin ,1Ild. "trl"''''lIl~ thl' IlCl'l1 'tt) !L)()k ,It thl' " Mlnd,Ind.]. 'Imprl''i''lOIl'i ofYl\lrly MceriJl~·. 1()~-7(j ,llld Tlll,klT. 'fllglhh ()lukcr" ,lllti
\vho!L- qlll'~tion of our "oci,d rd'ltlOn"hlp III light of Ollr tl,qinh)lly ,l~,llJl\[ ,71/ \\',n'. World W,lr 1', [~[-2
'i-" PS, 112, 1\tLlrdI Iljl(), 40-2, 52-'+: II.~. Apnl IljJ(l, (jI): 1/.+, j\/1.1Y JI)j{). 10): ,Illd lis. "\Xl,lr ,llld till' Soci,d ()niL'r": A Study ()f thl' (:nJll]niUl'l'\ Rl'port', l\~, 1/5, JUlll
Sl'Pt. J()I(I, 237 Iljl(l. I.+(l-H
r"""
37 6 British Quakerislll 186o~ 192(1
and govern this dark world-the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed
against us in heavenly warfare" '.sr,
Too much can be made of this apocalyptic vision. As would
soon become obvious, it represented nothing like a m.ijoritv
re,pollSe among Quakers. Still, most mc mbrrs of the Socialist
Quaker Society looked upon socialism as a taith within :1 Elith
whose enduring principles included the necessity for overthrowing
those dark forces of Mammon which continued to advocate and
advance wars and strife for the sake of profits and power.'7 As more
and more Quaker and socialist war resisters were arrested and
incarcerated, The J>1,)u~hsh(1re evoked the image of capitalist war­
tuougers as the worshippers of the 'mighty giant Mammon­
Moloch, whose food is gold and whose drink is blood'. For
socialist Friends, conscription was not just an attack on trccdoru
of conscience but an attempt to fl)rge the tinal link in the chain
with which capitalism had hound the working cbsses and would
eventually shackle all who resisted its rapacious grasp. They per­
ceived of themselves. as 'conscientious objectors to our whole
social system, and our whole life ... must be that of Christian
revolutionaries' .'
While the movement to radical or revolutionary solutions was a
distinctly nunority crusade rcprcscunng the cutting edge of lett­
wiug Quaker political and social opinion, it also reflected, among
Quakers of military age, liberalism's impending t~dl from grace as
the political agency for creating the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Redrawing the ideological boundary so as to exclude private own­
ership for profit (self-help had been crfcctivclv expelled by the
New Liberalism). socialist members of the War and the Social
Order Committee viewed all props of the old order as irredeem­
ably compromised. The capitalistic Warfare State had, with the
support of most Churches and other social institutions, appro­
priated for itself the accoutrements of traditional morality and
proceeded to make a mockery of them. It was beyond salvation.
The next opportunity for the War and Social Order Committee
to attempt to establish new ground rules for Quakn social action
was a tour-dav Conference on 'Friends and the Social Order held
," Mjorland], 'Impression-, of Yearly Mceting', Ibid. 1r)()-70.
Hodgk or, '(JUT Complicity in Perpctuating Admitted Evils: Have We Faced It~·.
'\7 "Connnentarv'. ihid. [ft.'!' Oct. I \I I 6, 261.
Fllclllg the Faa», 34. JSl-40.
'\<'i 'Christian H.l:voilltioll<lril'~'. Ibid. 1/7, Aug. lljl(l, ->,
frar and the Social Order 377
in London during October J l) J 6. As J. E. Hodgkin noted in his
introduction to Farill,S; the "arts, the printed proceedings of the
Conference, this gathning marked the first time British Quakerism
had officially set itself'to consider the implications of the Christian
testilllony in relation to the far too easily accepted social conditions
in which we live',") Hodgkin believed that, on account of the war,
the collective conscience of their religious Society had been, in the
p.irlancc of early Friends. 'tendered'. ami that while in this spiri­
tually sensitive condition Quakerism might expiate 'the depths of
humiliation and repentance tor a past ... in which our witness has
been hopelessly compromised by our ready acceptance of the
standards and ethics of the non-Christian workl'.('O
Hodgkin ru.iv have hoped that collective remorse and a render
conscience would help Friends achieve a strong consensus on social
;llld economic concerns, but what actually transpired was cousid­
cruhly less auspicious. John William Graham's keynote address on
'War Spirit in the Social Order' might well have been delivered in
ll)o6 fix all its appreciation of altered circumstauccs. ln the course
ota long paean to good intentions, good works, free trade. and
liberal moderation, Graham, much to the chagrin of Quaker
socialists, Issued two peremptory 'cautions'. First. he declared that
'IW]ar and c.rpitalisiu :l1T ditfcrcnt in character and require differ­
ent treatment"; next. he aunounccd th.it a graduated income tax
would be 'Soc];l]ism enough to keep us ;tll busy for some time to
, () 1
comc .
In response to Graham's ringing dctcncc of liberal principles and
practices. 'lite fl!ougltsh,Jrc's impatient editor, W. L. Hare, depicted
the speaker as 'a matador ... [conic] to slay the bull ... let loose in
the ring' by the War and Social Order Committee. After that wild
beast had been duly dispatched 'and buried ill the presence of one
solitary mourner and a host of sightseers', Hare noted, the COIl­
fcrcncc's pusillanimous progralllllle committee decreed that there
would be 110 further discussion of the foregoing proceedings. Hare
~() J. E. Hodgklll, 'Inrroducnon. Llt"il/.i? tl« 1"11('-': lkiu'.; thv Report (!("If COI!!t>(('I/((' 011 TIlt'
So(it'r)'(:( J-ncnds .ind th: ~'';';()(id/ ()rlia l lcid III London, J y-.!2 ( )(tohcr 191 (J (London I [I) I t, J). IS J
AJ..,o ..,cc Horvvill. '(~lI<lkl'r Soci.ih« Movement". .120.
I,j (;LII1,1I11. "The WelT Spirit ill the SOll,1! ()rder'. ibid. 21 .md passin),
,....­
37 S British Quakerlslll 1860-1920
was certainly not the only Friend upset by Graham's counsel of
moderation, but the mandate of silence was simply a standard
Quaker ploy for avoiding serious disputation within the fold. In
fact, during the remaining days of the Conference an entire Llnge
of social and political issues were seriously debated. Still, The
J>lollghshill'e characterized the discussion as reflectlllg 'an excessive
nervousness' and concluded that 'the Coutcrcncr. ~1I1d the Socicrv
;11T not [King the flcts but shirking them,('c . Irwin, war or no war, 'the best thillg to do was to parch and
Most assuredly John Willi;un Graham marched to a different
drummer th.in W. Loftus Hare .uid socialist nicmhcrs of the War
and Social Order Committee. [Jut who ;unollg these was in step
with the m.ijority of their fl·lJow Quakers? LIke most Friends,
C;ralul11 W,IS a sincere opponent of the war, but whatever horrors
the terrible conflict might impose .it home or abroad, he would not
abandon the l.ibcr.rlisn: of his youth. As C;ralum \\;IS a p.uriot. he
sought to create circumst.mcc« wherein Quakers in wartiuu- could
serve both God and Mal11111011 vvith rectitude .uid grace; as he \\'~lS ,\
Liberal, he worked to rcfonu the social order to make it wb~lt it
should IL)\'e been lwf(lrL' the war, not to crl'~lte the Bran' Ne\\'
World of sori.ilist drc.nncrs. And fllr all the displeasure tbis position
caused the S(~S .u id other radical l riruds. C;Llh,lIll W;IS probably in
advance of the r.mk and tile British Quaker witl: regard to social
policy, ()f course, ordinary QU;lkers WUT not, gellerally speaking,
as ordinary f(llk. They tended to be comtortablc and well-situated
within the economic and social systems that the S(~S seemed bent
on clsting into the outer d.uk ncss. Therefore. most friends, hover­
ing somewhere between bcn ruscrncnt .md indignation, responded
to r.idica] statements at the War and the Social Order Conference
;lS might be expected trom any group of honest, c.irncst. affluent
citizens. They opposed the war (or at LIst deplored the bct that It
had to be f(Hlght) as a product of mankind's inuhilirv to see and
embrace the Light, but most believed that labelling the capitalist
system as the princ ip.il source of human suffering and sill was
merely an obsessive fantasv. There had been w.ir« long before the
elllergence of capitalism and even most ann-war Friends were 110t
prepared to substitute ccoriomi.: propensities for spiritual weak-
c: W. L. H,Hl', 'Friend;,; .md the Socl,tll )rdl'r·. l'S, [/10, Nov. II) J (l. 21/7 .uid '''Facing dH'
Elet.. . ": The Rcpurt Ill) rho (:ollfcfL"IlCC on die \\)cicty ot Friend, .md [he Soci,ll Ordcr.
ihid .. 11/2, Marc-h ]1)J7, (lO-I.
T
/1'01' ol/d the Social Order 379
ncsscs as the chief causes of violence and strife. In their view, only
realistic recognition of sin and humble submission to the Divine
Will were sut'licient guidl's for alternating and improving the
human condition, This position WJS coherently summarized at
the London Conference by Wilfrid Irwin (lS,'IS-Il)2S) of Cocker­
mouth, all employer oflabour and former Council memhcr of the
friends Social Union. Given the realities of human n.uurc , said
llllprOVl' the prevent system ,('1
While young SQS firebrands Inight have audibly groaned at
Wilti'id Irwin's words, his statement pointed up the problem of
trying to achieve consensus in L'\'CII so small a body as the Society
of Friends in even so galv;ll1izing a crisis ;IS the C;rl';lt Waf. In the
end, the social radicals, like their allies the absolutist war resisters,
listened, paticntlv or otherwise, to their less militant brethren and
then proceeded to attempt, by hook or crook, to take control of
the ru.uhincrv of their religious Society for the purpose of making
their point of view tlu: Quaker position, however imperfectly it
reflected .mv consensus among Fricnds. An editorial in Tlu: PlolIglt­
shavc sunnnarizcd this position, noting that those who
<hrink trom ,w,dlo\\'!llg the' hitter pill of cronomir cr itirism . would
. r.itlirr put all this ch.ios do wu to the devil or the evil of man \
n.iturc ... [hut ] the evil systelll which issues ... incvir.ihlv .uid pcriodicallv
ill war In' ItS roots ill a t'l]Sl' matcri.il isrir view of lit,: ... \\'L' do not know
how to clLJI1ge m.ui'« nature. but We' do know how to challge his
cconoiuic ,vstL'IlL""
So, even amidst the depressing prospect of a seemingly endless
w.ir. ;1 growing list of imprisoned or interned conscientious objec­
tors and the continuing refusal of nuny anti-war Friellds to attach
the tail of a radical social or economic agenda on to the spiritual
principles of their peace tcstimonv.l" socialist Friends attempted to
maintain the impetus of their anti-capitalist crusade. In the final
Fddll.~ the Ll(U, 121.
t,.,J \Xl,lf ,111d l-hilovophv, j)",. (/X, Septl'lllbcf }()I(l, 2]0.
'FCt)J)0Il11(,\,
Sec, for cx.unplc, Edith Flli-, to R. O. Mcnncll. 12 Dec. Hill" 'l'SC Corrc-pondcncc.
[1)15/ I (J, LSF III which Elhs, the virtu.il backbone ot the FSC\; 'itfuggk agaln"t conscription
dUflllg the fllul [\\"0 yc,u" ot the \\ ,If, (o111pLlincd th,U l)r Hcnriett.l Th()l1U~, ,1 member of
 3Ko British QlfakerislII 186(1-19 2 0
~-Var and the Socia! Order 3 K1
days of 1<)16, TIl(' Plolf,,<hshare took pains to remind members of the
prepared to follow their le'ld."s But despite The Plollghshare's
War and Social Order Committee, and Friends in general, of the
exhortations that Yearly Meeting should 'cross the Rubicon of
link between the contemporary message of Quaker socialists and
doubt and indecision', and strike at the roots of war by declaring
the spiritual heritage of their Sociny. As early Friends had
for '''a really new world" of economic relationships', no decisive
elllployed the weapons of faith against an unrighteous state to
pronouncements Oil social policy were forthcoming."?
preserve the precious gift of religious liberty, so latter-day Quakers
Disappointed Quaker socialists wanted to believe that Yearly
were bound to enlist as non-vioknt fighters in the decisive struggle
Meeting had failed to join the advanced guard in the march toward
tor universal peace and human dignity. Drawing upon both 'Reve­
a new social order because most Friends had not really heard the
lations' and Crl'l,k mythol06'Y, W. L. Hare painted a pirturc of the

call to spiritual combat. On the other hand, no one who attended

ultu narc Quaker warrior, 'the Armageddon man', who when the

the f:n11ous Leeds Conference held shortly after Yearly Meeting

world rl'fused to cmbrarc his righteous cause, 'turns to Heaven,
could have missed that call. Organized by British enthusiasts for the
where are the sources of a higlll'r rightness than any here below;
Russian Revolution and attended by most Quaker socialists who
there- Ill' takes his stand armed, with weapons that are not car­

were not yet imprisoned as conscientious objectors, the delegates at

nal . , . ,I mystic trurupcn-r is calling to the spiritual Annag"ddon, a
Leeds resolved to work tor an end to capitalism and militarism by
nlighty battle between the old Titans who have ruled us and the

establishing Workers' and Soldiers' Councils on the Soviet model

new (;ods we shall vet adore. ,M,
throughout Great Britaiu.:"
Thn-i- months attcr this pronounccment, one of the old Titans
When the War and Social Order Committee met immediately
toppled trom the Russian throne. When Ycarlv Meeting gathered
t(Jllowing the Leeds Conference, its now dominant socialist fIction
in May 1<)17, Quaker socialists, basking in the still-inspiring glow
sought to raise the tone of revolutionary rhetoric. Barry Brown,
of the first Russian Revolution and its Pctrograd Formula of 'no

who had already suffered repeated imprisonment tor ami-war

annl'xations and 110 indrnuiitir-c, had reason to be conficknt that
activities, noted that while the workers and soldiers councils did
their Socil,ty Inight at last be willing to take a bold st,'p in the

not in themselves mean revolution: 'Nothing short of Revolution,

dircctior, of non-vioknt social transfonnarion For one thing, the

in the best sense of the word, would bring the better day tor which
Friends' Social Union had been virtually l11erged into the War .1I1d
we long.' Other WSOC members spoke of the increasingly
Social Order Committee. Although the FSU Inaintai!ll'd a vestigial
obvious relationship between the labour movement'< idea of
existence t(Jr fl.-ar that the WSOC 'might Iwcolll";1 mere ;11111l'Xl' of

'Co-operative Commonwealth s: Ithe I QU;lker ideal of the

the Quaker Socialist Societv [si«] ... " nl,'ml1l'rs of the SQS could
"Kingdom of Cod" '.
only have been pleased to see the lillgnillg drl'gs of liberal ret or­
niism being C1St aside in the wak« ofa more realistic assessment of
social and economic ills."; Socialist members of the WSOC also In the light of the 1110\'Cl11ent tow.uds soci:l[ revolution l'xl'lJ1plitll'd .rr the
believed that, dcspin- some criticism of the COllllnittee's work, recent conference in Leeds, we h.iv« :lgain convidrrcd our duty. III

relation to both parties in the struggk between Capital &: Labour as wl'![
'there is a large &: growing body of awakelled sl'('kers' who were
.IS to our own Socicty. We fcel that we have still work to do in ckaring up
and adjusting our personal attitude before we can make our right con­
both the FS(: .md the WS( )C, \\',1,> prl'.lcllJJJ~ ,')UTl' ~'l()(LtI]"1l1 '\\ lliL'h to '\()Jl)l' uf II', "u.~·nh .rn tribution to the present situation. 7 '
unlncndlv point Of\'Il'W'.

r-t, 'The Tr.rucdv of RIght AL';,lill,>[ Riuhr'. P... . ,·. 1/1! J)l'(. ]()!(l, ,2).
JIS()C, 2-~ Fcb.',IIIe! ,S-'))IIII" 1')17: IA. 11.1l.1\·,·,j,
,,' ,1111111/t'S, Act. Scc, FSU, [0 W. H. ", ,11illllll'-" Jl'SOC 2-S Feb.
1<J171~ .md \\/ H. Srurgc Tn rsu Counrrl. l)Julle lVii, f-SC J/~.
'<)17·
Sturgl', Jl.d./MJy-Jlllll'
'J<.., Chr ivn.in Civihzution Plh"ibk?', fJS. II/),June lVlj. I_U-(l.
About ,.{. lO W,l .... kft 111 the FSU\ Tr c.icurv to .~lIl)\\· for (he rcv.v.i] of (he Union 'in cl . . e rill'
("I

[r"filll flll/lpn/rd.lf L((d~' vv.i-, a p.unphlcr puhhshcd by the Council ot- Worker,,' .ind
W,lr .iud Soci,1! Ordrr Comnnuco <hould he di"l'h,nged, or ... (he polley of the COll1l1lntee I SoldH,__ r-.' [Jeil'g;lte" (Loncion r~)li). Ako "ec White, 'Sovic('l ill Br-it.un". [()j-()J.
"hould widdy' di\'crge rrom the {)l~)l'c(" f(H \\-hil'h (he' rnl'nd.., Sl)l'l:d l.Jnion \\-,1'.. tCH111dl:'d'.
-I -'[ltlllfC'. [[·.'i()e. ~~{).JlIlll' 1<)lj.
 3 H2 Britisli QlIakerislil
Noting, with chagrin, the Society of Friends' past connections
with the sort of philanthropic ventures that had allowed Quakers
to expect and receive obsequious deference from the working-class
recipients of Friendly largess, socialist Quakers called, in the spirit
of Leeds, for the incorporation of more working-class mcmhor-,
into their COlJJIJJittee. As one speaker noted, 'the right revolution'
would require doing away with the idea of a 'servile class'. ])1'
Henrietta Thom.rs added that closer Quaker connectiollS with the
working-cbsses would better accolJJlJJolllte tirtun- rcvoiutionarv
lJJandates 'to renounce possessions willingly when demanded by
revolution and so obviate a bloody struggle' 72
The level of rhetorical bravado continued to rise throughout the
summer of [<)17· Indeed, when W,lr and Social Order Cornmirn-o
met at Letchworth in September, Britain was in the early stages of
what has been called the 'only mass agitation to halt the European
conflict ... that verged on revolutionarv resistance to the govern­
lJJent'.n At Letchworth Willi.un C. Anderson, .m MP tor the the
Independent Lahour Party, relJJinded the COlJJlJJittee that while
'revolutionary fl'eling was growing in the countn· ... the people
still endured oppression f:Jr too paricntlv'. A socialist member of
the WSOC took up this theine, notlung that 'our Ide;lls should be
to so re-arrange control of industry that every worker should cnjov
the experience ... of f(.'eling his fingers on the pulse of the world'.
Moved perlLlps by such oratorical flourishes, the COlJJlJJittee
approved a Minute which, among other things, called upon Friends
'to do their utmost to prornorr. " the tr.u rxtcr of "capital" frorn
private to public COIJtro]'7.!
This was heady sturt. But tor all the Clrnest p;lssion llJ such
prOnOlllJCelJJents, there was about them the s.unc ring of unreality
as pervaded the colulJJlJS of Tlic Plollghslz'lrc. Suspended between
deepening discouLlgl'lJJent over a war that could not be drowned
even in its own hlood and inspirational reports of an elJJerging
Bolshevik socialist republic, the SQS's newspaper concluded that
'nothing short of revolution ... em save the world', adding, OlJJi­
llu.i. 20--22 JlIly 1() 17,
I iO\\'.lrd Wl'lIlrotlJ, 'The J )lklllllLl of Bnri-d1 SOCl.lli~h dunng the (;rc,H WJr' RC\Tl]ll­
n ou.trv PeJcc or Pantl'\( Rccol1\tructloll'. in /)(l!'t'S (1IIiI Dlp/OII/'llS, edited by Soloman Wank
(Wc\tporr. (:OIlI1. I ()7 K), [()J--t. Al"o vee- I [lIltnn, I'rousi, dill! f'IS/ll/lS . .2fl [-7.
-'-1 .\fil/l(t('.~·, If','l'()C, 7-10 ~l'ptl'lllbcr Ilj 7.
1
1860- 1920 If :11' and the Social Order 3H3
nously, that the successful resolution such a global upheaval would
reqUIre 'stern work'. 7,
Sterner, certainly, than Quakers, socialist or otherwise, were
likely to accept. When the War and Social Order Committee
met at Manchester early in I<)! H, the Bolshevik Revolution had
already begun to reveal its penchant for bloody-minded repression.
The crucial episode at this gathering was the presentation of a
paper on 'Quakerism and Capitalism' by J. Walton Newbold
([HHH-[<).+3), an SQS member who would, after leaving Friends,
become Britain's first Communist Mi>.7(' The central theme of
Newbold's address was a proposal to give trade unions (the pro­
ducers) rather than consumers (the people) control over economic
policy in the postwar socialist State he envisioned. His audience,
which consisted of only thirty of the WSOC's eighty-two mem­
bers, was not convinced. Perhaps attendance at Manchester was
)0\\' because so many of the WSOC's younger, and presumably
more radical, male members had been imprisoned or interned as
COs. In any case, the minority who did attend entirely repudiated
Newbold's undemocratic proposition. Furthermore, the Commit­
tee also agreed that the so-called 'Letchworth Minute' on tr.mstcr­
ring capital trorn private to public hands should not, in future, be
considered an accurate expressIon of the WSOC's position.r" In
the meantime. the news from the Front, from CO prison cells and
trom Russia could scarcely have been more gloomy. Still, The
fJlol/,\Z/dli1re, haying, in the interim, hccomc resolutely anti­
Bolshevik, soldiered on in its mission to convince the Society of
Friends 'to stand for the eCOnOl]]]C truth tint modern wars arc
stages in the struggle for the economic hegemony of the
"Ou Plough', vr..;, 11110, Nov. 11)1;, 2s7.
-( III hi -, l)tT~'()lldl JlI:"llr)', 37. IA... J P.
lTCtlkd Nc\\"hold ,1'. 'till' Ellglt.. h l.cnm , .u
Trvlor
,lll~ hi" own cvc-.'. .md remembered hi, di-appoinnncnr UpOll l11l'l'tillg Nl'\\hnld to
LIte III
di-iovcr rhar he \\"J" 't~lt with ,I "id.. ly ronrplr-ci on like .1 grL'.lt . . llIg' A birthright Friend.
Nl'\dlold rl'~lglll'd rrom the SOCil'ty JttCf adopnllg (:OlllllllllllSlll but returned to (~lJ.lkl'rJ'illl
ill I ()J2 whcn Ill' '>upponl'd R,llll\JY Mel )Oll.lld\ N,ltl0IU! (;OVl'nlllll'llt .uid. rin.ill«,
rC"lg11l'd Jg.lill ,1'" ,1 milir.uir supporter of \X/il1\tol1 Churchill .md the Second World W,n.
Sl'l' TIlt' Friend, 2-l Feb, I lJ-lJ, 7.
-- Xlinutv«, J I·SOC. ~-7 JUllury I 'J I S. AI", <cc Tucker, 'Qu.ikcr-. .iud World War l'. 2)3­
() tor .in .ucounr of a (~llJkl'r-\pull:-.url'd (:Ol1terellCl' of Employer\ III April I lJI i'i called bv
J. E. Hodgkin, .it the bcht-sr o( Arnold S. Rowntrcc, MP to con-id.-r cmplovcr-.' rolc ill
re\luping J ncxv voci.rl order. Not '\urpn",ngly, it'; rerommcndanons. later discussed by
Yc.irlv Meeting. vv cre nuld .md unthrc.itcninp; to the exi..;ting order.
 3 R4 Britislt Quakerism 1860- 1 92 0
TVaI' and the Social Order 3 85
world ind ... [toJ generate from the clouds Rashes of lightning Not surprisingly, The P/ol~«hshclre expressed strong disappoint­
to startle the people who walk in darkness'. 7'
ment at the continuing unwillingness of British Quakers to take
Some Friends may indeed have been startled when in May 19 1 S, some definitive step toward refashioning the social order. An
atter much serious lobbying by social activists in the Quaker editorial pointed out that the Society, while 'keenly sensitive to
press."? London Yc.nlv Meeting accepted the War and Social questions of religious siguificance', remained 'dull and antiquated
Order Committee's list of eight .FoundatiollS of a True in connection with those urgent matters of social reconstruction
Social Order' as the blueprint fiJr post-war Quaker social polil')'.sO which it, year in, yeJr out, lightly touches with its tinger-tips'. As
These FoundatiollS might usefi.dly be compared to the 'four pillars' idealists, said W. L. Hare, Friends should stand ready to crown Karl
of a new social order envisioned by the Labour Party Conference Marx as a 'true prophet' by working for what he had predicted.
held shortly alter Yearly Meeting. Articles three and four of the 'the inevitable social revolution ... ;ltfected entirely by pc.ucfiil
Quaker 'FoundatiollS', emphasizing the need tor full development anc j Iega I means.' S I
of evcry member of the communirv to free rhcm trorn 'the bond­ The end of the Crcat W;1f further curtailed the influence of
age of material things', arc roughly equivalent to l.abour", tirst those hot-blooded Friends whose moral intensity and willinglless
pillar, ,1 universally ent()rced National Minimum. Ag;lin, the fifrh to sacrifice h.rd briefly endowed them with influence and authority
;md sixth articles of the Quaker document were entirely C0111p;lt­ all out of proportion to their num hers or experience. The Socialist
iblc with Labour's second pillar, I )cmocratic Control of Industry. Quaker Society h.id managed, tor a time. to gain ettl-ctive control
Articles seven ;Ind eight of the 'F()UJ1ClatiOIlS', stressing service to of the War and Social Order Committee, but the SQS could not
humanity ahove material gain and the proper regulation of land persuade Ycarlv Meeting to ;1C!Opt Its radical social agenda. This
and capit.il so 'as best to minister to the need and devclopnlL'nt of (lilure nl;lY be contrasted with the success of the Friends Service
man ', were ;llong the lnll' of Labour's call to use 'Surplus Wealth Committee in pushing tor the acceptance of a Lldically new but
tor the Common Good. Friends, of course, were in the end spiritually powerful version of the Quaker peace testimony, Rad­
pleading tor ;\ mOL11 revolution rather than the 'Revolution UI ic.il pacifism was not carried over into the social realm. As the crisis
National FI1Lmce' which Labour demanded. Still. the economic of war and conscription wound down, a comhination of weariness,
provisions of the 'Foundations of a True Social Order' reflect just
relief and caution induced a palpable suspension of the Cjnest for
how far to the lett the wartime SOCIety of Friends had moved 'with
the innuiucnt creation of Cod's Kingdom on earth al()llg socialist
regard to social polin'; on the other hand, the 'FoundatiollS'
Ii n cs.
represented 'a practical &. reasonable progr.uinno", rather than the
Und.umtcd, The P/oll«h.i/lIlre strove to carry the struggle into the
radical transformnrion of society envisioned by more zealous
post-war era, altering its masthead in March 1l)1l) trom 'A Quaker
Quaker s(lL'ialists. Moderating influences were reflected in the
Organ of Social Rccoustructiou' to 'A Quaker Organ of Social
decision of Yearly Meeting to adopt a new procedure tor deter­
Revolution'. Still, by November I () 19 dreams of a new social order
mining Illeillbership on the War and Social Ordcr Committee.
had faded and, surrendering to the inevitable, the journal severed
Obviously this represented a sop to cautious Friends who hcIicvcd
its tenuous connection to both the SQS and Society of Friends and
that militantly allti-clpitalist nlL'l1lbers of the Socialist Quaker ag,lin altered its masthead. For the brief remainder of its existence,
Society were over-represented on the WSOC.
The Pi<llI,«lzslzare was 'A Journal of Hope'. That hope, whatever its
dimensions, W;lS never realized. Unable to sustain an independent
-x 'b M.lll tln- Mc.rvun- otall Thillg."~·. P:..;. 11/1.2, Nov !t)l7, .nV-4- 0.
existence, the paper ceased publication in June 1920. In his editor­
;') Sec, tor cx.unple, Robert I )J\'i~, 'Fnvnd, and Social It.ecull,rrULtIOll', flit' Friend. 22

M,lrch I'!IS, IS1-4 . ial swan-song William Loftus Hare expressed a personal vision of
."n I.Y.H, 1918, 7i'i, »0. The 'FOlllld,-uiullS' were rcprmrcd in Chri.-r/l1/J LI!{', Fait]: &-- Thoucln
in the Society (~rFn'clld." (London l<j23). 121-2 .ind are still included \2J.I(l) in the current
edition of QIlilJ,?cr F(llrll and I'ractirc (I ()lj 5).
"I 'Rc'ipon"tbility tor Idealists', PS, lIt/s.June H)IS. 117-20 and an editorial C0l11111cnt
on Yearly Meeting. ibid, L~3
3 S(l Brilis11 QuakerislII 1860-1920 IT'ar al/d the Socia! Order 3X7

how the seed scattered by the sturdy ploughcrs of the Sociahst about the future direction of the Rclit'-iolls Socidy of Fril'llds. In
Quaker Society had t~lllen on good ground and would 'gcnllilute, the course of it, 'Report' to Lonrlon Yearly Meeting 111 I<)[(), the
thirty-told, sixty-fold. yea, cvcu a hundred f()ld, We CUI sec War and the Social Order Committee IL1d voiced its concern that
the delicate green blades coming up. and look tor the go,)d 'nn opportullity". be provided tor cOllSiekr;ltiol1 of the nature
harvest if then- arc labourers to reap it, ,S2 .. , of our "Tcstiruouv agail1St ;111 W;lr"'. ;llld for rcflcctiou upon
Such reapLTs never appeared. But dcspit« it, ultimate f1ilure 'to the social and political sphcre, in which ru rurc Quakcr witness
reconcile the arccptcd principles of Quakerism with suitable would be continued throughout the \\'orld." This \Va, the opening
ideals of Socd Rcvolution. s; the SQS did leave its mark on the 1'.111 for wl iat wou ld cvcntuallv become the tlrst World COllferellcc
Socicty of Friends as ;1 socially committed and politically ,igniflcant of All-Friends which 1I1et in LOIlC!OII ill Augu« I ()20. The London
body of believers. During the war. more and 1110re Friends, like Conl('rCnCl' \ comidl'Lltion of the relationslJip hl't\Vl'l'll Persollal
other pre-W;lr progrl"'<si\"l's. drifted ;l\\'ay trorn the Libcr.il Party and Life and Societv wouk! provide .1 final forum for the Soci;lli,t
alighted, somewhat awk w.udlv perhaps, among the Labourircs. (~u.1kL'l' SOCIL'tV and reveal both the extent .uul the limitations of
This \\";lS lint because .inv large number of Quakers had been it, intlucncv Oil the fururc of the British Society of hielllk
ronviuccd by the SQS\ picax lor Christian socialism but rather
f.L\l, /1)/(', I(J,l--l-, .Al"o "l'l' ,\lillll/(S, 11 ....; <)( ,.:: S lcl». ,lIlt! -l- 51\,1,1\ 11) ]; _
because only Labour had remained relatively untainted by militar­
ism and because, among the post-war parties, Labour alone seemed
interested in the sort of SOCi,l] justirc a new generation of Friends
WLTe increasingly seeing as an obligation of their birthright,
l-urthcn norc. as the sort of t.unilv tinll' ,1S',ol'iatl,d with nine­
tccnth-ccnturv Quaker business .ntivitir-, \\l'll' gr,ldll,llIy replaced
by large-scale conglomerate corporations, rhos.: vvho rcm.uucd in
the world of business tended to he alienated from Quakerism and
those who rcmuiucd Friend- tended to move troiu business to the
professions, just as they had 1110\"ed trO!11 Liberalism to Labour. As a
ruid-twcntictli-ccutury conuucutat or on (~uakLT social .u id busi­
Ill'SS pLlctices noted: 'It is often deplored that Qlukcl'1S111 fails to

;IPPC,ll to the proletariat; it would SCUll that it also flils to hold the
Clpit;llist,Sj The Socialist Quak cr Society had helpcd 11l'gin this
process of transformation .uid perhaps !11;1de it easier tor some
Friends. but, lacking the raison d'(;lre of a war crisis or impending
SOCIal rcvolutiou , fl'w Quakers of the post-war period WLTe
attracted to a separate body of Quaker socialists and the SQS \\",IS
duly laid down in 1<)24,
lkt()J'e its demise, however, some SQS members had ,1 final
opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to a dialogue

,"" [)S, vi" MJy/jllJll' 1')20. r i x.

~1 [>.";, III/k, Scpt II)JS, .20-l- l-Olllllll'IHlllg on LUl'Y F. Morl.uid< It)lS \\\,lrthlllll/l·
LCLtUrl" TI/(' .1\'(11' So(i.71 ()lfrll){)~' (Londllll I I)] S)
~.J- William H. Marwuk , 'SmIlc (~lI,lkcr linns ofdlC Ninerccnrh Cl'IHlIr~' [lH>, -l-S/3
(Spnng I(57). 25S-ij.
 T
AiJidill,fI rroullds, 1918-1920
I I
Abiding Wounds, 19 1 8- 1 9 20
TORN ASUNDER: WAR FRIENDS AND THE PEACE
The Times proclaiming their bona Iides both as patriots who
TESTIMONY
supported the war and as Quakers who rejected the extremism of
During the C;re,lt War the Friends Service Commirrcc and its
supportLTs maintained that Quakers who resisted w.ir and con­
scription, even in the [lCL' of imprisonment or death, were 'serving
the truest interests of the countrv and of nl:lllkind'. I Such :1 state­
ment at least implied that those Friends who did not oppose the
warring State were biling to act in the best mtcrcsr« of the nation
and the world, let .ilonc :lccording to the tenets their rcligiou« flith.
This radical version of the peal'L' testimony wa.; repeated Iv
endorsed by both the Meeting tor SUffering.; and Yearly Meeting.
And when the Service Committee rctilsed to submit the text of 'A
CIl;\llenge to Mi litaricm to Covcrnmcnr censors, its dctl:mce of
civil authority was fidly sanctioned hv these official agencies of
British Quakerism. The C;ovnnmL'nt's subsequent prosecution
of three FSC officials was cle:lrly intended to put the SOCIety of
Friends on notice that there were limits to war resistance, even by
highly respectable, traditionally pacifist religious bodies.
Theil, in July 1<) I R, ne\Vspapn accounts of an appeal hearing for
the 'Challenge to Militarism' defendants reported the appcar.ux c at
court of solicitor Cecil Whitely clalllling to represent 'a large
number' of Britain's 'real' or 'p.nriotic" Quakers. These Friends,
lawyer Whitely declared, 'did not idcntifv thelmelves in any way
with ... the attitudes of the dcfl'nd:lIlts' nor, as one of their number
had put it, with any other 'glib theorists ... now cbiming the right
to speak for the SCKiety of Friends'. On the contrary, Whitely's
clients believed that by supporting or even participating In a
struggle to defend the British Empire and Christian civilization
from Hunnish barbarism, tllL'Y were sustaining their SOClety's his­
, 'A c:JLlllc'll~c' tu MihurJ\I11·. [[I
3 89
toric peace principles." This was not the first collective declaration
of support for the war effort offered by dissenting Friends. Shortly
before Yearly Meeting in May !9! 8, one prominent war-Friend,
lawyer and stockbroker J. B. Braithwaite Jr., wrote in the Friends
Quarterly Examiner that the Socictv 'must recognize that the usc of
IL)ITe against evil is not only permissible, but necessary'. After
Yearly Meeting charactcristicaily ignored Braithwaite's admonish­
ment, he and twenty-rive others, including three women, wrote to
Friends Service Committee. 3
Quaker pacifists were prone to suggest that many war-Friends
became actively involved in the Society's att~lirs only 'when the
outbreak of the present war disclosed their wide divergence from
the position of Friends a.; held throughout long years of trinl"" But
such an assertion W:1S difficult to sustain given the number, :1I1d
sometimes the suture, of those who claimed to be moved by a
conviction of the Inward Light which embraced the national cause.
There were, in tact, significant detections trom the peace l'amp in
nearly :lll of the eighty British monthly mcrtiugs, often frou:
amongst ancient and distinguished Quaker f1l11ilics. In February
19 [5, for example the overseers of Darlington Monthly Meeting
reported that two members of the wl':llthy and pohric.illv prolll­
incnt Pease fmiilv had taken commissions in the Army.' At Bir­
mingham. Hournvillc Meeting was confronted with the tact that
Egbert Cad bury, youngest son of George Cadbury, the meeting's
toundcr and dominant member, had enlisted in the Royal N:IV;d
Air Service. (He was subsequently decorated I<Jr his role in helping
to bring down two Zcppclins.) C;eorge Cadbury managed to
remain aloof from controversies reg'lrding the 'authentic' Quaker
rL'sponse to the war, but he never disavowed his son's deL·ision.('
IF. 12July 1l)IS, -+-+2. I Ill' 'glib dll'on"h' quot.uion r, fr-om II. Scttt)Jl-Jnlll''i, 'Reply"
l(il:'. it (Oct 1<)17). ~H·
J. l3. Ur.lidl\\,utl', jr.. 'TIll' \tll'ie(\' of I ncnd- .ind rlu: I 1l11lt.lt10IlS of ir- Pt'<lCL' rl'~[i­
IlHlIlY' I:()L. (Aprill')I~). 202-20 .urd '1/'( Tim,». ~JUIlC' [')[~
I I Icnrv L Hl)d~kJll to 'IF. 17 I )ee. I () I ,~. ()-l--l-.
~ .\IIIl/tres. 1),lflingcoll Mouthlv Ml'l'ClJ)g 11 )r'\tM). I I Feb. I\)[), -l6<) noted till' (J'il''i ot
JO''Icph ,1I1d Hcnrv A. I'l'J~l" but no .u tio» \\',J', r.rkcn Jgailll.,t them (I .un br,lcl,'fuI to John
Lock err. ,1 nu-mber nt" ).lrltngroll MeL,tlllt! .md till' Frrrnds Hr-rorir.rl SOl'll't\', tlH bringIng
thl'Sl' ,\hl/IUI'." to l11Y attention .md m.ik in.; rhc«. .JilL! other dorumcnr-, .iv.ul.rbk- to mc.)
r, (;,udillcf, c;(ll/:~{' Cdr/hilI')'. 2)O-)() .md RicIlL'lhi,l Scott, }:'I/::.-,,{Id/l (.'ddhllfY, /858-1951
t Lonclon IlJ55). 1 23-2-l-. At dlL' i\lI-f-=ricnd\ I otidou COllfcrL'll(L' ill 1<)20, Elizabeth Cddhuf)--'
 3')0 l3rifish QlwkcrisllJ 1860-/920 /-lbi(fil((! ll'Ol/lIds, 1918-1920 3<)1
The Cadbury firm would nor engage ill even the indirect produc­ remained within the Socicty throughout the war years. Their
tion of war materials nor allow recruiting on its t~letory grounds, intlucucc on the thrust of official QU'lkcr policies was, as events
but the cO!llpany took pains to ensure the we]t~llT ofthe t~llllilil's of ';]10\\Td, ncgligible, but they were never reduced to embarrassed or
the hundred, of Boumville workers who joined the forces ~1I1d dishcarrcncd silence. Hcnrv Marriagc Wallis remained a member
rrhircd am' war veterans who sought their old Jobs after thcy were of Mcctlllg lor Sufferings, maiutainiug a stcldy, if ineffective,
dischJrgcd,~ barrage of pro-war rejoinders to nearly cvery paritist pronouncc­
At Oxtord , b.uik cr Arthur Cillctt (I ~7(J-I<)5-t). although mcnr issued by Friends while <iruultancously 'cllcouragiIlg yOUIlg
thwarted by agc :1I1d physical condition in his ctTiJrts to enlist, tcllows to cIllist'.'"
\\';IS fi'om beginning to end an outspoken \V;1r supporter. SOl11e of The vnuntcd Quaker traditions of broad tolerance and free
the earliest recollections of- C;illett's son Nichol.is, born in I<)I-t, expression cnsurc«! th.it promincur w.rr Friends like W;lllis, J- 13.
WLTC the wartime visit, to the t~llllilv home bv (;eIlLTaIJ1I1 Smut" a BLlitl1\uitc, Jr. and Herbert SCfi:OIl-JOI1CS would receive a hearing
member of the War Cabinet, who had bdi-ielldcd his mother, the ill the Quaker prcss, Whcn the thrc.rt of- conscription hcg,1I1 to
former M;lrg;lITt Clark (I ~7~-1 l){J2) , when she accol11p:1I1ied Lmilv loom LJl'gc ill the final months of 1<) '.S, ,1 stC;ldy stream of letters
Hobhou«. Oil ~l rclicf missio» to South AIi-ica in I<)OS, However. .rppc.ircd ill 1he lricnd del1oullCil1g the Socicty'.; rcfus;11 to givc allY
despite her husband's stand and hLT tricndslrip with (;l'IlLTal Smuts, support to the war cttort .md advocating ;lctiH' war service fiJr
Margaret Clark Gillett remained. accordillg to her 'Oil, 'all ordin­ Qua kcr you th. ' ,
;lI-y Quaker pacifist lirn ilv opposed to till' w.rr. Apparcnrlv even Anti-war Fricml, responded 111 kind, mincing no wonk The
such a funda l11 en (;)1 ditTlTenlT between p:UTllt' did not disrupt the elderly CVJl1gcltcd J- 13, Hodgk in, J f(Jr111Cr major of l):lrlillgtoIl,
tr.mqu ilitv of the Gillett household nor alter the strictlv tr.rditiou.il \V,lS shocked hv statements made by war supporters in the Quaker
Quak cr upbringing of the children, illcluding iusrrurtion on peace prc,,: 'I ~1l11 amazed at the apparent inahiliry of somc."
principles. On occasion C;cnl'L11 Smuts accol11p;1I1il'd the Gilletts to l'OITC,POIldcIlts to understand the position of the Socicty of Fril'lllis
Oxford Friclld, Meeting wc.mng his militarv u nitorrn, Surely eye­ ill rclatiou to Peace .md War.'" Exchal1gcs hcc.unc more heated
brows WLTe raised, but the preselllT of this worshipping warrior .ltter the p;lSS,lgC of the first Military Servicc Act carlv ill I<) I(). A
IlCVLT caused the mlTtillg to dissolv« into chaotic discord" group ofvi xtcc-u 'di"cIltiIlg I~ril'nds', maIlY bl\lring anricnt ;lIld
Some (~l];]kLTS \vho served in the tiJrn's or otherwise supported venerable Qu.ikcr Il~lll1CS alld allcLJimiIlg to rcprcscnt a 'brgc hody
the W:1r resigncd thl'lr l11cl11bership to avoid bringing 'repro'lCh to of I(~lukcrl opil1ioll', ,ll1IlOl111CCd ill TI/{, Fillies th:lt they, at le;lst,
the n:1I11e of Fricnds';') othLT' l11ain(;)ined a disLTeet silencc, Llut \\oLlld 'stand by ollr COUll try ill hn hour of pnil with othcr joyal
there \v:l, a noisy and trou bleso!llc body of war Friellds who ci tizcus', '-'
Thc Fricl1ds Snvicc C0l1l111ittcc W;lS a particular targct of
11udL' till' POlllt rlut young rnclld" \\!In l'llll\tL'd prior [() l'OIl..,cnprinJ] l']]()\C thl' lurL1\lll}'\ ot (~l1aker war supportns, who also also pourcd scorIl 011 MCl,tiIlg
'ioldllTlIlg O\-l'r rhl' l ()]]]fon o( rlIl' Ihlllll' Ji-Ull( ,\Ill! l',-prl'\\l'd till \ ll'\\- tlut 'thl' 111l'''''..Jgl' 01

thl' SOC!l'ry Iud hn'Jl \tn'llgthl'!ll'd Lltlll'f tlUll \\ l"lhl'lll'd h\ rill' llt\ IT\lty or' 0pIIlJO))
tl.lr SutTlTings' apparcIltly ul)\vaveril1g CIldorscmcIlt of l'VCry policy
l':\pn'\\l'd dllrlllg rhl' \\,If' .. -IF(" (?tIiUill J(,I"j'llrr. I,q thc FSC chosc to pursuc, Whcl1 young QU;lkers bcg;111 to hc
"' hn ,Ill illulllin,)fill~ di\\.:Lh<.,mll OfC:,ldbury--' '( :llllljl,llly C:lIltllfC, ]]]l"lLldjll~ if\ \\",lrflllll'
POhClC\, \ce (:lurk\ I klh\..'llJl, '"1 hl' C:rl'.ltWI1 ()( ,l ("OlllP,lll~ C:u]rurl': (;,/(ihlll")"", I ,"l() J - [(j3 1 ' \l'l' 'IF I() No\'. I()!), ,',;-;'[-3 t~)r.l !l'ttt,:r lOlllpLuning abollt W,dll\'\ promoting W,lf
nit' .-1//11'1"/(11/1 / !lS!(lr!((1I /(t"I'ln/ ', ()2/ I, (Fd). IljS-:'l. 13 --t--t­ ,llld killing .1:-. \'inUOlh ,ll"tl\'][ll'\, AI\o \l"l" t:.nll'\t E. TclyloL 'I )i,ln", [()l-t--', 4- Sept IlJl4-.
:-; Illtl'n'!l'\\ \\"It!l A" Nl(h{)1.1\ (;llkrr, FXl'ter. Allgll\r I()~(l. h1T M,lrg,lTcr (:Llrk (;rlll'tt\ Tv]],p, l\(1~ 22/1, l SF.
,It"tl\'itil'\ 111 ~{)lIth Ati'l(J, \l'C I !e\\'I\\llJ, H{'(~I!,(' l!( r, 'lid .-1hIl 1l I/ J , • .2 "H'-q . .2(>3--t-, 314--[ S ,lIld I [ foor cx,lInp!l'\ of kttLT\ frOlll \\",U rnclld\, <"l'l' 'IF 2l) Aug, Il) I_~, ()52-4-: J Sept. [I) I),

t~)r S1l111t\' CDllllllCllt\ 011 till' flltdlt\ of the <.,utfcrJng l'lldufl'd by ,lI1ti-\\',lr C211,lkn..;, \l'l' (IS(I: 10 Sl'Pt. [f)[S, 7en:." N(1\·, IlJ!)· ~-t-+-): ,llld llj N(l\" IlJ[).1-\71-2,
.':1'1Ciril ll/sjrl 11/l rhl' ,,,,"II/illS P,l/)I'I'"", -t- \",)[\". l'liitl'd b~ Vv'" K, H,111l'lld" ,\lId Jl'.lll V.1n 1hT l>od, Ihld" No\' [\)1). Sj.2-J ,lt1d 2() NtH'. 11)1), SSj"
It)
(Clillbridt(L' ,,-,!J(I), ",, "35, Flit" Tillll'."
J Mclrch I () 1(l. Al\o \l'C "lIlt' !l/(lll"v11.'"ll<1rc\ ,ltuck on tlll\ letter ,1\ ,Ill
') Sl'l' Pl'rc;. Bngh,1111 to I )'lrlmgtoll J\1o]]thly r\/kl'tiJ)~..\ lil/I/li.'. I Hvl]\,l, 10 C)o, II) J -t. 'l"hlbHJI.lIl (It" ""I()\\, moon< by llldl\"Jdll,l!\ ,,"!lo \!lould ltel\"\..' k110\Vll better. /lS. Apnl
~VI, [() J{,. 70
 39 2 British Quakerlslll 1860- t920
imprisoned for rdilsing all torms of service, J B. Braithwaite, Jr.
accused the FSC of causing uuncccsvarv suffering as well as bring­
ing the Society into public disrepute. Yearly Meeting, said
Braithwaite, had 'never authorised the Service Committee to act
as a general stirrer up of strife on its own account', cspcriailv in the
company of radical political organizations like the No-Conscnp­
tion Fellowship. BraIthwaite also cbinled that the extract from
George Fox's declaration of I()(,O inserted into the I <) I I edition
of the Society's Christiall Discijilillc by which the Service Commit­
tee claimed to justify its militant pacifism was :1 'garbled' ntivrcprc­
scnr.ition of the views of c.rrlv Friends. To illustrate his point,
Braithwaite reproduced Ed ward Borrough's I () 55 statc mrnt to
parliamentary soldiers that they should 'not strL'ngthen the hands
of evil dOLTS, hut lay your swords in justice upon e\'ery one that
doth evil'. q
Amidst these attlCks on hoth the .utivitics of the FSC and the
lustoric.il validity of its pacifist position, ;1 convinced Quaker trorn
SattJ-on Walden noted in Tlu- Friclld that when he entered the
Society .md attirmL'd his belief in the statements SL't forth in the
nook tl(IJiscil'lillc .ind the 'Queries', he h:l<1 assumed that .ill Friends
were expected to ahidc bv these principles, including the peace
tcxtimony. When, he asked, had Quaker ideas about PeaL'e and
War been placed in ;1 ditt(.'rent category from other tundamcnml
Quaker belids?"
An answer to this qurst ion W,lS published in the Fticnds Quartcrly
EVil/llillcr by H crlx-rt Sefton-Jones (/,~ 55-/ <)2<)), patent attorm-v,
world traveller, recorded minister and former Clerk of London ,1I1d
Middlesex Qlurterly Meeting. In support of]. 13. Braithwaite Jr.'s
assertion that the FSC was u iisrcprcscnting the peace tcstimonv of
early Friends, Sefton-Jones claimed that QU;lkers had ahv;lys
affirmed the right to usc force against evildoers. Cardill study of
Robert Barclay's remarks on war and fighting, he said, would
inevitably lead one to the conclusion that 'our foremost QuakL'r
theologian ranked war with cockfighting, bull-baiting, may-pole
dancing, bell-ringing and other popular amusements of hIS day ...
[11' less offensive in the sight of God than Hireling Ministry, Oaths,
or Payment of Tithes'. Given such historical evidence, Sefton­
Jones concluded that the Society ought to take the 'earliest possible
" IF. .1 0 M.lrdl 1~17. 2.j(', r , IbId, 2.+()-7.
_ _1
AlJidill,l; ll'oullds. 1918-192<J 393
opportunity of restating in language corresponding to fact
our present doctrine regarding war'. I (,
Responding to what he believed were f~dse and dangerous
misrepresentations of early Friends' views, Edward Grubb noted
that if the Society were to abandon its tundamcnral principle that
war was "never ... necessary', it would simply he following the
example of most other Christian churches and placing itself 'at
the mercy of the Govcrumeut ... and popular opinion, which
.ilwavs makes out that each w.ir, as it arises, is necessary'. Did
Sction-joncs truly wish to sec Friends drift into the sort of nebu­
lous moral condition asvuuu-d by sects like the Christadclphians
and Plvmouth Brcthrcn-e--th.rt this w.rr was wrong tor them, hut
not for the Stlte-',I position .rt once non-Quaker and anti­
social'. I 7
Such censures had little :Ittl'ct on the artivit ics and statements of
(~uaker war supporters, but, in ;1 pr.utical SL'nSl', their ch:lllellges to
the Society's anti-war stance were invariably overruled or ignored.
At Yearly Meeting in 1') I S Sdton-Jones protested against the
reappointment of the Friends Service COIIl11Iittee. The FSC, he
correctly asserted, rcprcscnrcd only one smal! (;lction within the
Society and W;lS cngagcd in 'political activities of which many
Friends did not approve'. These rem.irks were inevitably seconded
by hoth J. B. BLlithwaitc, Jr. and Henry Marriage Wallis, but the
most apparent crfcct of their collective protest W:IS a Yc.rrlv Meet­
ing dccision to place the FSC dircrtlv under its own auspices LIther
than under Meeting for Sutterings. Such an action implied not only
wider support for the Service COI11InittcL' but also less direct super­
vision of its al"tivities.'~
Because unity of idc.ils and purposc were thought to be a major
source of strength in opposing the war, most pacifist Friends
deplored public exchanges with Quakers war-supporters ;IS
unseemly ,md fractious. Still. however disturbed or embarrassed
by public divisions within their religious community, p.rcitist
Quakers could and did point with pride to the (;1Ct that members
r r. H. ~d1:01l-J()I1(,~, 'The Eighth (~lI('IJ' rC)F, April F)I7. 21(J-27· Scc Illgk, First
411i(J/I,1! lncn.l», I (}.f who uorc-, (helt right up to the i",.;uillg of the ")l'cbLltIOIl' of I ()(lO Fox
h.rd .1ckno\Ykdgcd 'th.it cl nU1:!)"tr.HC wh« bore a \\l'Jpon Illi~.dlt pcrnno.iblv u«. it ill ,I Jll'i[
ClLhC'
Edvvard Grubb, 'Eight QUCf\': Rcplv', H)!:",]ulv [~17, .1.j~-'7,
L" Si..'L' Tl, 31 1\.1.1Y 101.'1.3++ for the dl<.,Cll""Wll.
_

 ·W.J. 13rifish Ql/l1kcrislII

who rdilscd to support the Socicrv's official opposition to the war
1860-19.20 ~
.41lidillX 11 'ouuds,
Mission work, co-founder ofa soci:!l and recreational club tor boys
1918-1920 3<))

and cousr riprion were not drummed out of their IlJcctin!2:s but .ind President of the Ackworth Old Scholars' Association,2]
LIther !2:iyen a tair hcarilJg and 'vvmp.ithcrir care'. ") This ott­ Whcn the W:1r began, Darlington Mont hlv Mccr ing, to which
repeated assertion of tolerant forbcaranrc stL1ightaway cvtahlisln-d Middlcsbrough preparative meeting was attached, took a strong
itself .is a part of Quaker xvart imc lI1ythology. Like most rnvths, it anti-war stand, Following the lead of its tormidablc Clerk, J.
requires lJlOditlcatiou and correction. Edward Hodgkin. soon to !2::1Ill prominence as chairman of the
III a post-war book intended to cl.mfv Quakers hl'lids and War and the Soci,ll Order Committee, the Monthly Meeting not
practices to the geneL1I puhlir , Edward Crubb admitted that a unlv circul.ircd Meeting tl)r SuttlTin!2:s' w:lrllillg a!2:ainst 'under­
'!l'w' who had fl'lt dutv-hound to join the Forces 'were dism\'lJed LIking allY service ... which involves becoming a part of the nuli­
by their Monthlv McctilJ!2:s'.2() Sincl' nOlJC of the povt-w.ir statis­ tury machine' but also prepared its own lllessa!2:l' to local Pricnds
tical tabks on Quaker w.i r service provided :1 ti!2:UIT tor dismn1­ '!'L'iter,Hing our protest a!2::1illst all war :IS contrary to the spirit of
mcuts, disnwcring the exact number who \\'LTC elst out would Christ'. The Darlington letter cinph.rxizcd 'our belief as Friends
reL]ulIT c10sc study of the .\!JIII/le Boob of cighty Munt hlv Meet­ th.it it, vv.ir can be ddl'IHiL-d' and counsclicd n rcmbcr, to ask
ings, assulI1ing all still SUJTIYC. As It stands. therc .IIT oulv painful themselves 'if :11l\ participation in or prcp.iratiou for ... [war] c.in
hits of :llJccdoull'\'idellcc .IS, tor cx.unpl«. the hitter rcscnnucnt of h.nmouiz c with our alle!2:ial1Ce to Christ', 2~
former Liberal MP Alti'cd E. Pcasc rh.u his son Clirisr ophcr. xvho In mid-j.inuary I <) I.~ J E. Hodgkin received a letter from Walter
enlisted as a matter of cOlJscicncc .md dlcd 011 the Western Front, Trcvelv.m TholllSOll which, while attesting to Tholllson's cori­
h.rd been stricken troin the rolls of Cuisborou!2:h Monthlv Meet­ tinned belief that war W:1S contrary to the Spirit of Christ, also
2 1
ill!2:. In thesc circumstances. it m.iv be useful to discuss one well­ indiratcd his intention to resIgn his mcnthcrship in the Meetin!2::
dorumcnn-d disovvnnu-nt of an ccouomic.illv and politic.illv
prouuurnr Friend, The case 111:1\' not he typical hut it r.in he If rhc Society' of Fn.-nds ,1' a ,l\L'let\ i, prepared to maint.un that our
Instructive as regards rh.- sorts of distilJctio!lS that could he lJ1.1Cle coulltry ,hould not h.ivc 'l'llt troop' to the a"i,t:lI1CL' of LklgiullI
ill dctling with those who t:likd to uphold peace principles, . If ... there i, nor room III our SociL'ty tor ,IllY Lhtferellcl' of opinion
Walter Trcvclv.ui TholJIS0l1 (I ~7 .~-I <)2~) was ,I <urccssful and or: thi- \'L'xl'd qucsrio» then I mu-t rl'gretfully tl'lldn Illy rl'''gIlCitioll,
!'L'SI1L'ctcd Midd1cshrou!2:h businessll1:1ll as well as a birthright FI'll'nd ,dtl]()ugh Oil ,IiI other matters I .u n III cOl1lpktl' .lCcord with tlIe tellets of
daillling (2uaker COlJIH:CtiollS h:lck to the dan of (;cor!2:e Fox. 22 (~!ukni"11. c,

Atter :1 thorou!2:hlv (2uaker educ;ttioll at Ackworth and [3oothalll

schools, Tholl1son, ill partlJership with IllS (Ither, estahhshed hill1­ Thon1son's prortlTl'd withdr:l\val was held in abcyance uutil hc
self as alJ irolJ l11erch:lIlt ilJ Middkshrough where he, his witl', alJd \\:lS visited hy a Monthly Mcctill!2: Comlllittec to whom hc
d;tu!2:hter were l11cl11bns of the local preparatiYc l11CCtill!2:. IlJ I <) 1-+ .ldmittcd that while hc h;td thus fIr been rcjected as too old tllr
W. T Th0l11so11 .secl11cd :1 l11odl'l QU:1ker citizclJ, acti\'e ilJ HOl11c actiyc miliLlry serYicc, he had dOllc thc llcxt hcst thin!2: by helpin!2:
to sccurc rccruits t'lr the Army, Whcn it was rcvl'aled that in thc
course of this rccruiting activity, Thomsllll had puhlicly identitll'd
f-:liz,lhL'tll F-o.'\ HO\\,lrd, h'it'lIir,-' ,"CfI'IIt' ill If"lIr-llIl/c, iL'llldllll, 11.d.), 3(1--7.
himself as :1 lllcmber of thc Society of Fricnds, he insisted tlut this
Ed\\ Jrd (;rllhh. I r "Ii,H L\ (}II 'I/.: eri.'11/ ? (l \ 111l1()[1 1\) ) -: J n1 cd. I (j.2(). rvpnlHl'd I ()-l.:').
12S rC\TI:Jtion was ill no wayan atteillpt to associatc his opiniolls with
A. F. (>l'.l"C • . \1)' St1/l C/lri."(lj'!ltT ... (Jvl1ddk,hr()ugh Il)!l)), 22(1. Al..,o "n' J\l\)lILl1Jd.
'(~ll,lker }>;lcJlI\ll1', -t-2. For.l hll)gLlphlC.l] ..,kl'kh of \Xi, 1 1"!l()111\OI1. 'l"l' Al'k\\"onh Sl']1()O] ,\lelllor/(I/ .'\·IJfl(CS,
..'..' W,lltcr Trl'\'cl),lll Tho[ll'inll cLllillni dlrl'et linl'c1gl' (rl)1l1Johllltl'clk"", High Slll'ntfof I ejfl
N()trJl)glulll ,111d Olll' o( (;eorgl' 1'0:,\'\ L'JrllL'\t t()]]O\\l"!"\. \Xi T. Thom"pI) (II rl1l' (Jerk pf ..'-.J. ,\lillll(e,\, l)t\l!\l, 17 Scpt. ll)I-t-, -t-3S ,llld S lkt. I ()I-t-, -t--t-1-2. l'lllph..1'\l~ ill nngilul.
I),lrlJll~toll MOllth]) Meeting (I. Ed\\Jrd Ilud~klJl), cPpy III ,\lilil/ft'." l)l\1!\l, () l)l'c Il)!:-;. \\ T. ThoJ11"OIl rl) the (~krk ut-l ),lrlingrlllJ MUllrhly rVh'ding, 7 I )Cl'. I ~ l-t-, cOP:' 1Il
~ 1(1.
,\1/11/111", 1 l 1\1 1\1. '~J.1I' ")1.,. ~('J.
 39° British QlIakerism 1860-1920
those of any other member of the Society. Thomson also claimed
that despite his obvious disagreement with the position taken by
his Monthly Meeting, he really had no wish to resign his member­
ship and would only do so if the Monthly Meeting believed, as he
obviously did not, that 'testimony against all war is an essential part
of the Society's principles'. 2(.
Since Darlington Monthly Meeting had clearly stated that the
peace testimony was ~1 fundamental tenet of Quakerism, It 'reluc­
tantly, and after prayful consideration.' decided to disown Walter
Thomson. Darlington's decision to cast out the erring member was
based on the Meeting's consensus that while actual military service
might be forgiven as ~1lI expression of honest convictions, however
misguided, appearing on recruiting platforms and attempting to
convince others to join in acts of war and killing went over the
line. Thus, when Thomson asked tor an enumeration of the pre­
cise rca sOIlS for his disownment, the Meeting cited his public
refusal to adhere to the peace testimony as well as 'his action in
appearIng on a public platform in support of recruiting for the
army'.:'?
At this point, Thomson dug in his heels and refused to acquiesce
in the decision of the Monthly Meeting, giving notice of his
intention to appeal to Durham Quarterly Meeting, the next high­
est authority. This appeal was apparently part of a general offensive
Thomson had determined to wage against the decision of London
Yearly Meeting to adhere to its traditional peace principles even as
the Nation was in grave peril. WIllk he sparred WIth Darlington
Monthly Meeting, Thomson also used the occasion of his Presi­
dential Address to the Ackworth Old Scholars Association to air
the case IlX his maintainiug membership in the Society in spite of
his support for the war.
At Ackworth, Thomson seemed to be on more favourable
ground for disputing the views of Quaker pacifists. The wartime
record of Quaker boarding schools in upholding the peace testi­
mony was ambiguous at best. One post-war commentator on
Quaker education noted that although Friends had depended on
their schools to champion the Society's ideals and principles, 'they
W. -I Thomson [0 the Clerk of I ),trlillgtoll Monrhlv lV1ccting, 7 I )cc 1l)1-l. copy III
..'1>
I)MM. I~JlIl. I'}I). ~(q.
;\1111111/"'.
- Ibid. II Feb. I'}I). ~M; .ind 13 March I'}I). ~73-~
.......
Abiding fl'Ollllds, 1918-1920 397
failed llS . . . in the recent crisis'.oS Statistics indicated that old boys
from Friends' schools who served in the forces heavily outnum­
bered not only war resisters but also those engaged in non-military
alternative service. At Ackworth, for example, nearly 500 former
students joined the army or navy as compared with [92 who joined
the FAU or Friends War Victims Relief Committee; only nineteen
went to prison. The tigures for Boorham were similar, with 227
serving in the forces and 103 in Quaker war relief bodies, while
thirteen took the absolutist position.")
An obvious reason for this imbalance W~IS the fact that Quaker
schools had long since begun admitting non-Friends. One of these,
the historian A. J. P. Taylor, a student at Bootham during the war,
recalled Headmaster Arthur Rowntrccs wartime fence-sitting as 'a
remarkable exercise in Quaker flexibility'. One Sunday evening ~I
lecture would be delivered by a QU~lker CO, to be followed the
next week by the bellicose exhortations of a soldier lately returned
lrom the front. 1()
A printed account of the Ackworth Old Scholars Association
(AOSA) meeting over which Walter Thomson presided in the
Spring of [915 supports Alan Taylor's recollections. Prior to
Thomson's presidential address, the A( )SA Secretary's Report
was presented by Malcolm Sparkes, a Quaker socialist later jailed
as a conscientious objector. Sparkes' Report detailed wartime
services of Old Ackworth scholars, ranging lrorn the founding of
the Friends' Ambulance Unit by Philip Noel-Baker to a Lieutenant
Malone's continuing service in the Royal Irish Riflcs.:' [ Sparkes
concluded his presentation by reminding Old Scholars that, what­
ever path they chose 'whilst civilisation itself is bcinj; trampled
underfoot in the terrible military struggle', all were obliged to
..'\ Ch.irl« . . E. Sunfield. 'Problc:»- of Edur.inon ill Rcl.uio» to TC'itimony', ,-1/:(:, (~(fi(/'dl
Rr'Jlllf( (London 1<).20). l]lJ
..'l) Jv1011Lllld, 'Quaker !),IClri\Il\', -ll). About ) per ccnt oLdl Friend" ofmilit.irv .lge took .111
.il-.. olunsr . . t.uid: the flgllrL' for Ack\H)rth \\".1" In" th.ui 3 pcr cent .1IHL fc)r lIoorh.un. Ic.. :-. rh.m
-4 pcr CL'IH.
A. J 1'. Tl\lm. I'cI<,,,,,,1 1-11'(01)'. ~S.
11 SL'C cJ1lirl)'-Ft)f/rlh ."-ll/llu,lI RCP(lfl (!( th« ."-l(k'lI'tJrfl, ()/t! S(!lll/ilrs' ."-lSS(l(i(lfiol/. cdrtcd by'
Albert C" Linncv (York 1<jI(J). 1 [-13" SparkL'''' bCC.1Il1C a L"clcbrity Jlllong Fricnd-, <1:-. t()U1H1L'r
of the Parli.nncnt ot' rh« 13l1lkhng lndusrrv and originator of the plan upon which the
\Vhlflcy Coun.ils for <cttlcrm-nt of industri.il di"putl''' were b.iscd. SL'L' Cr.lil.llll, (;(lIl~Hipti(1n
<llld COILI(lt'I/((', ()), 2-4.1.
_l.
3()~ British Qllakerlslll 186o~ 1920
prepare themselves to contribute to 'the great re-construction that
must follow the conclusion of the war'. 32
President Thomson began his own presentation by nothing how
'the whirligig of time' had forced him to come to grips with the
question of a possible conflict between his obligations to C;od as a
Quaker and to country as a citizen. Ciivcn the desperate situation
flCing the Nation, he believed that 'the onlv safe course ... [was] to
lollow Ceo. Fox's advice and let each ascertain tor himselfwith the
guidance of the Holy Spn'it what is the Will of Cod for us In this
matter'. H:1Ving thus pl.ucd himself in the august comp,m\' of the
Founder, Thomson went on to provide 'an excellent SUn1l11:H;: of
the arguments against an absolute peace tcstu uonv. trorn the 17th
century through to John Bright and Caroline Stephen', repclting
vcrb.rtim many of the points he had made in his letter to Darling­
ton Monrhlv. MeetilJ'T.· ,..,
13
Thomson concluded Ins address In noting th.it as ;1 Im',11 Briton,
he was hard put to 'divorce 111\' responsibilities of citizcnship trom
any oblig;ltions .is ;1 QU;lker'. In his opinion, the Socictv's decision
to embrace a uarrow interpretation of ;lccepuble wartm rc service
was 'creating a new precedent' in seeking 'to ostracise ;1I1d cxcoui­
municatc ... members who think the present war justifiable ...
.is ... the lcvscr of two evils'. 11
No one in that audience rosc to dispute W;llter Thomson's
courlusions, and resolutions of thanks, if obligatorv, seemed
entirely gcnuine. Indeed, Ackworth's Headmaster, Frederick
Andrews (1~50-1l)22), sitting Clerk of Meeting tor Sutferings
.ind ;1 leader among Friends who opposed the Boer War, headed
off the possibility of ;l11Y awkward dispurnrious. decLJring 'it is
altogether necessary at such a critical moment in our countrvs
history. and also in the history of the Socictv of Friends, that
we should approach this question with an open mind. .ind be
prepared to go wherever truth lc.ids us'. With that. Andrews
moved that discussion of the topic be deferred until an impending
informal conference would provide the opportunity 'to sift ;111
.inSi I<. "J"'''. [1,
" Ibid. [s-[(): W T. Thomvon to Clerk. D'v1M. 7 Dec [1)14 . .\/illlll"S. DM.\1. q J l l l
IVI), -tJlJ: .md Malcolm Thol1L1" to John I ockcrr (copy), 31 Jul~ !1)lJ.'\. (vccn rhrouuh
counc:--y of the author).
11 "lOS·! 1<."1"'''. 32
..........
AbUllli< fl'olillds, 1918-1920 3l)()
,lrgu111ents ... in hope that it may help us to arrive at the real
truth ... '3'
In the meantime, while W. T. Thomson's appeal of his disown­
ment was being considered by Durham Quarterly Meeting, Dar­
lingtou Monthly Meeting issued a letter to members who had
enlisted in the forces nothing that while 'we feel that patriotism
should not lead LIS to actions incompatible with higher service
under the Prince of Peace... We have decided to take no
further disciplinary action in the case of those members who
have taken up ar11ls"'!' Two months later the Yearly Meeting's
Peace Committee issued a similar Minute expressing its 'earnest
hope that no question of disciplinary treatment' for serving mem­
bers be considered by Yearly Meeting. The Peace Committee also
spoke directly to those who had enlisted, noting th.it while they
had taken a step which had cut them otf from other Friends, their
convictions could be respected in the spirit 'of love and true
syiupathv' ."
e)bviously, a consensus was developing to avoid t;lking any
action against serving members. Responding to this concili.itory
spirit, I)urlum Quarterly Meeting set aside Walter Thomson's
disovvmucut, restoring his membership. This judgement caused
considerable convrcmation In I )arlington where the Monthly
Meeting's ,\11111111'0' reiterated Its opinion 'that the position taken
by the .ippcllant, and his repeated ;lppearance at recruiting meet­
ings, are utterly inronsist.mt [sicJ with the principles we profess on
the question of Peace'. Still, while expressing 'much regret' over
the Quarterly Meeting's action, the Darlington Monthly Meeting
decided, in keeping with the 'general desire in the Society', not to
,s
pursue the matter ,my further, '
For his part, Thomson was not appeased by the meeting's
reluctant forbearance. In December 1l)15 he rejected reinstatement
on the ground that the majority of the Darlington's members
'regard my association with them as a thing to be deplored',
Expressing regret at the setting aside of that 'broad spirit of
" Ibrd .. J3-4. For Frederick AndlT\Y'" oppoviriou to the Anglo-Boer War, 'il'l' Hcwi-on,
[[('(~I!('
(!( f I 'lld .-I//llllllils, 13<)·
", .\/illllft'_'. DMM. 13 Mclrch [~I'. 474
i - .\lilll/tt's. PC,lCl' Cormurrrc-c-. \ ,() M.l';- 1<)1:) and 'To Mcrubcr-, of the Society of l-ricnd.
Who h.ivc Enh-tcdijunc I~l" ISF.
,~ .\lilll/tes, l rMlvl. 12 Aug. Il)I), -t-l))-("


4°° British Quakerisl1l 186(1-1920
tolerance' which characterized early Friends, Thomson uncondi­
tionally resigned from the Society and immcdiatclv enlisted in His
Majesty's forces, If Walter Thomson's service with the Royal
Engineers severed his connection with Friends, it also elevated
his stature in the local couununitv as well ~IS with the Liberal
Party constituency organization. His wartime efforts culminated
with his election as MP tor West Middlesbrough in December
I <) I X. There was apparently no post-war reconciliation with
Quakerism. but Thomson proved to be a worthy MP, with a
special interest in slum clearance, whose electoral majorities regu­
larly increased until his untimely death in I<)2X at ,lge 52.~<)
Darlington Monthly Meeting's thwarted decision to cast out
Walter Trevelyan Thomson was unusual and mav have, to some
degre'C, rcricctcd the strong opuuons and personality of its Clerk. j.
Edward Hodgkin. Another !;Ietor in Thomson's disownment was
the geneLd consensus th.it while actual milit.irv service might be
t<:)rgivul, appearing on recruiting platforms and attempting to
convince otlicr-, to join in acts of war .md kdhng could not be.
The tJet that other Friends, including Marriage' Wallis, were not
disriplincd lor rcrruitinp; acti vities rdkets the strong measure of
autonomy permitted to monrhly meetings. In the end. of course,
r iurham QuartLTly Meeting decided that even pumshlng this
otfcncc was a breach of the Quaker spirit of tolerance and recon­
ciliation.
Such ~l spirit apparently prevailed 111 most Quaker meetings.
John Henry 13ar!ow, Clerk of Yearly Meeting, told his wife of a
Committee appointed in Bin ningliam Monthly Meeting to advise
whether some action should be taken ag~linst members who had
enlisted. In the end this Committee decided to avoid punitive
measures, 'but to S;)y tranklv we regret their decision and state
more strongly than ever our belief in the unlawfulness of war'. ~()
Whl'11. at Yearly Meeting in I<) I X, the elderly pacifist William
Littleboy expressed the hope that Friends would hold out 'the
right hand of fellowship' to all conscientious objectors, Quaker
and non-Quaker, when they were released from prison. a lemale
Friend urged that this same cordial hand be extended to 'those who
W T Thomson to Clerk. J)MM copied in .\JiIlIl!t'S, J)MM, <) Dec 1<)15. 5Jt) and
"J
AOSA. Xlcmoria! Notia», 19(1.
'" M C. BarlO\\ to Mary Millior Barlow, I <) I S. John Henry Barlo\\' Papers. London.
P()""t·~.;,iOll
of M. M. Harlow Br.urhw.urc.
.~
J
I
"-llJidillg Woullds, 1918-1920 4°1
were actually engaged in the fighting'. No one disputed her senti­
ments and, so far as may be ascertained, the usual post-war practice
of local and monthly meetings was to welcome returning soldiers
without comment or criticism.'!' There were, however, some
limits to what might be tolerated.
After John W. Graham presented the Peace Committee' 's
Report to Yearly Meeting in 1<)IX,j. 13. 13raithw:Iite,Jr. inquired
,IS to whether British Quakers were 'now prepared to take a
definite step towards international peace'. This might be done,
Braithwaite said. if Yearly Meeting announced its support tor
President Woodrow Wilson's plan to establish a League of Nations
,IS an international instrument tor enforcing peace. Like William
Penn's scvcnrccnth-ccn tury PI'l'JIosal J'I' the PI'CSCllt and Future Pcaa:
of EII/'(l]'C, Braithwaite said, Wilson's scheme was based Oll the
recognition that 'any plan for abolishing war must depend upon
the power of coercion of those who would not comply'.
Braithwaite believed that by endorsing the League in all its details,
Quakerism could 'take its place at the head 01 the great peace
movement 11l the world'. Herbert Sefton-jones seconded
Braithwaite's remarks, calling the question of support for the
League of Nations the 'most important subject the Society has
ever had before it·.~2
Yearly Meeting was not convinced. Certainly. some may have
seen the appeal of these pro-war Friends to this sparsely attended
gathering :lS a subterfuge for manoeuvring the Society, which had
maintained its peace testimony at considerable cost, into accepting
the righteousness of force when peace finally carne. Henry T.
Hodgkin expressed the view that Friends were first and foremost
a religious body whose mission was 'to bring back the Churches to
uncompromising loyalty to Jesus Christ'. Their success in pursuing
this spiritual quest, Hodgkin noted, 'might help to call forth a real
League of Nations of which brotherhood would be the key'. Clerk
John H. Barlow, who had just returned from the 'Challenge to
Militarism' trial, closed the discussion by ruling that j. B.
Braithwaite's proposal had not received sufficient support to justify
Y curly Meeting's endorsement of the League of Nations.f'
The Clerk's pronouncement, which seemed to reflect the view
that to be pro-League was to be, in effect, pro-war, settled the
111
" See TF, 31 May I91~, 346 for the' discussion. " Ibid. H()-7. '.l Ibid.
 .....

4°2 Biitish QU'I!.:en_11I1 1860-1920 AbidiU(f ILl/IUdS, 1918-1920 4°3

matter for the time being. L3ut Quaker supporters of the League Such declarations by well-known Friends moved the Peace
were not so casilv put l)lf III September Il) I S they inserted ~111 Committee to raise the alarm. Even before the war ended, this
advertisement in The Friend endorsing the League of Nations and Committee had written to Meeting for Surfcriugs expressing its
claiming the active support of over three thousand Quakers, a concern that the Friends' of the League of Nations Committee
tiguH' H'presenting 15 per cent of the entire membership of Lon­ might 'seriously embarrass the Society if the press and public
don Yearly Meeting. Suhscqucntly, a Fric nds Lc.iguc of Nations ,lssumed it had some ot+lcial capacity.r Within a few weeks these
Committee (FLNC) was formed. with Lord Gaintord (j. A. apprchcnvious \VCTe tullv realized. Whel1 Woodrow Wilson
l\'ase), colliery owner and long-time Liberal MP, as president:':' stopped in l.ondou on his way to the Versailles Coufcrcncc. the
.md J. U. Braithwaite, Jr. as chairman. The ~lvowed purposc of the rriends of the Le'lguc of Nations Conunutcc IILl\)aged to sl'nlH' all
FLNC was to secure Yearly Meeting sanctioll tor the League of .iudirnrc. FLNC President Lord (;aintllrd introduced his ~lssoci~ltl's
Nations. If war Friends could aCl-omplish this objective. thcv to Wilsoll as ~\ delegation horn the SOCiety of Friends who, while
would also ettl'ctl\Tly validate their argument that morallv right­ tr.idirion.rllv opposed to wnr and violence, 'realized rh.ir ~IS a last
eous tl)rCe W~IS, in extreme circumstauccs. the only possible path to rcxo rt the cmplovurcnr of force tor the realization of grl'.lt ideals
lasting peace. Crrt.iinlv. this W~IS the stance assumed hy J 13. ]\)ight he un.ivoid.ihlc and necess~lry'.-I·' Manv l-ricnd-; including
Braithwaite, Jr. in th, final wartime issue of '1111' lricnd. L3egllll)]\)g IS,I,lC Sharp, the Recnrding Clerk tor Yearly Meeting, ,'''pres\ed
with the assertion th.rt 'the whole tenor of ScnptulT justifies the serious ronvtcru.u ion with till' t.nt thut while the prcss h.id ;IPP~H­
usc of torcc tor the rcstr.nnt .ind punishment of evil', L3Lnthwaitc cntlv gone out of its \\'~IY t o portr.ry (~l];lker supporters of the
noted that nations repres,'nting S4 per cent of the world's populn­ Le,lglle ~IS offici.il rcprcscnr.u ivr-, ot the Society, no member of
tion had combined to truxtr.ttc the designs of a 'great evil power' pro-Lc.uruc delegation h.id t.rkcn steps to correct this h~JrI11tLd
bent on world conquest. With peace in sight these allied states l11 i\conceptioll.")
proposed 'to enter into mutual obligations which shall render w.tr Evcntuallv, Meeting tor Sut+~Tings, perhaps ~IS much ch~lgrilled
~IS ucarly impossible as hum.m arr~lI1gl']\)l'IHs c.m achieve'. Friends bv the spcrt.iclc of publicly aired ditflTl'I1lTS .nuouj; Friends as by
who claimed to oppose this arrangcmcnt on ~ll-count of their pe~lce ]'o\\ible .issociation with supporters of the Lc.iguc of Nations,
priuriplcs obviously had, Br.rithw.nt c asserted, 't:uled to grasp the appointed ,I group ofrepresentatives to meet with Lord (;aillstl)rd's
vital distinction between the usc of the sword tor conquest and its Cornmittcc .md resolve differences. Whl'll, however, Eriw.ud
USl' for the restraint of evil ... rvr.muv.":' Ibckllllusl' reported back for this ~Id hoc COl11ll1ittn', he uotcd
Another prominent Quaker propollellt of thc Ll'~lgue was Sir th.n reconciliation had agalll been slliashed UpOIl thl' rock of
Ceorgc Nrwru.m , who, as Prcsidcut of the Friends' Ambulance milirarv torcc, 'ldding 'it would be nothing short of a c.il.uu irv if
Unit, h.id clashed repeatedly with the Fricnds Service Committee. as .ilmo-t the only rehgious body xvhirl: st.mds for ~I practical belief
Ten d~IYS attcr thl' war ended, Newman chaired a Confcrcnc« in the potenc\' of the Cospel ll1ess~lge of good-will to all men
on the Lcague of Nations which met at Devonshire House. Pictur­ though Jesus Christ. we should ... 1I0W publicly .itfinu t1L1t military
ing the League as the only viable n rc.uis tor ensuring the future tl)rCe is, on ceruin ucc~lsiol1s, the ultimat« remedy for wrong"O
pClce of the world, Newman expressed his hope' that the Society of In Il)Il) Yc.ulv Mcct irn; rl'jl'ctcd 'the xchcn rc of the Leagul' of
Friends would 'givc' a sincerc, a unitcd and a determincd support to NatiollS ... ell1bodlL'd m thc 1)~lris Treaty'. 5' And although the
the idca and the principle of a League of Nations'. -1(' League W~IS discussed ~lt S0111e length at the All-Friends Conkrence

,- .\1111111''', "",lel' C,>Jllllllttl'l·. !\ISS Vol (\, (I<JI(l-21). 31 (kt. 'v,s. LSI'
.~..J-For J. A. PC.lse, \l'C Chapter () ,)hO\"l".
1" 1'111' Fill/c.<, . ~O !)L'l 1\) J S. -to /\[,,() "L'L' -IUl-kcf, 'EllgiI"h (~l\,d~cr" ,llld World W,lI I .220­
..J-~ '1'I·:.s Nov. lCj,k, (j(ll). Sl'C ibid l() J,1l1 11)11). J-t f~)r .Il1nOlll1Cl'lllCIH llt~ thl' Fril'Ild,,'
2() for.l dl"Cll"'lIUll of (~lI,lkLT dltt~'rl'lkl'''' (l\"L'f "upp0rt for rill' I.l\lglll' ot' NJtion....
I C,lguc of Natl0n~ C0I111111ttce.
N ~l'l' rr. roJlIl. l<)l(), I-t-1() for.l kllgrl1\" "ulllilury ot'thc dchcltl'.
4(' 'J'f<: 2lj Nov. I l) I~, hl)c)-700.
S,'l' L\.\!. 1919. ('2-3 " IbId. (,O
 4°4 Bri fish Qllakerislll 1860-1920
of 11)20, London Yearly Meeting neVLT established an official
position regarding that body. In any case, the threat of further
embarrassing disputes as to who spoke tor British Quakerism
diminished as the Friends' League of Nations Committee was
gradually absorbed into the League of Nations Union. Both Lord
Cainford and J. B. 13raithwaite were elected to the Council of the
LNU in [1)11) and Braithwaite served on its Executive Conuu ittcc
~lS well. While neither exerted much inAuence on the future
direction of Yearly Meeting, both rcmaiucd Friends into honoured
old age.
TO(;ETHER A(;A[N' THE ALL-f'RIENDS
,111 those who bear the name of Friend with the object of giving full
CONFERENCE. 1<)20
consideration to the deeply inrportuut subject of how to secure a
London Yearly Meeting's finn and persistent opposition to the war
and ronscription tempered and hardened Friends' peace testimony.
adding strength and clarity to rwcuricth-ccnuuv Quaker pacifism.
In British sor ictv as ~l whole the qucxtron of what one did in the
war became a sort of crude litmus test tor patriotism: within the
Society of Friends. by contrast. the manner in which one resisted
the W~1r provided a rough guide to individual inAuence during the
inter-war period. Those who suffered most, the absolutist con­
scientious objectors. came to be most highly regarded, ;ll1d some
level of resistance was almost a necessity if a mcuibcr W;lS to clrry
any real weight. As historian Leigh Tucker noted, post-war leaders
'came from those who remained true to their beliefs and had done
so through personal experience and ... example. These Ionucd the
mcristcmatic point of a Society which was still vital."2
The resolute adherence of British Friends to peace principles had
another positive atfcct on the larger, world-wide body of Friends.
The admiration and sympathy with which Quakers in the United
States viewed the war resistance of their British cousins allowed
many evangelical American Friends to put aside concerns about the
growing influence of liberal religious ideas in 13ritain and to extend
a hand of unity in the struggle against war. This process had begun
in 11)[ 5, when New York Yearly Meeting wrote to London
~~ Turki-r, 'Ellgli'';/1 Quaker. ,lilt! Wurld W,lr I', ~J)(). Also 'ice How.ml. Tric'l1lb: SCr\"iL'C'.
J 1.30.
Abidillg WOl/nds, 1918-1920 4°5
offering its aid in 'any joint enterprise for peace' .'3 On the British
side, the initial inspiration for a post-war congress of Friends which
would attempt to define the Society's role in the post-war world
may have come from a special subcounnittce of Yearly Meeting
appointed in r o [5 under the leadership of Henry T. Hodgkin and
John William Graham. Unfortunately, other than a widely distrib­
uted pamphlet, Lookill,l; 'j(Jt/lllrds Peace, nearly all of this subcom­
mittee's papers have been lost and, thus, its influence in shaping the
Conference is difficult to mcasuro."! In any case, the idea of a post­
war reassessment of Quakerism as a world religion touched a
responsive cord among British Friends. At Yearly Meeting in
I I) 1 CJ, a proposal was put forward tor a post-war conference 'of
general and lasting peace'."
In Novcm bcr II) I () Mcctiug tor SUffcTings acted on this proposal
by appointing a Special Committee, chaired by Edward Grubb, to
consider the prospects tor a Peace Contcrcncc of all Friends. \(,
Amidst the disorder and uuccrt.iintv of war, it was difficult to
make precise plans, but by April II) 17 the Committee reported
th.it 'it had conununicatcd with American Friends of all branches
Iincluding Hicksitcs I, who had gi vcn warm welcome to the pro­
ject'. On the strength of this respollSe the Committee proposed a
'World Conterenee' of Friends, to meet at Devonshire House as
soon as possible after the end of the war, with four hundred places
allotted for Friends trout outside London Yearly Meeting. The
projected cost for such a gathcrinp, was i),500, an expenditure
Edward Grubb kit w.ix justified in the flCt that this would be 'the
most import.inr Conference eVLT called by Friends. _. designed not
only to clear and deepen the Peace testimony of our Society, but to
bind together its scattered branches in common work for the
,; R()~LT C:. Wi]\l)!l. 'The Bc\t Thing;., 1I1 YL' WOf\t Til11l", ill QuakerislII: A fl~IY t:FLi/;',
,',hted b) I !.J1l' Erik AJrl'k .ind orhcr-, (KlIl·kLTtl)fl.l~l·t, I<)S2). I H.
q Horace C. Alcx.mdcr. the b\t surviving mcmhcr of rhi-, subcouuniru-« (he died ill
I tj()o). broughr rlu-, mto rm.ition tt) IllY .iucnrion in a lct t.-r uf 2J November I Vi-! j, tugdhCf
with lns unpubli-In-d l''i'iJy 'Bririsl: Pru-ud-, and the' War of 19'-4-'
" ,4 FC Ut/i,;,d Re!""r, 3("
~I) Other member of this CUltlillittl'l' WLTC' John H. Hu-lovv, Ch.irlr-, SUllsficld and
Ldw.ird 13.1cklllHI\C, the I Ionor.irv Sccrcr.iry.
 ..J- 0 ( ) Btitish QII'I/..:crislII
I .-lInd/II,\; l['lllllds, 1918-/920
coming of the Kingdom of (;od,"- So. Britisl: Quakers. who had
begun the war years at Llandudno bv declaring the unshakable
moral imperative imposed by their peace principles. would end the
years of conflict with Quakcrismv lirst world-wide conference Oil
the themes of 'permanent universal peace' for the world as well ,IS
reconciliation and unity for all prcviou-lv divided Friends. After
the war ended, four delegates from Loudon travelled to Phil.r­
delphia and on to Richmond to co-ordinate lin,11 arrangements
for this tirsr Quaker world cOlllc'rence."s
NUll' hundred .uid thirty-six delegates") assemhled .rt I )nomhire
I Io u-;c Oil 12 August 1<)20 to begin discuv.ion of 't luir lusrorir
Tcxt imonv and its application to the conditions of the world tod.iv.
Ohviouslv, they held out high hopes tor this cxtr.iordiuarv gather­
I11g,'H' These expectations were ably sunnu.uizcd bv Hcnrv T.
l lodgkin who was about to return to his mission.rrv work in (:lul1a:
I )urillg the \\"11'. \\'l' IL1\'C ;111 f"ls'C'd rhrouuh ,kef' \\',lIlTS .uid our of our
struggl,' ;1lld sorrow ncvv ,'oll\'idIOIIS h.iv. hl'l'll \\011 ,1I1d", old Olll'S
h.ivc been strellgthl'lll'd, For ollr'C'[\'l", the W;1r ILlS mc.inr ,I
elTt;lill I11l';1SlIrc of ivol.irion .u u] IlllSlllllkrst,lI1c!mg. but ;11'0 a gn',][
fl..'))owslllf' with 1l1;1lly \'lTV till,' xpirir-, III v.mons cinlcs. Even mor.­
import.mr. 11 has led liS to sn' th.ir thl' \\,;1\ tor 'ClL'i;1I ITI1L'\\'al is till' \\'.1\'
of Chri-ti.u. .u.ivrnt un-, thl' full ;IClTpt'lIlCC of .111 rivk- cnr.uh-d III till' \\,]\
l1fll1\'l', " I
Although the peace tcsru nonv was the org;1l1izing theine around
which deliberations would go f(ll'\nrd, Williaul Charles
13Llithwaite's iutroductory address stressed th.ir the 'fulle-r vision
of a true way of lift.' for men will take u-; bcvond the torm.il
statemellt of our Pe;lCl' testimony to the t:u'-reachiug i"Ul'S ofsoci;d
1860-1920
T
4°7
and intcrnariou.il behaviour tint belong to it ... ,('2 To explore and
develop these issues, Prclnuin.rrv Commissions, seven each in
Britain and North America, had been appointed to report to the
conference 011 topics ranging fi'0111 the 'Pundamcnt.il Basis of the
Peace Te,till1011Y' to 'Methods of Propagelnda' to 'Iutcruational
Service' ('3 The reports of each of the fourteen commissions.
incorporaring Sc\CLI1 hundred pelge, and presumably embodying
'the most thorough and exhaustive srudv of the application of
peKe principles to Quaker belief .md pr.nticc, were separately
printed. bound, and made available to the dele-gates."! Obviously,
much time .md trouble went into the formularion of these Reports,
but for ;111 of their direct influence on proceedings, they might
never h.ivc been vvrirrcn. StIlL they m.ikc interesting IC;1\ling ;IS
regards the perceptions of post-war Friends and espcl'i;dly tor the
considerable dittlTcIlCCS between British and American imprcs­
Sions,
()\cr;lll. the contributions of the Amcric.m Commissions ~lrc
CIc,IL reasonable. pLlgmatic. and optimistic. Tlicv seem to have
been written bv prnctical mcn, and a flow won iru , and are, as a rule,
devoid of deep spiritual rctlcctio». 111 contrast, the British Rcpon:
rend, at times. to be shghtl\ fuzzv, leallillg toward the mystical.
while ill other mstanccs rec0I11111CI1(Jlllg d.uinjr, even radical. ideas
.md progralnllles. The problem, of course, was ill tryurg to incor­
por.irc the filldillgs ottourtccu Conuuivsio ns uito the Conference's
deliberations, as IlO svsrcmaric method \\;IS developed for relating
their (LJI1L'IUSIOn-; to the daily sessions. I )espite the time available­
tor preparation, upparcnrlv no serious thought had been givell to
the l1en'ssit\• tor a wciuhtvt"'! , stccrinu
t " l committee to t­uuidc the
procccdings toward the cornplcrion of the carctullv developed
agel1Lb. ()ne (~uaker historiall has a-;serted that, ;IS a rl',ult, the

CftTIl\\'oud. 1f"/,i.I/)(I"-' (.If "l"nlll,. -::1 ~ /1. () :~pril Il)I~. 25':;~ ,llld \V1I11.1111 C
BLlIlh\\',litl" 'Thl' (:ontC"rl'lll"l": A V]\1\)11 nt"lt-- Pov"lhllitil'''', .-U/ j:r!t'lId.\ (,'(111/('1"1'11(1', 1.1)/1[/1)/1, \\:. l ' BLllth\\'.Iltl'.· rt1l' (:Olltl'rl'lln" ,---\I-'e, (;lIidc l~ S(IIlI'Cllil. -; ,II III ."1/"(:, ()11I(i,11
,'II/,~II.\f 12 Itl .!(l, 1l)2(l' .·1 (~'/IIrll' ,11111 ,~(IIlI!(,lIi,- (( (llllhHl I Ilj2Uj), 'i, J.(t'J!t l l"f, 3 1
,~ If 'hi"'IWI,\ t.1( 'I nlfll, .:'.1 -;; .---\ 1"(.'. ()1171/(1I I~Cf)(lr1, J !.
(;rcl'll\\"(){)L!. ,,; Thl' topic, ll1\l"ti~Jtl'l1 I" thl' t '''lllllll\,I''ll' \\ lTl' I. TIIF FUNIlAMENI/\L llASIS:
\l) till' olilci,tl dclq':;,HL''I ttl rilL' CUI!t(:rl'lllL' .f()7 ()j"II) rl'prl'''l'lltcd I (lI11hHl YL',lrh
()f II, NAI IONAL LIFE ANI) INI EIZN/\! IONl'd IZEI.A nONS: III. PERSONAl. IIFF
Ml'Ctillg, JJ() (J(/~Ir,) \\'L'rC (r\lIll Nnnh Allll'ri(",I, I1ldudillg "L'\'L'11 C,lll.ldi,lll"_ ,Illd "~-;- r(l"II) ANIl SOCIETY; IV, PROBLFMS (IF EI JUt:A1 It IN; V, THF I IFF OF TilE SOCIETY
ti'OIll))uhllll. Thl' rClll.lll1111g t~lrLy-"i.\ ()",,), L",IIIIL' fro III A11',t1".II.1" 1,1 (10), Ch1l1,1 (S). IllLiJ,"1 01 IIUENIlS VI. METIiOIlS OJ' PROI'ACANIlA: VII IHE INTERNATIONAl.
N"m.l\ (,).,1.'1,.111 (41, South Ati'ic., (4). Ilc-lll1urk e,).
SHU (J), f-rJlh'l' (2). ,~IJd,l!!.,,,.lr JII,I SFIWICE OF FRIENIlS
Jllll,lk'l ('-I _41'(.' ()ttici,l! Rcpor/, 2Jl-J I, (ll-()(l. Thl' aCjltlrts of thL' ,C\'L'l1 13nti'dl (:Olllllll .... "iOlh
/\Fe. OIli,i,,1 RCI,,"t, J I, \\'LTl' pubiJ'\ht'd ,1" FIll.' fJCdt"l' 'j~-.l(Jllltlll}' t~'- rllt' \(lcicfy t!( Fricnds (London [llj20J).
J-l,:llry T Hodgkll1, LCrlCf:\ (Londo]] n,d.), LL'[rLT N\.) J. /\ugu"t 11)20. 1-2

I
..........


I
4 0 11 British QuakerislII J 86(1-1920
conference stumbled along in a desultory fashion, 'at no wry high
level'. ('I
This difficulty may be illustrated by comparing the tone of the
reports of the Gritish and American versions of Commission II I on
'Personal Lile and Society'. The American Report was filled with
lofty generalities emphasizing truth, justice, and goodwill. It did go
so far ,IS to criticize 'the unearned wealth of inheritance' and to
deprecate a system of production that had been 'so diverted as to
leave an insufficient supply of necessities for the poorest and
weakest'. 1,1, Yet what the American Friends may have believed to
be bold declarations appear pale and thin when compared to the
conclusious of the British Commission which included a majority
of members from the Socialist Quaker Society. The British Report
declared, in the spirit of SQS's confrontational wartime stance as
well as its recent atrractiou to guild socialism, that the world-wide
temper of the working c1assl's W~IS inC1T<lsingly one of revolt, 'not
only ~lgai1lSt capitalist management and Trude Union officialism.
but also ~lgainst the increasing bureaucracy of the State'. What was
needed, S<lid the Report, was 'a social revolution ... to redress
inequality .md injustice' .m d to create a 'systen! which assures to
every human being enough bread and goods I<J[ a full and finclv­
developed Ii II:'. The Report called upon friends actively to
participate in 'a radical trn nsfo n nntion of the social and industrial
system ... to case the coming of the impending revolution ... Let
us take now a further advance to the greatl'r ideal of sorial j usticc
and the fellowship of tree men, which IS the only earthly ex­
pression of "the glorious liherty of the SOllS of (;od"!'('c
Most American Friends, particularly Midwestern Republican
merchants, manufacturers and fanners, were scarcely prepared to
countenanCl' a Illessage so laden with socialist rhetoric as the basis
tor the collective social and political position of world Quaker­
ism."s Thus, although the conference's otticial 'Minute' on Person-
o-: J. <. )nuL'rod <. ;n..'.cnwood to till' .nrthor, 20 S"..ptclllbLT I(jS 5 .urd (;n'l'll\\"ood. II 'his[1CL\
o(rmr!t. 215-\(1.
(,(, Report of AlllcriLLlll COllllllissi()1l III, JlcrsolJ,li Lite .uui Sll(ict)' (Plnl.idclplu.,
12.
1,-;-Report of (:olnI11i~'iillll I I I (Hririsl») The lmpbcni.», (.l( fire Tt'Sfillltl1l)' ill fJn.\t1Iltl!
.S,'ciety (London 11~2oJ), 3-~.
I,:' The British r;ll1Jcal ~()Lial l11l>;..~ag(' W.l.., perhaps not l'lltirdy without dtt~'CL
SCptclllblT H)20.1I1 cditon.r! ill The .--t/llcri(l1l1 Friclld noted: ·W<:- rruvt and believe rh.it DUllY of
11'" IAllH'rICJn\j had. our horizon') of ull(_kr~Ll\lding... \\'idelll.'d l-v our COJltaet~ III Lon­
4 10 Bri tish QI/'Ikcrislll 186,J-/920
Friends had taithfully maintained Its tcstimonv a~ainst all xvars and
strife, prior to the twentieth century the power of that tcstirnonv
had atrophied trom lack of usc. In kcrping with the theological
vision of the Qluker Renaissance, Hirst l'Inplnsized th.ir the
revival of this historic testimony had 110t been hased 011 scriptural
evidence but 'grew incvit.iblv out of the conception of the inward
Light, , " With obvious reference to those (~uakers who had
supported the recent war,"' she noted that while some Friends
still held that peace principles were 'a mere individual preference to
he held or abandoned by Fricud-, at their pleasure, , .". the record of
history revealed that 1~lithlll1 Quakers had consistently WO\TII the
twin thrc.id« oflove of Cod and 10\'C of 11],]11 'into the web of their
belief and practice',-2
When jO:111 Mary l rv presented the first paplT In ;\ session Oil
'The Character and l3asis of Our Tcstimonv tor 1\',lce', she 110t
oulv cudorxcd I lir,t's vicv,: of the peace tc<rin touv :1, 'all integral
part of our reading of Christianitv", she .ilxo provided xornc il1sight
as to the path British Pricuds would tollovv tor the rcu i.undr-r of the
twentieth century. Bcruu«- the pe:lll' tcstunonv had proved to be a
singular vision oftund.uncnt»! Christi.m principles. Fry emphasized
the Society's obligation to demonstrate to their tcllovv Christi,Jns
and to the world the universal truth of their visiou, This could 110t
he :lc[,(Jl11plished by sundin~ aside Ircnn the world as Friends Iud
previou,lv been WOl1t to do, but by e1l1hracing the 'tangled I1USS of
social reform' as a InC111S of casing rill' path to pCKe and rccon­
U liati 011 , 7J
The next speaker W,JS I-lulllS jones, who eillerged as one of the
sh111ing stars of the COl1lLTel1Ce, Taking up ,J l11aJor themes of the
(~uaker Renaissance, jones asserted that Clmsti.m acquiescence in
war was a result of the I:ltdi.il substitution of 'the theology of the
Church", tor the way oflilL' which Christ inaugurated', Theolo­
gians had turned hum.untvc gaze trom the I )ivllle C0111111:mdml'l1t
to establish the Kiiurdon: of Cod on earth toward a 'hl';lvl'l1h' Ziol1
already built' to which even warriors could ascend. The role 01
Quak cr peacemaker W;lS to return 111 en 's attcutio n to the origina]
/~\lIIOllg clll' Bruivh dckg.ltl''' WlTC \\',lr !-T1L'lJd" l:dg'lr (:olliIl'iOIl ,1I1d 1- krbcrt ScftOll­
}Olll'\; rhe [;\ttl'r 'ipoke in dctl'ncl' ofhi\ \ ' i n \ \ on rill' pl';lll' tl''itllllony, AFC:, (Htit'j,l! Rt'jJMI,
(J(l.
~ l--lJrq Hi.,rtlfi(,l! Jlltrt1dl/(fiOIl, 2()-S ,-l n', ( Jtti",,1 RC1",rt, J K- ~o
~
Abidillg rll(J/llld5, /9 J 8- / 920 40£)
,J! Life and Society expressed J sense of the meeting that went
beyond the timidity of the American report, it in no way reflected
the radical implications of the British Commission's presentation.
Without the ground being carefully prepared, there was simply too
grl'at a diversity of opinion to develop meaningful collective prin­
ciples on subjects like social and economic reform. The same could
be said tor the conference's discussion of the proper Quaker
attitude toward such contemporary issues as the League of Nations,
free trade and protectionism, the British government's suppression
oflrish nationalism, or the coutcrcnccs endorsement of the Coun­
cil of Action organized by the Labour Partv to prevent British
intervention in the war between Poland .uid Soviet Russia. The
(yttio',l1 Report spoke of how 'h.umouy and good feeling prevailed
.. .jand] carried through ... diftlTl'IllTS to practical unanimity of
judgment .. .' Gut in point of !:lct, on larger questions such as those
concerning the League, no positive guidance W~J.' torthcoming. On
other emotionally charged issues-like the supporting the Council
lor Action to lIalt aid to enemies of Bolshevik Russia or protesting
British 'coercion' \l1 Ireland-minority opposition \\;1S largely
Ignored.''')
Still, if the conference was unwisely diverted by contemporary
issues and seriously weakened by puerile, inane or ill-considered
individual contributions, it did manage to achieve a convidcrahlc
measure of agreement concerning the peace testimony, the over­
riding issue tllr which it had been called into being. Here, at least,
Friends did not f:lll into the trap of turning their discussion of peace
principles into a self-congratulatory celebration of the nobility of
Qu.ik cr wartime resistance. For one thing, the Conference had the
advantage of Margaret E. Hirst's Histoncal Introduction to the peace
o
question.: The thrust of Hirst's essay wa-; that while the Society of
don . . rh.u LllxLdhnL even SlKi.di"lll, 1\ not jJrt'/lldJld'l' l'\<iciL'I1Cl' nt-llIClld,ll'it,y" or di~l\\~l'd
rucnr.ilitv.'
(ll) 'Pc rvon.tl Life .mci SOCll'ty', .--lFC-, (~Ui(l,71l?qhJfL .\.1-+. 72-+, II )-[ S ~llId WiJ:...Oll, "lhr
Ik,t Thmg-,'. Lt-t. Also vee 'A Ml""\olge to the In\h PeoplL:, .-lFC, (~tfi(i{d Report, l()). 1()5
H)20), 7, ,\lId 'Lcrrcr to the COllllL-il ot Action', ibid. !h5. It)7, Alvo \l'l' Fr.nuix. lkatrict' .md Rol-rrt
Poll.ud , J)c!Ilt'..-rt/(T <llld tltc CJlldkcr .\lrlllt)d (London 1l)-tJ)). I y)-I+3. which point- to the
Lit;, .ind (:onkrl'l1l'l'\ llll''i'iJge, to till' (:OUI1Cil otArtiou ,md lrcland ,1\ eXJmpk.., of-the \ucce..,..; of the
Qu.ik cr method of conducting businc«.
On 23 -. Histonca! hnrodu.tion TO the RC[lorr.,; cii!« Ctl/lll1llSSIOIIS Rt:l!i1rdill.l! tilt' Peace n'stifllllll)' t:{tllc
SOlit'ry(:( I'"ril.'l/(/.\' (London It)20). l-br\t Jolter l'xpandl'l{ rhi-, work into ,1 lou g-tIII h' srund.in! Oil
the Pl.'JCl' t cstimonv, Tin' QlIllkcrs in Pc(/((' lIlId If:n (London It)23)·
..........
,ill/dill.\! rt'Ol/lIds, 1918-/920 411
task, Theirs W;lS a taith. he said, which could 'overcome the world
as it had been and tum it into the world that ought to be' ,n
III the discussion that followed, several speakers ,lcknowledged
personal and corporate tailurcs. 'We were all to blaine', said former
Liberal MP T Edmund Harvey, 'for our indolence in accepting
conditions that led to waL';; Edward Grubh added that 11~ prior to
1<)14, he and other Friends h.id not given way 'to, , , apathy and
weakness, things ll1ight have been ditTL'rent', J E, Hodgkin noted
th.it even the struggle agaimt the war, which had provided the
Society with 'the greatest opportunity in its whole histnry", to
show the world the reality of our tcsumouv tor Pc.uc," had been
inadequate because Friends "did not present the united trout a~ainst
the forces of militarixm which SOIl1l' of us had toudly .ixsmncd . , .as
,1 matter of course',-('
When questions arose :lS to Friends' attitudes toward those who
did 110t believe that p.uifivru W:1S ,I fundamental tenet of Christ r.m­
itv, moxt speakers attempted to put the best bce on wartime
divisions and warned against recriminations or bitterness, Still,
john P, Fletcher, a leader of the Friends Service Committee.
.ipparcnrlv IL'lt the need to underscore its wartime Illessa~e: 'the
fundamental basis of Quaker Christian truth Iis] that man must not
kill his Idlow nL1l1 , , , we must as a Christian Society keep to this
spiritual testimony. 'I"
In the elld tins view prevailed, War Friends were, 'in a spirit of
love alld humilirv, to be tully reconciled with tlicir pacifist broth­
ers and sisters; but there could be no bxking ,lway Ir0111 the
principle that the pc.uc testimony was 'an organic part of our
t.uth as Christians . , ,a sure and inevitable outcome of our belief
in the sacredness of hum.m pcrsou.ilitv' which could never be
abandoned but must be 'bro.rdcncd , deepened and enriched by :1
larger vision of the needs of the world, and a keener insight into
S
the realities of the spiritual order', 7
-~ Ibid ~.\--/ -, Ibid. )2.
Jr, 20 i'\ll~. 11).20, )2-1--): Edw,lrd Crubh, '-I Ill' l.ifi nftlll' SOCll'()' in RcLHlO11 to It-,
Tl'"t1l1}(\[]\' .--11.'(,' ()tfkid! UCjJIl/l. 1.22; .ind John Ed\\',mj l lodgkin, 'The Tc-r: III Oily' ill
Pl'T'onl1.tl Lit~, JIlLl SOl'll·ty', ibid. lJ-l-
IbId. ~S-) I,
-, FL.2o Aug. 1l)20, ).2.t : 'Life ofthl' SOClc'ty o(Fnc'llds', ]>Cd({, 'l~'."lilll(lIi)', 26,12-13; ,1Ild
HcrblTt Corder. 'Ml'thod" of Pn)~"',l~,lJld,l·. .4/·C, (~lh{/,d Re}1\lrt, I K1-2 .
.......

41 2 Sri {ish Qll<1keris1Il 1860-1920
The same point was emphasized by the Report of the British
Committee on 'The Life of the Society of Friends', which noted
that the Quaker witness against war could never again be simply a
rejection of or withdrawal from the world: 'The Church is in the
world in order to transform it into the Kingdom of God ... we arc
to work ;1S well as pray tor the coming of that Kingdom and the
doing of God's will on earth ... '~'J
The wartime experience of British Friends had convinced many
of them that their peJce testimony was a political as well as a
religious necessity. As the l3ritish Report on the 'life of the
Society' noted, 'the WJy of Peace is within, and not outside.
the domain of "practical politics".' Quakers could not wait in the
silence of their meeting houses tor ronvcrts to dnfi: into the peace­
able kingdoJ11 but were hound to venture out on to the highwavs
and byways, teaching the meso;age of peace that the world
.iw.utcd. s" There was, the Report noted, '.I real place Jnd an urgent
need for a prophet Society, .1 hody of moral pioneers, commirtcd to
the upholding of;l truth which, though unpopular now, will nile
day he acceptl'd by men ... ,SI
As noted above ,"2 not ;111 Qua kcr war rcsrstcrs and conscientious
objectors were convinced that political and social activism would
be the most ctficacious lesson learned from their wartime expen­
curcs. They had, indeed, l'llllcluded that pacifism could never be
based on a political ideology or social thcorv but was rather an act
of personal faith resting, in the end. upon one's willingness to take
up the Cross as Chri« JS ,I sacrificinl victim and witness to a better
way. Still, the majority obviously hoped that a collective statement
of Quakerism's unwavering adherence to the peJce tcsumonv
would be the best means of winning a larger audience Il)r this
view. To secure this objective, the Conference authorized the
publication and widest possible distribution of a pamphlet entitled
Friends atui vVar.'3 This document, a modified version of the report
of the Auu-riran Conuuissiou on 'The Fundamental Basis of the
Peace Testimony'. was written hy Rufus jones and remained the
standard Quaker statement on the peace testimony throughout
-') 'LIft' of tilt' SOcil'ty ut" Fnl'llds', /It',l(( "}t'Still/l1/1}'. ()-7.
,,, Ibid. 5. 'I. 31-Jj " Ibid. 21-2. " Sel' Chapter 'J.
"; IRufu" M. })J]l'''!, Fricl/d.1 (1IId rt:/r'.4 :\:('11' SldlCI/1C/If if th« (..2//11I.:t'I
")20).
.Abidillg Ii !OII 11ds, 191$-1920 4 13
the inter-war years. It also Contained a convenient summary of the
re:l,ons why Friends resisted the Great War and would continue to
resist in future wars. Thcv did so, jones said, because of their
,lgreement upon and devotir-., to 'the Christian way of life revealed
In the New Testament, the voice of conscience revealed in the
soul, [and] the prcciousncss of personality revealed by the trans­
forming force of love ... "4
One of london's melancholy, though generally unperceived,
monumental ironic, stands on an otherwise barren square in front
of Euston Station. It is ;1 sinlple obelisk mcmorializing the sacrifice
()f '3,7Jl) men of the Lond\ln and Norrliwcsn-rn Railway Com­
p,my who ... served .md died in the Great War ... tor their Coun­
rrv, justice and Freedom'. From ito; steps one em look across
Ellston Road into the tr.inquil little garden beside Fricuds
House. J citadel of Britio;h pacifism. and imagine the two south­
t~lcing statues Il1 infantry g;lrb childing gentle Friends: 'We know
vvhv we fought. Where were yOl!, mate e' Would the war resisters
.itrcnding All-Friends C:onl(:rellce have felt cornfortahlc with their
Society's attempts to answer that question? Would the J,7Il) dead
r.iilwav men have undcrstoo.] or <Ippreciated any of those cxplan­
.itions? Un.mcwcrablc questions, no doubt. But live Quaker and
deJd soldier might have agreed about .md identified with Rufus
Jones's last. and least Quakerly, justilication tor refusing to fight
vvith carnal weapons: 'the irratio nalitv revealed in modern war­
fare ... ,s, '
It m:IY Ill' true th.it the All-Friends Conference of I l)20 was, in
the words of one critic. an 'utter tailurc' in respect to its goal of
I(lrging ;\ path that would lead humanity to 'permanent universal
peace.' l3ut tor all its lack of success in arriving at 'a united
judgment about future wurk for peace',~(' the contCrence did
mark an historic turning puint for British Quakerism. Once and
for all. it affirmed that for British Friends, the peace testimony was
'the fundamental basis of Quaker Christian truth, that man must
not kill his fellow man. and that this shall take pre-eminence over
the claims of any other order of any other group of people' .~7 Since
:-.-< Ibid 2..+ .uid E. \Iv'. Orr. TIlt' (Jlll/key_, ill l'C(/((' tllld It'llY, 1920-19(1;(Easthouruc, SU"'oex,
!()7-t), 23-7· lrirnd, 11lld ff~lr \\.;1, repr\lltl·d by thr Priend-, PC,\(C C:OlllI11Htl..'C 11l Novrmbrr
J lj ~ l.
n),ifl()/I \L\1Ildon, \~ Fn"t'llds ,1IId 1\~7r, 22-"+_ :-,r, Grecl1\\'ood, 11·lli:~pcr.' (~(TYlltll. 216.
,~ John Perc\ Fletcher.. ~ lC. (Jdl' I,d Report. ~'I.

 4[4 British Qllakerislll 1860-1920
the day of this reaffirmation, Quakers have been prominent in
nearly every peace society and brger peace movement that has
emerged. Although not every Uri ton who claimed to be a Friend
Abidino fl'ollllds. 1918-1920
adhered absolutely to this fundamental basis, the world ar brge
defines Quakerism cllleRy in pacifist terms, and the Society of
Friends in Britain could srarrclv survive as a separate religious
body if it were to disavow or seriously weaken its pL'.lce tcstimouv.
This principle, at least, W;IS strongly rcarfirmcd hv the intcr-w.rr
gL'nl'Lltion of Young Friends who gathered tllr a separate conelave
lour days after the close of the All-Fricnrk Conference.
J() R J) A N S C () N FE R I:: N C [ () r y () U N
2+-30 AU(;UST 1')20
The International Contl'rence offour hundred Young friends rh.it
convened at JorlLlIls was the tirst gL'nL'ral gathering of the Young
friends Movement in Britain sincl' S\\'Jl1\vick in II) I I. M;111\
believL'd that the roots of British Qlukerisl1l's deterIllined resist­
ann' to the LIte war could be traced to J dr.un.itir episode at
Sw.mwick when, according to the official record. 'young Fru-nds
rose one atter another to voice their unco'npromising witness to
our priucipl.-, of nou-rrcist.mrc. ,S,S By 11)20, the wartime wltlless of
young friends .md the support given that witness bv YL':lrly Meet­
ing had L'levated the peJce testllllony ti'onl a thcorctir.il position to
the org;lIlizing prinriph- of' Quakerism's first World Contl'rence
and lor the remainder of' the twentieth cL'ntury, p.irirism would
endure as the rock upon which friends stood to flce a \\',Irrllig
world. Could the post-war gL'neLHion of liritish Quakers make .m
equally meaningful contrihurion to the spiritual strength of their
Society and to its continuing \truggk for peace and reconciliation?
There were dements of continuity hrtwc.-u the pre-war and
post-war gatherings. An official convener at Jordans, Wilfrid E.
Linkboy, recent veteran His Majesty's prisons .md a tutur.- Clerk
of Yearly Mccrmg, had been one of the leading lights at Swan­
wick.x~ Ncavc Brayshavv, who at Swanwick had called upon
SIiWIl l'icJ,.: , 1t)11" 17)­
s" Other oHiCI,d con vrncr-, .rr jord.ui- vvcr,. A. l\Llhel Ilold,,\\'()nh (I s-S-I\j(J3). ,1 incrn­
lx-r of Meeting tcn SUffering" and <oon to lx' Cle-rk of Chc-lurc Monrhlv .1\·lcl'ring. Jlld P,1l1]
Furu.r, of New York YC,1rh Ml'l'tillg.
r
Young Friends to be prepared to 'gain a martyr's crown' in defence
of their t.iith. was also at jordans. Still, the war years had effected
substantial changes in the outlook and demeanour of the young
4 15
men and worncn who convened in [1)20. For one thing, the
reticence and reserve characteristic of so Inany gener~ltions of
Quakers wa\ to a considerable extent a thing of the past. Hence­
forth, social and political activism would be a hallmark of British
Quakerism. Another indication of changing attitudes may be
gleaned from a letter sent 111 1l)20 by John H. Barlow, Clerk of
Ycarlv Mcctinu, to his r o-ycar-old daughter Mary Millor. Corn­
mcnnng on the political scene, Barlow expressed his enthusiasm
for Norman Birkett, an 'exceptionally good Liberal candidate wlio
C; r JU eN J) S. had been rhovcu to stand in their Birmingham constituency at the
next election. '[ .nu very iutcrcstcd", he added, 'tint you are
Labour. ")0 Notwithstanding the t~lct that Mary Barlow would not
!K pcnuittcd to VOtL' tor any parliamentary candidate tor another
decade, she was not simply a defiant or disaffected young person
rcbclling agaInst parental authority Dr st.!mling apart from the pions
Quaker crowd. She had, in fICt, joined the majority ofher peers in
rejecting the support QU;lkLTS had traditionally given tD the party
of Gladstone which had, as nUllY young Friends believed, lost its
IlLTVe as the party of Asquith and its sou! ;IS the party of Lloyd
George.
[II the end, the jordans Coutcrcncc nlay not have been so
memorable nor so inspiring as Swnnwick, but its proceedings can
provide insight into the nincrccnth-ccutury ideas and pr.icticcs that
were bcing left behind as well as the pr iuriplcs and actions that
would givc direction to London Yearly Meeting during the inter­
war years. One of the key points to emerge at jordans was a vision
of Quakerism as more than simply ;1 Society standing righteously
apart trorn the madding crowd. M;1l1Y Young Friends believed that,
henceforth, their Society was obliged to leap into the fray as a
social and political force truly seeking to create the Kingdom of
Cod 011 earth.
The question of the Society's role in the modern world WJS
confronted straight on in the opening address by the liberal
American Friend Henry Cadbury: 'Quakerism's religious contri­
bution to our generation is not merely in its revolutionary
<)0 H. Barlow to M. M. Barlow. n.d. 1920. J H, Barlow Papers,
 4 16 British QuakerislIl 1860-19N Abidi'I,~ ~110Llllds, 1918-1920 4 17
theological and ecclesiastical aspects ... it is our ethical revolution He was also representative of an emerging breed of British Friend,
that ... the world needs .... We arc wont to look upon the great unconnected with the Society by birth and without much sense of
crisis through which we have passed as the testing time of Quaker­ or interest in historic Quakerism, but socially active and staunchly
ism ... [but] the real crisis of Quakerism is in the opportumty that IXlL ifist. ')~
is yet before us. ") I Despite his status as a recent convert, Ayles was obviously
During the discussion that followed, the point was mack that the confident of the support of his new co-religionists when he
Society should prepare to embark on a new world-wide crusade declared that the most pressing post-war task for Quakerism was
'comparable to that undertaken by Early Friends'. Quaker detach­ to bring about God's Kingdom on earth by liberating 'the "wage­
ment and exclusivity must become relics of the past. if their slave" through 'common ownership of the Land and Capital of
wartime stand was to be more than an isolated incident of martyr­ the world'. 'We must, Ayles concluded, "go in to poli tics and
dom or special pIc'lliing, they were obliged to reach out to the Christianize them, and at the same time we must socialize Chris­
Labour Party and other emerging movements wherein they had an tianity. In short, we must live dangerously .. .' ")j
'opportunity to bring the Quaker pacifist message to bear upon Walter Ayks' point stuck horne. The official Rcpovt uf the
what W:lS perhaps the most dangerous problem of the hour.":' conference claimed that 'there was absolute unanimity in the
Rufus Jone.s, very much the mall of the hour. IT-ent(Jrced his belief that the present social svstcm is tundamcn tally anti-Christian'
fl-llo\v American's message: and that the best means of changinj; that system \vas 'by
evolutionary methods', even if such 'evolution may be tantamount
TIlL' SOL'jety of Fricnd-, ILlS bCL'1l 'l\\'aIting t liis gCIlt'fatioll of Younu to revolution. Wl' need not tear revolution, so long ~IS it was of
Friends tlJr 2)0 vr.irs . WL' must . ' , gct dO\\11 to rhr grL'.lt cou-rrurnvc the right kind.' The Report concluded that only way to achieve such
principlr-, ulldnlylllg our Quakerism instead of h;IVillg supntlcial PL'Cll­ a revolution was tor Friends to break tree troin the stand-offish
li.nirics , . ,Thc l nncr Light IS 111 (hilger of bcconllllg all .ibvtr.u r timidity of the past, bce the Social Problem head on and pay the
phr.isc . .. WL' need ... to il1l·.lfll.ltL' what WL' mean by the l uncr Light cost of their revolutionary Quaker convictions by getting 'out into
.llld carry it into hum.m .md livinj; L':>:perlL'IlL'L' ... Wc' muvt k/l"/I' th« politics ... in the true sense of the organisation of Iitl.: ,.')(,
Inward Llgln 111 n-rm-, ofcxpcricur.- ifwr an- to I11CL't rhr world'. troubles To demonstrate the genuineness and the immediacy of these
tocby. ');
convictions, the conference dispatched a message to the Home
Secretary pleading for the release of Terence MacSwiney, the Lord
These sentiments were certainly indicative of the triumph of the Mayor of Cork. recently jailed for alleged IRA activities."? It was a
liberal theology which, asserting its dominant influence over a heartfelt but futile gestLIre-MacSwiney had already commenced
third genLTation of English Friends, would cast British Quakerism the hunger strike that would kill him after ten agonizing weeks-­
in a new mould. The speech most indicative of the altered dimen­ and It illustrated the difficulties inherent in the attempt of a tiny
sions in Friends' social and political thinking W:lS delivered by minority, however respected, to usc its moral force to procure
Walter H. Ayles, a member of the Amalgamated Society of political ends. Still. young Friends would never be more willing
Engineers and future Labour MP. A Friend by convinccmcnt, or eager to bring the weight of their convictions, recently vindi­
drawn to Quakerism while serving four sentences as a conscien­ CIted by communal defiance and individual suffering, to bear on
tious objector, Ayles was a man of humble origins and a socialist. any situation, however removed by geography or circumstance

')I 'The Upshot of the War: World Problcms, 1Il jord(U/s, 1921J. HCnI,,! the Rt'porr l:( rile '" W,lltcr Ayb (1~7')-1<)53). ,1 founding member of the No-Conscription Fellowship,
lntcrnational CtJ/d('Yf'IIt"1' (~r )~Jl/II.~ Friends hdd ilf jorddlls) .--1 U.~IISt 2-/-Jl), 1920, edited by Bcrtrani was Labour MP for North Bristol (1<)23-4,1<)2<)-31) and for Southall, ([<)45-53) as well as
Pickard (London II <)20)), 15-17 the org;:mizing secretarv for the No More Wclr Movement. H)26-32. See BDAJPL, 43-5·
'>' Ibid.2()-1. '>3 The lntern.u ion.il Quaker Church', ibid. 2)-2. 'F; Jord(H1~', 192 0 • 30-1. 'j(' Ibid. 31-2. <r [bid. IOI-2 .

.......

 -tIS Briri.lh QuakerislIl 1860-/9 2 0

from their individual experiences. Another convinced Friend who
supported the spirit of this sort of counninurnr addressed the
problem ofhow a sectarian body might inHUl'lILT not only domes­
tic events but global atElirs as well.
Car! Heath (ISOl)-1l)50) had, like Walter Ayles, joined Friends
during the Crear War. In August Il) q Heath, as Secretary to the
National Peace Council, had been shocked to dlSCOYLT that
Quakers were nearly the only members of that erstwhile pacifist
body to retain their convictiuns. At a Friends confc'rence of Il) I 7,
shortly after his acceptance into the Slxiety, Heath introduced .I
proposal to establish 'Qmker bllbassies' in the great cities of post­
war Europe ;IS 'growing points of the spirit', directed by .I 'Friends
Foreign Office' and spreading the message of reconciliation and
peace.')S Yearly Meeting approved of Heath's pLIII in Il)I S and the
next year .I Council fix l nrcrn.itio nn l Service (CIS). eventually
headed by Heath himself W;IS established to implement a modified
version of his pLlII."<'
At jordans, Heath attested to the practir.iliry of his proposal by
delnonstrating the historical exalIlple of a religious counuunitv
aftL'ding inr crnarioual events. Citing the traditional influence of
the Church of ROl1ll' on the intcrn.monal scene, he admittcd th.ir ,
historically, the Catholic hierarchy h,ld too ofrcn used their
Church's spiritu.il .uuhority to preserve or adv;lIIce its worldly
status rather than to seck the KingdoIll of (;od. But with the
lbwning of the new Agc of DemocLICY, Heath envisioned a
means tL)I" directing world events along the path to peace through
're-discovery of a Christianity which will prove to be a practical
m ysticism closely ak into essen rial Quakerism'. I ()() 'I f Quakerism is
to have ;1 part in the corporate life of a new age it is not as ;1 small
sectarian Church. Cod forbid! It is rather as a witness to that
inward power in the conn n o n man which. rightly directed lIlay
mould the politics of the new world in righteousness, trccdom, and
the joyful corporate litt: of a religious international.' 101
'I.', TI'~April Il)J7, 2{J''1. Sec HCJrh\ p.uuphle: {..!1I11klT }:llIhIF.'",C.I (Pn\',ltcly pnlltl'd
20
-c: (;n'L'Jlwood, QI/ilkl'f 1://(01/1111'1'.', I", II)S-202 ,lJ)d HI J.\/PL, 3\jO--\).2 t~)r bncr
[I () [7]). /\1\0
.ucuunt-, of Hc.irh, c.ir ccr.
')') (,211akcf ,1gcIlCiL's, cllkd 't..' l·IHre'l' rather dun l'lllbJ\~it.''i, were ~er up ill Berlin, ViL'DnJ,
Pdris, (;clleVJ, and other pl.lt'es. III 11)27 the CIS merged with [he FrIends SlT\'ICe CounciL
of which Heath Tl'I11JlJled Secretary ulltd 1035
IUI.J }{Jl'dalls, 1920, JJ-(l. lUI Ibid. 37- S.
/'1 bidill,r; r I (lU lid", 1918-1920 -t ll)
The discussJl)n that followed Carl Hc.uhs speech centred on the
idea at Quakerism as the possible 'gcrm' of a great inrcru.uional
Fellowship whirl: 'might risc to tint place of 1I10nl suprelll­
acy ... of which the ROlllan Church had given us a glimpse in
the Middle A~es: was, clCcording to the oftici,lI Report, the most
elevated ;lI1d inspiring of the contcrcncc.":"
Ncav« Bnvsh,I\\' \\,1S the final spc.ik cr at Iord.ms. That he should
have the l.ist word was a speCIal honour and well deserved. Morc
than any other, Bravshaw had nurtured .iud shaped the pre-war
Young Friends MOH'lnent which had played such ,I vital role in
ensuring Friends' ot1IClal corpor.u« .rdhcrcucc to the peace rcsti­
1I10n\·. During the war hi, word, .md letters braced up m.ury young
iucn who were unsure about or tI'ightencd of the u upliratious of
the stand they vvcrc .lttemptlng to m.ikc. By I ()20. however, som,:
of thovc prcscnt at Jord'l11s nLIY have tL,lt that Nc.ivc. tt)r all the
value of his past services. W.lS looking hack to where Young
Friends h.id been rather rh.m lorw.rrd towards where they Illight
wi,h to go. Still. the themes NCIVL' pursued were .ikiu to tho«­
which had domiu.ucd both the post-war conttTences.
If the Socictv of Fricuds W;I, to make thc most of the spiritual
strength built through its wartime resistance to vin!cncc and
hatred. lsravshaw s.lid, Qu.ikcrs IlIlISt rrlinquich that 'rcrt.iin
reserve'. in which Friends of previous gcncLltions h.id r.ikcu an
,1II11ost perverse pride. ;lIld lI1ingle wit]: ;1 broader cnlllp,ltly of
humanitv, lor if (;nd was truly in every hum.m pnsnn. then love
ot(;od ;1I1d love otm.m could not be separated. Their bith must be
,I IIYing thing .md in putting that flith iuto practicc as ;1 1I1CmS of
hcaliiu; the world ofthe sickness of lute, Quakns could not simply
help the victims of wrong but must. ;dso minister to the victimizers.
To ,ll'cnlllplish this mouurucut.r] task. he said. young people would
need to draw UpOll the spiritual strcngth of their Quaker ancestors
as wcll elS the cx.nuplc of their courageous .onrcmporarics. Wield­
illg these we;lpolls of the spirit, they might, by action and example.
build, he concludcd , ;1 'Holy City, .. of living stones. living mcm­
bcrs, that it lIL1V be true to the words of the prophet contemplating
his plan of the ideal Jeruselll'lll, the name of the city ... sh.ill be
"Thc Lord is thne" '. The fultIllment, indecd, of Cod's Kingdom
011 earth,l"3
[I,~ Ibid. 3>1-'+0, J ~ -'MiI'1fIs, ()~_()

.........

 4 20 British Quakerislll 1860- 192 0
The British Friends, young and old, who drifted-energized,
inspired, exhausted, disappointed, or indifferent-back to their
several meetings and separate lives from the first international
gatherings of their Religious Society, were most assuredly of a
dille'rent breed from the grey-clad, bonnctcd Quakers who had
departed London Yearly Meeting six decades earlier. To usc a
I )arwinian analogy, those Victori.m Friends were like the finches
of the GaLipagos archipelago, isolated, inbred, out of touch with
the wider world. Three geneLltions later, their descendants, and
the strangers who had flown in to join them, were less peculiar, less
shy and, leaving nature behind, less pious than the odd birds whose
great London nest they still occupied.
In [S6 I the (,'I/risti£lll Doctrine, Pmair«, and Discipline warned
against 'the attendance of places of diversion' and 'the temptations
of music.' or other 'indulgence in the vain amusements of the
world. In mixing in public companies. " our minds may be gra­
tified, but our quick pcncptiou of spuiru.il instruction may be
weakened ... Love not the world or the thIngs of the world.
The prize is before you: it is a prize not of earth but of
hcuvcn ... " 0 4
Sixty years later the Yearly Meeting f:J>istle admolllshed young
Quakers to go out into the world with eyes wide open 'to the
oppression caused by ... cconounc and other privileges ... we have
often t.ik cn tor granted', but with tin n resolve to 'break down the
soci.il and educational barriers ... which mar the kllowship of
the human frmilv'. Life f()r Friends was no longer to be apart
from the world but rather a part of 'the jOYfLd advcntur.- of
establishing that commonwealth ... which Jesus proclaimed as the
reign of God upon earth'. 10,
So, guided by the renewed authority of the Light of Christ
Within, armed with a rejuvenated peace rcstimony more powerful
than the commands of the State and moved by a quickened sense
of social and economic justice for all women as well as all men, the
British Society of Friends faced the world of the twentieth century
resolved to create the Kingdon, of God on Earth. That they have
so far failed to do so comes as no surprise; nor should anyone be
amazed that they have never ceased to try.
IlLl Clmsti.n, Dottnn: (London IS(II). ~L <jS.
Ch'i,\tiill/ Lit;', tnith illld 'l houvh: ill till' SO(ll't)' (:( Frirnd, (London 1()23). SS.
_ _1
12
Legacies of the Quaker Transformation
What was different about the British Society of Friends which
hosted Quakerism's first World Conference in [920 and the
Society which had begun the process of transformation around
[S(>o? What dirfcrcncc had this transformation nude in the condi­
tion of British Friends? What influence did the changed condition
of Quakerism have WIth regard to relations between Friends and
the British State; Why IS any of this important in the history of
religion in modem Britain; What difference docs any of this make
to anybody who was not a Quaker? These arc S0111e of the ques­
tions to be answered in the (ollowing recapitulation. To the read­
er's satisfaction it is to be devoutly hoped.
Whether or not the religion practiced by early Victorian evan­
gelic'll Friends had strayed significantly from ideas and practices
established by (;corge Fox .md his followcr« in the [()50S, whatever
eners'Y and creativity flowed out from the Society of Friends
during the fIrst half of the nineteenth century derived from its
evangelical wing. By I S60 the urgency .uid vigour of evangelical
Friends had induced the leadership of London Yearly Meeting to
embark upon a series ofsignificant reforms, the first ,llnong British
Quakers in over a century. But while internal provisions tor easing
dress, speech, and marriage regulations began the process ofbring­
ing British Quakers out of their 'closed-in hedge of prickly-pear',
Friends were inevitably slow to respond to new ideas or attitudes,
even those that might be shaking the foundations of the world
outside the Meeting House. Thus, during the decade of the [S60s
the leaders of British Quakerism were beginning to make
compromises with ideas that had been fresh in the I S30S and
I S-j.os. At the same time, an increasing number of younger Quakers
were being educated in the world of 'crcaturcly' things and
becoming entangled with the thoughts and ways of that world.
Because this mid-Victorian generation was being exposed to theo­
logical and scientific ideas which could not be accommodated by
_

 -1- 2 2 Hri tisli Qlldi,crislJ1 1860-1920
evangelical belief and practices, ditticulty and upheaval \\TIT
inevitable.
The events in M;lnchestLT surrounding the putative revolt of
David DUll can and his tl.)1I0WLTS reflected a \videning gap between
the assLTtive, progressive VISion ofhcttcr-cduc.ircd. more worldlv­
wise Friends. .ind the c.rutiou-, posture of the cv.iugclic.rls who
dominated Loudon Yearly MeetIng. David Duncan \\;10, surfi­
ciently lc.irncd am! egotistical to challenge the PO\\LTS t h.rt were.
locally and natiou.rlly, to a showdown Oil ,I broad-based agend'l of
modern thought. He f.iilcd ruiscr.ihlv not simply bcr.iusc he was
premature in his vixio n of what might be 'lcceptablc to Friends but
.il-.o because he had no tl.)lIowing outside M,lIlchester. Had I )unclil
lived long enough to c1l.lllenge his disownment trom M;111chestLT
Meeting in some national QlLlker Iorun i, he might have made a
heginning ;\0, the prophet of the new. libcr.il vision of QU'lkLTism.
Still, given his obvious Uuit.iri.m tcndcncic», it seelllS improbable
that he could h.tvc provided the lcadLT,hip tor ,1Il c.irlv hloso,omillg
Df the Quaker Rcn.iissancc. Mmt lik clv, Dune.in would have
carried his lkvDtCCS DUt of the SDcietv Df Fricnds into souu­
short-lived, long-tl.)rgottl'n theistic congreg,ltiDII.
What Dunr.m did do. however, \V,lS to bump up the level of
argument ,111lOng thoughtful QU;lhTS who were prepared to
debate the else tor change within a solidly Christian context.
These WLTe the reform-minded Fricnds vvho en<T;J<Ted t"! t"'l
the attention
ot moderate evangelicals who were willing to consider the possi­
bdity of change as ;1 product of IOllg study .md deep reflection.
During the 1 '~70S ;llld I ~~os the path toward serIOUS tra nstorru.uio n
was prepared hy friends who. like David Duncan. had ,lbsorlwd
IIL111Y of the lessons ot- liberal theology .md modern science but
who. unlike the Manchester rebels, opcr.rtcd within an un.issailablv
Cluisti.in tr.uucwork. The authors of intiucnti.il books like .-1
Reasonable Faith and The (;ospc! or Divine Help h.id sound crcdcn­
tials .uuoug Friends as we]] as hroad knowledge of;111d accomplish­
ments ill the wider world. They set out the theologica]]y liberal
fllllIldation stones upon which the Rell;lissance of Quakerism was
erected between I ~<jo and 1 <j 1-1-.
The Manchester Conference of I ~l)) has been depicted as the
decisive moment in the triumph of the ideals and principles of that
Qluker Renaissance. There is a seme in which this is true. At
M;lnchester the tl)rCeS oflilwralmodernity obviouslY outshone and
L(:I!(]cies or (he '! ·r(]II.\j;,nllatioll 42 J
outrnanocuvcrcd their l'v;111gelical brethren. at least to the satistac­
tion of most younger members of the Soricty. Modern ideas of
both the secular and religious variety were openly embraced for the
first time. E\L'n more important WJS the emergence ofa discernible
group of leaders. John Wilhelm Rownrrcc, W. C. Braithwaite.
Rcndal Harris. Edward (;rubb and others, who had the courage of
their convictions and the energv to spread their views. in person
.ind in print, throughout the confines of London Yearly Meeting,
and even beyond, The SUlllmer School Movement, the founding
ot Woodbrookc, the opening of a serious di;r1ogue with the liberal
American Quakers led bv Rufus Jones. the deepening interest ill
Quaker history and the more ctkctive org.uiiz.ition of Young
friends \\LTl' .ill vital by-products of the spirit of Manchester. Yet
some questions and concerns wluch \\LTe basic to the xpirit of the
Qu,lker Rell.liss,111ce. including the pe,llT tcstimonv, social policy
.md the role of wonu-n . were sc.irrclv discussed or ror.illv ignored
.it M,mche,tLT.' Each ot these issues, nude-r the influence of both
sccular and spiritual liberal idealism, took 011 ,I lite of it, own .ificr
I ~l)) and each. In its own way, would generate fimd.nncnr.il
ch'lllges in the twentieth ccnturv Society of friends.
Mmt of the signiticmt altcr.uions tint took place within the
Socictv of Friends during the course of the QU;lkLT lz'cn;lissance
could be termed progrcssivc in both a social and theological sense,
Those responsible- lor implcrncnting these moditicar ious viewed
them .is rcprL'scllting positive movcuicnt. lroru traditional prc­
occupations to modern thought, trom .intiqu.rtcc! philanthropy to
sound social policv, trout sclf-consr iouslv outside the intellectual
.md soci.il mainstrc.uu to comfortably within it. 13y the end of the
ninctccurh century, as the Society slowly recovered its uumcric.il
strength. the progressive moulders of the QU;lker Renaissance had
apparently emerged triumphant. Under the growillg influence ota
bcttcr-cducarcd, socially scnvitivc and thcologic.rllv up-to-date
gcnLTation. QuakLTism had not unly undergone an intcllectual
reviv;ll but had also creatcd a new thcologv. tllsing modern thought
with the inspiLltions of early Fricnds. EntLTing a ncw ccntury,
Friends seellled to possess a clearcr sense uf who they WLTe and
\Y!lL're they were going, to be a religious cOllllllunity that had
For (oll,idl'rJtioll ()t~thl' 1\1,IJ1chl'-,(Vf (~olltlTl'I1Ll" . . cc 1])\' l'\-"lY 'Wh,lt f Ltth M,lllchl''itcr
\\/r~ll1S"ht? CILll1gl' III rhl' Rl'll~~(1LI" Society of Friend\, ISI)S-[()20', J/:H>;. )71.~ (H)<)(l),
27~-S3·
4 24 British QII'lkerisl1l 186o~1920
come to grips with the challenge of modernity and emerged, If not
with unanimity, with, at least, a broadly optimistic consensus
concerning future prospects, both spiritual and material.
Still, for all of their emphasis on aligning the Society of Friends
with the most important and influential aspects of modern thought,
there were still wavs in which even the most liberal or radical
members of the transformed British Quaker couuuuu itv were
unwilling to accommodate modern society and the modern state.
In an age when imperialism and militarism were propagated and
celebrated as natural results of the universal struggle for survival of
the fittest, and at a time when the socially and morally debilitating
effects of widespread poverty were being starkly and systcmaticnllv
revealed, many Friends were arutclv aware of a need to resist the
cynical, materialistic impulses of the d.iv. A kcv development tor
the leaders of the modern Quaker uiovcmcnt \\as the t.rilurc of
London Yc.trly Meeting to uphold Friends' tradi tional pc'ace pnn­
ciplcs by presenting unified opposition to the war in South Africa.
In the wake of what they cousi dcrcd to be a humiliating spiritual
dcharlc, activist Friends undertook a serious inquiry into the
origms .md meaning of their Society's historic peace tcstimonv,
which appeared to them to have groWll languid from lack of
testing. The ensuing re-emphasis upon and revitalization of
Quaker peace principles during the Edwardian period was a crucial
development that would, with the coming of the Creat War, again
traustoriu both the image .md reality of British Quakerism.
The First World War presented the British Society of Friends
with its greatest crisis sinr« the Restoration, severely testing the
principles and practices that had emerged during the Quaker
Renaissance. For while most British Quakers remained at least
nominally opposed to the war and the threat of enforced military
service, a considerable body of war Friends chose to support the
national cause. At the same time, wartime decisions by London
Yearly Meeting brought Quakerism into direct conflict with State
authority tor the first time since the seventeenth century. In truth,
this defiant resistance to secular power did not reflect a broad-based
consensus. Even the majority of Friends who refused to support the
war, itlet] to their own devices, would probably have been willing
to make some accommodation with the Government, so long as
they were not forced to take up carnal weapons. The policy of
non-co-operation as well as non-resistance officially adopted by
Lt:lZacies or the Transjonnation 4 25
London Yearly Meeting represented the determination of a small
but spiritually powcrtul minorirv of British Friends, all products of
the Quaker Renaissance, to maintain unwavering adherence to the
traditional but long untested Quaker peace testimony. Thus, in
the extremely significant question of the duties of citizens to the
modern State during wartime, the Society" stand, as a Society, was
a throwback, not just to early Quaker practice but to the pacifism
of primitive' Christianity. Furthermore, British Quakerism's
redefining of its peace testimony in the crucible of the Great War
was not only a logical extension of the mess;lgl' of the Quaker
Rcn.ussancc but was also ;1 giant step on a journey from which
there is not likely to be a return. For all that British Friends did
between I t'\(10 .md I () I 4 to accounnodatc themselves to the social,
intellectual, and political conventions of modern industrial society,
London Yearly Meeting defiantly resisted the commands of the
Warnor State during the Creat War. ;1 position British (~uJkerism
has maintained in the LICc of the British State am! the warring
world throughout the twentieth century.
At the same time London Yearly Meeting W;IS chJllenging the
right of the State to place its security over the majesty of con­
science, socialist Friends, whose voices were powerfully amplified
by the extraordinary events of the CreJt WJr, seriously called to
question the prcvailinu social, political, and economic systl'lns
which had served their fathers and grandLlthers so well. The
glaring social injustices produced by an apparently triumphant
capitalist system caused these Friends to ciuhrarc radical social
and political ideals. The foundim; of the Socialist Quaker Society
(SQS) in I t'\l)t'\ marked the first significant step away trom both the
Irlis_(e.::-~fillre liberalism and placid philanthropy characteristic of
nineteenth-century Quakerism. The SQS remained small in num­
bers and influence before I () 14, effectively neutralized by a more
weighty and respectable product of the New Liberalism, the
Friends Social Union. Still, this small body of socialist Friends
created a spark of radicalism that would burst forth amidst the
tempestuous events of the war years. Inspired as much by Levellers
and Marxists as by Holy Writ or George Fox, these men and
women sought to transform the Society of Friends from a socially
conservative, eminently respectable, politically Liberal body of
believers into a truly radical organization, advocating revolutionary
political, social am! economic changes. In the end, socialist

 4 2 () British QliakerislII lS6o-1920
Quakers never managed to establish their own distinrtlv minority
Novv, in the late tvvcnticrh century. a rising chorus of neo­
view as the Quaker standard. For while the post-war SOC1L'ty m.idc
L'\,111gdical and nco-conservative Friends have asserted that in the
;1 disrcrnihlc shift to the political lett and drastirallv reorganized
,kcldes since the first World War the Socicrv's largely liberal
itself tor the implcmcnt.iriou of social action programmes. this
k\ldership, in hoth its acceptance of an increasingly nebulous
realignment brought most Bntish Quakers onlv so flr as a some­
(2u,lker theL)logv and in its tolerance of ideas and practices brought
what uncomfortable alli.inc.. with the Labour Partv. Thcv sup­
ro Friends from various fi-inge movements, has put the Society of
ported Lahom, not because of its <orialist principles, but because It
Friends, both in Britain and North America, in danger of losing
seemed the oulv signitic1l1t pollticl1 body to have m.untui m-d its
lonner with its vital centre and, Indeed. its identity within the
moral integrity during the war vr.irs.
Christian conuuumry. Much of the current discourse among
Atter the war ended. British (~u;Iker" sought to assess the iinpli­
cations of their ncwlv a<;<;ertnl peace tcxtn uo n v and social .icttvrxn ;
in conjunction with other Quaker con ununirn-v. cspcciallv those in
North A111eric1. The ellSuing London All-FrIends ContlTencc of
I <)20. called to consider th« place of Quakerism in the cmerging
twcnticth-rcnrurv world. marked the rirst world-vvid.: g,lthering of
the tl.lllowers of (;eorge Fox. While in nUI1\' wavs the All-Friends
Contl-rl'nce taik-d to tulfill the expL'ct.ltio!1S of its org.uuzrr», It did
nunage ctE'cri\"l'1\' to csr.ihlivh a Se!1Sl' of the v.iliditv ofuII\\"a\'ering
(2u,Iker resistance to war and cO!1SLTiption. thr neCl'sslt\· rl.lr
(2u.Lker social action. .it houu- and .ibro.id, ;lS ,111 aspect of the
Society's spiritual mis,ion .ind the prn n.uv of liberal rhcologv ;1'
the org;lnizing priuciplc rl.Jr British ()u,lkn spiruualitv.
WILlt were. then, the most import.u rt results of C2U;lkerlSlll's
tr.uisform.irion? To begin. the Illl'us otQuakcr thcologic11 l'(lI1Cern
had shittcd tron: the UnCIS\' mid-ninctccuth-ccnturv combination
of bihlic.il fuud.nncntnlism .ind conservative quietism to ;111 1.'111­
phasis on Inward Light theology a, the key to persona! .ind collec­
tive spiritual tulfillmcnt. Furthcrruorc , the triun rph of liberal
thcology was inLTeaslI1gly accompanied hy a sort of iC1cologicl1
tolerance which would h.ivc hccu unrhink.ihk- tor uinctcrnrh­
century Friends. as the example of the Duncanitcs revealed. III
the course of becoming assoriatcd, almost against their will. with
radical resistance to State authority, British Fricnds found them­
selves yoked to some curious allies-militant socialists, liberal tree­
thinkers, eccentric anarchists. Earlier generatio!1S Iud consistently
resisted such alignmel1ts. but the Qmker expLTience during the
Great War had a two-pronged ettc'ct. Not only were Friends morl'
ready to associate with unbelievLTs but a fair number of social and
political militants, some of them without any attachment to Chris­
tianity, were drawn to Quakerism.
_1
Lcoacics or the Trdlis!;lrlliatio1/ 427
Fril'lIds ronccmiug the leg,ICy of the liberal-inspired Quaker
l-ll'II.tissance in BriL1I1I, which advanced in t.uidcm with Rufus
.lones' vision of Qu.ikcrixm ,IS a mystical religIOn, revolves around
the qucsrron l,f whether the results of the ch.mgcs inspired by Jones
.ind British libcr.ils were a good thing or a bad thing. for the most
p.lrt, libcr.il Friends continue to believe that the tr.msform.rtion
rhus ettl'ered \V;IS salutary because it greatly expanded th.. horizons
of (2u;lkerislll in the modem world." Both nco-evangelical
<'2U,Ikl'lY' and the b;lck-to-our-roots New Fou!lLLItlon Movement:'
believe th.it the Ii h era I R.c naissancc Ius had negative repercussions
because, whether by accident or design, the tolerant atmosphere it
helped to rrc.itc opened the Society of Friends to an influx of lett­
\\-ing humanists, assorted social radicals and ethiul universalists
vvho envision Quakerism as ;111 agency rlJr social ch.mgc or a
forum tor radical idealism Lither th.in ,1 communitv of taithful
Christians.
As it seems to me. IllJIlY of those who now argue tor or JgJillst
0111.' or another ronrcmpor.trv version of Quakcnsm and point to
the lihcral rctoriucr-, of the Quaker Rellaisscll1lT as the progellitors
of either great success or serious deterioration, ignore centrally
important historical truths about the British Society of Friends in
the twentieth century. The critical, lite-sustaining revitalization of
For ,I \"tgOI"(Hl\ H'Cl'llt dl"fl"l1lT of ,I broJd-bJ\l'd (~LLl.kl'r CU111111llJl[U[1 (il1l"!uding Friend -,
who pr.uric« .1 form o l wltd1l'Lltt), -cv Chu.k F,lgl'r, II'ir!}()l/r '>~/)()/(:l?Y: IJlt' f/CflJ('S, /Iu'
l/o"ll.l\?c dlltl fhe 1/(lJlI' 1?(J,lhcl'dl (.2/1dktTi_illl (ML'du, P,l.. JI)l)())
Fur ,I "pintl'd l'XJlllpk' of COl1tl'lll!1oLlry Crirll"i"lll l'( IlblT,d Briti . . h (~LLlkl'ri"1l1, "l'l'
;\1.1nin 1),1\·il', 'l~tukL'r l"hl'o!ogy SlllCl' I SI)5' , FQ, 30!.~ (lllly [<J<J(1), 13 I--tJ. l.l'"'' ~(ridl'JH
,llhl llH11T l'\)ll\"lIlCing i..,Jllhll Pun"holl'.." Leu{'/" t(l ,I I '1JJ1,t'r.ld/,sf (Wallingford. P,l. ]1)SI)).
Thl' Nn\" FOUlld,ltioll Fdl()\\· . . hlp, L'lllphJ\iZlllg thl' prllphctic lu(Ure 01' .lut!lL'lltil
-i
(?I1,d(l'rl'dlL \\.1" 111 lJrge I llL'.hUrL' .1 IT''F'\.)Il''"' r,l LL'\\"i" Ikll"Ull\ (.'lltII1 !i( (JlI(I~'crislll (PhiLI­
1
delphi.l I ()()(I). It~ ide\1" .Iud .lll1h .lrl· 1111)"t lucidly Jlld pt)\\"L'rt'lllly "l·t Ilut III I )OtlgLt~
(;\\·YI111 \, _1.jlt1Cd/)'V\(· (~r tllc ,r ~)rd (Rit'hlllUlld, [ (jSh).
_
 42~ British Qltakcrislil 1860-1920
the London Yearly Meeting during the last vcars of the nineteenth
and first two decades of the twentieth century not onlv changed
the theological disposition of British Quakerism, it prepared Lon­
don Yearly Meeting, spiritually as well as socially and politically, to
deal with the great crisis of the First World War, the most deciSIve
test of the character of Quaker faith in 250 years. In Britain, at least,
that test was passed and Quakerism was greatly strengthened
thereby. Without the very early twentieth-century reawakening
of the need for a revitalized peace testimony, ~1l1 obsessive point for
many Quaker liberals, the London Yearly Meeting would not
likely have t.rk cn the defiant stance it assumed between I() 14 and
I() J X. What dirfcrcncc would it h~1VI' marie if British Friends had
decided, as Illany wished, to compromise with the State by accept­
ing some special status in exchange for muttling otTlcial protests
against the war ami conscription? Who can say? What one can say
is that with regard to the cxtrcmclv signitlclllt question of the
duties of citizens to the modem warring State, during the Great
War the Society of Friends, liberal or otherwise, represented a
throwback, not just to scvcntccnth-ccnturv post-Restoration
Quaker practice but to the pacifism of pruuitivc Chrixtinuitv.
That expression of what Wilfred Littlebov called the 'Everlasting
No' to the State's cornm.mds for even passive support of tlghtmg
and killing V,~lS as great ~1 triumph as Quakerism ILlS WOII in its
three-hundred-year history. And there's the rub.
(~l];Jkers ~IS a body seem to have problems lkaling with luxtorv.
FrOI11 all historical perspective it is ditTlcult to il11agine authentic
Quakerism without the centrality of the Inward Light, tor it was
tI-OI11 George Fox's revelation that Oldy the Inward Light of Christ
could speak to the human condition that Quakerisl11 emerged as a
separate, unique religious community, Yet throughout much of
the nineteenth century many who accounted themselves true
Friends believed that the concept of an l uw.n d Light W~lS ~1 seven­
teenth-century 'delusion' which ought to be discarded. These
Friends denied the historical relevance of the Inward Light beClUSl'
it seriously impinged upon the validity of their evangelical theo­
logical posture. On the other hand, it seems impossible for the
historian to conceive of the SOCIety of Friends as other than a
Christian body of believers. But in the late twentieth century there
arc those who hold themselves to be perfectly good Quakers while
at the same time denying the necessity of any connection between
____....l.
L:~a(Jcs (?f the rr'l/I.~{tJnllatioll 4 2 ()
Quakerism and Christianity. The positions of both nineteenth­
century evangelicals and twentieth-century universalists would
have to be judged at least as a-historical, if not anti-historical.
Historiaus, on the whole, reject the old saw that history SOl11l'­
how repeats itself, but most agree that instances of historical COI1­
nnuiry can be identified. In this light, the negative response of
some late twentieth-century Friends to what is seen as the insid­
ious, if unintended, influence of liberal theology on contemporary
Quakerism appears in many ways to be a circular repetition of the
same sort of argument used a century ago by liberal Quakers ~lgainst
their evangelical brethren. Reformers during the era of the Quaker
Rcu.iissaucc passionately believed that most evangelical Friends,
overwhelmed by the emotional intensity and biblical literalism of
mainstream Protestantism, had lost sight of the original spiritual
principles of their Religious Society, adopting a pinched and
stifling Calvinistic creed th.n would have utterly repelled early
Friends. A ccnturv later there is deeply felt conccrn , and 1I0t only
amoru; evangelical Friends, that as John Punshon has put it,
Quakerism is becoming 'a form of religion that is so open that it
seems unable to provide clear guidance in the things that really
nutter'.' There is much to be said for the pertinence of the
criticisms of anomalous torms of Quaker practice during both
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but to the critically admiring
outsider tlu-rc would seem much to be gained if more Fricudv
Kljuired a deeper understanding of .md appreciation for hoth high
and low points in the history of their most remarkable and highly
esteemed religious Society.
As for the impact of QuakerisIII in Britain and around the world
since I ()20, the revitalized peace testimony ILlS remained the most
important SOCIal and political consequence of the Quaker Il...l'nais­
sauce. To a considerable extent, modem 13ritish Quakerism is
identified, at least by those outside the told, with peace principles
delineated in the early decades of the twentieth century and
officially, if not individually, maintained by British Friends since
that time. Indeed, the late twentieth-century Society of Friends
could hardly survive as a separate religious communion ifit were to
; juhll Pun.. hon, 'SUllK' Rd1eLtlOn" 011 QUJktT\ and the F"',lllgclic,tl Spirit.', III Truth's
BnghT f:m{ll"d(C, edited by Paul Anderson .uid HO\\'Jrd R. Mat): (Newberg, ()rcgutl 1l)l)6).
2 J (.
_
 Bnrisit Qllakerislll 1860-1920
L(~I!c1(ies ofrite 'l'rl1l1sj(l/"lilllrio/l 43 1
43°
Friends ,md Fellow Seekers', whicl: represented the deep t:lith and
abandon or scriouvlv weaken it, peace testimony. The really nrvv
c.irncst hope of the m.ikcrs of rwcnticth-ccncurv Quakerism:
and viral clement of twcntieth-century QU~lker commitment to
peace was the Society's insistence on positive action to prevent war
rather than purely negative resistance once war ILld begun. In this I ),1\' by d.iv ... [to] SCc'k out ~lIld remove every seed of hatred and of
regard, one sigllitlc1l1t inter-war Quaker innovation was the cstub­ greed, of nscntmcnr ~lIld of grudgIng ill our OWIl sclves and 1Il the soci.J1
lishmcnt of 'embassies' or Council Centres in various European -t ructun .ibour m ... Surclv this is the \\.1\ ill which Chri-r c.dls us to
c.ipirals from which unoffirial Quaker ambassadors of ~1l'ace Y"Cn­ overtorne the b.irricr-, ofr.uc and c1.l" and thus to m.rkc ofnll humanitv a
rurcd forth to orl(.'r their services in conflict rcsoiution and human­ societ\' of ti·ll'llds.(' .
itarian aid progruunucs. Of course, Friends were no 1110re able to
"l o I rlL'JILh .tl1d Il,II\)\\·-\l'l,ktT':, Il:C ()j/iild/l<.l'jlM!, 201
prevent the Second World War than they had hccn capable of
stopping the First. Still. the good work that was done aud con­
tinues to be done by the friL'llds Service (:OUIICi! and other (~uaker
agenCIes on behalf of the wc.ik and the persecuted planted the seeds
which have begotten not just new recruits to the (~lLlker told but
helped to hring to the .rttrutiou of p,'opk of goochvill throughout
the world the erllcan of the Qunkcr nllldel of serving litL' rather
dun ministering to tkath.
As tor Quaker intluences vvrtl un Hritivh so.ictv and politirs. the
decision otFricnds as ,I COrpOLIte body to KCl'Lk to the dcm.md-, of
their taith LIther th.m to .ucouuuodatc the dirt.uc- of the State
raised serious question- about the role of const,ience III a free and
democratic -orictv. I )urillg the intcr-vv.u period loathing O\"lT the
rcxults of the Creat War and fl."lr about the onset of all even grl':lter
t',ILl'otrophe clcv.rtcd Iorn rcr (~lLlker priSOIlLTS tt)]' cOllsciencl' to
positions of mor.il <upcrioritv in the minds of m.uiv, Ultunatclv,
cvcu the British COVerlllllelIt responded hv esuhlishing provisions
for more tlc xibk- rrcatmr nr of w.ir n'sistcrs and thus ;lvolding a
repeat of the worst :lhllSes of the (;reat War period. For while the
kgitilllacv of cvcrv claim of rouscicnti ous objection to war .md
military service was still scvcrclv tested. the right of genuille
resisters to special consideration hcc.uu« a principle of LI\\' .iud a
point of n.itionnl pride. In the end. then, the most 1I1lportal1t erlL'cts
of the transtormation of Quakerism on the British nation were its
contribution to the prcvcrv.rt ion of religious ti'eedol11 and civil
libcrtv,
The Quakers had been heard because they would not allow the
voice of couscicncc to be silenced. Th.it voice still resonates out
from the London Friends H oust' on Eusron Road and from hun­
dreds of meetings in large cities and tiny village, with a 'Message to

_1 _

Bihlio,\Zraplzy
Bibliography
MANUSCRIPT SOURCES
Qllaker Collections
lncnd, Historical Liln,ny, Suartlnnon: Co/le~e
Priscilla H. Pcr k ovcr Papcrs
H'lI l nFmf (,'olhge (.2l1aker Collection
Rufus M . .lone, Papcr-,
Lil.rar» or III(' Socict y <'{ l ricud: LJl/d'JI/
A. C. Wilson to Executive" of the Societv Il)r l.ihrr.it io n of Religion
troru State Patron,lge and Control. I I M.», 1<)17
'Appc.rl Ir om Women Friends Io r Considcr.irion of Women's Suttrage at
Y.M.·, 1<)10. Box 2/1(J.
Arnold S. ROWlltree Papers, Temp. MS 31O/~/2
Box Meeting, ,\/il/I/le Hook, 17+~-17()0.
Braithwaite, Joseph Bevan, 'Journals and Conuncnrarics. + vois .. MS.
vol. S 2<)3-(J, Ports. 17/~<),1313<), ~112(J.
- - 'Thoughts on the Atonement", 1I April I ~72, MS. Port. ~I 12(l.
- - to Confcrence on Ministrv. York, MS. Port., 2012(l.
Hraithvvaitc. William Charles, 'Youth ,IIllJ Milir.irism. Temp 130x +/1.
Couuuirrcc to Assist Lanvashir« and Cheshire Quarterly Meeting, 1~70-
I ~72, SR + Lui.
Committee to Consider the Position of Women Friends, l.ctrcrs and
Papers, MS. 130x X313b.
Correspondence to Thomas Hodgkin relating to Joel :lIld Hannah Bean
(I ~()4-11I()())
Forster, Joseph B., 'Memoranda in reference to the action of the Com­
mittee of the Manchester Institute, 111)11 to 11I6()', 2) September 1~70,
MS Box ().6 (2), LSF.
Forster, Josiah, 'Memoranda Respecting London Yearly Meeting from
I 112~-I 870 (with some exceptions)" MS, vols. S 26 and 70,
Francis 1'. Howith toJohn Hodgkin, 10 Nov. 1868, MS. Port. C!J30.
Friends Home Mission Committee, Minutes, () vols.
r
433
friends Scrvice Committee, .\Iil/llle.'·' Record: or H 'orl: and Documciu,
Issued, June I ()I )-May I ()20, 3 vols.
Friends Social Union, ."11/1111,11 P.CpMls.
- - ,\Iillllles, I()O+-I()I), 1()1(,-17.
--'Reports and I'amphlcts, I()O+-I()I).
IT\', Ruth A., 'Friends Relief Work Since I()I+', Temp, MSS. +~I.
Herbert M. Hodgkin Paper», Temp. MS. 3)).
John Bright to]' B. Braithwaite, 2(, Ikcembcr ISW, Temp. Box r oa/': I.
Kemp, Caleb R .. 'Journals, 1~)3-1()0~', Temp. Box 2+14, Port. C/127,
MS. Vo!. S.3 to S.~.
L. Violet I jodgkin P,lpcr" MS VO!. 12~,
Lyra 1'. Wolkim P,lpcrS, Temp. MSS. )11+.
'Manrhcsn-r Cmi';, MS Box ()I I-10.
M.trv Ilodgson to Eliz.ibcrh [(;reenl, 7 March II\(q, 12 Aug. and I ) Nov.
I ~71, Port. AI ,s~-(,o.
Meeting for SutteTlngs, 'Message to Men .uid Wom.-u of (;oodwill',
[August I<)I+I.
Meeting tor Sutte'rlngs, Xliniur«.
'Meeting on Quaker Lircr.iturc, its HIstory and Aim-.'. London Yc.rrlv
Meeting, I()07, Box R21 I 3.
Millig.i». Ed\\'ard, '1'. Edmund l l.uvcv, unpublished m.uruscript.
Peace Conu nittcc. Xliuutc«.
I'e,ll'l' Couu uittcc Puhlic.itioux, Box U/7.
Pcuncy. Harrison, 'Account of Yc.ulv Meeting, I ~70', MS. Box P I I~.
Philip R'ldlcy 1',II1LTS, Temp MS 2<)().
Rmvntree, John Srcphcnson , 'Account of Yearly Meeting, I S~()', MS
Vo!. S 3('~,
--'Al'count orYcarlv Meeting, 1~71', MS. Vo!. S 270.
- - 'Mcmor.indum Il)r Pc;lce Corumirt cc, London Yearly Mel,ting,
1()02,
- - t o Norm.in I'cmu-v, 10 Ocrobcr I<)O~, MS. Port, ~1/3).
- - t o Elizabeth [Rowntreel, I+July I~)~. MS Port. +2/~().
Rm\'ntree, .I ol ui Wilhelm, 'Memorandum Upon the Rccording of M in­
isrcrs. MS. Port .. 231+°.
S,!tterthw,lite, (;eorgc to John Hodgkin, 13 Jan. I ~(J~, Port. CI I 3('.
Scptu'lgcnarian IThonLls Tongc], 'Fifty Ycars Ago', ;\IallcII('Sler Cily Ncu«,
3 August 1<)21, in Vol. vv/75·
Soci.rli« Quaker Socil,ty, ,\Iillllie nook, I~()II-I()O(), MS Vol. S 275,1<)10­
I()I3, MS Vo!. S 171.
Srcwa rt, .I olin Fvfc, 'Christmas I()O()', 130x I II r , LSF.
Taylor, Frncsr E .. 'Diary', Temp. Box 2313.
'To Our Fellow Members of Military Agc of the Society of Friends'. FSC
printed documents, Tcmp. MS S. 3 I.
 434 Bibliograph y Biblio,~raphy 435
f1/oodhwokc Library, Birmingham
Public Record Officc, London
George Cadbury Papers
Lord Kitrhcncr Papers, 'Conscientious Objectors: 1 June 1 <)16', 301
Minutes of the Settlement Committee
571<)4

Summer School Continuation Committee Paper,

War Office Papers, 'Conscientious Objectors', WO 32154<) I.

Woodbrooke Settlement Committee Papers

( 'I/il'ersity or Texas Library, Austin

Ottolme Morrell Papers
Archival Collection,

Hritisl/ liimir», loudon

Private Collectiolls
Arthur Balfour Papers, Ad. Mss. 4<)710
John H. Barlow Papers, in possession of Mary Millor Barlow Braithwaite,
Brotherton librar». Univcrsit » or lcc.l; London.
Minutes or the Mccting or Etdcrs, Yorkshire Qu.irtcrlv Meetmg. Br.nthw.iirc Familv Papers, 111 possession of Richard Braithwaite, Cam­
Miniuc Book, Yorkshire 1<)0) Conunitrcc. bridge.
Miuuu», Yorkshire Quarterly MeetIng, Minute Books, 11'\<)3-1<)20, III I)orothy Crowly Brown, 'JOUrIl,l1, 11'\<)7-1 <)0 I', typescript in possessIon of
12- 1 4. Elfrida Vipont Brown, Ycaland Conyers.
Willi.nn T. Ecroyd Papers, In possession of Henry Ecroyd, London.
Cumbri« Rccon! ()[ticc, Carlislc Hubert S. Peer Papers, in pmsesslon of Stephen Pcct, London.
Catherinc Marsh.ill Papers (Microtilm copies seen hv courtcsv of Jo WIlfrid E. l.irrlcbov Papers, In possession of Margaret Nash.
Vcllacotr) Joseph Rowntrcc Papers, in possession of Michael Rowntrcc. Kirkby­
moorsidc.
House 0( Lords Rrcord ()!tlcc Hodgkin Familv Paprrs, in possession of Robin Hodgkin, Torquay.
I hvid Lloyd (;l'orge Papers LUILI Jane Moore, 'Re/1ectiollS, 11'\70- 1<):\ 5', in possession of Henry
Andrew Bonar Law Papers Ecroyd, London.
J. St Loe Strachey Papers Rowntrcc Familv Papers, Jean Rowntrcc, Srouc-iu-Oxucv.
Rowntrcc, Lawrence, 'A Nightmare', unpublished m.muscnpr.
Joi/ll [(y/'Jlllls Liln"cll")', Uuivcrsitv or ,'vl'II/chcstcr Scott, Richcnda C., 'Notebook on Sunuucr Schools', gift of Roger C.
John WIlliam Graham Papers WIIsoll to the author.

Laucasl, irc Rccon! O[ticc, Preston

Minutes, Lancashire and Cheshire Quarterly Mcctuur, 11'\55- 11'\7<) INTERVIEWS
Minutes, Lancashire and Cheshire Women's Quarterly Meeting,
11'\<)3- 1<)24
Alexander, Horace, Longwood, Pa., November [<)1'\0.

Brnirhwairc. Richard, Cambridge, August 1<)1'\(1.

Maclvlnstcr Univcrsitv, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Braithwaite, Mary Millor, London, August 1<)1'\6.

Bertrand R usscll Archives Ecroyd, Henry, Friends House, London, August 1<)1'\(,.

Foulds, Elfrida Vipont, Ycaland Conyers, Lancashire, August 1<)1'\(1.

Maurlirstcr City Librarv, Manciicstcr

GIllett, Arthur Nicholas, Exeter, August I<)R6.

Minutes, Hardshaw East Monthly Meeting. Greenwood, J. Omerod, London, August IC)86.

Hcwisou, Hope Hay, Exeter, August 1<)86.

National ArlllY Museum, London

Hodgkin, Robin A., Torquay and Exeter, August 1<)86.

Lord Roberts of Kandahar Papers Jones, Mary Hoxie, Haverford College, September I<)R3·

MIlligan, Edward, Friends House, London, May Ic)<)4.

43 6 Bibliography BibhograpIz y 437

Nash, Margaret, Exeter, Augmt 1 l)1'\6. A.B.C.D. [anon. J, 'Ideal Quakerism or Undogmatic Theology', 13F (I
Naish, Richard, Stoney-in-Oxney, Kent, Augmt [l)1'\6. Aug. 187[), 20[.
Nick.ills. John, Welwyn Garden City, Augmt J l)1'\!i Aarck , Hans Eirck (cd.), QlliJkerislII: ,4 WI1Y or Lire: 111 l-/olIl<1,,,ze or S("zrid
Punshon , John, Exeter, August I l)1'\(l. .41'lIieso/l l und (Kvckcrtorlagcr: Norwegian Quaker Press, 1l)1'\2).
Radley, Phillip, Cambridge, August 1l)1'\!i. Adams, R. J. Q. and Philip H. Poirier, 'l Iu: Conscription Coutrovcrsv in
Rowntrc-c, J c.ui, Stone-ll1-( )xney, Kent, August I l)1'\(l. Crear Britain, 1900-1918 (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University
Rowntrcr. Richard, Exeter. Allgmt Il)Ul. Press, I l)1'\7).
Scott, Rlchenda, Friends House, London, May I l)7(1. Adams, T[ onv]. 'The Socialist Quaker Society (I 1'\l)1'\-[ l)2+): A Consid­
Sturge, Roger, Exeter. August 1l)1'\(', CLition of the factor, Influencing the Origins of the Socialist Quaker
Wilson, Roger C., Yc.il.iud Conyers, Luuashin-. Augmt 1l)1'\h. Society', (MA thesis. Leicester University, 1l)1'\S).
Adams, Tony, ,4 lar-Scciuo I 'isiou. Tile Socialist Qlle/ker Socict», (1898-192.J)
(Quaker Socialist Society, n.d.).
PUBLICATIONS, THESES, AND OTHER PRINTED
'Adjourned Yearly Meeting: A Churchman's Impressions', I'S, 1 I I (Feb.
SOURCES
1l)1 (l), + I.
'Adjourned Yearly Meeting: A Churcluu.m 's Impressions', I'S, 1 12
,'"lhhfl'l'iiJliOIiS ol)o/IYllel!s (March 1l)1('), +0-+2.
Albriuht, M. Catherine, 'Review of '1 'Ill' I~nieties of I~eh"ziolls I;·,\'I)('ril'llee'.
AI: nil' ,-IlIleri(,/I1 lrictu!
HI,' nil' Brilish lrinu! I'DI', VI So (IS Sept. 1002), 21'\l)-l)2.
Alexander, A. T. , 'Yearly Meeting Attenders-Familiar Pcrsonaliric.".
(,'H Cluurh Hisl"r)'
FQ nIC lricn.l: ()lIenterl)' JI·HS, 27 (10]0), IS-I o.
Alcxundcr. Horace (;., 'British friends and the War of 1l)14', (type­
I:C)}; lricnd: (.,211111'11'1'/)' !:".Ye//ililier
written pcrson.il memoir kindly provided by Horace Alexander).
II()I' nil' Her,l!d of 1'1'11«'
- - 'Documentation .uid Correspondence' QH, 7011 (Spring 1l)1'\ I),
lFHS lO1l11l111 01 tlu: lilt nd-. H/,IO//(el! .';0(/( I)'
+7-5 0.
,\ II' "J'IIC ;\ 1iJllcileSIer lnciu!
- - 'The Growth of the Peace [csrimonv of the Society of friends',
1'1)1' The Present /)11)' l'c/IHTS
(London: Friend, Home Peace Committee, 1l)]0) z nd edn. Il)S!i.
I'S The 1'/OIl"zllslll1re
Alex:mder,Jmeph G., 'Our SOCi:l! System', FQ1: (11'\7 1), +37-4].
QH QII'lker l listor»
Allen, Kcrri and Alison Mackinnou. '''Allowed and expected to be
QIU' Qllakl'r I~I'!/"ziolls nll)/Ighl
educated and intelligent": The Education of (~uelker (;irls in Nine­
QS (.,2I1<1ker ,'illidies
teenth Century Engbnd', Hislory "rEdlle<1lioll, 27/+ (1l)l)1'\), ]l)1-402.
7T nil' lrictu! (London}
Allen, Margaret, 'Matilda Sturgc: "Rcn.uss.mcc Woman" " ~VOI1lClI '.I' His­
nvn nll'Tril>/I11111 lory RClii('lI', 7/2 (1l)l)1'\), 20l)-2!i.
VS Victon.tu Sill dies
Allen, W. C, 'The New Quakerism', HF (Ikc. 11'\ l) 1'\) , ]OS-Ol).
~t'&[J [fiJr and Peace
.-111 Friellds Contcrcuc«, LOlld,)II, AII,,,zIlSI 1920: .4 Cuidr an d Souvenir (Lon­
don: Friends Bookshop I I l)20 J)
A C/IlJilclI,,,zc 10 ,\ 1ilill1ri.''111 (London: The Fru-udx' Service Committee
Allott, Stephen, Iriends in Yorl: (York: Sessions, 1l)78).
[ 1l) 11'\ J).
--Johll lrilllehll R'JI/'I/Iree, 1868-1905 (York: Sessions Book Trust, 1l)l)4).
'A "Conservative" View of London Yearly Meeting. 11'\+(",JFHS 11'\1/1
'The American Declaration of Faith-A Result', HI;' (Nov. 1 8l)]), ]OS-7·
(1l)21),21'\.
'An Appeal to the Conscience of the Nation' from the London Yearly
'A Declaration Issued by the Committee Appointed by the Yearly
Meeting of the Society of Friends, May 1911'\.
Meeting of the Religions Society of Friends to Visit Lancashire and
Cheshire Quarterly Meeting', reprinted as Appendix A to LYM, 11'\72,
IAnon.], O/JsClviJlio/ls 0/1 <1 Lecture Delil'ered at tlic Manchester Friends Institute
I>y Dnvu! Du IICiJII , Elililled Essays and Reviews, (London: A. W, Ben­
]2-S·
nett, [1'\!i I).
 T
43 S BiblioXrapli y
Ash, Edward, Ql/akerislII (London: A. W. Bennett, I R(JS).
- - 'The Beacon Conrrovcrsv and the Yearly Meeting Committee of
IS3S-37', TF (Sept. IS70), 207-11 :md Nov. IS70, 2S()-7.
Atkinson, Joseph, ' l nsti tutioualism. the Last Stronghold of Pricsrrrafi".
MF(IS Aug. IS72), 13().
Bacon. Margaret Hope. "The Estahlishm cur of Londou Women's Y c.irlv
Meeting: A Trans.ulanrir Concem'.)FHS )7/2 (I()()). I'iJ-().
--Alorhcrs or lcminism; The Stor» 0( Qllaker 11,1/1/('11 III ..Jlllcrica (San
Francisco: Harper & Row. i oxo).
Bailey, Rich:lrd. 'Making and Unmaking of ,I God: New Light on
George Fox and Early Quakcnsm'. in Michael Mullet (cd.): ."·C1I'
L(i;hl "II Ceo~i;e Fox atu! E/rly QII,/kerislII. (York: Sessions, 1()()3).
Barbour. Hugh, 'The "Lamh's War" and the Origllls of the Quaker PC,lce
Testimony', in l l.irvcv L. Dyck (cd.). nil' I'acljisl IIII/JI/Isc III l listorica!
Pcrspcaii-c (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1()()(»).
- - 'Qll:Iker Prophetesses and Mothers in [SLId'. inJ. Willi.uu Frost and
John H. Moore (cds.): Seck/IIi; tlt« Liolit: LSS'I)'.' III QII<1kcr Historv
(Willing!,mi & I lavcrtord, I'A: Pcndlc HIli Publications & Fnends
HIstorical Assori.ition, I()SCl).
--, nil' (dlll1kcrs ill 1'111'/11111 LII.i; III II,I (Nnv H.ivcn , Conn.: Yale Univer­
sity Press, 1()(q.).
Harcl<1Y's Ap,Jloi;y III ;\[odel'll 1:11i;lisll, cd. I k,lIl Prcid.iv (Newherg. Oregon:
Barclay Press, I()()I).
B,lrchy. Robert, The luncr Uli· orille !<elii;I,'1l.\ SI)([('ues orllll' C"'IlIIlII'IIlI'C,dlh
(j rd. cdn, London: Hodder and Stoughton, [~71)).
lbssuk, I \lI1iel E., 'Rufus Jones and Mysticism', QRT 17/+ (Sun uncr
InS), I-2Cl.
Bean, Jl1el. 'The Issue', HF (March I ~~ I), 4<)-S I.
- - 'What is True Prcpar.rtiou for the Minisrrv'. HI-' (2 May I S()2),
10 5- 7 _
Bellows. Philip, All A/Jj!e<11 10 tiu: 'Qllaker COllselcllce' or I;'lIgl,wd (Wigan:
R.oger & Pcnnick , I()13).
Bellows. William L., 'Barclay I f llldle<1lcd ': A !<el'iClI' "r R"lwrl Charlooll's
Tholl,i;llIs (Manchester: Will. Irwin, I He)S).
Bennett, Alfred W., 'The Yearly Meeting', FQE, (I ~(J7), 3) <)-7(l.
Benson, Louis Cathoti, QllakerlslII (Philadclplua: Ph ila dclphia Yearly
Meeting), I l)ClS.
Be'iSe, Joseph, A Cotlraion or tlu: ,"'IIf/fl'lll,i;.,· 0( the People Cdlcd Qllakers
(London: Luke Hinde, 17S3).
Birkel, Michael .iud John W. Newman (cds.), The Lamli's IVaI': Qllilker
EssllYs 10 HOllOI' Hllgil Barbour (Richmond: Earlham College Press,
1()()2).
Bibli(~Rraphy 439
Bittle, William C., )<1ll1eS Saylor, 1618-1660: IIII' Qllaker lndicatcd by Parlia­
iucnt (York: Sessions, I<)S6).
Blamircs. David, Jeremy Greenwood and Alex Kerr (cds.). A QI/aker
.Hlsrellolll)'j(1/· Edlhlrd H. ,\lill(i;'lI/ (Manchester: David Blamir cs. II)S»).
Bone, Andrew G .. 'Beyond the Rule of Law: Aspects of the Defence of
the Realm Acts and RegulatiollS. I()I4~I()I~', (Ph.D. thesis. McMaster
University. I <)l)+) .
Bottomley, J. Frith, 'Public Qncsriouv: IV-The Position of Womcn',
FQF. (1~70), )(10-S7.
Bowen, I >esmond, Tlu: ldca or lite Vlaori,lI/ Clntrrl: (Montreal: McGill
Univcrsuv Press, J()CJH).
Brady, Georgl' S.. LIIIIICII Sicaun (All E,-sll)' Oil rile Exercise 0( lite lutclicct III
Matter; of Rrlioiou: Helief(London: F. Bowyer Kitto. [He)~).
- - 'Thoughts Supported by I )ar\\·in 's "Origin of Species" " MF. April
I ~72. 73-S·
[Braithwa itc children], )l1scpll Bevan Brallillfiolle: A lricnd or lite N11Il'IeCII111
Cel/lllr)' (London: Hodder and Stoughton. I<)O()).
Braithwaite. Const.mcc, 'Legal Problems of Conscientious ()bjection to
Various Compulsions under British Law' (London: Friends Historical
Society, I <)M,) .
Brairhw.urc. J. B., 'Notes on the Richmond Contcrcucc , I ~Si, FQL
(I ~S~), 272-H~.
- - 'Thoughts on the Atonement', FQE (I ~<)o), 103-20.
Braithw.iir«. J. B .. Jr., 'The Society of Friends and the Limitations of its
Peace Tcsrimonv", FQL (I l) I S), 202-20.
Braithwaite, William Charles. 'The Adult Schoo] Movement', in
Richard Mudie-Smith (cd.}, 'llu: Rciioiou» Llji' of London (London:
Hodder and Stoughton, 1<)0+)' 331-33.
- - Tile Hl:rzlllflll/gs <'I' Qllokerisl11 (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, I<)S: z nd. cdn.).
- - 'The Conference: A Vision of Its Possibilities', in All lricnd« COI/­
FreIICe . . . ..J Cllide and SO//I'mir, ).
- - Tl« lnsniratiou or lite HI{,le, (Yorkshire 1 ()o) Committee Pamphlet,
I()O»).
- - 'llic i\1essa,i;c and Xlission or QllakerislII (philadelphia: J. C. Wiuston,
[() 12).
- - The Second Period or QllakerislII (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, lyCJI).
--'Some Prcscur-Day Aims of the Socirrv of Friends', FQ1:.· (IS<)5),
32 1-41.
--'Work for Peace', PDP (I I June ISl)Y). )-12.
Bravshaw, Alfred Ncavc, Friends al/d lite Inner L(i;hl, (London: Headley
Bros·,II<)ls]).
HO HiiJ!i,;,<rapli y
Br.rvshaxv. Alfrcd Ncavc, J W. Rowntrcc, Uiographical Notcs. Tl! (17
March 1l)05), I('S.
- - ,\tell/oir <1/111 Sc!i'(fi'd Il'rilillgs (Binuingham: Woodbrookc Extension
Counnir rcc. 11 'N I I).
- - Tlic QII,I!,er.i: 'llici, ,"'Iory .uul ,\lc.is,]ge (London: S\\arthmorc Press,
1l)2 I; rcp rinu-d York: Sl"iSIOIIS, I '),~2).
Brinton, Howard, lririu}, r"rioo ~i'drs (London: (;corgl' Allen 13-. Unwin,
Il) 5.1).
Hrork , Pl'tn, 'l lu- QII,I!.:i'r l'cacr 1 "slill/'JII)', j(16,J-19l-f (York: W I1h,1lI1
Sl'ssions, 1<)<)0).
Bronner. Edwin ll .. "Moderates in Loudor: Yc.rrlv M"cting, 11'57-1 S7,:
Precursors ofl~uakn l.ibcr.il-,'. C11, 5<)/.1 (Scpt. I()<)o), J5(J-71.
- - ' Tlu- 01//('1' HI<1IIc11 ': London ~(',Jrly .\teellll,~ aud '111,' Hie!.:sili'S, 1827­
/912 (London: Fncnd« I tistorical Socicty, 1<)75).
l\rown, E. Vipont , "The P,cn,liss.IIICC of Qu.rkcri-nn'. HJ. 51-1- (Oct.
I <) 5 I ), 20 I -o().
Brown. Honr ic-tt.i, 'Help ii,r Wonll'n', HI: (May II")]), 11()-17.
Carroll, Kcuncth L., 'Early (~lIakns .ind "(;oing Naked as a Sign"', (~I L
('7/2 (Autumn 1<)71'), (l<)-S7.
--j"hll Prrrot : Lady Qlld!.:a -"ehi.illl,7Iie (London: FricJ1ds ll istoric.il
SOCi,·ty, 1l)71).
l .atchpo ol, Corder, ()IIII1'" lront: (London: I k,ldl,'\' Bros.. 1<)11').
(\"ll!L-I, Martin. Hrili.,h 1'dei(i'llI; 19l-f-19.J5: Tlu: J)ctillill~ ('I ,I luith
(( )xt()rd: Oxford UI11\'lTSlty PH'SS, I<)SO).
- - n/(' Or(~ills 0( 11'£11' l'rCl'CIIli,JII: '/lie IJrilish 1'e,le(' .\10/'('1/11'111 ,1IId
11111'1"1I,1IioIlOI Rcl.uion«, 1/.i0-185.J (l ht'urd: The Clarcndon Pn-«.
I <)l)(,).
Ch.mtv, Kut c , }<'/II/ 1k//01l's 0( Ciol/c('sia. 1811-1902: .'-1 .\1£111 )'--"id('d .\1.111:
QI/a!.:er Printer, L'.\·iuJgr,lplll'l", aiu! ,rJI<hd('O"~~isl: His 1.If{- '111,1 Lcncrs (York:
Scssions. 1')<)3).
Ch.rrlctou, Robert, l uic] nltll(~/JI" "II 111(' .'-110IlCIIIi'IJI (Bristol: Al'klam! 13-.
Son, Il'r)<)).
Chrisliall Diseiplille o( Iiii' Ri'Ii~i')I/.i Socii'IY 'J( !-"I'iCllds (London: S,llIlL1el
H;mis, 11'1'.1).
Chrisll'7I1 Di.iciplilli' o( Iiii' R.c!(~iol/s Socii'ly "1 hii'mls 0( LOlld,," ~i'c7l"Iy .\le<'l­
ill.~, 2 vols. (London: Fricnds UooksllOp. 1<) 1 I)
Chrisli'7I/ Doclrille. ['mcllei', alld Disciplilli' (-1-th l'dJ1., London: Friends' Uook
Dcpository. I S(,I).
Chrisliall Failll alld Prdoice (London: Fricnd, Uook Centrl', 1<)()3).
Chrislidll Lil(', Fdilh, 'Illd Thol/g/ll ill llie Soeicl)' o( Fn'Clld.i (London: The
Fricnds Uookshop, 1<)23).
Clnisli'lII Pra(fice (London: Friends !3ookshop, 1<)25).
Clil/rch COl'emlllCilI (London: Fnl'nds Book Centre I <)3 I).
HiiJ!i,;,<raplly 44 1
Clark, J. Edmund .. "Th.- Beacon" Letters of lll11cs Clark', }FHS, 16/ I
(1l)1<)), 12l)~33,
Cl.irkc. Peter F.. Liliera]« .uul Social Democrat, (Cambridge: Cambridgc
Univcrsitv PrL''', 1<)70).
Clark-on, Thom.rv, 1',JI'Ir<1ill/rC "( II/(' S,'(icl)' o! Friends, .1 vols. (Ncxv York:
Samuel Sr.uisburv. 11'0(,)
Cole. W. ALI11, 'Quakns and till' English Rcvolutiou'. in T Ashton (cd.)
Crisis ill EIII"<Jj)c (1<)70 cdn.), reprinted in P<151 1111,1 Present 10 (1<)5(l),
3<)-5-l·
(,""II(TCII(C 0(.'-1// lvicu.!«: .'-1I1I<'1"ieOIl Conuuissiou, I-I', In, Report o(AII/('ri(<111
Connnission: O( tli; e'II/(TCII(e 0( All 1-'ricllds (Phil.ulclphi.i: American
Frunds Service Conunincc II <)201).
I h/lulill/ICIII,]1 HIISIS o(llle Pcac: Tcstiniou»
II .'\·,7Iiollol Lili' ,71Id 1111(T//,]lio//o/ j~elatloll.,
III 1'<'I"soll<11 Lit(' and -"o(iel}'
IV !:'t11l(<1lio//: Tt« R'Jod 10 !'t'O(C
V 1lic 1~c1,III"1l ott!« Liti' 0(117(' -",'ciel)' 10 IIIC i'ca« 1"5IiIl1l 1// )'
VII Tlu 111IeI1l0Ii,JII,71 Scn'i(c o! tlu: Socict» o( !-"I"I<'lIds
C,'/lti'l"c//(I' "( ,--III !-"I·ioul.i Held i// london, Al/g/lSI 12 10 .!". 1920: Otfi(iol
Rcpor! (London Friends Ho okvhop, 1<)20).
.oopcr. l-rcdcrirk , 'l l« Crisis ill ,\10//(/iC.'I<'I" i\lcclin~: IVil1i 0 1<('I'iCIlI 0(111i'
l)ollll>!>!cIS o! J)ol'id J)1I11(0// ,71111 }"SCjJ/i 13. j:,'rsla (Manrhcstcr: Will.
lrwin. 11'(,<) [nor publi,hnl, fi,r priv.itc circulation 111 the Socil,ty of
Fril'nds I).
Cooper, WIIllln A .. "I he lntlucncc ofJl..lIfll'Jolles Oil the Quaker View
of Sin and LVIi', (~It T 22/-l (Fall 1<)1'7), .\0-3(>­
Corder, Herbert, 'Methods of Prop.igauda'. in A I'C, ()[fiu,i/ RCjJOrl,
171'-1'-l·
Crc.iscv, Mauruc , "l hc Thcologv ot Itobnt llclrday witl: Sp,'cial Rctcr­
cncc to hi, Apology', (U. D. thl'SIS, University of Lccd-; 1<) S I).
Cn'ascv, Mcluricc A. alld Harold LOllkcs, nlC Ncxl hti)' Y('I7I"S (Lolldoll:
fnl'nds HOl11c Snvicc COl11mittcc, 1<)5(').
T/ic Cri.ii.i "( Ille QII,]!.:er C,'IIII'SI i// .\lolld/('.(ll'r (M.lllchestn, Londoll &
Bristol: I SV,I7).
(:roI11wdl, Otelia, LI/(I"<'lili .\1011 (Cambridgc. MA.: H.lrvard Univcrsity
Press, 1<)51').
Crostleld. GlilieIll1,1, Fril'//d.i olld IIIC rVoIII i'll '.I' i\10UI'IIII'III (Londl'n: Hecldley
Bros., Il)l I).
Crossley, Itobcrt (cd.). 'Iii/bllg A'"I"OSS I(IC II (,rid. II/(, CorrcsjJ<llldclI(1' of Ola(
SllIplclOIl Illld A//xcs .\1i//l'r, 1915-1920, (Hanovn & London: United
Press of Ncw England, 1l)1'7).
Crowthn, M. A., Cllllrch Elli/willcd: R.c/(~iolls Conlroul'rse)' in II/id- Victori'1/1
EIIXloild (Ncwton Abbot: David & Charlcs, 1l)70),
44 2 Bibli(:~r'lplzy
Dumrosch , Leo. The Son'Oll'S "f the Qllaker [csus: [asucs .\'a)'lor alld tlu:
I'uritan Cm(kdoll'lI 0/1 tlu: Free Spiril (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard Uni­
versity Press, IC)C)O).
Darton, Lawrence, 'The Baptism of Maria Hack, I S3T An Episode m the
Beacon Controversy',jJT/,,,', .j.()/2 (1c)5.j.), 07-n·
Davey. Arthur M. (cd.), Lawrence Rirhardson: Selnlcd C,)rre5polldCl/(e (19".!­
19<'.;) (Cape Town: Van Ricbcc.k Socictv, lC)n).
Davie, Martin, 'Development of British Quaker TheolDS')" since I SC))',
(D. Phil. theSIS, Mansfield College, Oxt(Jrd Univcrsitv. I C)C)2).
--'Quaker Theology since ISC)5', FQ 3013 aulv IC)C)(»), 131-.j.3.
Davis, Robert (cd.). IVoodhrooke, /9<'.,-19.'3 (London: The B.umivdalc
Press, 1C)53).
] kdman, Martin, 'l3aden-l'owelI. MIlitarism. and the "Invisible Con­
tributions" to the Boy Scout Scheme. 1C)0.j.-1 C)20', F/I'<'1Ilielh C<'1IllIr)'
nrili,,11 I listorv .j.1.1 (1c)c)3), 210-23.
l Jcwshurv. William, II'orb (London: IOSC)).
'Disowunu-nt of j o.-l Bc.in and Others'. nr (Dee. IKC)S). 30).
Doncaster. L. Hugh. QlI,/ker ()I:~alli.~(/Iioll aiul nllSiliess ,\Ieelillgs (London:
Fru-nds Honu: Service Cou nniucc , I C) 5S).
Downing. Chris] tine I, '(~uakerism and the Historical Intcrprctatron ot
RelIgion', (JI<FII]12 (Autumn 1<)(11). 3-J.j..
Drake, Thomas E .. Qllilkers and Slaver» ill ,~/lIeri(d (New l l.ivcn: Yale
University Press. IC))O).
])lI(lley.James, 'the Lil;' o(/:'dll'ard (;rllf,{" IS5';-1939: ,-I S/'irill/a! [Jil~rJlII'(i;e
(London: James Clarke & Co., I C).j.(I).
] )uncan, ] )avld, Call ,III Olllll',nd I<el'elalioll Be [Jerf;'a~ Ref/eaiolls ('POI/ tlu:
Clann, 0( Hihli(al IlIf;l!lihilil)', (z nd cdn.. London: F Bowyer Kitto,
I S7 J).
- - I:'ssa)'s and Rrvicu-s: A LUll/I'<' IJelil'ered .u tlu: .\[dl/cIICSler Fncnds
Institute, (Manrhcstcr: I S() I).
--johll If 'calmaII : A Paperill the Friend: Institute, ,\Iallchesler, 20Jail. 1871.
(ManehesterW. Hale, IS71).
- - National Liti' (A Lecture read at Manchester Friends l nstitutc , 22
April I S70, London: F. Bowyer Kitto, I S70).
--'Quakerism Past and Present', i\[F (I.) March IS72), 57-S.
Durnb.iugh , Donald F., 'Baptists and Quakers-Left Wing Purit.ms "
QH, 0212 (Autumn IC)73), ()7-S2.
Dyck, Harvey L. (cd.), The ['dcift51 II Il/Jitlse ill [-{isl,'ric,11 ['erspectil'e
(Toronto: University of Toronto Pre'ss, IC)Y(»).
IDymond, Jonathanl, All Ellqlliry i,Jlo Ihe A((ord'il/c)' or
IVar lI'itil Ihe
[Jrilloilies of c..'h,.isliallily, rcpnnt of I S23 edn., cd. Naomi Churgin
Miller (New York: Ic)73).
h'choes h'Olll Sca,.hOroll,(?h, 1897 (London: Headley Uros., ISC)S).
Bihliograpll Y 443
Edgerton, William, 'Have Friends a Testimony Against War?', Chrisliml
Worker, 2I1.j. (2 April ISC)I), 212- 13.
Edmondson, Joseph, 'The Essential BaSIS of Quakerism and Its non­
Ritual Origins. FQt, (ISC)C)), 350-0).
[Edmundson, William,] .':l [onrnal or ...
[I'illialll Edmundson (London: J.
Sowle. 171)).
Edw.ird«, Irene L.. 'The Womcn Friends of London: The Two Wecks
and Box Meetings',jFHS, .j.7/1 (Spring IC))5), 3- 2 1.
Ellegard, Alvar, Durwin alld the Ccncral Reader: The Reception or
Darwin',
Throrv 0( Evolution ill tlu: Brilisll Pcriodica! Press, 1859-1872 (zud cdn.,
Chicago: Univcrsitv of Chicago Press, ['.iC)0).
Endy. Melvin U. jr., "The Interpretation of Quakerism: Rufus jones and
His CritiCS', QH, 70/1 (Spring IyKI), 3- 2 I.
- - - rrillimll Penn <1/1(1 Early QI/'lk('/islIl (Princeton. N.J.: Pruuctou Uni­
vcrsi ty Press, r I CJ7 3 J).
I:J)istles From the )"t'arl)' j\[eelill,~ 0( lricnd: Held ill Loudon, /681-185 8, 2 vols.
(London: Edward Marsh, I K)S).
racill,~ tlic Facts: lkillX the Rcpor: <'I'tlll' Conicvciur ,)11 "llic S,)ciel)' or lricnd:
.ind tlu: Socia! Order' Held ill Loudon, 19-22 Octo/w" 1916 (London:
Hcadley l3ros., [1C)1(,J).
Fager, Chuck, ft'ilh,)111 ApoloXY: The Heroes, the Hail<1ge <11/(1 tlu: Hope or
libcral QlIakaislll (Mcdi.i, Pa.: K imo Press, I ()y(,).
Fawcll , Ruth, }),III }[dry Fry (London: Friends ll oru c Service Comnur­
tee. n.d.).
Forhush, Bliss, Llias Hicl:«, Lihcr,,{ QlIaker (New York: Columhi.: Uni­
vcrsitv Press. IC))O).
Forster. Joscph B., 'David Duncan and His R,'vicWLT'. IV- (2 Sept. I S(, I),
22.j.-5·
--'Dread ofControversey'. 13F (2 Dec. r xo r ), 2 K7- K.
- - Oil l.ibcrt»: All Addrcs, 10 tlu: Mnnbcr: or 111l' Sociel)' <'I' tricnd«,
(London: F. Bowyer Kitto, I S(,7)·
- - The Sociel)' 0( Friends illld Fredolll 0( '1'!t"lIghl ill 1871 (London: F.
Howycr Kitto, 11'17 I).
Forster. Josiah, Letters 10 tlu: Ye.1/l/lger Meinbcrs or tlu: R..e!£i;lolls Society 0(
Friends, (London: R. Barrcrt &. SOIlS, [I S()C)J).
Fox. George, To tlu: [Jl/rlialllCIII of Ihe COIIII/lOII-IVe<11t11 or EII,i;land, Fifl)'­
lIille parliml,lI's laid dOll'l1 .I,,,
Ille R~i;lIlaliIlX of 'l1lill,iZS (London: n.p.,
IO)C)) .
Francis, Mark, 'The OrigillS of Essays alld RI'l'iew\: An Interpretation of
Mark Pattisonl11 the IK5OS', HiSloricaljollmal 17 (1C)74), 7'n- S I I.
F,.imds alld Ihe !oVar (London: Headley Bros., 1<)14).
Friends Service Committee, ,4 ChaIlCII,i;e 10 lVIi/ilarisl/l (London: FSC
[I C) I II J).
 -lA-1- Bihliograpli)'
The Friends Social Union, .1.lIl1lwl Rcpon, 1<)0-1-.
VoL 2 1'111('" (lll tl« .\1<11111Iaill (1<)77).
The Friends' Social Union , !<cporrs aiul Palll/Jli/crs, Jt)['-/~ Jt) J5.
VoL 3 !1711..pcrs <'I'TIl/IIt (1<)7H),
Frith, Francis, L'l'all,<cli(17lislll )i'01l1 rllc St.uu! Point <'( tiu. SO(ICI)' o( lticnd;
- - Thr QIW/.:c,. Ttl/,c,m)' (London: Impact Books. [<)<) 1),
(London: Samuel Hards &: Company. I H77),
- - 'On lntcllcrrual DitferCl1ces Among Christi.uis. H)l: (I H<)2), 5-23.
Fry, Agnes, .-1 ;\1l'11I0ir 0( Sir Ldll'tml 1"1,), (OxtlHd: Oxtord University Press.
1<)2 I).
fry, Elizabl,th,\1cl/lolr 0( tlu: Uk 0( EIi:::al>clh /'/')', 1I'Irii l ixtraa, /i'OIlI 11t·/
JOllmal (London: Charles Cilpin. 11-:,n).
Frvj o.m M" Altred Kemp Bro\vn, ;lI1d other Friends, 1'171' '/"ll(IIIU,< [l(lhe
HI/llc III tlu: ]:alllil)' (London: Headley Bros,. I ')Cl+) ,
Fulford. Roger, I 'otc: For rI 'oiucn: 'lh: Slor)' 11( d Srrll'<.~/e (London: rabn
s: Faber. 11)~7),
(;;mlinn. A, c.;., 'F'lIC ui; OrCC'l/XC Cadl>lIr), (London: Cassl'\l s: Co,. n.d.).
Cilhnt. Alan D" /<eli~ioll .uu! SO(lel)' III /lIdll"rrial LII,<llIlId: C/IIII'(h, Chll/,cl
IIl1d Soria I Cltall'<c, J7Sll-lql-/ (London: Lonmu.m. 1<)7+),
Clover, Ma rg;lret Me K ce 11I1I", 'Aspects of Publish II1g by the Pc.uc COIll­
n rit trc of the ReliglOlIS SOCll'ty of Friends (London Yc.irlv Meeting),
IHHH-I<)05', C.2S 3 ([<)<)H). 27-.~1
(;odlee, Mary Jllll', 'The WOIlIen's Yc.ulv M"eting', in London )"llrl)'
.\/CCIII(~ /)lII'ill'< 2;0 );'11l'S (London: SOCil't\· of Friends, [1)[<)),
Cr;1Il;lln.john W .. COIIS(/'I/,llllll .uid COII.'(I('//(C:.-1 Hlsl,'r)', IqJ6-1t)1t) (Ll111­
don: Cl'l1rge Allen .md Unwin, 1')22).
- - - 'ThL' l ristanr I'roSPl'ctS of thL' I'l'ace Partv, /,c.21: ([ HH+). H2-<)('.
1(11-7 1.
--'Empire Buildlllg', HI- 0.111. &. March 1')11). (,-H, (J<)-7[.
- - - / :"'ll/illioll aiu! l inurin: (Loudon: Headley Bros., [<) [2).
- - '1'171' laitl! 0( a (,2l1l1l.:cr (Cambridge: C,ullbndgL' Uuivcrvitv Pn-«.
1<)20)
--'Industnalislll and the National (:Il;lLlcter', T]: (1+J.1Il. i o i o). 21-2.
- - 'J'IIC .\1callill'< O( Qlld~'crlslli (London: Hca dlcv Bros" n.d.).
- - 'Rl'miniscences of the Beginning of C.Il11bndge Meeting'. H/" (Fcl».
I HI))). 3 1-2,
- - - 'The Sute ami the Iudividu.il'. TI- (<) Apnl 1<)15).2('7-1)
- - 'Whellll' (:ollles Peace". HI- (April I Hl)(») , n-Ho.
Craves, Mich.icl P., 'Robert Barclay and the Rhetoric of the Inward
Light', QRT, 2M2, 1-:0 (M;lrch 1<)<)3). [7-.12,
(;reaves. Richard, 'Sh.lttned Expectations' Ceoq,2;c Fox. the Quakers
and the Restoration State, I('(JO-I()H5', ,-1ll>ioll 2+12 (Summer 1<)<)2).
237-5<)·
Greenwood, john Ormerod, QIIlll.:1'1' £11(0111111'1',1. 3 yols, (York: Sessiom,
1<)7 5-H).
VoL I /:ricllds alld Rclicf([<)75).
Bibli[~,<raJ!li )' -lAS
- - (cd.). The Qllal.:e,. Taprstvi«» (London: Quaker Home Service, I<)H7),
(;regg. Howard. 'john Bright: c'J!1cd to the Lord's Servin'" QRT, L1-/\
(Summer 1<)1)0). H-30,
(;rieves. Keith. 'llu: Politic: <'( .HlIIJ!LlII'IT (New York: ()xtlJrd Univcrsitv
Prl'''. [1)HH),
(;rubb. Edvv.ird. 'Eighth Query: Reply'. FQE (1<)[7), H<)-57,
- - 'The EvangL'lil'.d Mo\'eml'llt and its lmp.ur on the SOl'lety of
Friends', H~E ([')2-1-). I-,D,
--'The future of the TropICS', HI-' (Mar.h [H<)<)), ,q-+.
--'John Bellows and the War', HF (Dec. i ooo), 307-<),
- - 'ThL' Lite of the SOCIL't\' in Rl'!.ltion to It, Tcstimonv, /-I1:C, ()lfilild
Report, 1<)')-225.
- - "The Mission of rh« Society' of Fncnds", I'DI'I ([ 1-:<)H) , 3 ,~-7·
- - 'On the Mini-rrv in Our ML'eting'. FQ/;' (I HHH), 3(,!J-7('
- - - 'Our Mmion, II. Sorial. H)l: ([ HHI)). ('7. 7H, H[-2,
--'()ur Tl"tinlO\lY tor PL'all", H/;, (Mav 11)01)), [33-+,
- - ()lIaI.:ITIsIII ill 1:11,<1111111: lt: l'rcscnt /'''-'1111111. (London: Headley Broth­
er,. 1<)0 I),
- - 'Se\'l'nt\' Year' Ago'. H)L ([ <)21-:). 21)+-3 [(,.
- - 'Short Cuts to PL'ace'. 1'1". 22 Sept. 1<) I(" 737-<),
- - \llt'/'dl ,~sl)ecrs "( rill' (,211111.:1'1' lait]: (London: Hcadlcv Brorhcrs,
I ,~<)<)),
- - 'Some I'n",,/;1I Expcrienn's·. I-'C,JL' ([ 1J3 X), 307,
- - '1'111' 'lruc II '<1)' 0( li]: (London: Headley Bros., 11)01)).
- - 101111 is Qlltll.:cr;slIl/ (3rd cdn, London: (;eorge Allen I'.: Unwin,
1<)2<). reprinted 1<)+2)
--'YL'.lrI\, Meeting, IHy,', H.2/;' (IH<)S), <)<)-[ 1("
(;ruhh, Mollie. 'Ahr.rh.un Shackleton and the Irish S,'p;lration of [7<)7­
[H03', j /'HS S()j + (1<)<)3), 2(,,.',--71.
--'The Ueamn Separ.ltion',j/'HS S51(, ([<)SH), [<)o-<)H.
- - - "Tensions in the RdiglllllS Socictv of Friends in England in the
Nineteenth C:entury',j/;HS. 5()j1 (1<)1)0), 1-1+,
(;unlIllLTl', Amelia, 'The Early Quakcrs and Parcn tal Edncation. Pl )!',
VI 50 (Sept. 1<)02). 2H+,
Gxvvu, Douglas . •--l/,Nd/),J!"e or 1111' ! I 'onl: Tllc Llt1' alld klcssaxe o( Cl'll~\ZC Fox
(Richmond: Friends United Pre,s, I<)H6),
- - Tile COl'cllalll Crllclfil'd: Qllal.:crs lllld rltl' Ri,"!' or Capilali,l'IIl (\V;dl­
ingtord. I'a,: Pend1c Hill Pnhhcations, ]()l)5),
Hamm, Thomas D" 'The Problem of the Inner Light in Nineteenth
Centurv Quakerism'. in Michael L. Birkel and John W, Newman
446 Bihlioxraph y
(cds.). The Lainbs H'ar: Q'lclkcr Essays to HOI/or H/lgh Barbour (Rich­
mond: Earlham College Press, 1<)<)2). 1o t -17.
- - F!IC 'transionnotion or A III crica II Q/Iakerislll, Orthodox Friends, 1800­
1907 (Hloominpron: University of Indiana Press, 1<)88).
Hancock, Thomas, Pew/i/l 11 I (London: Smith, Elder &. Co., 186o).
HlIIdh,'ok. Yearly i'vIeetill,~, 1908 (Hirmingham: n. p., [(J08).
Hankin, E. H., 'The Mental Ability of the Quakers', S(iellce Prllgress I ()
(1<)21-22), (,54-(,+.
[Harris, j. Rende] J, Mctnorie» 0/). I~elldel Harris, collected bv Irene Picbrd
(no pnblishcr, place or date of publication).
Harris, Mary O'Brien, 'The Socialist Alternative to Poverty', !-QI:',
(1<)08),4 0 8-27.
Harris, Terry, 'Matthew Arnold, Bishop Joseph Butler, and the Found.i­
tion of ReligIOus Faith, [',..,' 3112 (Winter 1<)88), 18<)--208.
Harrison, Fn-dcrick , 'Neo-Chnsti,mity', II'cstlllillster RCl'ic/I' (( )ct.
18M).
Harvey, T. Edmund, 'Looking Llack' .)!-fl.';. +~/ 2 (Autumn 1<)53), 51-<).
Hatton, Helen E., 'Friends and Famine Relief in Ireland, 18+(1-+<),' QH
7('/1 (Spring 1<)87), 18-32.
- - 'llu: Larocst /1/1I01lIlt of Cood: QII'lker I~did ill ireland, 165-1-1921
(Kingstllil &. Montreal: McC;ill-Queen\ Univcrvitv Press, 1<)<)3).
I Ic.rth, Carl, Qllakcr Elllhclssies (Priv.in.ly printed, [1<)171)
H cwison, H llpC, } Icd~c or II'ild Allliolids (London: J .uucs Cuucv, 1<)1'\<)).
- - "l lum.m Progrcss and the Inward Light: the Position of "lliom.t-;
Hodgkin (183/-1<)13), ill Relation to HIS Contcmporarics. )FHS
5(,/2 (1<)<)1), 12(1-47
IIIII, Christopher, Fill' L\,I'('/,/fll(C orf)e/l'at: Milton ,/I/(I SOIllC C'clll1l'lIlp"',lIil's
(New York: Vikinp, 1<)8+).
l Iill, Christoph LT. 'Qu,lkLTS .md the English Revolution', JPH,"" 5(,/3
(1<)<)2), 1('5-7<).
Hill, Christopher, Tlic IVorid FIIl'Iled 1 Jiside f),I/I'II.' R'I,hcal Id£'c1s f)/lrillg tile
}ill,~/ish Revolution (London: Pcngum Books, 1<)72).
l Iiltou, Boyd, The Agl' or .1tOI/('II/l'II(. The illti/lCII(l' <'f El'all,~e/iCll/islll 011
Social illid Lcouonur 'I710u,~ht, 1785-186s (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1<):-\1'\).
Hintou , Junes, Protests and Visiolls: Peace Politics ill the Tvvnucth Century
(London: Hutchinson Radius. 1<)8<)).
Hirst, Margaret, 'The History of the Peace Testimony', in Tlu: Peace
'1,'StiIlIOIlY or
the Soo'ety or lriends (London: [Friends Bookstore, 1<)201)
- - The Quakers ill Peace auil IVar (London: The Swarthmore Press,
1<)23).
Hobhousc, Margaret [Bertrand Russell j, 'I Appeal Unto Caes,lI" (London:
George Allen &. Unwin, 1<)17).
BihIiograp Iz y 447
Hobson,John A., "lmpcr iali-n u and the Lower Races', RF (March, April,
June 1()02), 53-5, 81-3, 12<)-32.
Hobson, Samuel, 'Concerning Socialism', FQE (I 8(8), Iy 5-210.
Hobson, S.[amuell G .. Pilorin: to tlu: Lei]: AIC11lOirs ora Alodem Rcuolutionist
(London: Edward Arnolds &. Co., I(38).
Hodgkin, Henry T., 'The Church and War', Tire Construttio« QlIartcrly
(M arc h I () I 5), 2 [ 3- 30.
- - Friends B('yolld Seas (London: Headley Bros, 1<)1(1).
- - 'The QUJker Movement in the Modern World' in 'llic Peace 'J('s­
or
tilllOIl)' or tlu: Sl1Ul't)' l-ricnds, vol. VII.
Hodgkin,j. B.. FI/I'('e Phascs ofQlIakerislll (London: The, Bcford l nstitutc,
188<)).
Hodgkin,j. Edward. 'The Testimony in Personal Life and Society', AI;C,
OJ}i(i,ll I<cpOI't, <)+-100.
- - - ' "War and the Sorial Order": The Committee's Recent Confer­
cncc at Jordans', I)'s, n.s. 1/+ (May 1<)1(,), 128-().
Hodgson, WIlliam, 'scl('(ti,,//s ./i·OIlI tlu: CorrcsliolidCl/cc or II'il/ill/1I HOI!~SOI/.
nith ,\1(')/loirs or his LUi' (Philadelphia 18Ui).
l l oldsworth. Christopher j.. 'Mystics and Heretics in the Middle Ages:
Rufus Jones Recomidered',)FH's, 53/1 (1<J72), <)-30.
Holton, Sandra Stanley and Margaret Allen, 'OHlces .md Services:
Women's Pursuit of Sexual Equality Within the Socictv of Friends,
I 8n-l<)oi. (JS 2 (1<)<)7), 1-2<).
Horlc. Craig, QII,I/.:l'I'iSIII and tlic l:'lIglish L:~,d ""-ptCI/I, 1660-1688 (Phila­
dclphi.i: Umvcrvitv of Pcnusvlv.uu.r Press, 1<)8:-\).
Horwill, Herbert H., 'A Quaker Socialist M ovcmcnt, The Constructive
QII,lrtcrly (Junc 1<)21),318-3 I.
How.rr d. Elizabeth Fo x , Friend,' Scn-ic: ill II 'artinic, (London: l-ricnds
Council tor International Service, [I <)20 I).
Howitt, Mary, ,\1ary HOIl'It t , .uI .41lt,1"i,~~rapIIY (London: Wm. lbirscr.
188<)).
Hoyland, GeoHrey, 'The Real Argument len Peace', in Friend, atu! tlu:
II'ar (London, 1<)1+).
Hoyland, John S.. 'Nco-Quakerism', FQE (1<)10), 4(10-(,4.
Huber, Elaine C., '''A Woman Must Not Speak": Quaker Women in the
English Left Wing', In Rosemary Ruether and Eleanor Mcl.aughlin
(eds.), Il'Olllt'1i (11' Spirit: FCII/ale Leadership ill tlu: )cl1'i.,·1r .uu! Christian
Traditions (New York: Simon and Shuster, 1<)7()).
Hutton, Ronilld, TIl<' Restoration, 1658-1667 (Oxll)rd: Clarendon Press,
1<)8S).
I. A. R., 'In Memor iaiu , John Wilhelm Rowntree-A Poem', lriends
Ilitel/i~cllccr, 62!I3 (I April I()05), 1<)3.
I. K., 'Scientific Notes', TF (Aug. 1861),210-12.
 44~ Blhll(~,>;r<1ph y
Ignatidf~ Mil' hacl,. -l JlISI .\Ieaslire 0( Pni«: The Pellilmliilry ill II,e IlIdwlri,l!
Rtvolution, 1750-1850 (New York: Pantheon Hooks. 197H).
Ingle, H. Larry, First ,'lillO/IX Inrnds: Ceolge F,''\" LC tlu: Creation ,,( QlIill:['/"­
iSIII (New York: Oxford University Press, 1'.1'.14),
- - 'Prom Mystirivru to H..idiralism: Recent Historiogr.iph v on Quaker
Beginnings', QH, 7(J (I'.I H7), 79-'.14
- - T h e Future of Quaker Histon',JIHS )H/I (19'.17), I-l(!.
- - 'C;eorge fox, Millcnari.m. ,4Ihi,JII 2412 (Summer 1'.1'.12), 2()1-7'~.
- - 'On the Folly of Seeking the Quaker Holv (;nil', (2/-1.'1: 2)/1 (M,l\
''.1')1), 17-29.
- - QII,II.:['/"S ill COllflier: T!u l ii.iesiu: J.?c/;'l'IIlilil,11I (Kuoxvillc: Univcrsirv
of Tcuncvsc,: Pre", I'.IH(»).
- - 'RIchard Hubbcrxthornc & Historv: The Crisis of U'.s'/,J/-1/S Y';.1
(1'.1'.12), 1H'.I-200.
"lntcrvicw with Professor Rcndcl Harr i-,'. 'I'll" Ex.iniiucr (I () March 1')04).
Irwin, Willi.uu, Hric(I<"'lIlilrh 011 IIIC 1',/." ,1I11II'rc.'('III Ct ll1 ,lilioll o(IIIC S,""'I)'
o( niClllls, (Manchester: Wm. I rwiu, I H(>7).
- - .'1 l<c/;lIall"11 or Il'illiillli 'I ;I f((1< J' '-' l<clIl'lrh 011 nll,lil)':' Apo]o[.,'v .uut tlu:
A/,III,hcsl,'" S(liislII ilS COIII,lIlied ill Ilis !5t>01.: lmiticd (;eorge ro>:, the
lricnds. .mr] the Early Baptists, (Manchc-ac-r: Wn1. lrwin. I S()S),
- - ,';01111' SlIliprcsscd luct: l<,csl!('({ill~ tlu: 1<' C'<'II I COIi/iTCII(C 011 Chrisliilll
11'lrl.:, (Manchester: Wn1. lrwiu, I H(J7)
'Sldlel, E1iz,lbeth, 'Fron , Sen to I )l'nomin,\tion Anlong English
(~uakel<, in "'IiICfIIS 0( Sc({,lrialli.\II1, cd. l irvau R. Wilson (London:
Ht-iucm.mn. 1(}()7), I (J I-H I.
- - I 'ittotiun QII<ll.:crs (London: ()>:r~mJ University Press, 1'.170).
.lame" Willi.n», 'llu: I 'atictic: 0( l<.cli~ioll.' /:'.\'I,cri(l/'c, (Nl'\v York: Long­
mans, C;rl'l:n, 1'.102).
Janney, S,lInucl M., ,411 /:'.Y<1llilali,," ,,(II/(' CIlI.""S II'hi(h Lcd I" tlu- S'I1<lr­
ali')11 oltlu: l<'c1!~ioll., S,)(iel)'o(Fricllds ill ,411lcrim ill 1827-28 (Philadelphia:
T. Ellwood Zcll, 1S(>S),
- - ' Uislory "I' tlu: Rcli~i"lIs Soricly 0( Fnciul-: 4 vols. (2nd cdu., Phila­
delphia: Haves & Zcll, 1S(Jo).
j.nuucv, Leslie C .. Tt« Slory 0( COIIS,T/Plioli ill AWlralid (London: (;,'orge
Allen &: Unwin, 1'.1.1:;).
Jay, Allen, AlIlOhio~rapll)' (1/.4//m Jil), (Philadclphi.i: John C. Winston Co.,
I 1'.1 I0 J).
Jay, Bill. 1'/er(lri'lI/ Ca II I cr.n I1Il/I : Francis I:rilh 's I 'il'll's o( Rural LII~lalld, 1850­
1898 (Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 1(73),
'[ocl Bcan and Iowa', BF (Dec. IS(4), 225.
Jones, Peter dAlrov, Tile Clrrislia/I Sori,ili.(1 Rct'il'al, 1877-191.1: Rcli~i"II,
CI,lSs ill III 5;ori,11 C'tJ!L'c/cllce ill Llfc Vieroriall FII,~/<1l1d (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1'.I6S).
Bibli')c~raphy 449
Jones, Rufus M., Tile Alo/lel1ll'lll, (Yorkshire 1905 Committee, 11. d.), 9-1
II, No. S, Vol. 2, Yorkshire Pamphlets, LSF.
[-- J, Friends and 1111' Ij ;lr: A ,"'CUI SlaIC/Ilt'111 or the QI/aker Positio»
(London: Friends Bookstore, 1(20).
--)0/111 11 'ilhcltn Rou-ntree (philadelphia: Committee on Education
General Conference, 1(42),
- - 'Tu« Lila Periods orQllal.:erislI/, 2 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1'.121).
- - Tlu: Tnn! oj'Li/i' III Colh:~e (New York: Macmillan, 192<)).
- - Tile Trail oj'Li/i' ill Middle Y('ars (New York: Macmillan, 1'.1.14),
- - The [Fa)' or Li/;' and Sen-icc (Oberlin, Ohio: ]<).1<)).
jorn«. Auguste, The QI/akcrs ,IS Pioneers ill SoriaI 11,,,1.:, [published 111
Gl'fnLlll in 1<)12] trans. Thomas Kite Brown,Jr. (New York: Macmil­
LmCo., 19.11).
Kamcstcr. Margaret and Vellacort, .10 (cds.), ;\1ililari_(/1I I'('r.\//s l-nninisin :
rl'rilill,~s Oil CI',I/IiCII {lIld 11'<11' (London: Virago ('ress, I<)H7).
Kl'I1I1edy, Thomas C., 'An Angry God or A /<."'IS01l"I>IC Faith? The British
Socil,ty of Friends, IH73-ISSS',JFHS )712 (1'.1'.15), 1H3-I'.IS.
- - 'Fighting About Peace: The No-Conscription fdlmvship and the
British Pricnds' Service Committee, 1()15- I'.II'.I', QH, (,'.1/ I (Spring
I'.ISO), .1~22.
- - 'Heresy-Hunting Among Victorian Quakers: The Manchester Ditfi­
rultv, IS(JI-73', C'S, .14/2 (Winter 1'.1(1),227-53.
, - - 'History and the Quaker Rcuaiss.uuc: The Vision of John
Wilhelm Rowutrcc', JFHS :;:;/1-2 (19H.1 and I<)H4 issued I'.IH6),
.1 .,-)6,
- - nil' HOI/lid "( Conscience: A Historv 0( 111l' No-Cousrription 1''cII'JlPslllj'
(Fayetteville, Ark.uis.is: University of Ark.uis.is Press, I<)S I ).
- - ' Nourishing Lite: Russell and the Twrnricrh Century Peace Move­
mcnt. 11)00-1'.1IH', in Margaret Moran and Carl Span doni (cds.).
illIclleol/al .uul Soci,iI Conscience (Hamilton Ont.: MacMaster Univcr­
sity. Libr.iry Press, I'.IH4).
- - 'Public Opin ion and the Conscientious Obj ector, 19 I ) - 1919', 'lhc
JOIII'II'll 0( Bntisl: Studies, Xllh (May 1(73), 3-20.
- - 'The Quaker Renaissance and the ()rigins of the Modern British
Peace Movement', Aibio«, IM.1 (Fall I<)S4), 243-72.
--'Quakl'f Women and the Pacifist Impulse in Britain, 1900-1920', in
Harvey L. Dyck (cd.), Tire Pantisl lmpuls: ill Historical Perspective
(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 19(6).
- - 'The Ubiquitous Friend: Edward Grubb and the Modern British
Peace Movement', Peate Rcscardt 1212 (May 19H,), 1-10.
- - 'What Hath Manchester Wrought? Change III the
RehS>1oUS Society of Friends, IH95-1920', )FHS 57/.1 (1996), 277­
.1 0 ) .
 T
450 Hihlil~lZf'lp!JY
- - 'Why I)id Friends Resist? The War, the Peace Tcstimouv and the
All-Friends Confcn-nrc of 11)20', PC{/CC ,md Chanr;c, 141+ (Oct. Il)S()),
35S-7 1.
Kent, Stephen, 'Psychology and Quaker Mysticism: The Legacy of
William James and Rutus jonc-,", QH. 7(,/1 (Spring [I)R7), 1-17.
Kent, Susan, Scx ,11,,1 SIIIji'agc ill Brit-tin, 18(10-/91-1 (Princeton. N.).:
Princeton Univ. Pre", II)S7).
Kitching. John. 'On the Rise and First Printiplr« of the Society of
Friends'. "IF (Fcbruarv, March &: April I S51)).
Kunze. Bonnclvn Young. '''I'oore and Necessity": M,Irg,lret Fell .md
Quaker Fcm.rh- Philanthropy in Northwest England in the LIte 17th
Century', All'ion 21 1+ (WintlT [I)SI)). 5\')-SO.
- - ' "Walklllg in YL' Cospel Order": Tvbrg,lret h,1I and the Est.lbhsh­
incur of Women"s Meetings'. papcr read at 7th Hcrkshirc ContlTence
on History of Women, Jnne I')R7.
Lewis, Ceorgina KIng. H/;::dl1('111 I:r)' (London: Hcadlcv Bros .. 1')0')).
Linncv, Albert E. (cd.), 'f liirtv-to,» III ,4111111111 RCI,,'r! o! tlu: ,4(kll'Orlll (>Id
,';cholars' Associatio«, 1915-1916 (York: privatclv printed. [')1(').
l.ittk-bov, Rich.m], 'The New Theology'. t:eJ/:' (IS')l), s(,7-73.
l.irtlcboy. Willi-id E., 'j')I+-II)IS,1 remember ... VIII. with the CO.s in
prrson '. 'll (11).1+), :-\5 1) - ( >1 ,
--'Our l'eaCL' Tcsrimonv and SOll1l' of Its lmplir.mons. 'IF (2 Ikc.
1')14),72 2-+.
l.ittlchov, Willi.uu. 'l!« .4/'/1('01 0( QII,1I,,'crisnl 1,1 IIIC .'\'on- .\I)'.'Tic (Harrogate:
Robert 1),1\' IS. for the 'l')Os Commitu-c of Yorkshire (?M.·) [rc ­
printed in I')(q as ;1 'Quaker Classic 'J.
- - lricnd, anti Pcuc«, (London: Friends Horne Mission .md Extcnviou
Cou nnit tcc. I I) 15),
Lloyd, Arnold, (Jllakcr S,'ci,1I Histor» (London: Lougm.ms, Cn'l'n & Co..
II)SO).
London ri',nl)' .\Icclinr; [)lIrin\Z .?50 )i'ars (London: HeadlC\' Brothers, II) I,)).
Lovcr.mrc. Rowena, 'Edward Worsdc]] (ISS2-1')0:-\), FQ, 23/s (October
1 ')K+),
Lowndes, Walter, Till' Qllakcrs tl( Frilc!JIe)', 186i-1980 (11):-\0).
Lucas, William, A Qnaker JOllrnal. ' . cd. C. E. Bryant and C. I) Baker
(London: Hutchinson l" Co., 11)3+).
Luun, 1';1111, '''You Have Lost Your Opportunitv": BritIsh Quakers & the
Militant IJ!use of the Women's Sl1ftrage Camp.ugn , II)O()-I') 14', QS 2
(11)1)7), 30-5 2 .
McC;regor, J. F, and Barry lteay (cds,). Radical Rcli\ZIOIi in llie L'n,\Zlish
RnJollilion (Oxfl:)rd: Oxford Univnsity Press, II)S+).
Mack, Phyllis, 'Gcndn and Spirituality in Early English Quakerism,
1()50-1()()S', in Elisabeth Potts Brown and Susan Mosher Stuard
Bibli(~IZf!lplty 45 1
(cds.), If';llIcs.,esj(lr Cllall,\Ze: QllakCl fhl/lIC1/ 0,,('1' Thrc« Centuries (New
Brunswick & London: Rutgers University Press, 1')1)0)
- - l'isioll'llT If'o/IIC1I: lrstatic Pr,'pllcC)' ill SCI'Cl/lcl'lllh Ccuturv blglalld
(Bcrkclcv: Univcrsirv ofCalifornia l'rcss, 11)1)2),
Mac K n inon, Alison, ' "M v Dearest Friend": Courtship and Conjugality
in Some Mid and Late Ninctccnrh Century Quaker Pamilics'. JFHS
.sS/! (11)1)7). H-5 S.
M,Iclc,n, James, 'QuJkerism ;1I1d the End of the Interregnum: A Chapter
in th e Douu-sticatiou of Radi.al Purir.unism", CH 1I) (December
1')5 0).2+°-7 0.
MJlmgreen. C;.. 'Anne Knight .md the ICIdicJI Subculture', (?H, 7112
(Fall 1,)K2). 100-12.
.\ 1,lIIdlcstCl Contcrcncc, (11' Rcpor: oj'llte I Jroccedill\Z.< ,l(llle e,'(lllji'l'I'IICC oj'A ICillhers
(11 lite SOCiel)' <'( l vicnd, Held, 1>)' Dirccti.», <>( IIIC )('ar!)' .\leclllI\Z ill Man­
"ltc."la/i'olll tlu- Elc/'CilIIt 10 lite f.'ilicCliril (lj UCI'ClIIIt ,\!tlllllt, 1895 (London:
He,Idky Hros., 1:-\')(,),
M;lI1nLTs. Emilv, I:'li;::al>elll H,'OICII: tir: I eJ II<1 kCl' I floillall 1'1'I',)cl/(,/, (16oo­
j(1 7 .? ) (London: Headley Bros .. 11)14)·
Marsh, llarold. 'Women in the Church', 'IF (22 Manh II) 12), 171) - K I.
Marwick . WilliJm H '. 'QuJkn Social Thought'. II'oodl>l'l,,'ke e)cC<1si"/lal
l"II 'cr,', Friends HOl11e SL'l'\'lce Counuiucc, II)()I),
- - 'Some QUJkn Firms of the Ninetee-nth Ccnturv", ,/l'IIS 4SI()
(Autumn I') .s(l). 2.N-,\I)·
M,lsterm,1I1, L.. C. F C, .\laSllTII/IIII, "j Hi(~r;r'II,II)' (London: Nicholson
and W,!tsou I').N).
Maurin', Frederick. 'llu: KllIgdolll oiChri«. 2 vols., cd. Alec Vidlcr, based
(In znd. cdn. of 1:-\+2 (Loudon: SCM Prr« 1')5:-\)·
M,I:-:c\', I h\'id W.. 'Ncw Light on Hann.ih Barnard, A Quaker
"Heretic"', eJH, 217K (F,ll1 II)SI)), ()I-S(),
Meeting tor Sutferings. 'MessJgl' to Men .md Women of C;oodwill',
pr intcd cop v, LSF.
'Memoir ofJohn Stewart', FC?E (ISC>7). q7-()s.
'MenlLlLlndum tor the Ll.indudno Conti-rcucc', 23-30 Sept. 11)14 (Bir­
mingh.uu: Sclly OJk. 111)I+1),
MIlligan, Edw.ird. ' "The Ancient W,P",': The Conservative Tradition in
NIneteenth Century British Quakerism',JFHS .s7/1 (Il)I)+). N-IOI,
(Pn-sidcntial Address to the Friends Historical Society. March 11)')3),
--'How We Cot Our Book of Discipline: The Revision of 11)21­
From Doctrine to Experience'. [-'(). 25/3 Quly I')R:-\), 110- 17.
- - ' "In Reason's Ear": Somc Quaker ;lI1d Anglican PerplexitIcs'. FeJ
23/:-\ (Oct. 11):-\+), 3 K+- l)("
- - 'Quaker MarriJge', pamphkt in Q/(akcr Tapcslry Booklcl.\ series
(London: Quaker Home Service, 11)1)+).
45 2 Bi{J/i",\?raph y
Milligan. Edward.t Quakcr Marriage Procedure'. Lecture to the Annual
Conference of the Institute of Population R.egistration, Carlisle. 7 J unc
1,}93·
- - ' "To Friends Everywhere": Reflections on the Epistle in the Life' of
London Yearly Meeting', FQ 22/ I I Gull' I<)X2), 724-36.
Milligan, Edward H. and Malcolm J. Thomas, 'My Ancestors were
Quakers: How can I find out more about them)' (London: Socictv
of Genealogists. I <)X 3).
Mills, Dr Seth, 'Friends in History, and the Need of a Written History of
Pricnds", The Alllerimll Friend (IX Sept. IX,)4). 1')')-200.
Minncar, Mark D., Ririunond 1887: A Qllaker Drama ['lIf,,!ds (Richmond
Ind.: Fr icnds United Press, I,)S7).
Miuu tcs and PrNeedillgs of I!/[' '(t'arly MeerillS; of Friends (LYM, with
year).
Minutes. I )arlington Monthly meeti ng. I') I4- I') IS (copies provided by
John Lockett).
Moore. Rosemary, 'Evaluating the Evidence: The Reliability of Sources
of Information tor Quakerism lkf()re 1(,(,0'. I-'Q 27/X (October IC)')3),
3('4-7 2.
Morgan. Nicholas, Lancashire lricuds .uu! tlu: LSldhhs!lIl1clIl. Iroo-I 730
(Halifax: Ryburn Publishing, 1')')3).
Mjorland.] Llucyl Fjrycr]. 'Impressions of Yearly Meeting: The Sociny
in Unity and "under Convinion"'. I'S. 11(, Unly 1')1('), 1('')-70.
Morland, Lucy Fryer, 'l lu: Nell' Socia! Olll!ook, Swarth n rort- Lecture. I') IS
(London: Headley Bros.. I')IX).
Mortimer. Jean, 'Leeds Friends and the Bc.rconitc Controvcrscv. jI-'HS
5412 (1')77). 52-M.
Mouland , Lucv, 'Quaker Pacifism and the First World War'. (Tlmd-year
disscrtation , Cambridge University, H}'JO).
Novinson, Henry W., A Modern Slaverv, introduction by Basil Davidson
(New York: Schocken Books, I'}('X).
Newberry, Jo Vcllacott, 'Ruxscll As Ghost Writer, A New Discovery',
[(lIsSel! 15 (Autumn 1')74). 1<)-23·
Newman. Henry St.mlcv, 'Gospel Mnusrrv', FQL (IXX6), 526-37.
Newman, Jane E., 'About Monthly Mcctiug'. FQE (IS')I). 263-7°.
Nickalls, John L. (cd.), nil' jOIlYlla! of Ceo,ge Fox (London: Religious
Socicty of Fr icnds, I,}52; reprinted I')X6).
Nodal, John H., The Hib!iograph y of Ackworth Sclio»! (Manchester: Frank
Nodal & Co., ISX'}).
Nuttall. Geoffrey, The Ho!y Spirit ill PIIYllcHi Faitl, and Expcricn«: (Oxford:
Blackwell, 1,}46).
Oats, William N .. 'The Campaign Against Conscription in Australia­
I'}I I-I'}I4',jFHS 5517 (I'}S'}), 205-I'}.
Bibli'),\?raphy 453
Oliver, John, J Walter Malone: The American Friend and an Evangcl­
ical Quaker's Social Agl'l1da', QH, So12 (Fall 1991), 63-X4.
'On the Ministry of Womcn, FQE (IS6X), 301-2.
Orr, E. W., The Qlldkers ill Peare ani! rrar, 192('--1967 (Eastbournc: W. J.
Offord & Sons, I '.!74).
Crnr 1;'sliIl1OIIyj{'r Peare, (London Y. M. 1<)12).
Paquet, Alton , Tile Quakers. pamphlet reprinted from FrcHlkfitrler Zeilllllg.
l'ahner, T. Vail. Jr., 'Quaker Peace Witness', C)R'I; 2312-3 (Summer
I')SS),3 6-S5·
Peace Conference of All Friends. Commissions I-VII. Th« Peace Tcsti­
IllOlIy of tlic Soc/ely of Fricud«: Report: of Commission, Issued by 1!Il'
Cotninittcc ollhe Peare COllkn'llu' of A!! lrirnd, (London: [Friends Book­
shop. I'}20]).
I The Fundamcnta! Basis
II ,'\:,lrioll,1! Lifi' and lntcrnational Rc!al;0I15
III Pers"lla! Lik atul ,";"ricty
IV Problellls 01 Education
I' Tl« Lifi' of Ih,' Sor;ely of Fricllds
1'1 ,\lelhods of Propagdllda
I'll Tile lntcrnational Sc'I1'I(c of lricuds
Pearson, Edward, 'An Evangelical Ministry'. FQE (I XS6), 440-{J.
Pease, Aj ltrcd] 1::., AIy SOli Chrislopher: Heill,rz tlu: Slory of tlic Child!lOod 01
Chrlslopher 't('rk Pease Esquire (Middlcsbrough: William Appleyard,
1 1 ')20 J).
Penney, Norman (cd.), 11lc First Pllhlishas "f tln: Truth (London: Headley
Hrothcrs. 1<)07).
Phillips, Brian David, 'Friendly Patnotism: British Quakerism and the
Imperial Nation. I X'}O-I'}IO'. (Ph.D. thesis, HIStory, King's College.
Clmbridge, I')X'}).
Phillipson, Laurel, 'Quakerism in Carnbridgc from the Act of Tolerance
to the End of the N inctccnth Century (I (lX')- I '}oo)', Proreedill,S;s of tlu:
Call1hri((s;e Antiquarian Socictv, vol. LXX VII (I <)SX), 1-33.
Pinthus, Eva I., 'The Roots of the Peace Tcstimony in the Message of the
Bible", FQ, 2612 (April I <)'}o) , 54-{J3.
Pointing. Horace U., Sori'l! 1110 ughI III the Sociely of Friends (London:
Friends Book Centre, 1939)
Pollard, Franris , Beatrice and Robert, Del/lorracy aiu! the Qllahr Mctiiod
(London: Bannisdalc hess, 1,}4,}).
Pollard, William, Old-Fashioned QuakerisllI: lts Onoin, Results and Future
(Philadelphia: H. Longstreth, ISX9).
- - 'The Peale Question', FQE (I 87 1), 443-~·
Pollard, William, Quaker Reformation (London: Swan Sonnuncschcin &
CO.,IXX'}).
 rr-, :.;
I.-=:
~, ~
"­ r1
. ,; . . '"'I.;:
'J,
<,
rr-, ...... ~:
~~~ x
'"'1
-'
-r
'c . . : : ' ~~ --r:
~ ~ ~~
:; ~
~ ~_.'~~
~~j~- 01
r]
2 E: I
=' :...
'-'
::; ~ ::: Lt '::.,
-r
:f:2 'J,
.r
.9:.
-t;.;:; .r
I~ ~ zc
cc
zc
I I I I I
-r
01 0'::;. o
I
'"'I 'C o
i:::~
~.
J::r::
-5.01
~
...J
'C
I-.
(2
0· .... '""':::::i
-t_
.~
-r ;:::
:fJ
~~ 01 I .=:
'" 0"'::
f. -t::::=
<:
X '...)
~ "
'>:;
u,
!'".
'-"
"J: I ~
~ o
'J ..:L 'J,
o
OJ
c-.
~ r-I
v ,::;
_
- ~
:::
~ ~
':.J-;­
'./. 0 :;:
'r,_
::: c­ ~
'-'
c
~,v
v: T'
'r,
~
--:
r-:~
ir.
0~
- :x; •
....
~S-'~~
g~ := ....
;:...-.::..
~ .c.r:
. ~ -.-::. .r:
~f=:'-w~ c'~
f
.... I-.

?'
"...) ~
'-'
":­
:5 "e ~'~
-a
§:-E
'f:
~ ~""':: ....
~.~
v: '-J I '"
"...) :F.
:::C :J 0 ='...=
> '-'
I I --/ --/ --/ --/
45 6 Biblio,fZraphy
Russell, Bertrand, Tile AUlohiograplty of Bertrand Russell, 1914-19+1 (Lon­
don: Allen & Unwin, J()68).
- - Pacitism alld Rcuolution, 1916-1918, vol. 14, The Collrctcd Papers of
Bertrand Russell, cd. Richard Rempel, Louis C;reenspan, Beryl Haslam,
Albert C. Lewis and Mark Lippincott (London &: New York: Rou­
tledge, 1<)<)4).
S., Sarah, 'On Doing the Will of Cod', FQE (1868), 1<)2-6.
Scott, Janet, 'Women 1I1 the Society of Friends', in l3lamires ct al.. ,/'I
QU'lker MiscellaI/Y)(lI' Ldll',ml ,Hilll:l;all, 12<;-3 I.
Scott, Richenda C., 'Authority or Experience: John Wilhelm Rowntree
and the Dilemma of i orh Century British Quakerism', jFHS, 4l)
(Spring 1<)60),7<;-<)<;.
- - Qllakers ill Russia (London: Michael Joseph, 1l)(14).
Friends' Sub-Committee of the Friends Home Mission and Extension
- - Tmditiou and l ixpcricnt: (London: Allen & Unwin, 1l)64).
Committee, [Il)l I)).
Seehohm, Bcujamin (cd.) , Memoir: oitlu: Li/I' '1IId CosJ>el labours o(')I<'IIIICII
Tallack . William, 'Christian Positivism', FC.)E (1874), <;<;6-()4.
(;rI'IIel (London: A. W. Bennett, 18(0).
- - Memoirs of ~t'illiillll Forster (London: A. W. Bennett, 18(}S).
.,)elecliollsfrolll lite Smuts Paper», 4 vols. cd. W. K. Hancock and Jean Van
dcr Pocl (Camhndge: Cambridge Uuivcr-itv Press, I <)()(I).
Sessions, Fred, 'Our Letter from England', Cltrisliall [ J 'orlecr (23 April
18l)1),2S<)-(10.
Simpson, Alan, I'l/ril,II1S ill (Jld and .\'ell' blgl.zlld (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, Il) <; <;).
Smeal, Jane and Helen (;. Thompson, Sili-anu, Il/lilips '111 OIllP-'" II , His Li/I'
and Letters (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1l)20).
Soderlund, Jean R., Qllakers a1111 ."'/<11 'cry: ,I Di"ided SIliril (Princeton:
Princeton Univ. Press, 1l)8.s).
Somerville, C. Johan, 'Anglican, Puritan and Sectarian in Empirical
Perspective', Soci'll Science Hislory 13 (1l)8.s), Ill).
[Southall, j ohn], 'London Yearly Meeting, 1836', jI·H,',', 1712 (Il)20),
82-l).
1--I'London Yearly Meeting, 1838',jFHS, 18/1 (1<)21),8<)-<)2.
'Spectator', 'A View from Southampton'. FQE (18l)4), 331-2.
Spurrier, William Wayne, 'The Persecution of the Quakers in
England, I()SO-1714', (Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Caro­
lina, 1<)76).
Stephen, Caroline E., Qllaker Sll'OlIgllolds (3rd edn. London: Edward
Arnold, 18(.)1).
- - ' A Rejoinder', Nineteenth Century (April 1(07), )93-4.
- - 'The Representation of Women I: A Consultative Chamber tor
Women', Nineteenth Century (Dec. 1(08), 1018-24.
- - 'Women m Politics'. Nineteenth Century (Fcbruarv 1(07),
227-3(1.
Bibliography 457
Stewart, Mrs, J. [Louisa], The Alissillg Law; or ~VOlllf'll '.I' Birlhrighl (London:
W. Twcedi. 18(9).
- - ' A Word to Our Sisterhood', FQE (1867), <;76-84.
Stewart, W. A. C., Qllakers alld Education: As SeClI in Their Schools ill
f:'II,I;/'lIId (London: The Epworth Press, 1<)<; 3),
File .Slory of all [:I/cellsored Lcaite), (London: Prepared for the Friends
Service Committee, I <) 18).
Str.irhcv, J. St l.oc. A Neu' Way of Lijl' (London: Macmillan, I ooo).
Sturge, Emily, .Am I M\' Sister's Keeper)', FQE (1888), 48<)-<;06.
Sturge, Matilda, 'A Few Words About Women', FQE (1877), 46<)-76.
SII',1IIIi'ick 1911, Beilll; a Rcnort of a COIl/i'l"CIlCe of r(JllII,I; lricnds Held at
SU'ilIlll'ick fro II I ./'IU,I;USI 28111 10 SeJ>lelllher 411" 1911 (Published hy Young
- - (;eorl;e Fox, lite lricnds and L.zrly HaJ>lisls (London: S. W. Partridge &:
Co., 18(8) .
- - 'Some Thoughts on Ministry, or Service in a Small Meeting', FQE
(18l)(1),22<;-l).
Tatham, Meahurn and James E. Miles (cds.), "Il1C lricn d-:' Ambulau« Unit,
1914-1919: ,'1 Rrcon! (London: The SwarthnlOre Press, 11l)1l))).
Tavlor, A. J. P., .'1 Persona! History (New York: Atheneum, 1<)83)·
Tavlor. Ernest E., "Il1I' l 'aliant Sixly (London: The LJmnisdale Press,
1l)47)·
Tavlor, Jane E., 'Women's Place in the Christian Economy', FQL (188(1),
11('-23·
Thomas, Anna and Elizabeth B. Enuuotr. [ t 'illian: Chartcs Braittuvaiu:
(B.A., LL.B. E D. "III): .\1ellloir alld IlaJ>ers (London: Longmans,
Green s; Co., 1l)3 I).
Thomas, Malcolm J., 'The C.onnnitrcc 011 Gelleral Mcctmgs, 1 87_s-83 "
in Blamircs. ct. al., /1 (JlIl1ker AliscellallY jill' Li/ll'ard Alillil;all, 133-43.
Thompson, Silvanus 1'., 'John Wilhelm Rowntrcc'. FQI~ (1<)0<;),
2<; 8-68.
Thorp, heiden, 'Consideration on the Genuineness, Authenticity, and
Divine Authority of the Holy Scripture', FQE (18(,8), 71-104.
- - A Rcvicu. oltlu: Lecture 01/ 'Libcrty ', (London: F. Bowyer Kitto, 18(,7).
'Thoughts 011 Ycarlv Meeting', FQE (18l)3), 321-33.
Tbursticld. Rebecca, 'Home Mission Association of Women Friends',
FQE (18(,7),74-8.
Tolles, Frederick 13., 'The New Light Quakers of Lynn and New Bed­
ford', :'\'ClI' EII,I;I(1IId QII,nlerly, (1<)<;<)),2<)1-1<).
'Training of Teachers', FQE (1870),60-(,1.
Trueblood, D. Elton, Robert Barela» (New York: Harper, 1<)08).
451\ Bib/i(~graph)'
T rust-to- Truth [anon. I, 7"11011,1'.171.1' 011 1171' Toicr.niou o(IlIIpOrl<l1l1 Di{t'TCIICC.i or
0llilliOIl ill 1171' Sallie R.cl(l'.iOIl.i CJIIIIIII/llil)'·Re.ipc({f/t1l)' .4ddre.i.icd 10 tlu:
l.ancasiiirc Connnittrc (London: F. Bowyer Kitto, 11170).
Tucker, Leigh, 'English QU~lkers and World War I. l/)q-I/)20·. (Ph.D.
dissertation, University of North Carolina. 1/)72).
--'Friends and Censorship. World War 1'. QH, Vol. 71/2 (Fall 1/)112),
I q-2+,
Tvrrcl. Alex, Josep!J Sl/l1:1'.e and tlu: Xloral Raitiral Part» ill Larl)' I 'i({ori11ll
lsrituin (London: Croom Helm. 1/)117).
Vann, Rirbard. '1111' Social /)Cl'cloplllelll 0( 1-.'lIl'./isll C)1I11/.:cri.<1I1 (C,lIl1bridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, I/)()()).
Vcua. 'Should Women Be Admitted to the Exercise or' P,lrliament.!n­
Suttrage", Fe)E (1IIM\), H+-"()
Vcll.uort. .10, Herlr<llld 1.(lIs.ielllllld 1171' 1't1Clfi.i1.1 /)lIrill,\'. tlu: lir« [j'orld II:7/'
(Brighton: Harvester Press. 1/)110).
Vernon, Anne, A C)II<1/.:cr Business .\1<111: Till' Lil;' ot}l.iCpll 1.(011 'I/{/'CC , 18,6­
1')'!5 (London: Allen and Unwin, 1/).,/1).
Vining, Elizaheth Cray, lncnd 0( lit«: F!Jc Hi",l'.rl1/JiI)' o( 1.(1If//.i .\1. Jl1IIC'
(Phil.rdclphia: Lippincott. 11') 5/1 I).
Vipont, Elti ida . Till' SIOf)' 0(C)1I11/.:cri.i1l1 (ltiel1l11Ond: Friends United Press,
1/)77).
'W~lr\ Alarm', 1'.'1, I I I (Nov. 1')12), 1+2.
"'War and the Social Order": A Study of th.: Comuurrcc« Rcporr". 1'.'1,
II.., (June I')I()), q(J-/l.
'The War, the Under-W~Jr and the Class w..'. 1'.'1, 10 (feb. 1/)1"),
12(J.
Weddle, Meredith Baldwin, 'CollSciencc or Compromise: Thc Mcamng
of the Pc.uc Testimony 111 Early New EngLII1Lf, C)H, /I1/2 (Fall 1/)/)2),
73-/16.
Weeks, Jdtcry, Scv, Politic: .uid Socict»: F!Jc I.(CI'.II11Ili"1l 0( ScxlIlilil)' Sin,«
1800 (2nd cdn .. London: l.onjnnau. I/)/I I),
Weinroth, Howard, 'The I)ilen1l11a of British Socialists dUrIng the (;re,lt
War: Rcvolution.rrv Peace or Pacifist Rcronsuuct io n. in Soloman
Wank (cd.), /)01'1'.1' au d /)iploll/<1ls (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood
Press, 1/)711), 1/)3-4.
Westlake, Richard, 'The Social Position of WOIllen', FC)E (I/I(l/)),
+3 2-4 1 ,
IVllIIl H<1rlJl'lIl'1l at Lccd, (London: Council of Workers &: Soldiers Dele­
gates, 1/)17).
'What is Quakerism", n'ApriII1l61, /1/1-9; May 1/)61, 1611-/);Juh- 1,'\61,
1112.
1171cIICC COll/C rVal's (London: War and the Social Order Committee,
1/)16).
Bibliography 45<)
White, Andrcv, Dickson, .-IIII,'[,i,',\'.r<1p!J)' o(.-IlIdrcll' Dic/.:soll IOlilC, 2 vols.
(London: M.1CmilLlI1, 1/)0.,; NC\\' York: Century Co., 1/)05),
White, Stephen, 'Soviets in Britain: The Leeds Convention of I/)Ii,
lntrrnationa! Rcrici» lJrS"Ci,J! llistor» 1/)12 (1/)7+), 1('7-/)3.
[j'II)' 1 .411/ <1 C1JIIS(i<'llli"IlS C)[,jCCIOf (London: No-Couvriprion Fellow­
ship, [I/)I()]).
Wigh,lI11, l-l.mn.ih Marie. 'Woll1en's Work', FeJE (1,'\77),1/)1-2°3.
Willi,llm. Ilcnl 'Francis Frith (1,'\22-111/),'\)', I'Q, 23 III (Oct. 1/),'\+),
Y'+-70,
Willis, Kirk, 'The Introduction and Critical Reception of Hegelian
Thought In Britain, 1/1 30-1 ')00', I 'S, 321 I (Autumn I/),'\S), ,'\ 5-1 I I.
Wilson, Edith JlI1e, "'Altern,ltive Sen'ice": friends and a Perplexing
Problem', PS, 1/7 (Aug, I')I('), 203-+.
--'I.a\\-Ahlding Cit iz cns", 1'.'1, 2/2 March 1/)17), ()2-3.
Wilson, Roger C., 'The Best Things In Ye Worst Time', In 1-1;1I1s Erik
Aar.-k (cd.), QII<I/.:cri.illl: .-1 rj ;1)' 0( Lit;, (K veker!rJrlaget: Norwegian
Quaker Press, 1/)/12).
- - 'Fru-nds In the Nineteenth Century', I:Q, 231S (October 1/),'\+),
353-()" +0".
- - .\I<1l1c!Jc.ilcr, .\I<1I1c1Il'Sler .uu! .\111llcllCsler ,4,\'.<1ill: l:wIII 'Solilld Doctrine' 10
'.-j I-'/CC ,\/illislr)' ': Fil/' T1/('oi<~l'.icill 'lr.uai! 0( LOlldoli Y,'url)' ;\l/'/'lillg
IliI'll//gllol/l III/' ,\'ilieleClIIII Century, (London: Fricnd-, Historical SOCIety,
I/)()O).
- - 'The Road to Manchester, IS')5', in J. Willi~lIl1 Frost .md John M,
Moore (cds.): \/'/'/.:illg tlu: Lil'.ill: I:'SSil)'S ill QI/ll/.:cr Historv HOIiOf 0( I:'dll'ill
H. lstonucr (Wallingfr)rd and Haverford, P~l.: Pcndlc I Jill I'ublirations.
I/)S(l), q5-(,2.
- - 'We Shall Never Thrive Upon Ignorance', In ;-j Qllil/.:cr ,Hisce/lilIlY
JJr Ldll'lml H ..\lilhl'.llll, (Manchrsn-r: l i.ivid Blannrc«, I/)S.,) , 153-()0­
'Wol1len's Sutfr.lge: Its Deeper Aspects', HF (Nov, 1/)13),300-1.
Wood, Herbert C;., Hcnr» T. Ho,/l'.l.:ill. ,-I AICllloir (Lcmdon: SCM Press,
1')37)·
Wood, Herbert C., 'Parifism .uid Politics', I-'CJL 75 (1/)+1), 1/)/)-211.
Worsdl'1l. Edward, Fill' CO.l"j!el or Divine Help: T1lOlIglw Oil SO/ll/' First
l'rill(iplcs lJr Cilrislillllil)' (London: Sal11ul'1 Harris, 111Ii\()]).
Worsdell, Edw.ird, 'The Restoration of the Bible', PDf', I (J ,'\/),'\) , 55-(J+.
 I
o
o
~,
I
'0Tc­
,~~, rl ,..,--,
-::
~
-
:.,

rl r­
N
2'~ '­
j
'-, .;::
o o
~,
zc:
I o
o zc
i r-- l'-
01
~,
T
c­
0 zc
~ -r.

'..) v:

j. i: '"'1 '..) X ~ or _

".:: '-f
'~

r--, J: r--,

........, +-J f"'l

'~

2 'L
 '~J
r­ o
'C :"
-..,
""'='
), '~ ~~ :;:: ~ f
>-.J'
~
~
:.,
~K
-.., .~
~
~
'_ :fl ~

u:'C
. . . \... -s
S ,~
~l ~
zc
\...
c,
,r.3
r-. c'­
~ "'­ """.J ~

,~ J

c:
c­
~
'C ~ "I
'"
2'. ..L cl ~- ~
~
'~ ~~
1""1 ;..:::::; 'r,
o r
51
C--x
::. -»: ~ "I -t- r-t
_ :::-..
cl '"I
c- . . . ,1:: '0 ~
c:
?' ~ ~'*o '~­
'~
ci ~,
""'-..,=' '.2 Z ""2
'r. :-=
o""'=' z ::;:: -t
'"1""'C .....
'"1-' ;:: ,U-I
::;-"''""':J
1""\
'"I ....-:
C
1'1
'"
C-­
-r-r o
-t­
'r, !c, re-,
:::
C C ;r­
~2?~ e,.,
,~' T' ~,1 6 ~
v: 2 ?£ "~_~,
c 0
"I 2
~':J
'C
'"
r-.. . .....c
....... :.,.
u,
C :., ~'J:
~,::::;
c:
:= C'

-..,

'"
2'j j ~
cl Ci

I ~

I o .
:-
~ T :::-.

~ :j ~]

..:
-J
:.,.
;:; ,-2 X X ­
;.. cl
~ ~~
~ :..- v-. ....-:
:::-...=: -.» I
- 0
I ~,
-c
,j ,~
-t:-t~
~ I
o
-f­
 T

4 64 Index Index 4 65
Courerctuc on the Ministry (1')03) J)al,II<J(("1l -"0111 thr Harmless and
Ellis, Edith 3Il} pamphlet on 'The Society of Friends
1('7-H 11I1IO,Dlr People w/led QlIakers
".-ting FSC Organizing Sccrer.irv and Freedom of Thought in I H7 I'
Con terence on the Sratc of the Society 237- H
HI, H3, H7, 353, 3 h +, 3(,7 7H
(I Hn) ')0 I )cchJr<lri'JI/or Souu: I :,lIlIlaIlICllrdl
.it ,'1 Ch,dlfllXc t» ,\1ilil"nslIl trial Forster, Josiah 2H-<), (,H
Conference of Women Friends on Principles "rChristian 'lruth Sl~-'"
357- H 'Letters to Younger Mcmbcr-.' +H
Snltrclge 231-2 I) 5
Ellis, John E, 2')'+, 35H Forvtcr, William 22
ronsricnr ious objectors I, ~')3, 3.. 5, discussed but not adopted bv Yc.irlv cvangelical hiends .. 27, .+2<) Foulds, Elfrida Viponr 2H5, 326-7
3(,(" ..00; see ,lis,) .ibsolutistv; McetlIlg H.+ arr.u hmcnr ro Scriptnr"] .iuthoritv 'Found.itions of a True Social Order
.iltcrnativi-ts influence on Richmond 12-q, 2.. , ,Q-5, .. .I, ,1.\, 15 I 3H.+

Conscientious Ohyctors Inftlrlll:Hioll I )ccLn,Hion 112 n. HH

.uid Calvinism I 50, I II, 100-I Fox, Ch.irlc« 77

Burc.iu (COIB) 3,P, 3+5 issued I", Committee Visiting

domin.mcc in London Yc.irlv Fox, C;corge 21, (,O-I, 1°7, 127,

couvcrv.rtivc Friends: Manchester Meeting 73-.+ Mecting 33-'+, q5 1('5-(,,177,201,227,3 17,3 1)+,
belief, of 5,7, 12-1(" 3(l rejcrtcd hy l l.irdvhaw East Monrhlv e\'"ngclic,l ministry and rcviv.il of 3<)H, pi, '+25-~(l
criticism of evangelic,tls 33, 3 \, Meeting S3-4 Q""knisl11 I H, 22, 3'), .+21 .ur.uk on his 'e"cessivc <piritu.rlitv
37-<) I )dt'nce Acts (Austr.ih.. .uid Ne\\' o n 'delusive nature of tilt' 11l\\"rd Hi

demand reprilltlllg of Barcbv's 7e"L1nd) 3 10-1 I Liglit ,13-'+, q, lk"t" of 1(,

_'-l.jJoJ(:~)' !"()-7 I kft'ncc of till' R c.ilm Act (I )()Il..A) reject reprinting uf l lar.lav'< trC"i11l1l'\\ of h« vision
20 J

n nnrsrrv ill British meetings 3,1-7 35/,3'\1),372 , ~Ilo":~l' HIl-7 rriends supported views he h.id
opposition to .iltcnm; the I )cwsbur\', Willi,ml 20 I, 2.+o,Q3 dcnounrc.] 1'J7
I ),,(ipliIH' 3<)-.+u I )UflL"n, I ),lvid ,()-H2, ,)(" ,+22, .+2(, j-"Icill~ ri,l' lact; 377-H "millt-uari.m ' 270-2
opposition to 11111'~ic ill llll'l'ting 37. b,lckground ,1l1l1 belief, 50-I FdL Marg,lret: on hiS spe'lking "s 'moved by rh..
3<) cnucisn: of c\',lllgc'lictl Friends c.rrlv J)eddr"ti,," of pC-ICC rc-tunouv Spirit' 10<)
OppllSHIlliI to ScriptuLtlly b,lSed 5H- I ) 23 H "'I Inward Light q--I 1,1('1, .+2H
min i-trv ill llll'l'ting 3 S-t) de,ltli /li-Hu l1urriagc to (;corgc Fox 2 I 2 on wouu:n 211-q, ,1(,,)n, 37
quictism of 1('-1 H divownuu-nr 7('-<) II ()IIIt'II:' SI'e"k1I1~ JlIstified 2 I 2 ,1l1Ll PClL'!' tcxnmonv 2,17-H
rl~ll'lti()ll of hum.uu- lc.unuu; 2lLl­ inriucnr« 011 youl1g Fril'lld.. 55 Fellowship of RecL1ncili,ltion 317, "I'r opos.i!' to Il..ump Parli.um-nt
(,',,"srrJ/(r)I'e QII'Jrln/l' J{l<) iurcrvicw-, xvitb Visiting
33 H--<),3(,1-2 27 1- 2
(:oopcr, FredLTick ('5'~(l Cormmtn-« 71,72,75
'First Publislu-r-; otthc Truth 15,3'+, Lldlcalism of 10, 15, 211
Council ttlr l nrrruarioual Senin' .+IH lecture, CIII an ()lIrll',ml J{CI'c/,11I,llll",
200 te,lchings of 1,+-1 I,
C:Llysh,ISS', J:"l1l'S 3.. 3 1',.,.I;'cr' 5 H-l)
hrst WL1rld W:n I, 2, (" o. 2.+0, 2(q, Young Friends uuirutc his 'tr.unps
Crc.isv, Maurirc 2 I ° lcrturc, !~'-"S{I)'-" dill! }(/'l';I'l/'S 50-3.
312-)(l, 357-H7, 3HH-.+o.+, +2+-\, 2;-';;-';

C.rcwdson. Is.r.«. I){), HH ,\11-7, (,0

"2H, .+3° lox c s lootb.ill Club 2H(,
.ruthor A He,lclllI ,lll tlu: Socierl' or lecture, )0111/ 'I '""llIldl/ 7.+
lirtb Borromlcv j., sce Bott omlcv. l-r.uuo-Pru ...si.ui W~lr 245
1-ricnd» 2(J lecture, .\',lIi''II<11 Liji' (,H
Joseph Firth lr.mks, RL1bLTt S, 1H<)
enduring intlucnrc 2l)-3 I p.rrticip.uio» in VLlSn' k-crurr-,
I-ktcher, John PLTC\' .+ I 1 !'rCT Society of Friends (ManchestLT)
k:llkr of Bcacouitc Sep.lLltion 27-1) 77
.ir SwcllJ\vick Cunt,:rcncc 2<)3 H"-5, HH-')
suspended from miuisrrv 2H I)unl':m, Sar,lh Ann 71, 7<)-SO
C:lmp:lign "g"ll1st AmtLtlicm-Ncw lrictul, Tlu: (,H, 1'+2, 2..7, 3 q-15, 335,
Crimc.m War 2.+3-.. I)nnc-Inites, sec I)nn(',m, 1);lvid Zc.ilind I )ct,:nce Acts 3 10-1 I 330, .+02
Crosfield, C;uhdma W,tllis 153-.+, I hirer, Alhrccht 137, 21)J-.+ Jc"der L1f FSC ahsL1lutist tCll,ti"n article L1n 1),lnvinism I)J
225, 232-3 Durh,n]] ~I],}rterlv Mcc'ung 3<)(', 3H-5,33 H ,ISSL1Cl,lte\ Woodhrooke With
Cross, Richard 325, 32<) 3<)<)-'+00 OIl conditions in EnglIsh prisollS rcn"iss"nce of Friends I SH-<j
Dymond, Jon"tlun 2.. 2 H3 critic,,1 revil,w of RMJs S"cial Llll'
J),lrby, W, Evans 2W Forster, Joseph Binyon )),01, (q, ill rhe SI)irilll,7I ~t~>rld I<)H-')
l)arhngton Monthly Mcetlllg 3 H<), Ecroyd, William ()('-7 7 1- 2,7(, Edw,'rd Crubb's pica for unity y,(,
3') 5-(), 3<)')-40 0 Edmondson, John B, ('2, 71 dctl'ncc' of David Duncm 53-'+ cvangelical links 53
DarSS'inism H, 55, <)2-3, II'), 15<), Edmondson, Joseph I (l.+ editor of the ;H(wclu'srcr Fnmd H"-5, FSC's declaration On 'Fncnds and
101 Edwards, Edward 20 Hs-'), ').+ Conscicntious Objectors' 344
Davies, Samuel ql Elles, General Edmund 2')') lecture 'On Libnty' (,0 letters critical of WJr Friends 3')1-2
4(i() Index Index 4()7

Iricnd, rile (0/11.) artlcks Oil rok of Quaker womcn (;i.J'go\\' Pl'.tl'e CU11tlTl'lll'l' (r ')0 I) thrr.ucn- to take .ibsolurisr
note" grc)\ving rvsisr.u: Cl' to 21X- 24
25<J--()O -r.u«:c 332-3
xv.u--tcvcr 2q, 300 Oil peace rcsrunonv 2+7-:-1
(;10 vcr. T. R, In ((nlmll, Willi;\lll U,
Oil t hc Ilccd to coutr.idirr mi lit.irist ir Oil ,ocI:lI pohcy 277
Cl1dkc, M.try.fellle: (; r.l V, C, Huchan.m 173

vic\\"\ 2<)7 f'ril'I1,k Service Cormnirtcr (FSC:) I, tirst t'.'l1l.lle ""ist.lIlt Clerk uf YM «rl',lt War, scc First World War
Oil women's role in the Socicrv 4, ,\iI, 373, 3'X-') 232, )5' (;rc,lvcs, Ril'h;lrd 23 1)
2. t Il .ibvoluti« oppo-irion to .111 w.irtinrc U11 tcm.ilc p"rticlp.ltillil ill YM 2 J 5 (;rl'l'l1, T. H, i oo
publishc« lcucr <upport im; South sl'n,icl' 322-3,32(', ,130-1, 3,13-4X phllto~r.tph 2 II' (;rclkr, StephC11 22
Atriran War 2.i7-X .Ittal'kl'd bv vv.ir Frielllh .\') 1-3 ,«
(;"'I'cl Dn-nu: Hcl», The 1Cl(,-10, 11,1, Crllhh, Ed\\"ml (FC) 121>, 2113, 2~O,
rcfusc' to publisl: .irtirlcs trolll S()S contrrbut ion-, of fl'lll:11c 111Clllhcr<.; 422; ,'<'C "lSI' Wor,dcll. l.dvv.rrd 3 I S, 340, JlJ4, 4 23
271). 2.N2 31'4-7 (~L\l·l', Henry Lrnc-t 21'\7- "l 1
clUlf"i Couuniucc to arLlll~L'

report Oil FSU", l.uk of co-ppcrJt;oll vvith till' NCr 323-5, (;r.lh.ml, Jllh11 Wilh.lllJ OWe) IUO-I, AII-Fricllds (:ol1ferc11ce 40,--ll
.ur ornphshmcut 2'4 32S-'), 3.n-5, .nIl, 345 101" '41, 144, ")1. 401, 40' COIlJelllm JOh11 Ikllo\\,s' support of
report on Sus,cx Friend,' Pl'.!LC d,t!LTl'll"l" \\'ith NCF ,133, .137-', .Iddrl''' to M.lIlChl'ster C"lltl'rl'l1l'l' South Afj-iClIl W,lr 251l
CJnlp.llgn 3 I I 34 0 - - 1
15 0- 2 cdrtor "f the Hritish lrtctu! 174,
rcvicvv of,~ I<"'l."'/I,d,{e lait]! 102 ",t.lhhshl'd 3 I X
"delre'" to S\\'.m\\'ick Cll11flTl'llll' 221)-3 lJ
,tudy rcvol, continued male i"L1l's ,~ Ch,rlll'IIge i,' ,\/ilii.rri,(111
30('-7 t(Hllldill~ of Woodhl'lh)kl' 177- S0,
dOlllin.1I1CC ill Society 233 -' 57--()U "ddr"" to WS()(' (:lll1tl'ITllL'l' IS~
<upport« idl'.l of N.ltipll,d Scn'lcc l.uunlu-, I'l','l'C .uu! I li"trIll.lIl1l'llt (1')11,) 377-S lc.uicr of th c ()u.lkcr
33')-40
l-<llllP.ll~1l ,LP"-<j .uubrv.ilcncc' .rhour kilLIk' cqu.ilitv Il..C11'li".\lllT 11'4
waru-, rc.ldl'r:-. agJIIht dortrin.i!
rl,.. i"t\ "pl'ci,d cxrmprton for .2 3 ~-()
011 r.irc tor 'h.ll'kw.lrd r;lcL" 21,S- ')
di'i"iCllt 7N Qlukn, 324-11 .mti-vvur :lctivttiL'" 327
011 de.\th ofJWlt 20,
'Iru-ndlv Pan iot ism', s<'e Phillip" Hrr.ui FriclIds' SlHul Union (FSU) 1')0,2.1,', l·h,1I1g-1I1g vic\\''' OJ] pelle
on pO"i"ibk n nlitary cxcmprior: f()r
Fricnds Ambul.uu« Unit (FAU) ,II' I, 275.4- 25
t c-vtm io nv 2 ..f 7. 250--1, 30 ( l - j ()ll"kcr' 32,-1,
37 1 , .II}], 4°2 p1'c-\\'<1r .unvinc« 2So-4­ cite'" douht.. . .lIl)()Jl~ Y()lll1~ Friclld..; 011 ",,'i.tll'"1 .md (~lJ.lkeri'lll 27 1,
c,uhli,hl'd 3 I ,,-I I, w.rrr imc .uriviric-; 37u-1, 3,",0
IO(l--! oppmttioll to Itich11lOlld
diltl'rl'llcl" with fSC 331-2, ,13')-40 hi,'llds, SIll,ict\, o('l'l' ()U.tkLTi'l1l Ie.llkr of the ()L1,lkn Ikc!.Jratioll 1", IIX

Fricnd, Clm-a iu: Fcllow'hip Ullion lricudv' South African Rclief n,L'll.li".lllll' 141-4, Ilq p10!1LTr qu.lkcr 'oci.Ii

(FU'U) 2SI" 2')0 Couuuirtcc (lSARC) 2M ()II \\'l',lkllC"" of (~Llclkl'r nnuistrv rcf()fJlIcr 27+-)

l-ncnd-,' f'ir't I lJV S,hool Associ.uio» lricn.l, ,,,,,I II,,,, 412-1,1 I ilil plc.: fOf unity ;l111()n~ w.ir­
(FFI)SA) 44-', 120-1; .1(1' ,d,'I' hil'lld,' W.lr Vlltill" Rclid' llppmltl011 to FSU absoluti'lll ,13 I, f('''1 .... t('r'' 3 3 5-7
Adult School, (:Ollllllittcl' 24-(1, 3 I (l, 3() I. 37 [ 334~', 34 2
pnHllotioll of M~lIH'hl'~tl'r
f'ricllds' l;orcign Mi"ioll hltcliky MCl'ti11~ (l'OII,cr\'.tri\'l') 4.1-4 0pplhltl0I1 to p.lying I {{ Hill' (:OlltlTCl1ll' [+_~-()

A'isoci,ltiol1 302 Frith, Fra11l,i, MI".... il)Jl'\ \\·orKCf'i 12--l--(J, puhhshl's The /-"//1' II'il)' 0/ Lill'
Fricllds' Hi,toriu! Soclcrv 200-1 Cl>-.llItlwr of,~ l-?e"-',%lf,{c Lltlh 103 12:-':-3 2
3U \ - 2
I-ril'IHh' LClglH.' ofNJtiOI1'i COIll1llittl'l' lntiC.lI ,)f l'\'.lIlgl'lic.Ii FriclIds ')7'-S 0PI"lSitioll to R ichlllolld
l'efllt.ltio11 of\\'.n Fril'llds' vic\\" 31)3
(fCLNC) 402-4 \\'Jrll~ agaiIl\t p;lid lllillistry 12~ ])l'cLILltiOIl "--+-1-'" I 17-1~ Sl'lTl't:lry to SU1111lll'r School
Friend, Peacc COllllllittcc 24S-,), Fry, EIiZJbe-th 211,3,20, 27S, 343 pllllto~r:'ph tol (:olltillU.ltio11 (:Olllllllttl'C 174
2) I, 25(j. 2()S. ::'()(l, 2<J4, 2\)7. Frv, Sir Ed\\"lrd 43, I 14 pr.lisl' t(lr Norlll.lll A11gl'lI 3°4 sccks to Illlldnate FSC
21)')-)00, 30S, 3 II, 32.5 Frv,Jmll M'lry IX5,4IO publish," I-:I'ol"rio" lil/d h/lpil't hardli11c 341- 2.
distributL's palllphkt on rile (;re<11 Fn', jusl'ph Stuns (,S-'), 103, '30-1, 304-,' . . llpport tlJr \VUIlICIl \;

111",\1""
303 t 35 "l'cks cXClnptioll for "Oil'" 327-.\2 ,ulti,.tgl' 22')-)0
r",l'0llSc to South Atj-iull War fCry, Roger I 13- 15 11l1ll'rt~ul1ty COl1CCflllllg \'-,If .llld the 'Yorkshire Movclllcnt' 1.1')
254-', 25l) Frv, Mrs Theod,'rl' 22, rc<;l.;,LlllC(' 3~f)-S (;rubb, Jonathall 35,
10,-4
warllS agaill,t cndor'ing thc Lcaguc \\'ork \\'lth FCFU 2X3 (;rllbb, Mollie 1')-20 n IS, .10, ')5

of NatiollS 403 Cai11ford, Lord, SCt PL'a"" Joscph (;r.dl.llll, R ieh.ln!: Crubb, SaLlh LYlles 33
Frimds Q//ollterly LYilll/illcr (FQE) Y', CelleraIMl'cti11gs 121-3 kl'l'P' f'Hher ill pOLl' l'Cllllp 3 2(j-7 ClintCY, joseph john 20-2, 30-3, 50
M, 11{J-17, 133, I{J<), 38X Cillett [1Im]y a11d the ((reat War Jl)O sllpport tllr t\:l1de sult-ragc 2) ,-I, Alllcric.m ministry .\1-3
 46R Index lndc»: 4 6 <)
Gurney, Joseph johu (((1111,) separation and isolation 23-+ speech at Manchester Conference lsichci, Elizabeth 2 I 7, 21l211. I H, 273
Beacon ronr rovcrsv 27-30 Higher Criticism +-t, Ill), Ill), IHI, [ I j

dl'110UIllTd by Sarah l.vncs C.rubb 33 IH\ support for South Afrir.m

James, William 1110-I, IS7-H
dispute with Johll Wilbur 32 I I ill, Christopher 3, 36l)-70 War 2\7-H Jame,on Raid 2,0, 2 \2
cdur.ition and hcliefs 20-2 011 pe,lce rr-srunonv 328-'J
Hodgkinson, James 17 Jay, Allen I \H, 2H6 .
ignores the Inward Light 21-2 Hilt on. Boyd l)+-I
HodgSOll, Joseph Spence xo jcspcr. Samuel 1'3-4, (j(,
GWylln, I )llUgLls 2Jl) Hinde, Wilfred HI-2
Hodgson, Marv Jalll' 80-1 Joint Coutcrcnr« on Peacl' 30 I
Hinton. J.lml's 21l2-3
Holiness Fricnd« I I 1-12, I.'l), Il)l) Jones, Mary Hoxie 5
H;lggard, H, RIlkr 2HI
Hipslcv, Henry M, l)l)-IOO
l Iomc MISSiollS I I I), 12c-l), 1\\ Jones, Rufus M. (RMJ) 1,21, qH,
H.ild.mr, Richard ll, 2l)H,JOI
Hirst, Margaret +Ol)- I°
Conference 011 12()-J 1 171l, 2\7, 2HH, 302, 3I7-IS, 340
Hancork. Tlioma' 20+
f iobhousc, Ernilv 21l0, 3l)0
Honu- Mission Committee: at All-Friends Contcn-nrc 4 [0- I I
Hardsh.rw l.ast Mont hlv Meeting 2l),
HohsOll, john A, .lOs
opposition to 121--<) .irJordallS Conterencc 411>
17, ('3--I, Ill), 70, 71l, 7 H, H3, l)I, articles for HI'II/sil lricnd 2(J7-H origins alld carlv work 122-5 condemn> Richmond I kelaration
Hare, Willi.un Loftus. editor of 'llu: Hoh-ou, S,lIl11ICI G, pbllS tor Maurlu-src-r C.outcrcncc I 13
jJJoIIgIIsl1l1YC 2H3, .1 7 1, 377-H, 3 xo. .rt Maurhcsrrr COllt"fl'lllT 271>-7 qJ-H .k.ith of Lowell Jones [84
3 HI - 7 links <oci.rlisrn and Qu"kerism revision of I 2l)-J ( dc.irh otJWR 20\
I Iarris, Fr.uik 3 12
277- H Home Otlice Scheme .1+11, \.S2 dcnouurcs pcrsccunon ofJoel .md
Harri-, I Iclcn I HI
I lobson. William 123-+ Hooton, Ellz:lbeth 212 Hannah Bean I \l)-llO
l l.irris. Josl'ph 28+
Hodgkill, l)r Hcnrv T 31'2 Horuim.m.Tob» 1.11-2 editor of the AllIer/cali 1,'riClld qH,
I Iarris J. Relllkl (JRH) Is7, 17(l,
at AII-hiellds (:ollfnelllT +Ol-Il Howe, juli.i W;Jrd l)+ I \H-l), r xo
2.s7, +23 call, t"r true le,lgue of N,ltiolls +0 I Hoyl.md. C;eotlrev .107, HH t(lllllding of Woodbrooke 17l)-Ho,
,II Munrhcstcr C:ollt''reIllT I sO-2 ch.ur-, l.l.uuludno C:ollterl'IlCe .1 1(, Huxley, Thom;Js Henry l)4 IH2-+, IH7-'~, Il)l
.ir Scarborough SUlllmer toundcr of th c FC)R 3 17 trlcnd,hip with J WR [\7- l), 20S,
School 17.1 J lr.idrr of Quaker war re,i,tns lndcpr ndcnr l.abour Party, Friends 208
I )ireeror of Stud ie' at Woodhrooke 3 1(l-ll)
co-opcrunon wi rh 3 17, .1 Il), 3 H2 lende-r of the Quaker R rn.ussancc
J 7()-<j(l opposes FSC h.milino H2
Ingle, H. I.arrv r io n. (>7, J2l)n, H, 162
leader of the C2u,Ikn Rvu.uv-anrc rcconunrnd.inons tor
270-2 on peKe tcsnmonv 3 1.1-1 +,
11>+ Woodbrooke I HI l nw.ird Light 5, H,,(', S.s, +lll, +20, +[0- 1 1
rnyvnrism of I K7-H <upporr tor tcm.il« e qu.ihrv 23 I +2(" +2H photogLlph I <)l)
teachillg methods criritizcd I Hll Hodgkin. Johu Il2 .utarkcd by Is,LIC Crcwdson 21l-7 C2lJ.lkn history I II), 1l)7-l)(), 20\-l)
Harrixou, John 33
Hodgkill, jonath.u: l i.uk houvr I 1+, ccutralirv of tor liberal Frirnds 8-(), rcjcctiou of cvangclicahsm .2 I
ll.irvcv, T. Edmund 2l)l), 32+, .1 2l),
12 4 . J.2(). IJ{). 1)2-3,22).27-+. I,l), I ('2-4, 170-1, 20j rejection of p.iid nunistry 1l'Il
331, +1 I 3l)1 lletL'lllkd by Willi.nu Bellows theory of C2u,Iker origin» 111
Havrrto rd C'Jllege I, 117, IIl7, I xo Hodgkin, ]clllath"n Edward: JK-l) Christian mysticism 11,1-+, 1l)7,
Heath, Carl +IH-Il) .ir All-Friends Coutcrcnr« + I [ dcprcci.ircd by l' S',1\l gel ica I Friends 20S-(), +27

Heath J. St Georgl' Il)0 Chairm.in of the WSOC 37.1-s, 7, 23 view of Atonement III [-2

Hibbert, C;erald K, 23 I 377, 3 H3 11. 77

(;l'orgc fox on 1+-1 Il
Joues, Sybil 21 H-Il)
I licks, Eh;" 22-+, 1,0, Hl) Clerk of Darlington Mourhlv
in ,·1 RCl1S01l,lhlc FL1/'Ii 10+-,
jordan. David Starr .10\
.ittackcd bv evangelical Mectlng 3l).\, +00 influence on (2ll;lker liberals Ill2-+
Jord;ms ContLTence +q-20: .ICC also
FrIellds 22-3
Hodgkill, L. Violet JlJ j in r!", Gl"pcl <l(Dil'iIIC Help [07
Young frIenels Movelnent
dd"llce of the Illward Light _~
Hodgkin, Robin 217-H and pcace testimony 2+8, ,12 j , H 7

denunciation ()f evallgelical

Hodgkin, Dr Thomas 112, 3°.1 aud Scnptural authority 7, 11>+-.\
Kemp, Caleb R. IH, HI, 101,2211
QlIJkcr'l 22 equivocal Oil tL-Ill;i1e role in thl' .lIld social policy 2Ho
Clerk of Yearly Meeting 1.1, 221l
.ICC al,l') Hicksites Sl)cicty 227 war Friends ,lIld 3 Hl)
evangelical t'Jith of 12-14, 31
Hicksites 26, +1, IlO, 71, H8, Hl)-l)o, lcernre challenging Manchester
Irish ILltiomlism +Ol), + I 7-1 8 loneliness for lack of right
/17 hberals (>I
Imin, WIItrid 37'J compamol1S 47-H
allegeel Unitariall tcnelencics 2Il
rejection of the Richmond
Ir",in, William 13 n. +, +3, Il+, H7-S ministry elispllted by conservative
at Woodbrookc 1l)I, Il)I-6
Declaration I 13
Is nlcre Sot ,4 CalIse' 1,12, 1+2 Friends 35, \iH
 'C
i 0
'~
.~
::: '"1
v-.
-f- rl
'I
zc
o
'r. -r-r
el
T ;0
zc. "'1
-e T
Z "I
T~
;r ::
-f
x. ~ 2 0
~ ~~
rl ::;..
~,''':::' r-l
:: :..w X
~'~ I
c,
c, .~ < Z
Z~
«
r-
I
I r-, el
g. 'J
_ -i­
x el
'J _ I
o
'J r-.
'..t: ;:;:­'J o:
e,
~ g~
~.
el
"I
_
f
-f­
el
-I

-f­
I
rl
- r-l :;;. r Z
-I
I ~, -t- el c:
,r
-f- ­
r-e, ""I
-t­
).. ./
X :=
'"'1 -:::; ~
.z:
.~ . 2 §::
go, '-, '-' _ ':..J
~~~
:: ~'€'~ 'f.
~-g~
~ :+.~ ",;:;: :..J ~
..s ~J
:.::
5 ~
:..:; :..J
.~ .~ ~ ~ ~f.~l:~
'"
-' --'
':..J :..J--C-..
47 2 Index Index 473
Mount Strcr-r Meeting (C[l/Il,) and t'.'male Friends 236, 363-lj on vonng friends 2X/ Rcckirt. Sir Jailles JJ+
visited by Yearly Meeting and the Inward LIght 24X,40lj-IO Pricstrnan, Henry Br.idv 2/5-6 Regulatioll 2/1: J .lS-l)
Committee (I X3 5-6) 2/-lj theories on origins 23/-4° ProWessi\'C revelation of Scripture Religious SOciety of Friends, Sl'l'

visited by Yearly Meeting Yearly Meeting and 24 I 5X-lj, 104 Quakerism: Qu"kcrs
Committee (IX6lj-/I) (lX-X5 Pc.isc, Arthur 3l)4 l'uushon. john 20, 122 n. 13, 421) RCYl/olds fJ '('('Uy N('I/'s/'<I/,('1' 2,)5
Pc.isc. Christopher 3lj4 Richard, Henry 241>
National Peace Scouh 2ljlj Pc.isc, l Icurv 243 Qll.lkcr and Convcnr iclc Acts 240, Ruh.irdson. I )owthy 3(>/-X
National Snvice Ll'ague Pease, Joseph (Lord Gaintclflil 233, 35/,37 2 Richardson, Lawrcnrc 142-3, 1/3
(NSI) 2lj('-/, 2ljlj-}02 40 2 - 4 (~Ilakerism: Richmond Cllllt':fl'L1Ce 112-13, 142
Naylor, J'lIIll'S 24, 2/0 Pecko\'l'r, Priscilla Hann.ih 24fl-/, l-l)llduct of lllccting'" Richl1lolld IkcbratlO[1 III-IS, II'),
Ncviusou , l Icnrv 30) 25011. 4-X l"lrly role of vvorncn 2 I 1- 14 12(J. I oo
New Fnuud.rr iou Movement 42/ Peer, Estlu-r 34°,35/, 3)')-('0 history ot 15lj, IflX-/I, Ilj/-210 Roberts, frl'lkrick Sleigh, Earl of
new libcr.tl ixm .md l-ricnd-, 2/4, 3/fl, PCd, Hubert W, 31lj, 33+, 340, J\X/Il..'s ide,lS comrrning Ilj/-S, 201 K,lIllbhar 2lj('-/, 2ljlj, ,140; sec
425 3+('-/, 35/, 3)'), 37 1 pecultarities 3, 42-3 ,Ii,[, Narion.rl Service League
N rwbok], J. Walton 3X3 Penn. Willi,ull 2,), 3+, XI' X[), 2fJS, r.ldiL-~tl origllls Lt-I().270-2 (NSf)
Ncvvm.iu , Sir (;corgc 2HX, 33 [-2,331), 337, 35/- S, 374, 4° 1 rrjcrnon of hireling minixrcr-, I). ll..llhiIlSllll, Ellen:
4° 2 Penney, NOfIlLlI1: 1()S-(J.2IJ .tdlire"'sing pcacc Illcctings 2(J3
Newman. Hrnrv St.lllley 124, 14X .urthor of Iir« Puhlislicr: 0/il«
sdent worvhip 2, 2S at Manrhcvrcr Couti-rcur« 154
Newman, T. P. 3 r J 'l'nlfh 200
.uid "'OCiJ!i"'lll 27h-,'\O cOlllklnm South Ati'icall War 254
Nirbol-on. Howard [41-2 tlrst l-ricnds libr.iri.m [[)lj-20 I (~u,lker RellaissalllT\. 24'~, 3 10, nil pcacc tcstu nonv 252
Nicholson, I)r Wilh,lIli 132 PClllll11gtOll. Is.i.«. [70 423-5, 42/, 42') Il..ogers, R, W, 173
Nield, Theodore 14[) J'hiLLdelphi,1 Yc.irlv M,'etillg, culminates at Sw.mwi ck Il..uscbet\', Lord 24lj
No-Conscription l:ellowship (N(:Fl Wilbllntc tOIlC of 3211. :'lX. 110 (:Ol1tlTCIlCC 2 l ) 2- 3 Il..llwlltree, Arnold S, (ASR) 14 I,
3, 3 Ilj-20, 370 !'11l11Ips,lln,1I1 [('311. IX, 25fl, 2(JI-4, doctrinal COn"'C!hllS of k,lLhT'" I (L2-() I <J,)-(', 303-4

.illit-d with FSC 323-5, 32X-[), 2lj4-5 ,ll1d Young frielld, MIl\l'mC1H 2Sl) .un-mpr-, to 'ecure speci,ll milir.irv
3,13-), 33(', 3+5 Pi.k.rrd. I hlliel S(, (~uakns: rxrmpt ion tor Friends 324-(l,
problems with FSC 33/-S,qo-1 t>/LJ/I.I!.!lS!llll"t'. Tln: J{)J, J(l(l, 370. 372--3. .md impcri.ili-au 2(,2-3, ,os
3 2S- ')
prup~lg;llld.l cllllpaigl1 to gain fck,l\l' 3,'\2-5 Marnage Acts alld fl'guLIlio",
Oil death ofJWR 205
of C() prisoucr-, 352-3 .nrti-capit.ilicr roue ot 3/(l, 3/lj-S I 3lj-40, 4 1-2, 44
Oil value of Woodbf()oke II)S-'('
Nocl-Hakcr, Philip 2(,2, 315, 31)j: SIT ,ltt,lLksJWC:'s spcech at WSOC nuhr.irv <crvicc ill first World
Rowntrcc, Arthur 21)X-[), 3 2 1, 3'n
als» Fricnd-, Ambulunr« Unit cOlllc'fl'llL'l' ,17/-'~
War 31,-14 Rowutrcc, H. Sccbohm 137, [.\'). 1 1)0.
(FAU) l',uhli,hed ,I> S(~S mg,Lll 2SJ
numerical dcrlinc bctorc I Xf,o 40-1 2°5, 20X, 21-:0, 3 IS. 337 n . X)
Norman, C. H, 34('
LI,t da\,s 3'~ 5-/
pcrvccutiou l ) ( I :'i-I() RO\\'lltree Charitable T rust, "'f'
Northern Friends Peace Board 3D'
Oil IlLTL'"",,,ity of ,1b",o}utisI11 3()()
phil.uirhropv .uid <ori.il reform 4, Ruwlltree, Joseph
Oil role of WSOC: 37+-5
2/0- S 4 Rowutrcc. Const.mcc. 1/('(' N'lish 13/,
'Our Testimony for Peace' 30X-IO
Plvmouth Brcrhrcn 2lj, 333, 3lj3 .uid Purir.ms 2, 14 20)
Owen, James 6/-X, 122
Pollnrd. William X.\, lj(l-/, 125 reltcfettclI'ts during Irish famine 273 Rowntrcc t.unilv, property ,Itt,ll'ked by
co-author of A Re'1.'<Jl/ahl(' hi/Iii J 03 rcvi-r.uuc to Iir-r World W,lr (" lj, mobs 254
p.uifism. see peace testimony criririsn: of evangelical 3 2 J- -l­ Rowntrcc, Isabella IX5
Peabody, francis 16o thcologv lj(,-/ .md Soutlt AtriclIl War 253-('0 Rowlltree, Je,m (,
Peace 111111 Coodu.il! 24/ stabiltzing influence in Manchester telllpeLlnce 4S n, 5, 2/4 Rowntree, Johll Stevl'llsoL1 (JSR) 3/,
peace tcstiIllOIlY 2,7, X-<J Meeting X5, lj() ,ll1d UlliLlrUL11Slll 23,46 43, I/(,
and All-friends Contc'rence 40(l-/, warns agaillSt paid pastors J 25 :~Ct' d/St) qll~)keri"tll illflucnce Oil the Quaker
4 0lj-14 Puntdract MOllthly Meeting 3 14 Ql/dkl'1 .su[ll/gli[l/d,<, see Stephen, Rellaiss,lnce I (l3
ambiguity of 245 ['/,('s('I/I-Day [J"J!('/'s 143, 164-5, 1(,/, C:"rohlll' message to SClrborough Summer
biblicil expressiolls of 23lj-40, 24S I/fl, 2/S School 1/5
alld the Cross 3+X, 354-(', 4 I 2 011 peace testinlony 252-3 RadIn, Philip 2<)0, }22 011 pe~lcc tcstilllony 24-5-6, 252
dunng the Great War 322, 3X5, 430 011 the spirit of socialism 2/X-<) ll..eader,John 21/ on social policy 277
 -1-7-1- Index Index -1-75
Rowutrcc, John Stl'\TINlIl ((''/If,) Rowntrcc. J"'''ph (the Younucr. SOCl,dl,t Qu.ikcr SOClCt\' (SQS) 37(l. SlIlllllln Sd",o[ Counnu.uion
C2/1d!:cris/ll, I'dS{ dlld Prcscn: +0-, I. IS1(l-I')2~\) 1~,1 37~-~0. 3~+-7. W~. ~2:i-(, Comnuu.«: 17+-7. IS+. 1<)3
+7. ')0 OppOSIt]()1I to IZ irlunoud
.rincivm of Quaker <oci.i] policv SlIlIlllln School Movcmcnr I (,~.
rCCOlllI11l'I1li ........p n-l.ll Corumir tc.: OJl I kdaratiOl1 I I ()- I 7
cxo, 2S,1 171-7.2S<)
pCJce tl'\tllllony 2() J 'pomor of (.,211aker histor,
dCllicd 1l1L'l'tlllg room ill I )cvoll"hirl' \\\".ltl\\-II.."k (:olltl'rL'llCc of Young
RowIItree.JohIl Wdhellll (lWR) 1(,1, 'iCrIC'i J ()7, .20(j-,s Hou«. .27() Fncnd-, (I <) I I) 2<)2-+. j zo, 3)0,
175. -+23 urgc'i frce CXprC'i\IOIl for young dl.".ltl,t:lctIOIl with tIi« FSU 2,~+ +'+, +IS
,Iddre" to I ~'!.\ Yc.ir lv Mcc'tlll~ Friend, 2~(1 C''1lLltC' Qu.ikcnsm .uid ")['l,dl'lIl 11I1~" (1..) \V.lf rl'\I\t.\IICI' 1l)2-+,
'-13-, IZo\\lltrc'e, JOShll,1 172. I7:i. 17'),31\ 27,"'; lO(l-7
COIH.il'111Jl\iI11pCri,di"dll 2';.2.2(13--l­ editor ofJWR', 1:'.<"(1)',,, .uul l.u.] d"\\1l 3"('
S\\,III\\ICk. l Ick-n., M, 3()3
CrItIC]"])) of (~lukl'r .rrriru.l,-, -Ii/drcsses 20~-() Illelliher' ,I' il',lder' of FSC ,13~
')\\c·11. Jmcph 1+2
to w.ml-, \\"tlllll'll 22-+-:\ tirvt W,lrdell of Woodhrookc l11l'l11hl'I"'> .u S\\ .uiwick (:Olltl'ITllCL'

de.rth 'If 20S

1 S)-7. i<)()
2(13 Lrll.uk , WIlh,11ll ~7-~. ')2

c.irlv rcligioll" doubt" r 3(1-j

Oil'iocul rctor n: .27)
nil \\-,11" I"l''ihtlllC<,: ,llld 'iOCi,ll
.itt.uk 011 kg,di\tic thcology 133

J~-SS(1)'s .uu!
.-'lddrcsscs 20:\ rcm.irk-, .it M,lllche,ter
Ch,lllgc .' 70-3, 3 ;()-~()
«riticivn: of (;cnrgl' lox S7--~

t<HlIlLhng of Woodhrookc 17<)-;-;0. (:oJlfcrcllcc 1I)-f) ()rigll1\ .uid c.ulv dC\TloPlllCllt

llotC\ COIlIlCctiOIl\ hCt\\'CCll

,:-IS. 1~7, I~O-I. ll){)

1:-;2. -upport-, l'Xp,llldillg tl'IlUIe role ..227 2'7S-~O (;urlll'YItC\ .md BI'!I(()J/I'f'S 30
li'icnd'illp with IZ utu« .I 0 nc I S7 '). IZownrrc.'. L,I\\TeIlCe 3 I 3 II. 7 S"llth Atrl"'"1 (:ollcdi,ltioll on .I~rcclllcilt hl't\\'L'l'll 'rL',I1' "l·II'IH"1'
I7<)-~0 IZ"\le, .I<"Llh I(,a (:"lllllllttec (SA('(:) 2,S3 .uid Scripturc ')2
hi-rorv of (~II,lkcri'lII I,"). I '!7-'). R 11"c'lI. ])CTtr.llld: <";outlJ Atr"IC.lll \V,lr +, 253··~()O, 2()), Oppo\ltion to l10111l' Mi""il)ll\
20 I. 20()-S ,ritl"d "f I~SU ,Ji"ohlti'llI ,1+7, ,11'7 2(l7· .1'),~. +2+ work I 2~
IlHhgn'ltiol1 over (2lLlkcr \llpport fiIf fl'"pl)ll"l' t o t hr w.ir 351 South,IlI. .Iuhll, ~') lu mcr. f'v'tlrg.lrct 22()
South Ali';C.lll W,lr 2S~-') "L'Il"L' l)f Iurilitv .rbout .uiu-w.u Sp,lrkc,. Malrolm 3'i7-~ T.I\]or. A, J I' 3~3 I ) 7(1. 3'17
inrlucnr« Oil (;corgc (~Jdhl1r~ [---; I ..2 .nuvuu-, 3 _""+ Spc",lkIlLIll. Thom.r, ')U-I lrvlor. Ernest 3 I 2. 31(1. 31')
mspir.uiou tor Young lricn.!-. Rll""i.lll RL'\'O]lltloll 3-l5-(I, 3<"\0-.1, .ICt' Stephcll, (:,lrohIlC ~,,' II. ~2. 3')~ 1,1\ lor. J.IlIl' E. 223-~
Movcmcnt 2S7--()O ,iI",' ])"I,hnlk, .unbrv.ilrur Oil PC,ll·L' tl,\tillll)Jl~ tl'lllPl'f,llll"l' +~ 11. )

l.uunhc-, Prcscn, J)"J' JJdJl(rs 1+3 2\("-7 Tnntun.i1 ArlllY 2')~. 301. ,1CJ7-~

k,ldcr of (~u,lkcr I~CIl,lI".llln' S. \.llTL·dllL·"" of liuu r.u: llt"l' .uul pl',ICl' ttHlllding membe-r of N,ltl()Jl,d J1Jc 111(11,/. 'C'C Irivn.], nil'

I 3 ()--t- 2 . 1(1]-3 (l'\([IlIUllY 2+0 WOIIlCIl', Anri-Su th,lgl' SUlICt\ 1/", IIIIIC,'. 'l'l' Iinu», llu:

k,ld, York-lurc MOH'IIICllt I 3~-') S,dter, Ilr ;'dli'L'd 3+7,311'7 23° lIuvt lvtb vv.utc, Willi.un +,).61. (,()
.u M'IIll'hc"tn COIllcrCllc'c' I S(, S,I\'ce. \X/illi,1I11 J.I'I'C[' 123 inrlucn.«: of C)II<1!:"1 \""u~h(l/'/s 1(13, Th.uu.«, Alk-r: 20 I
Ilecd tin P,'flll.llICllt SlIl111lllT Sc',lrhorol1~h SUllllller School 172-+, 23° lhour.i-. AIlIl,1 1~O
Sc hool I(IS. 17(1-7
2).2 puhhch' ,upport, SOllth /\trIC'.I11 Ih(lIlI.I'. l)r I kllrICtt.J 3 I') . .1(>+. 3X2
Oil pC,ICC tC"tll11011')-' 252-3
Sc.lttlTtll\\',litl', (;corgl' (ll W,H 2';7 TI]()lll,h. Rich.lrd:
Oil prohklll\ t~lClllg young Sl'ftoll-jnlll''i, l-fcrhlTt 3<)1-3. -+01 Oil datil·tl1tlc . . of ynllll~ (TIL·lld . . ,It thc MClIlchc,tn COlltlTCIlCC l:i I,
Fnc'ml, 2~7
~C,,~iOIl\, l:rcdcrick [2;, I)U 2~,'<) 1(,+
Oil (~uakcr 'oclal pohcy 2~0
Sh,lckktoll. Abrah.l1ll I ~- I'). " Stc'\\,lrt, J h'lc' ,++-S. 227 1IIIlucllcc Oil youlI~ 13riti,h
pl..Htuit ii
Shann, Ccorgc 1Sf) Stl'\\'.lft, LOlli\.l 21 ()-20 FrIclld, 1.17-~. I :iX. I (,~
. Prl''\l'llt PO\ltion of R.eligiou\
Shclrp, 1"l.lc 200. ~01 Str.lchc'\', J St 1 oc: po"ihlc I )ircctor of Studic' It,r
Thou~ht III thc Sm'icty of Shillitoc. ThOll],], 27.1 I'uhli,hc" , 1 .\'C/I' II ',I)' or
LIt<­
Woudbrookc I ~o
hil'lld, (1<)0\) 1(,<)-71
Sillleoll. Clurlc" 20 30 1- 2
Tholllp"'ll. Ch,lrlc, 77
Quaker SJillt 1,j<)-+ 1
Sil1l', Johll I S() ,uppurh cUIlll'ul,of\ Illilit.lr\,
,Ht.JC'" k.ldn'hil' uf Muullt Strcct
'I~i,c of QuakLThlll 111
Slppcll. Thcodorl'. suppurh RMJ\ tr.lllllllg 302 MCL'tIllg hO, ()S
Yorkshirc' 202-+ idc,I' Oil Quakn lll\"tichill Stroll~, Jmuh 2S I ;lttl'1l1pt" to CCllsurc ,'\,2-3
\upport t()f rl'cording J111Ili'itcr'i 1(1,"-: 20~-<) II, 1(>+ Sturgl', Cl'orgc +0 II ~+ .1 k.llkr of M.lllclll''in di"idcllt, S+
weakllcss of l.,2ll;lker Illilllstn I()(,-X Slllut" J.Ill .1')0 Sturgc, .I oseph ~+. 120. 2+3. 2~+; SCC Thollll"OIl, Silv.llIlIS P,:
Rowlltrce, Josl'ph (till' Elder. SUlI,d I )ar\\'Il1l'1ll .llld pCCKC dl",' Adult School, dCIIOIlIICCS propitIatory AtOllclllCllt
I~al-,<)) ~1 . .\O tcstIlIIOIl\' 30:i. 30<) Stur~c, M.Hild.l '+<)-)0. 222 13\
47 6
Thompson, Silv.mu-, P .. «"/11)
paper .ir M,mchester Conti-renee­
15 0- 2
Tholllson, Walter Trevelyan 3<)-1--100
Thorne, Alfred and Mary 27<)-XO
Thorp, Fielden (,0-1, <)2
Fillies, '17Ie 3 X<), WI
Tolcr.rtion Act (I(,X<)) 1(,
Trc.uy of Vl'rl'l'lliging zoo. 2(15
Trcvclvan, (;. M. 20X
'Truth-to-Truth' ('<)-70
Tucker, L,'igh 404
Tukr , Henry 11)-20
Turner, WIIlum 1-17
co-author of.'1 RedSl'IIIIf,I,. h1ltl, I OJ,
10,
influence on (~uaker RenalSS,lllce
1(,-1
owncr/cdiror lll' Hrinvh lricnd,
/27- X
SlTks Sylllp,lthy tor young Fricnd-,
135-(,
Union of Drmocr.inc Control 327
'Vali.mt Sixty' 211-(2
Vane. Sir Fr.nuis 2<)<)
Vcll.uott. Jo 3()('-7
Venn, l lcury 20
Voscv, Charles 77,7<), XI, Sj, X5
W:lllis, llcnrv Marri.ig«:
oppoxir ion to tl-n i.ilc
l'lll;1IlC1P;ltI0I1 234­
prominent war Fncud 3('0, 3<)1, 3<)3
supports recrUiting ol' Quakn
vourh 312-/3, 3l-1, -100
War and rlic SllCul Ordrr
Committee y,<)-X7
war Friends 3XX, 3X<), -II 1,424
Ward, Kcncric 15-1-5
Watson, R. Spence 2<)4
W,lttS, Arthur 35X, 3M
Weedk, Meredith 23<)
Westcott, Bishop 272
Westlake, Richard 11(,-17
Westmoreland Quarterly Ml'l,tlllg 2S
lV!zclICf COllie I}ars' 37-1-5
Index Index 477
White, William IH rejection ofbihlir.il lircr.ilism I (l.S conti..'lTJHT .u Woodbrooke 2<)2
Whiteley. CeCIl 3 XS York WOlllen's Qu.irtcrlv mflucrirc on wartime
Whittier, John (;reenlcaf 10(, MeetIng 21-1 rcsist.uicc 320-3
Wlgham, Hannah Mana 222 Yorksh in- 1<)0) Commirtcc 2S,) opposition to militarism 30(,-X
Wilberforce. WIIlial11 20 'Yorkshire Movcnu-nt ' 13 X-<), 142-3, proposed hy Ncavc Bravshaw 2XX
WIIhur, John 50 2Xi 'Tramps' 2XX-<)0
oppovition to muu-try of Yorkshire (~u,lrtnk Mcctiru; 3-12-3 sec a/so S\\";1J1\vick Contcrcnrc
J J Curney 32 Y()lI11~ rnl'lHh Movement: Young Friends' Study Circles
Wilhurirc A,IWlLJ[' of Phil.idclphia (OnlCTence .u Jordalls -I I-1-20 2X3-4
Yc.rrlv MlTtlllg 50
W ilkinvon and Stor:; Scp.ir.uion 21 3
Wdhs, Kirk 5)
WIlson, EdithJ. 31<),3(,2
photo~'Taph 3(,2
support tllf FSC absolunsm 3!J!J-7
WIlson, Henry Lloyd I X4, 302
WIlson, Roger Cow.in (', 2(" 2711. 3X,
2S). XX, tj(J, '-toot, 2()21l. (J7
Wilson, Woodrow -101, -104
WOllll'l1\ SerVICe C01l1111lttl'l' 3(q.-5
Women" Soci,11 .uid Polirir.rl Union
(WSPU) 22<)-3 I
WOlllen's Yc.irlv Mcetlllg 21-1-15
WOOli, Hrrbcrt (;. I X<), 35-1-)
WoodhnlLlke I(,X, 177-<)(,,350
br"edmg ground tor Quaker
Rcn.uss.uuc 17<), I XX-<)
Dutch students IX-I, 1<)0-1
Jnd HlckS/tes I<)I. 1<)5-(,
sOl'ul work curricuhu n 1<)0
WllodbrllLlke Sl'ttlelllent
Couuuirr cc I X2, I X<)-<)o
hcromcx Woodhrooke Council 1<)3
Woodbrooke Summer School I X2,
IX-I
WoodheJd, Mrs Benson 12!J
Woodhead, Caroline 100
Woolman, John 7-1, 14(', 1.'7,273, 2 X-I
Wormwood Scrubs Prison 3-10, 3-1X-l)
Worsdell, Edward:
author of FI,e e".'I"" of Dis-in: Hdl'
10(,-10
influence 011 the Quaker
Rl'naissJnce I('3
on Quaker youth and ministrv
2X('-7
pl.uis tor Summer Schoo]
Movement 172