Waste Part 16

TREBELL. Glad to see you. You know Mrs O'Connell.

CANTELUPE _bows in silence._

AMY. We have met.

_She offers her hand. He silently takes it and drops it._

TREBELL. Then you'll wait for Frances.

AMY. Is it worth while?

KENT _with his hat on leaves his room and goes downstairs._

TREBELL. Have you anything better to do?

AMY. There's somewhere I can go. But I mustn't keep you chatting of my affairs. Lord Charles is impatient to disestablish the Church.

CANTELUPE. [_Unable to escape a remark._] Forgive me, since that is also your affair.

AMY. Oh ... but I was received at the Oratory when I was married.

CANTELUPE. [_With contrition._] I beg your pardon.

_Then he makes for the other side of the room_, TREBELL _and_ MRS.

O'CONNELL _stroll to the door, their eyes full of meaning._

AMY. I think I'll go on to this place that I've heard of. If I wait ... for your sister ... she may disappoint me again.

TREBELL. Wait.

KENT'S _room is vacant._

AMY. Well ... in here?

TREBELL. If you like law-books.

AMY. I haven't been much of an interruption now, have I?

TREBELL. Please wait.

AMY. Thank you.

TREBELL _shuts her in, for a moment seems inclined to lock her in, but he comes back into his own room and faces_ CANTELUPE, _who having primed and trained himself on his subject like a gun, fires off a speech, without haste, but also apparently without taking breath._

CANTELUPE. I was extremely thankful, Mr. Trebell, to hear last week from Horsham that you will see your way to join his cabinet and undertake the disestablishment bill in the House of Commons. Any measure of mine, I have always been convinced, would be too much under the suspicion of blindly favouring Church interests to command the allegiance of that heterogeneous ma.s.s of thought ... in some cases, alas, of free thought ... which now-a-days composes the Conservative party. I am more than content to exercise what influence I may from a seat in the cabinet which will authorise the bill.

TREBELL. Yes. That chair's comfortable.

CANTELUPE _takes another._

CANTELUPE. Horsham forwarded to me your memorandum upon the conditions you held necessary and I incline to think I may accept them in principle on behalf of those who honour me with their confidences.

_He fishes some papers from his pocket._ TREBELL _sits squarely at his table to grapple with the matter._

TREBELL. Horsham told me you did accept them ... it's on that I'm joining.

CANTELUPE. Yes ... in principle.

TREBELL. Well ... we couldn't carry a bill you disapproved of, could we?

CANTELUPE. [_With finesse._] I hope not.

TREBELL. [_A little dangerously._] And I have no intention of being made the scapegoat of a wrecked Tory compromise with the Nonconformists.

CANTELUPE. [_Calmly ignoring the suggestion._] So far as I am concerned I meet the Nonconformists on their own ground ... that Religion had better be free from all compromise with the State.

TREBELL. Quite so ... if you're set free you'll look after yourselves. My discovery must be what to do with the men who think more of the state than their Church ... the majority of parsons, don't you think? ... if the question's really put and they can be made to understand it.

CANTELUPE. [_With sincere disdain._] There are more profitable professions.

TREBELL. And less. Will you allow me that it is statecraft to make a profession profitable?

CANTELUPE _picks up his papers, avoiding theoretical discussion._

CANTELUPE. Well now ... will you explain to me this project for endowing Education with your surplus?

TREBELL. Putting Appropriation, the Buildings and the Representation question on one side for the moment?

CANTELUPE. Candidly, I have yet to master your figures....

TREBELL. The roughest figures so far.

CANTELUPE. Still I have yet to master them on the first two points.

TREBELL. [_Firmly premising._] We agree that this is not diverting church money to actually secular uses.

CANTELUPE. [_As he peeps from under his eyelids._] I can conceive that it might not be. You know that we hold Education to be a Church function.

But....

TREBELL. Can you accept thoroughly now the secular solution for all Primary Schools?

CANTELUPE. Haven't we always preferred it to the undenominational? Are there to be facilities for _any_ of the teachers giving dogmatic instruction?

TREBELL. I note your emphasis on any. I think we can put the burden of that decision on local authorities. Let us come to the question of Training Colleges for your teachers. It's on that I want to make my bargain.

CANTELUPE. [_Alert and cautious._] You want to endow colleges?

TREBELL. Heavily.