Sentence:  ‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible <WSD>conscience</WSD>,' said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects one's own behaviour.