android webview java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'android.webkit.WebSettings on a null object reference - nullpointerexception

Question

I'm trying to implement swipe in a customized WebView, but when the app tries to call getSettings(), a null pointer exception is thrown. Here are the particulars:
First, the extended WebView class:
package com.chiaramail.opencomments;
import android.content.Context;
import android.util.AttributeSet;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.GestureDetector;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.webkit.WebView;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class OpenCommentsWebView extends WebView {
Context context;
GestureDetector gd;
public OpenCommentsWebView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
super(context);
this.context = context;
gd = new GestureDetector(context, sogl);
}
GestureDetector.SimpleOnGestureListener sogl = new GestureDetector.SimpleOnGestureListener() {
public boolean onDown(MotionEvent event) {
return true;
}
public boolean onFling(MotionEvent e1, MotionEvent e2, float velocityX, float velocityY) {
if (e1 == null || e2 == null) return false;
if (e1.getPointerCount() > 1 || e2.getPointerCount() > 1) return false;
else {
try { // Swipe down, so set
if (e2.getY() - e1.getY() > 100 && Math.abs(velocityY) > 800) {
MainActivity.recentCommentsShown = false;
return true;
}
} catch (Exception e) { // nothing
Log.e("OpenCommentsWebView", "Swipe error: " + e.getLocalizedMessage());
// Toast.makeText(this, getString(R.string.update_flow_failed) + BLANK + e.getLocalizedMessage(), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
return false;
}
}
};
void show_toast(final String text) {
Toast t = Toast.makeText(context, text, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT);
t.show();
}
}
The relevant part of the main layout file:
<androidx.swiperefreshlayout.widget.SwipeRefreshLayout
android:id="#+id/swipe"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<com.chiaramail.opencomments.OpenCommentsWebView
android:id="#+id/browser_page"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
</androidx.swiperefreshlayout.widget.SwipeRefreshLayout>
Instantiating the extended WebView object:
private OpenCommentsWebView browser_page;
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
activity = this;
try {
setContentView(R.layout.main);
} catch (RuntimeException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
Toast.makeText(activity, getString(R.string.install_from_google_play), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
finish();
return;
}
current_page = "https://www.google.com/";
browser_page = findViewById(R.id.browser_page);
#Override
public void onStart() {
super.onStart();
WebAction();
}
.
.
.
public void WebAction() {
// Fails here.
browser_page.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
}