CHURCHILL’S JOURNEYS

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 September 1943, Page 8

CHURCHILL’S JOURNEYS

MR. MORRISON’S CONFESSION. LONDON, June 6. Mr. Churchill’s journeys are really necessary, and he likes them. Mr. Herbert "Morrison, Home Secretary, reassured Mayors of the London boroughs on these points when he spoke at their annual luncheon in London yesterday. ' Whenever the Prime Minister consulted the Cabinet about a proposed visit, said Mr. Morrison, they found themselves in a dilemma. “We know that he does an enormous amount of good which could not be done in any other way or by any other Minister,” he said. “But the risks are real and the responsibilities are great on us whom he consults. There is a feeling at the back of our minds that he will go, anyway. He likes these journeys and they refresh him. Fie likes to get out and about. There is much to be said for it. You can have too much of Whitehall. “We know people get worried about Mr. Churchill’s being away. We get worried- about him too, wherever he is. If we do not worry about him, he worries us, which is worse. He has come back vigorous, hale and hearty. I can assure you from our personal knowledge that there has not been one of these journels that he has gone upon which has not been of definite advantage to the war effort and Britain’s part in that war effort.” Mr. Morrison went on to speak oi the present Government, for which he was replying on the toast-list. “It is a funny affair,” he said. “I never thought that I should be sitting cheek-by-jowl with some of them, and still less did they think they would be sitting cheek-by-jowl with me.” This Government was one of the most united the country had ever had. “There are no bitter rivalries or jealousies, no continuing frictions. Every Minister has his or her mind directed to winning the war. It is a Government of strength and of purpose, as even the Flouse of Commons find’s from time to time. It is right to

have a strong Government in time of war. I would sooner have a Government of strength and purpose in peace than one that is cowardly, and wobbling all over the place.”