What I like about Mr. Morrison is that he knows
that the British public have come to love their double summer-time, and that the moment when the extra hour is taken from them is a moment of gloom. Already he had granted us a reprieve from Sunday, August 13, to Sunday, September 17. And now when the dread day is inevitably upon us he comes forward with an act of solace ; on that same day the black-out is to be mitigated in our homes and streets. This year at least our small despair will be illuminated. The essence of Mr. Morrison's wisdom lies in the fact that he places full reliance in the wisdom of the British public ; that reli- ance, on certain occasions, has proved over-optimistic ; but on the whole Mr. Morrison has been justified in his belief that if one behaves sensibly one can rely on being assisted by good sense. The first Prometheus who brought light and fire to men was a most unreasonable titan ; he sought to obtain his ends by defying and deceiving the sovereign power ; and as a result he spent many long years chained to the Caucasus while an eagle (or, as some say, a cock) pecked repeatedly at his liver. The promethean gifts of Mr. Morrison will expose him to no such ordeals ; since he knows full well what is practicable and what is not. And after all in a long and dangerous war the joint post of Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security is not a swans-down mattress. That Mr. Morrison should have retained and increased his popularity is due to his humane instincts and overwhelming common sense.
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