Five Typed Letters Signed and two Typed Notes Signed from Herbert Morrison to F. W. Pethick-Lawrence (one dealing with Churchill's 'outburst on the word Empire ' and another of his failure in the Labour leadership contest).

All texts clear and complete, and good, on lightly-aged and worn paper. Several annotated in pencil, one extensively. Letter One: 27 January 1936; on letterhead of County Hall, London. 4to, 1 p. '[...] if it be the case that under a given government the finances are really getting into difficulty but that the Chancellor will not be frank with his colleagues and insist upon action, the civil servants concerned are put in somewhat of a difficulty.' Letter Two: 21 May 1943; on letterhead of the Home Secretary, Whitehall. 4to, 2 pp. Responding in detail to a letter 'about some complaints made to you by a man who had recently served a sentence of three months' imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs Prison'. Letter Three: 1 November 1948; on letterhead of the Privy Council Office, Whitehall. 4to, 1 p. On the subject of 'Winston's outburst on the word Empire ', he writes 'I did not know about the decision of the Empire Parliamentary Association to change its name to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association'. He is 'glad to know about this from so authoritative a source as the Chairman of the Conference at which the decision was taken!' Letter Four: 12 July 1955; on letterhead of the House of Commons. 4to, 1 p. Refers to wet weather in Lancashire, articles by himself and Gaitskell in 'Socialist Commentary' and Labour Peers. Letter Five: 30 December 1955; on letterhead of the House of Commons. 4to, 1 p. Concerning his failure in the Labour leadership contest. He values Pethick-Lawrence's letter, which is 'typical of you, and it was among the nicest of the very many letters I have received with regard to the Leadership of the Party'. 'It is no good my saying I do not feel hurt, for that would be untrue.' He is doing his best 'to take the decision in the best spirit, remembering that the nation and the Party matter more than any of us.' Note One: 2 March 1950; on letterhead of 11 Downing Street, Whitehall. 12mo, 1 p. He will keep his 'views in mind'. Note Two: 25 February 1957; on House of Commons letterhead. 12mo, 1 p. Congratulating him on the announcement of his marriage. Also present are two carbon copies of letters from Pethick-Lawrence to Morrison. Carbon One: 30 October 1948; marked 'Private and Confidential'. 4to, 2 pp. The letter which elicited Morrison's Letter Three. '[...] Churchill is frequently out of touch with his own party as I know for a fact on India and a number of other Empire questions and as you said, he makes a lot of mischief thereby. [...]'. Carbon Two: 28 February 1950. 4to, 3 pp. He has been 'thinking furiously about the election, its consequences and its causes', and gives his conclusions. '[...] As to the Post Mortem I suppose the short answer is that we lost the vote of most of those of the middle class who voted for us in 1945'. Notes four causes, including the fact that 'Women have been affronted by being told that they are entitled to the rate for the job but that the Labour Government has no intention whatsoever of taking even a small step towards reducing the inequality.' Discusses 'the nationalisation of public utilities': 'One person said to me, I voted Labour at this election as I have always done but I am not sorry that the result has been to call a halt to further controls and nationalisation.' He considers that 'a purely proletarian Labour Party would be a disaster.'