19 NOVEMBER 1965, Page 9

Spectator's Notebook

IT is of course an illegal act. It may or may not be wise to use the word, but it is also a rebellion. All the same, it is a strangely con- fused British sort of rebellion. The two Prime Ministers part on the telephone with expressions of mutual esteem a few hours before UDI. Mr. Smith calls frequently on the Governor. Armistice services go on. News, so far un- censored, pours out of Salisbury. Most remark- able of all, Tom Stacey of the Evening Standard Al.is told by the ex-Minister of information that Mr. Smith is concerned lest Mr. Wilson take the declaration to be a personal affront, and promises to convey Mr. Smith's anxieties to 'London. There will no doubt be a drift to full censorship. No doubt by our standards (if not by those of many. countries) Rhodesia is a police state. Things have been done, are being done, and will be done, which I find detestable. •And yet I wish I thought that Mr. Wilson had really any ideas beyond what he is going to do today and say tomorrow. I wish I believed he had any idea what he will be doing and who he will be• dealing with next week, next month, next Year.