24 OCTOBER 1958, Page 3

Portrait of the Week— MR. DULLES visited Britain on his

way to Formosa, President Heuss visited Britain on his way to Canossa, and the strike of engineers at London Airport ended as abruptly as it had begun, and no less mysteriously. Mr. Khrushchev, of all people, called for less drinking in the Soviet Union, and the Conservative Party continued to quarrel with the League of Empire Loyalists in the correspond- ence columns of The Times.

MR. DULLES, who had been in Rome representing the United States at the funeral of Pope Pius XI!, started out for a visit to Chiang Kai-shek in Formosa. On the way, he stopped for a few hours at an American airfield in Britain, where he was met by the Foreign Secretary. No communiquo Was issued after their brief and informal talks, but it was presumed that the situation in the Far East Was high on whatever agenda there was. Before., Mr. Dulles arrived in Formosa, the Chinese shell- ing of the offshore islands, which had becn sus- pended for over a fortnight, began again. This unorthodox welcome for the Secretary of State was discussed by him with President Eisenhower When his aeroplane stopped for refuelling in Alaska. The President, who had his own troubles (he was on his way to California to try to save that state for the Republicans in the November elections), did not think that Mr. Dulles should cancel his trip, and Mr. Dulles flew on to Formosa. Meanwhile, the situation in Cyprus, which Mr. Dulles is also believed to have discussed with Mr. Lloyd, grew no better. But while there was more violence in the island, and more hitches in the Preparations for the proposed round-table con- ference .under North Atlantic Treaty Organisation auspices, hopes of a solution for the problem of the island's future grew.

FOR THE FIRST TIME since 1907, a German Head of State paid a formal visit to Great Britain. Dr. Theodor Heuss, President of the Federal Republic, arrived in London for a State visit. His reception from the waiting crowds was polite rather than enthusiastic (as the West German press was quick to Point out), and the photographs of the President at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior and present- ing a cheque for £5,000 for the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral provoked some comment. The speeches at the various official functions the Presi- dent attended were tactful in the extreme, and Dr. Heuss, whose books were burned by the Nazis, and who has frequently spoken out boldly about German shame for German crimes, never put a foot wrong.

BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION an- nounced that its aeroplanes would start flying again immediately, and that the scheduled date for the start of the daily transatlantic Comet ser- vice (November 14) would with any luck be kept. The strike of maintenance engineers, which had stopped all the Corporation flights for eight clays, ended with both strikers and employers declaring that it had been settled on their terms. The Court of Inquiry, headed by Professor Jack. got down to the job of discovering what the strike had been about. At the same time there were echoes of an earlier dispute, when the Industrial thsputes Tribunal announced that it was recom- Mending an increase of 7s. per week for the provin- cial omnibus workers; the unions *dared them- selves 'moderately pleased' with the offer.

MR THE FIRST -TIME IN HISTORY, women were admitted to the House of Lords, when two of the now Life Peeresses were introduced. The male !tlembers of the House turned up in large num- °, ers, but there were no disorderly scenes. England °eat Russia 5-0 at football.