Portrait of the Week— tine. RIDGE AT LORD'S received most
attention, while he world continued to go unobtrusively to pieces n the background. There was a strike at Smith's Accessories, Crick lewood, for instance, which ended just too soon to affect the outpouring of more and more motor-cars toward sun-struck, body-clogged coasts. There were allegations that Communist influence was at work in the unofficial strike, and much indignant and not wholly con- vincing denial of this. In the same industry but at the other end of London, the Ford Motor Corn- Many told its Dagenham employees that it would be happy to start negotiating on their new wage claim as soon as something was done about the number of unofficial strikes from which the works tended to suffer. There was promptly an unofficial strike. its leaders denouncing the Ford statement
ultimatum, and the new Parliamentary Sec- retary to the Ministry of Labour, Mr. Alan Green. appointed in a minor Government reshuffle. found himself undergoing a vigorous baptism of fire on his first day in office, his Minister, Mr. John Hare, having flown off to Africa leaving him holding the tai -baby. But there was one ray of light through the industrial gloom with the result of the suit brought against the ballot-rigging leaders of the Electrical Trades Union, which resulted in judg- ment against the ballot-rigging leaders of the I leetrical Trades Union.
THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION for Northern Rhodesia finally saw the light of day, after the darkness of days had resulted in torrents of wildly inaccurate speculation. At first examination, the Plan seemed to be entirely incomprehensible, and was described by Mr. James Callaghan, Opposi- tion spokesman in the House of Commons, as a 'dog's breakfast.' Subsequent study, however, made it clear that the plan gave practically no chance of an African majority in the Legislative t ouncil, and a very good chance of a majority for Sir Roy WcIensky's United Federal Party. Sir Roy appeared to be well pleased and described the Plan as workable; Mr. Kenneth Kaunda seemed to be most displeased, and described ..it as a betrayal, calling as he did so for a general strike of Africang throughout the territory. The Governor, Sir Evelyn Hone, remarked a propos of nothing in particular, that there were sufficient forces available to the Government to ensure that law and order were maintained. Meanwhile, there was renewed talk of an African Federation of East Africa. President Tshombe of Kutanga was re- it:as:LI by the Congolese authorities who had held him prisoner for two months, and the British Government was finally persuaded to stop sending arms to the Portuguese in Angola but not from Sending arms to the Portuguese in Portugal for use in Angola.
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NERAL KASSEM, of Iraq; announced a week after the Sheikdom of Kuwait had finally been relieved of the last traces of dependence upon Britain, that Kuwait was, and for good measure always had been part of Iraq, adding that he appointed the Sheik as Governor. The Sheik declared that Kuwait was an independent State, not part of any country, and the attitude of the British Govern- ment could have been described as one of Kuwait and see.
LIFE IN WANDSWORTH PRISON having presumably proved trying in the hot weather, ten criminals left for parts unknown. Should any decide to go to the United States, a ruling by the Air Transport Licensing Board meant that they would from next Year have a wider choice of carriers, Cunard Eagle having been given permission to fly the Atlantic, Presumably on the grounds that their ships were about to become so hopelessly uneconomic that they needed eighteen million pounds' worth of largesse from the Government to build a floating white elephant that would be obsolete before the keel was laid, and Australia won the second Test Match.
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