Frontier on the Zambezi We seem very close now to
a disastrous situa- tion in Rhodesia. While Zambia rolled smoothly towards her independence, Ian Smith was present- ing his charade of chiefs to an unimpressed world. It was inept of Mr. Wilson to issue his invitation/ summons to Mr. Smith at a moment when he must have known Mr. Smith could not leave Salisbury. It was inept too of Mr. Bottomley to lose his opportunity of confronting the Southern Rhodesian Government by insisting on conditions that had little relevance to the immediate explo- sive situation. But no exception can be taken to the British Government's firm statement of the consequences of treasonable action against the Crown. The Commander-in-Chief has gone. The Judges and the Governor remain. I make no apology for hammering away again at a point the Spectator has often made in recent months. This is not a problem which can just be dumped on the United Nations. If (perhaps now one should write 'when') a declaration of independence comes from Rhodesia the best hope of averting a bloody uprising rests with the British Government. Secondly, with the Commonwealth. The UN is a bad third.
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