7 JANUARY 1955, Page 19

IN A DESPATCH published in Wednesday's Times, its correspon- dent

in Panama City referred to the 'general belief' that the gunman who shot President Remon 'operated with an effici- ency not to be looked for in a Panamanian assassin.' Were I a native of Panama my first reaction on reading these words would be one of indignation; but by the time I had sat down to write a letter to the Editor protesting that he had cast a slur on my country's reputation I should realise that I was in much the same sort of quandary as a man who is asked whether he has stopped beating his wife. It sounds awfully rude to suggest that a nation is incapable of producing competent assassins, but it is the sort of insult that simply has to be taken lying down. •• •