NEWS SUMMARY.

FORMOSA AND.THE ISLANDS—Shortly before the weekend a controlled leak was sprung by top US military circles, who let it 1:e known that Communist China is expected to attack Quemoy and Matsu on. or soon after, April 15; and that the US is ready to light alongside Chiang in defence of them. This rumour came as a shock, because opinion lately (reflected in Richard Revere's article on another page) has been that the US is anxious to slide out of its commitments, if any, on the offshore islands. The climate suddenly changed : on Sunday the New York Herald Tribune was able to assert that a preventive war with China would be welcomed by the President's military advisers as a calculated risk. By midweek, however, the rumour began to sag; President Eisenhower himself is said to deplore it; and it looks as if it may only have been calculated kite-flying by the preventive war- riors. The New York Times is urging that the US should fall back on Formosa; Mr. Alistair Cooke reports that some of the staunchest of the President's supporters are beginning to jib; and the Democrats are drawing breath to denounce warmonger- ing, getting as near as they can to a peace policy without calling it a peace policy.

THE PARIS AGREEMENTS—After a series of impressive interventions by M. Faure, the French Senate finally agreed early on Sunday morning to ratify the Paris agreements with- out referring them back to the Lower House. The most effective speech against ratification came from M. Pinchard (Independent Republican) who recalled his own deportation to Germany during the war, but the House was visibly swayed by M. Faure's declaration that, if no decision were taken, he would not go to inform the Atlantic Treaty powers of this addi- tional delay. Dr. Adenauer, the German Chancellor, has Welcomed the French ratification as a prelude to better Franco-German relations, but the German Social Democrats, on the other hand, have continued to declare their unwavering oppo- sition to the Paris agreements as representing a major obstacle to both four-power talks and German reunification. A petition has been presented to President Heuss denouncing the agreement on the Saar as unconstitutional, and this question will have to be decided by the German constitutional court. A good deal of bitterness is present in German reactions to this solution of the Saar question, though the coming visit of M. Pinay, the French Foreign Minister, to Bonn may do something to smooth matters over. diplomatic activity began on a grand scale. Hopes of sonic speedy action were raised by the Soviet Prime Minister's assurance over the weekend, and before the result in the French Senate was known, that he would take 'a positive attitude' towards the ques- tion of a conference of the great Powers to lessen world tensions. M. Pinay, the French Foreign Secretary, has said that this con- ference might take place as early as June. A spokesman of the American State Department welcomed Marshal Bulganin's state- ment 'as a sign that the Soviet Government is receptive to Presi- dent Eisenhower's views concerning the circumstances which could make it useful to hold future discussions.' On the following day he agreed that the Western Powers were having 'quite active consultations' about the prospects of a conference, and he let it be known that the Federal German Republic would be included 'in some phase' of the deliberations. In the House of Commons Sir Anthony Eden has announced that the British Government would propose meetings 'maybe in the first instance at the official level, and then at Foreign Ministers' level, and then probably at other levels also if all goes well.' But Sir Winston Churchill, answering a question in the Commons on Tuesday, favoured the reverse order—he still thought that 'a top-level meeting without agenda' might be 'helpful.' On the following day President Eisenhower, at his weekly press conference, made it clear that he did not favour the idea of 'broad talks' of this type, as they would amount to no more than a 'get-together.' .

DISARMAMENT—The cloak of secrecy with which the UN General Assembly tried to clothe the London Disarmament talks has now been thrown off—even trampled on. M. Gromyko, who has since explained that he was 'only taking advantage of his right to correct tendentious and inspired reports in the Western Press' gave his version of the proceedings; the French and British Governments have found it necessary to give their versions, to correct his tendentiousness. What emerges is that the Western Powers have now for the first time proposed fixed ceilings on forces' manpower, instead of simple (hut unqualified) 'major reductions.' The Soviet Union merely reiterated their old demand for a flat one-third reduction of arm!d forces by everybody all round. On the details of how this is to be accomplished they are evasive. However, the talks continue.

AUSTRIAN TREATY—The question of an Austrian Treaty was reopened on Thursday when a Soviet invitation to Herr Raab, the Austrian Chancellor, to go to Moscow for talks was delivered in Vienna. Five days later, after long consultations between Herr Raab, his Cabinet and the Ambassadors in London, Washington and Paris, it was announced in Vienna that the invitation had been accepted. Herr Raab's object is to secure a clarification of the two guarantees on which the Soviet Union is insisting: first, that there should be no possibility of another Anschhiss, and, secondly, that Austria should be neutralised and never join any military alliance against 'any Power that took part with its armed forces against' Hitlerite Germany.' Herr Raab made it clear on Tuesday that he had no intention of committing himself to any such conditions without consulting the Western Powers and he is now busy doing the rounds of his ambassadors again, to give fresh reassurances. The Russians, in the meanwhile, are demon- strating their reserves of goodwill by returning several hundred pictures that the Soviet army had liberated from the Dresden Gallery, including the Sistine Madonna and Rubens' Judgement of Paris. This is announced as a reward to the East German Government for good behaviour; while the West German Government, whose behaviour has been less exemplary, is rewarded with the threat of a toll increase of up to 2,500 per cent. on some classes of road traffic to Berlin through the Soviet Zone.

PAKISTAN—Mr. Ghulam Mahommed, the Governor-General of Pakistan, has dealt firmly, not to say brutally, with the constitu- tional crisis. As predicted in these columns last week, he has taken up his emergency powers and validated thirty-five of the laws previously passed without his assent by the Constituent Assembly, carefully omitting those granting the Prerogative Writs, whereby his opponents have sought and would again seek to convince the Courts of their wrongful imprisonment or expulsion from office. He has gone further than this, however, by announcing that the new Constitution—and also some far-reaching reforms—is to be inaugurated, not by a re-formed Assembly, but by his own Ministry. Nothing is said about immediate elections. This apparently contradicts the assurances given in his proclamation dissolving the Assembly, and repeated in Court a fortnight ago.

SAIGON BOMBSHELL—The expiry of the ultimatum pre- sented by the leaders of the dissident 'sects' in Viet Nam has been celebrated by their armed forces with a bombardment of parts of Saigon, including the Primo Minister's palace. The Prime Minister's lack of support in Southern Viet Nam has not so far allowed him to retaliate effectively; he is hoping that the antagon- isms between the sects themselves will soon save him the trouble. The French, too, are keeping discreetly in the background, though attractive Parisian girls are reported to be showing greater courage in the local ambulance brigades than most of the soldiery.

ONE ACT OF AGGRESSION—Last week the Egyptian Em- bassy challenged us to name 'one act of aggression . . . similar to those planned, organised and executed by the Israeli military forces.' On the night the challenge was published, Egyptian marau- ders attacked a wedding party in the Israel village of Patish with hand-grenades and rifles, killing one member of the congregation and wounding nineteen others, including women and children. The Israeli Embassy has since issued a list of twenty-five decisions of the Israel-Egyptian Mixed Armistice Commission on border violations during the past seven months; all of them condemn Egypt. Commenting upon them, Major-General Burns, Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organisation, laid the blame on the Egyptian authorities: `Persons committing murders and sabotage were being inspired, paid and equipped by political elements in Egypt desirous of aggravating the border situation.' Nevertheless, it was Israel who, on balance, came out worst in the week's assessment. The United Nations denounced her for the Gaza incident—which, incidentally, the Egyptians have put into illustrated form for propaganda purposes, with a dagger dripping blood on the cover. Whereas Egypt's acts of aggression have been haphazard, Gaza, the UN asserts, was obviously a carefully planned military operation. A further blow to Israel has been the adhesion of Britain to the Iraq-Turkey pact. Israel's fear is that Britain will be increasingly tempted to lean towards the Arab side, in the hope of smoothing down the tensions that threaten Middle East defence arrangements. It is also now clear that the Gaza incident greatly strengthened Egypt's influence with Saudi Arabia and Syria; only Jordan remains sitting on the fence. CAVALRY CHARGE IN BRUSSELS—' . . . Two young lads were being relieved of the revolvers they had concealed* beneath their coats; elsewhere truncheons and even potatoes spiked with razor blades were being confiscated.' Le Monde's correspondent vividly related the state of siege in Brussels, where the Catholics were demonstrating their anger with the Govern- ment for its proposal to cut the subsidies to Catholic schools, and where Socialists were counter-demonstrating their anger with the

Catholics. The Belgian Minister of the Interior pooh-poohed scare reports: at the weekend he announced firmly 'there is no emergency in Belgium !' But he admitted that the police had been authorised to take all necessary measures to enforce his ban on public gatherings in the street. The measures were old-fashioned. Some demonstrators who had the hardihood to defy his ban.

by gathering publicly at the end of the tunnel which forms the exit to the Botanical Gardens, were charged 'at a leisurely trot' by a platoon of cavalry with sabres drawn. 'In this atomic age,' Le Monde comments, 'it is comforting to see a Socialist govern- ment keep the most modern form of repression for really grave situations, and against rioters use only the cavalry of l'Ancien Regime.'

NATIONALIST CHALLENGE—The relative quiet of the South African scene was broken by the announcement that the Nationalist Government intends to enlarge the Court of Appeal by the appointment of five new judges. The importance of the proposed step is that the Court of Appeal has hitherto ruled that Parliament cannot remove the Cape Coloured voters to an apartheid roll except by a two-thirds majority. The intention of the altered composition of the COurt is clearly to remove the last protection, which the Constitution now provides, of the entrenched

clauses. In other words, not only the removal of the Cape Coloured voters to an apartheid roll, but also the declaration of a Republic, would become possible by a simple majority decision of Parliament. It is the most serious challenge which the Nationalists in South Africa have yet offered to the Opposition, and although the relative quiet continues, a crisis is imminent.

MR. BEVAN—The meeting of the National Executive Com- mittee of the Labour Party on Wednesday, which is discussed in Mr. Fairlie's Political Commentary, passed this resolution ;

'That the National Executive Committee, having considered the report of the Parliamentary Party on the withdrawal of the Whip from Mr. Aneurin Bevan,

(a) is satisfied that the decision of the Parliamentary Labour Party to withdraw the Whip from Mr. Bevan was fully justified; (b) whilst noting the assurances given by Mr. Bevan in his statement to the Special Sub-Committee of the Executive on March 29, 1955, warns that it will take drastic action against future violations of party discipline; and (c) expresses the hope that all sections of the movement will now unite in a determined endeavour to secure the return of a Labour Government at the general election.'

THE QUESTION OF SIR WINSTON — One entertainment

of which we were deprived this week was the daily struggle of political correspondents to keep abreast with all the rumours about Sir Winston Churchill's impending retirement and the date'

of the election. At the time of writing, the imminence of the Prime Minister's retirement has not been informally denied by those who would be likely to do so if there were no truth in the story.

The date which is still suggested is between April 4 and April 7, which is the same as it was before the strike started. By the middle of this week, 'opinion' in 'political circles' seemed to have fastened on May,26 as the probable date of the general election. But upon what foundation this 'opinion' rested was as obscure as ever.

Anyhow, the Prime Minister may decide that it would be in-

considerate to leave his post at a time when there arc no news- papers to publish the tributes which are waiting to be dispatched

in every capital of the world. It will be sad if they are unable to ELECTIONS IN LONDON—The LCC governs as many people as do some states, yet the triennial London elections rouse little interest. Three years ago only 42.3 per cent. of the electors troubled to vote. The closing stages of this year's campaign have coincided with the newspaper strike, and Londoners have been deprived of the usual exhortation which is made to them in the leader columns of London's evening newspapers. But if the vote is smaller this year than ever, it cannot be blamed or the strike, for even before last Friday party workers in the 126 seats were commenting on the even greater apathy than usual. By all accounts the campaign has been taking its usual course, the loyalists of the two parties keeping to their chosen ways, the rest not bothering.

DOCKERS—When a feeble attempt was made in Manchester to discriminate against members of the National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers Union, the NASD reacted promptly with a strike—and the Dock Labour Board had to give way ungrace- fully. Significantly, members of the Transport and General Workers Union came out too: so did dockers from other Mer- seyside ports. Naturally the NASD, a 'blue' union fighting for recognition, is delighted with itself; it was able to boast of a 'brilliant victory.' Local NASD leaders even contemplated stay- ing out a little longer, after the victory was won, to see if there might be some more pickings. Eventually a truce was patched up: but it is unlikely to last for long.

LLOYD GEORGE MEMORIAL—On Monday the proposal to erect a monument to David Lloyd George was agreed by the House of Commons without a dissenting voice or vote. The leaders of the three parties all spoke with genuine feeling in sup- port of it, but it was only Sir Winston Churchill who could call on the memories of those days, almost fifty years ago, when he and Lloyd George were the irrepressible leaders of the Liberal Party's radical wing. Some of the Prime Minister's phrases about his old friend deserve to be recorded. On his struggle for social security: 'Pity and compassion lent their powerful wings.' On his war leadership: 'Although by repute a pugnacious pacifist . .. he rallied to the war effort and . . . imparted immediately a new surge. of strength.' And generally: 'He stood when at his zenith without a rival.'

RIVERRUN—Rivers began to flow around and' over bridges in Worcestershire at the weekend. Flood waters marooned a bus on one of them near Knightswick; the seven people in it spent a wakeful night watching three feet of water swirling round them, and speculatino how long the bus would float if it were swept downstream. With the help of lorries, troops, and a couple of fire engines they were rescued loon after dawn, to be rallied by the villagers with cups of tea.

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD—The funer'al of the Ministry of Food caused little mourning; but the Labour Party was able to make some fuss about the fact that the corpse's executor is to be the Ministry of Agriculture. Can a single ministry hope to recon- cile the divergent views of producers, clamouring for higher prices, and consumers, begging for prices to be reduced? The Minister, pay tribute, too, to Lady Churchill, celebrating her 70th birthday this week; perhaps we may be permitted to speak for therii? Mr. Heathcoat-Amory, waved their fears away: both ministries, he insisted, had been concerned in 'devising and administering policies in the interests of the consumer.'

SPORT—Saturday's sport in retrospect seems like a parody of 'The Ballad of the Jubilee Cup,' with the Boat Race, the Grand National, the Cup semi-finals, the last game of the international rugby season, and other contests treading on each other's heels in the queue for radio time. The Boat Race is unlikely to be remembered, least of all by Oxford; but to judge by John Snagge's unrehearsed announcements before it began, it came close to being remembered as 'the race when the radio launch went berserk.' A commentary by people on the other launches which it was bumping and boring would have been interesting. Still, perhaps it was fortunate that they were inaudible. Considering that Aintree was almost as waterlogged as the Tideway, the 'National' commentators did an impeccable job. Anybody who had his money on Quare Times, apart from the satisfaction of the discovery that he was on to a classic ('Why fear?'), was never left for long in that agonising doubt that leaves backers wondering, during so many commentaries, whether their horse has fallen back, or simply fallen. On, then, to the match at the Stade Colombes, where even the most fervid of Welshmen might have been sorry to see his country win, and prevent Jean Prat and his men from winning for France the outright championship for the first time.

KINGSLEY AMIS—Mr. Amis, the author of Lucky Jim. and a reviewer well known to readers of the Spectator, has been awarded the Somerset Maugham Prize.