— Portrait of the Week —
MR. MAUDLIN() CONFOUNDED the pundits in his first Budget: no betting tax, no cuts in the in- come tax and no abolition of fuel oil tax. Never- theless, he provided sweeping tax allowances, major incentives to industry, and the end of Schedule 'A.' Dr. Beeching's plans had a far more comfortable ride than expected. The ASLEF Secretary who first backed the scheme had to eat his words, and announced he was retiring in June. Tile NUR seemed likely to present the country With another short strike, and the National Coal Board murmured that the freight plans might Just transfer the huge losses from the railways to the coal industry. Some Tory backbenchers growled: but Sir James Pitman, MP, spoke out bravely in favour—and casually announced that he was going to retire anyway at the next elec- tion. In the latest by-elections, the Conservative candidate at Rotherham-saved his deposit, but the Swansea East candidate secured only 7 per cent of the vote. The Liberals hinted at a pensions scheme. and Labour actually produced a pensions scheme. Britain's balance of payments went up, as did gold reserves (because Britain had to bolster up her own reserves).
THE CENTRAL AFRICAN FEDERATION broke up in splinters, after the Northern Rhodesians, Mr. Kaunda and Mr. Nkumbula, walked out on Mr. Butler: Sir Roy Welensky came to London to discuss his future, only to find that he has no future, and stormed back to Salisbury murmuring 'betrayal': he was greeted there by the largest welcoming party ever seen—almost all federal Civil servants given the day off to cheer him. Mr. Wilson annoyed the Daily Mail intensely by telling President Kennedy that his views on Britain's defence chaos differed from Mr. Mac- Milian's- Mr. Wilson also outlined plans for an international credit fund, an idea that was re- ceived in Washington enthusiastically (the L,Guardian), not enthusiastically (Daily Telegraph). .neanwhile Mao Tse-tung was invited to visit Moscow, and M. Bidault invited to leave Lisbon. The Soviet poet Yevtushenko claimed all he said W5 a mistake, thoughts echoed by the Kennedy clministration when it retracted yet another dip- !omatic bloomer towards Canada, all of which riaVe helped only to bolster Mr. Diefenbaker's e,lection chances. The Six cut their foreign tariffs ".DY 20 per cent, and President Kennedy cut his Rt °reiso aid by 10 per cent. There were more _ ussian moon shots, more French strikes, more I-'5n American revolutions, and more footling raids on Cuba—one stopped by police from the }3ahamas.
LORDS REFORM was promised pOst haste, just as Lord Mansfield (an hereditary peer) spoke out in I,a.v.our of the return of the treadmill in prisons.
Enahoro continued to perplex the British Government and to enrage the Nigerian Govern-
m. .ent, and there were hints that Mr. Macmillan _will not make his promised statement until after Easter. The NUT decided to put up a parliamen- tary candidate against Sir Edward Boyle, and Withdrew its invitation to him to attend its next ,..nference. There were hints that Army recruit- ing is not going as well as expected, that Tory 1:4,.,rty funds are suffering similar strain, that thatt-lAC losses will be £14 million again this year, councillors in London may be paid, and that 1-Trise. E busmen will accept a 'no-strings' ten shillings Miss CHRISTINE KEELER turned up at last at the Old Bailey and was estreated for f40—apparently she loses that amount. Those more serious c°rnies, the Goons, teamed up once more to record a new series for the BBC, the Archbishop of Canterbury was rude to the Bishop of Wool- wich's new book, and Mr. Heath was awarded the C. harlernagne Prize for 1963: President de Gaulle _nas still not been awarded it in spite of his ‘-;arolingian name and nature.
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