Similar care has been taken in referring to the Salisbury delegation. Honoring Britain's formal position that Bishop Muzorewa's administration is illegal, Mr. Fenn has referred to it as “Bishop Muzorewa's delegation,” without reference to the Government that it represents. But when he identified participants at a session with the Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, as “ministers,” Patriotic Front officials protested angrily that the designation constituted recognition of the regime. Mr. Fenn assured them politely that it did not.

Mr. Smith, here under indemnity from prosecution for his rebellion against Britain in 1965, when he declared Rhodesian independence from it, has been making the most of his first visit in 14 years. From his $230‐a‐day suite at the Carlton Tower Hotel in fashionable Belgravia, paid for by the British Government, but less sumptuous than Bishop Muzorewa's $730‐a‐day suite, also paid for by Britain, he has been making well‐publicized sorties to watch rugby at the famous Twickenham ground and to attend commemorations of the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Mr. Smith had a distinguished record as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot in World War II, serving in North Africa, Italy and Belgium. On Saturday he was a guest of Sir Douglas Bader, Britain's legless air ace, a strong advocate of the Salisbury Government's cause, at Battle of Britain dinner at an R.A.F. base outside London. On Sunday morning, he attended a commemorative service at Westminster Abbey, sitting 20 feet from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a section reserved for dignitaries.

At the Abbey, as elsewhere in his travels, Mr. Smith was applauded by onlookers and warmly greeted by old R.A.F. associates, several of whom offered encouragement for his cause. The warmth of the reception has been offset by occasional bands of demonstrators yelling “Murderers!” but Britain clearly has Mr. Smith charmed. In place of his derisory comments about the country in the past, he has been telling reporters that “things don't seem as bad as we hear in Salisbury.”

What prospects there are for agreement on a constitution depend heavily on whether Mr. Smith chooses to fight for the white “blocking mechanism” in the existing Salisbury charter, which gives the minority power to block constitutional change for at least 10 years. The British propose to eliminate the veto power, a position Bishop Muzorewa accepts, but Mr. Smith has maintained that the power is indispensable.

Some associates believe that his stand is a negotiating ploy. But if he sticks to his position he runs the risk of a schism within his Rhodesian Front party and a loss of support among the 230,000 whites generally. The secondranking white in the Muzorewa delegation, Finance Minister David Smith, has made no secret of his belief that the “paper guarantees” that Ian Smith himself used to deride are well worth surrendering for the prospect of an end to economic sanctions and British recognition.

Perhaps more important, representatives of the farming and business communities, in London to monitor the talks, have been lobbying behind the scenes for acceptance of the British proposals. The representatives, including Dennis Norman, president of the Rhodesian National Farmers’ Union, strong supporter of Mr. Smith in the past, have told Lord Carrington that they want an end to the war more than constitutional guarantees.