April 7, 1981

The Soviet Union is coercing the Polish people with ''an invasion by osmosis,'' Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger said today as he continued a running commentary on Moscow's threat to Poland. By osmosis, Mr. Weinberger said, he meant ''a gradual filtering in'' of forces and supplies that would be an addition to the two Soviet divisions that have long been in Poland. He said that the level of activity, which has included numerous aircraft flights from the Soviet Union to Poland, seemed to be the same as yesterday. Mr. Weinberger arrived in Bonn this afternoon after touring British and United States air bases in Britain. He is here to attend a meeting of defense ministers of the North Atlantic alliance that is scheduled to open tomorrow.

The five major industrial consortiums that stand poised to begin mining strategic minerals from the world's oceans see President Reagan's recent decision to review the draft treaty on the Law of the Sea, rather than immediately ratifying it, as a major victory for their interests. But the mining groups conceded that the decision, which opens the door to renegotiation of provisions of the treaty, could mean that no accord would be reached. Negotiations on a Law of the Sea pact began in 1973. Without a treaty, industry officials said, it was unlikely that any company would go ahead with seabed mining because of the prohibitive costs and the potential for conflicting claims to the minerals. Despite those risks, most industry leaders said that they welcomed a chance to make some substantive changes in the draft proposal to protect their investments. Mining company officials estimate the capital investment and technological development costs of each mining operation at more than $1 billion. The companies are seeking to harvest rich nodules of manganese, cobalt and nickel, strategic minerals that are found on land in only a few areas.

Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. assailed Syria today for ''the brutality'' of its attacks on the Lebanese Christian stronghold of Zahle and said that Syria's actions were unaccertable ''by any measure of appropriate international standards.'' After several days of behind-the-scenes efforts to produce a lasting cease-fire in Lebanon, Mr. Haig and his top aides are now expressing apprehension that a full-scale civil war, perhaps involving outside forces from Israel, might engulf Lebanon. A senior aide to Secretary Haig told reporters here, soon after Mr. Haig arrived from Israel, that ''we are right on the brink of a major outbreak of hostilities in and around Beirut.'' Final Meeting Held With Begin This morning in Jerusalem, after his final meeting with Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Mr. Haig said that he had virtually no disagreements with Mr. Begin on the need to prevent further indiscriminate shelling of Christian areas in Lebanon, particularly around the city of Zahle, about 30 miles east of Beirut.

The Reagan Administration today proposed easing or eliminating 35 air quality or safety regulations as part of a program to help the domestic auto industry, now fighting to preserve its competitive position against Japanese imports. ''The industry must solve its own problems, but the Government must not unnecessarily hamper its efforts through excessive regulation and interference,'' the White House said in a statement issued under President Reagan's name as the Cabinet-level auto task force recommended domestic actions to assist the auto industry. The task force had considered both tax and import relief as well but took no specific actions in these areas because of disagreements. The announcement was immediately hailed by the auto industry.

1, as the space shuttle's maiden flight is officially called, is to get the Columbia into orbit and back to a safe landing on Earth. If the astronauts John W. Young and Capt. Robert L. Crippen manage to accomplish more than that, possibly the completion of 36 scheduled orbits, space agency officials will consider it a bonus. The hope is that when the Columbia rises from its launching pad here Friday morning, as plans now stand, it will stay up for an orbital voyage lasting 54 1/2 hours. But nothing is certain. If trouble develops before the launching, the astronauts might have to leave their cockpit before their craft even gets off the ground, sliding like trapeze artists down an escape wire to a parked military personnel carrier. With a lot of luck, they would then drive to safety.