highlight its handling of the recession yesterday.

"I did not put Mr. (Gilbert) Darrell up to this,'' said Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul as he began to deliver a 16-page speech tracing the United Bermuda Party's economic track record since 1989.

"We can actually stand on our record and look back,'' despite the worst recession in 50 years, Dr. Saul said.

The Island was still in "recessionary aftershock,'' he said. "It took us two and a half years to get into it and it will take us probably a year from now to get out of it.'' But Shadow Finance Minister Mr. Eugene Cox accused Government of using the NLP leader's motion to "grandstand'' to the people of Bermuda.

Mr. Darrell, who last month gave notice of his motion to "take note of the present state of Bermuda's economy,'' led off the debate by comparing a recession first to a hurricane, then to a bicycle.

Like a hurricane, it was how the aftermath was handled that was most important.

And like riding a bicycle, it was much more difficult to stand still or go backwards than go forward, Mr. Darrell told the House.

"I think in the last ten years we've gone too fast too far.'' Pointing to figures from the recent census, Mr. Darrell said while figures for the middle class were comparable, there was a higher proportion of blacks than whites with below-average incomes, and a higher proportion of whites than blacks with above-average earnings.

Touching on tourism figures, he said the number of visitors really did not matter as much as the lengths of stay.

International business had grown and was contributing as much to the economy as tourism, Mr. Darrell said.

Government accountability, wages, labour, inflation, unemployment, tax policy, overseas purchasing, and the real estate market all contribute to the state of the economy, Mr. Darrell said.

He wanted changes in the budget debate to give more details and said quangos were helping to hide needed financial information.

While even the Bank of Bermuda cut jobs in 1992, Government did not make cuts in over-all numbers, he said.

Wage and salary settlements were continuing to run ahead of inflation. On overseas purchasing, "maybe we'll just end up being a bedroom community to the Eastern Seaboard (of the US) if things did not change, he said. The cost of televisions and other items was prohibitive in Bermuda relative to America, and the Island should consider moving to a value added tax.

Because of the high proportion of imports, Government had no control over inflation. Dr. Saul said he initially found Mr. Darrell's motion "somewhat perplexing,'' but considered it "an excellent opportunity to explain where we are.'' "I challenge any member of this House to identify any other country, big or small, that has handled the recession better than the United Bermuda Party Government has handled the recession in this little Island home of ours,'' Dr.

Saul said.

In 1989, Government began laying out an economic plan for Bermuda, he said. An important and "painless'' step to address the balance of payments problem was reducing to $3,000 from $5,000 the amount of foreign currency Bermudians were allowed to take on trips abroad.

In Government's 1990 budget, everyone shared the pain, and a march on the Cabinet Building was due to high emotions that day after a scheduled hanging was commuted, he said. "When the hanging was commuted, everyone still had high emotions, and they reacted to the budget,'' he said.

The next three budgets controlled Government spending and growth in the public sector, ensured a prudent capital development plan, and strengthened borrowing powers to assure long-term stability, he said.

A committee of key ministers was established to make sure limited resources were used to provide a safety net for those most affected while ensuring a high standard of Government service, he said.

There were also talks with the private sector aimed at minimising disruption, and the banks helped the hard-hit construction sector by deciding to proceed with major building projects during the recession.

Additional Government work projects were created, and seminars and training courses were organised to help the unemployed.

Despite falling revenues, spending on social assistance increased by millions, he said.

Government also took steps to help the international business sector, and passage of the Trust Companies Act 1991 has led to more than 25 licences being issued on the Island, 20 of them to Bermudians.

"We are now out of the actual nadir of the recession and moving forward,'' he said. "In short, the worst is over.'' Dr. Saul added that the despite being in "the teeth of a recession'' Government has kept tax increases low, expenditure under control and balanced the budget.

He said: "The present state of the economy is not something this Government is ashamed of. It is quite sound. If there was a Bermuda Inc., it would be a sound investment.

"Throughout the entire recessionary period the UBP Government has managed the economy without resorting to high levels of borrowing thus avoiding the the prop which has ruined so many other economies, large and small.

Announcing a number of figures showing improvements the Minister said that things were clearly looking up.

He said: "The benefits of having local inflation below the US rate cannot be over-emphasised -- it makes Bermuda competitive and has no doubt been a factor in the rise in tourist arrivals.'' Bermuda's avoidance of high levels of debt are the envy of many small countries according to Dr. Saul.

For the future Dr. Saul said: "We will continue to be optimistic but proceed with caution.

"By calling on the collective brains of the Government, civil service, the business community and interested and experienced residents, young and old, Bermudian and non-Bermudian, we will devise and implement a host of economic and financial plans designed specifically to ensure that the quality of life of all our residents is served.'' Shadow Minister Mr. Cox accused the Minister of talking "ad infinitum'' so that his story could not be challenged.

He said: "Mr. Darrell has set up a scenario for the Government to parade a lot of relative grandstanding to the people of Bermuda.'' But he said it had been a case of "For Whom The Bell Tolls'' for many people on the Island.

He said: "It has tolled for the people of Bermuda, particularly the unemployed, people who have been laid off in the hotel and construction industries and people who have had their mortgages foreclosed.

"Small businesses have folded or been eaten by bigger business which means there are certain areas where there are just monopolies.'' Mr. Cox attacked the cuts in the Police force in the last budget, saying that crime was on the increase as was the drug scene.

Mr. Cox said that the UBP Government could not take any credit for the economic position in Bermuda. He said: "Bermuda is geographically blessed there has been no economic planning to do really. And when there has been any planning, like the Civil Air Terminal and the incinerator, the Government has failed.

Despite a number of increases the Opposition finance spokesman said that employment income was down and he again hit out at Government for not starting retraining programmes.

Mr. Cox pointed out that instead of encouraging training the Government had in fact closed down two training schools which were vital to Bermudians getting jobs.

And he also criticised the fact that many hotel and restaurant workers had been imported to do jobs that Bermudians could do.

He said: "The comments from the Government benches seem to indicate that they want to open the floodgates and let everybody in. I hope that kind of thing will not be done again.

"Bermuda should not have a compulsory retirement age when we bring in 25 percent of our workers. We should use the people.'' Turning to debt, he said that the Government appeared to think that it was a dirty word. He said: "We treat education as an investment and it is worth going into debt to pay for it. Sure we should borrow for an investment in education in one way that is our only natural resource.'' Tourism Minister the Hon. Jim Woolridge claimed that Mr. Cox had oversimplified the effects of the recession on Bermuda and the world.

The remainder of the debate will be carried in Monday's newspaper.