this newspaper which are critical of politicians who favour Independence are being written by a very small number of people and do not represent public feeling. That is an easy and rather cheap accusation given the confidentiality of this newspaper. It is also untrue. The letters are being written by a wide range of people, some very close to the United Bermuda Party.

The fact is that Independence talk came to Bermuda "out of the blue'' without a groundswell of support and is opposed by people from every area of Bermuda's life. We have seen that opposition publicly from such people as former UBP Cabinet Minister Mrs. Gloria McPhee; activist Dr. Eva Hodgson; the ruling party's former Whip Dr. David Dyer MP; and former UBP Deputy Premier Dr.

Clarence James.

The strong criticism arises because the United Bermuda Party was re-elected just over 18 months ago without a mention of Independence. The truth is that there is anger in the community. People feel betrayed by a political party which ran with a sensible "blueprint'' for Bermuda's future which never mentioned Independence and then suddenly raised Independence and did its best to divide Bermudians socially and racially.

We must remember that the leadership of the UBP which is advocating Independence and going to abusive lengths in doing so is acting against the wishes of most of the voters who supported the UBP at the last election. That behaviour is unique in a democracy.

The Cabinet works on the system of collective responsibility which means that the entire Cabinet takes responsibility for decisions, whether or not those decisions are unanimous. Yet on the subject of Independence there is a clear split in the Cabinet. Some clearly frightened Cabinet Ministers are even attempting to "sit on the fence'' and not even tell their constituents how they feel about Independence. That is also unique in a democracy where elected representatives who scoff at their supporters and refuse to come clean usually have a short political life.

With notable exceptions, very few people have spoken out strongly in favour of Independence. Pro-Independence letter writers are few and far between. Even the Premier's own political colleagues are strangely silent, leaving him to rely on Mr. Edgar Wilkinson. We say no more.

In reality, Bermuda is faced with a very odd situation where a few politicians are pushing for Independence against the wishes of the majority of the people.

When they are opposed, these politicians, instead of following the will of the people, choose to abuse their colleagues, their supporters, letter writers, the media...anybody. Speak at your peril, people...but remember this is a free country. Or is it? We are becoming very concerned about what these politicians might do when and if the Independence referendum goes against their wishes.

Given that, readers should expect more letters written under pseudonyms -- not fewer.