Independence for Bermuda would have solved the thorny problem of long-term residents, a Government Senator told the Upper House yesterday.

Sen Larry Scott said residents from overseas would have been given a straight choice -- become Bermudian or stick with their born nationality.

Sen. Scott added afterwards: "Had we dealt with Independence at the time, one of the proposals was, if we get Independence, people would be given the opportunity to become Bermudian or stay non-Bermudian.

But he pointed out that, if Independence had been chosen, "we wouldn't have to make a moral choice now.'' Earlier, the UBP Senator told colleagues that Bermuda had missed its chance to settle the problem in the 1995 Referendum on going it alone.

And he said the 20-year qualification for non-Bermudians was plucked out the air -- and probably too short.

Sen. Scott added that he had not fallen "hook, line and sinker'' for the moral argument that long-term residents were owed something. And he warned Senate: "As long as we continue to be apologetic about not wishing to offend, we do things like this rather than grasping the nettle, we will get problems like this.

"The fact is in Bermuda today the vast majority of non-black people must appreciate there is a black majority in this country.'' But he added many blacks -- while hoping things would be `done right... didn't feel things had been done right and fair.'' He said: "It's becoming in our nature, almost in our genes, to avoid this question.'' Sen. Scott insisted: "Until such time as we get some of our basic structures in place I'm not prepared to give away the heritage of those who are not prepared to protect their heritage.'' He added that Bermuda was "in a period of resentment'' and he did not want to see that "explode'' as it has done before.

And he said "until we have everything sorted out, we should leave it at the green card stage.'' Sen. Scott was speaking as the Upper House debated the Green Paper on long-term residents.

He told Senators that the UK had offered a refuge for some Hong Kong citizens prior to the handover to Communist China -- but that Britain allowed in people "with a big bank account.'' But he said to stay silent when the Country was damaging the birthright of born Bermudians "would be to abrogate responsibility.'' He added: "I am not so sure we could do so without making those who have a position of longevity here uncomfortable.'' And he said: "I tend to resent the long-term residents saying to me that we have a moral responsibility -- `I have been around here so long that you owe me something.' '' Sen. Scott said many black Bermudians had tales of hostile receptions clearing immigration in Canada and the UK -- but said he was not a `little Bermudian.' He added: "If the world in which I lived didn't look at me in that way, I would say to the people of the world who didn't look at me that way `come in, we're going to get along fine.'' Introducing the bill, UBP Sen. Yvette Swan said there were around 2000 people in the 20-year-plus category. And she added major problems included split families, where some children were Bermudian and others weren't and divorced parents, where there were children and one Bermudian partner and another without status.

She added -- while Bermudians who responded to consultation feared for their future and that of their children with an influx of foreigners -- a total of 35 per cent of respondents favoured one or more of the options in the Green Paper designed to make life easier.

And she added that even those who favoured full Bermudian status were mostly concerned with matters like job security and the right to buy property -- all of which could be addressed by other means short of status.

UBP Sen. Allan Marshall pointed out many of the 20-year residents were approaching the end of their working lives and could suffer the health problems of aging -- which would push up the cost of health care.

And he warned: "We need to have a very clear policy going forward to ensure we don't get another crop in another two years, five years or ten years.''