problems. The high expectation some people have of Independence, and the thinking which promotes Independence as a panacea, may well damage Bermuda severely when expectations are not fulfilled because they are not realistic.

Some Bermudians seem to favour Independence simply because they are looking for change. Bermuda has had the same colonial status and the same United Bermuda Party Government for a long time. Those who strongly support the PLP have been frustrated in their search for victory for some 30 years. They want political change. The problem is that a vote against Independence at an election or at a more likely referendum, might cause them even greater frustration.

Then too Bermudians have to be aware that if we go independent the result is unlikely to produce the quick change some seem to expect. There are people who are going to be disappointed because they have taken to using Bermuda's lack of Independence as an excuse for their personal failures and will be unhappy when the failures turn out to be their own.

There also seem to be people who think that Independence will lead to a change of government or to better government. The former is by no means certain and the latter has not generally been the case in other countries.

We do not believe that a majority of Bermudians want Independence at this time nor do we think that any amount of public debate will change the picture very much. There is a vocal minority and there are leading politicians supporting Independence but we see little sign of a public move toward Independence.

Some Bermudians, largely white Bermudians, who are opposed to Independence, simply dislike change and some have a predisposition toward Britain and towards British thing and want to cling to "Mother''. They have to face the fact that today the Mother Country does not give a great deal of thought to Bermuda and that the day could come when "Mother'' pushes us out of the nest because Britain is no longer in the colony business.

It is unfair and clearly wrong for politicians to preach Independence as a certain solution to Bermuda's problems. They can preach Independence as much as they like but they should not distort the reality. If anything, Independence would be likely to increase some of our problems. Clearly it would complicate the travel we enjoy so much since there is every likelihood that a Bermuda passport would be largely unrecognised and we would require visas to go almost anywhere except the United States and Canada and, perhaps, the islands to our south. Independence would certainly increase taxes to support such things as overseas representation. It would complicate things for Bermudians wishing to live in other countries and might well lead to a more open policy of citizenship for non-Bermudians than we have now.

Those who oppose non-Bermudians working here should be made aware that before Independence day non-Bermudians who have been living here for a period would have to be given the choice to stay and become Bermudian. That's the way it has been in other British colonies going to Independence.

After Independence the same faces would be here, the same institutions, the same problems and the same politicians. They would not be any better or any worse than they are today but simply functioning under a new flag with a new national anthem. We would be the same tiny island in the same big world. The responsibilities and the costs would be greater. But we would still have a highly educated, well trained and resilient people who love their Country.

Bermuda is better equipped for success on its own than most countries have been. What we must do is make a decision calmly. We must not be swayed by emotions only or led astray by selfish interests or by politicians on the make. We must come to the best decision we can with the facts we have.