United Bermuda Party MP John Barritt's departure from what is now Appleby Spurling and Hunter is a sad day for public service in Bermuda.

Last summer, Mr. Barritt was told by his fellow partners that he had to make a choice between politics and his job.

He chose politics and gave up his presumably lucrative partnership, becoming instead a paid employee of the firm.

That in and of itself represented a sacrifice on his part but it now seems that the firm really wanted its pound of flesh and Mr. Barritt has resigned entirely.

That's too bad. It is worth remembering that a number of partners of that firm have served in politics, including the late Sir Dudley Spurling, the late Ernest Vesey, Rick Spurling, Jerome Dill and Mr. Barritt. Other lawyers from the firm have, and continue, to give public service in other ways.

That fits with the Bermuda tradition of public service, and historically, businesses have been understanding in large part because they recognise that if Bermuda is well run and well led, then everyone benefits. Certainly the partners of Appleby Spurling and Hunter have.

Presumably the employers of current Cabinet Ministers, including ACE Ltd., the Fairmont Hotels and MEF, the employers of Finance Minister Paula Cox, Public Affairs Minister Randy Horton and Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler, still feel that way.

It is regrettable that "Appleby" does not. While the firm is entitled to lay down the law for its partners and employees, it begs the question of how many other businesses will take the same line and how much that will hurt Bermuda in the end.

With all due respect to the current Members of the House of Assembly, it also begs the question of how many other capable Bermudians of all political persuasions have been prevented from serving the community.

Bermuda has traditionally expected its politicians to work part-time and that system has served the Island well for many years.

To be sure, some veteran Progressive Labour Party members will readily recall how some of their members had a hard time getting work after entering politics. Some UBP politicians have discovered much the same thing after the change of power in 1998.

Now the Government wishes to pay Cabinet Ministers a full time wage, and rightly so, because most Ministries are now full time jobs and more complex than they were 36 years ago when the Cabinet came into being in its current form.

Nonetheless, something will be lost when this happens. Ministers, with civil servants at their beck and call, official cars and all the other trappings of office, will have trouble staying in touch with the community and the ordinary stresses of day to day living.

It is much harder to make the case that backbench and Opposition MPs and Senators deserve full-time salaries.

And again, something would be lost if that were to happen. Having experience of the real world is the best possible credential for political life. And being able to see firsthand the effects of laws and policies and the real life impact of social issues and the like brings a quality to governance that full time politicians in ivory towers simply cannot have. They at least, will be able to keep their Cabinet colleagues grounded in something approaching reality.

But it does, inevitably, require that employers be understanding and supportive of careers in public life.

If they are not, then those who cannot afford to lose their jobs will reject politics and public life.

That will leave only the very rich ? who don't need the money and can hire other people to manage their businesses ? and the very poor ? who will see their politician's salary as free money ? able to enter politics.

And that combination will make for very poor governance indeed.