"shallow'' last night by a Government backbencher.

Dr. David Dyer said the refusal of Ministers to reveal Cabinet discussions hampered the Commission of Inquiry.

And he said it was incorrect for Cabinet Secretary Mr. Leopold Mills to be singled out for blame.

Last night, however, Premier David Saul applauded the Commission's report, which ruled out political interference in the near cancellation of the summer referendum because of Hurricane Felix.

Dr. Saul believed the report to Governor Lord Waddington would finally lay to rest claims of political intrigue. "Justice was seen to be done,'' he declared.

The man who was Premier at the time of the controversy, Sir John Swan, also defended the report -- and Mr. Mills.

"Mr. Mills is a man of tremendous integrity and principle. He is a man of God and is guided by Christian principles.'' Sir John believed the report had shown he had acted within the law during the referendum controversy.

"Nobody can accuse me of acting otherwise.'' Minister of Information John Barritt said: "I am prepared to accept the Commissioners' findings. I haven't read the report in any detail, but I am not surprised by the outcome given the evidence produced at the hearings.'' Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade, meanwhile, voiced anger at not receiving a copy of the report.

As someone who had called for an inquiry, he believed the Governor's office should have sent him one.

"Nobody had the courtesy to send me a copy,'' he said.

The Commission's report to Lord Waddington was released on Friday.

It had examined the postponement of the referendum from August 15 this year to the following day.

While ruling out political interference, it found Cabinet Secretary Mr.

Leopold Mills and his senior civil service advisers did not give proper priority to holding the referendum "on the date fixed by law.'' Felix brushed with Bermuda at about 10 p.m. on August 14 -- 12 hours before Bermudians were to go to the polls to decide whether to slash ties with Britain.

Strong winds downed lines, leaving about a third of the Island without power, and the Causeway was impassable for a time.

Early on the morning of the 15th, Mr. Mills emerged from a meeting of the Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) and made a radio announcement.

This, said the Commission, left Bermudians with the impression the vote was off that day.

Only after Lord Waddington intervened were returning officers sent out to open polling stations and adjourn voting until the next day. Otherwise, Parliament would have had to be reconvened to fix a new date.

The Commission found that, apart from St. George's and St. David's, returning officers could have reached all polling stations at 8 a.m. on August 15.

And it claimed Mr. Mills laboured under legal misconceptions, such as the view that "all polling stations should open at the same time or none could open.'' The report stated that once returning officers were sent out to open and close the polls, the delay in making a public announcement until after a 5.30 p.m.

Cabinet meeting ended "predictably magnified the suspicions that something devious was afoot''.

Some Independence opponents, including Government backbenchers Mrs. Ann Cartwright DeCouto and Mr. Trevor Moniz, suspected there was a political attempt to have the referendum delayed as it was known Sir John preferred a December date.

But the Commission, which was forbidden by rules of confidentiality to hear what was said at the Cabinet meeting, disputed this.

Even if there was a bid to put the vote off until Christmas, "the fact that it did not succeed proves that the system had worked,'' the report stated.

Dr. Dyer, who argued against Independence during the summer referendum saga, said he was not surprised by the report's findings.

"I haven't read it in its entirety, but I think it was impossible for the Commissioners to reach any other conclusion, because if you can't ask certain questions because of Cabinet confidentiality it prevents a complete airing of the issue, or an in-depth analysis of it.'' Dr. Dyer believed the rules of Cabinet secrecy could have been lifted for the inquiry.

He said such confidentiality, for instance, had been removed in Britain during the "arms to Iraq'' inquiry.

There was an open investigation into allegations that the UK Government breached an arms embargo by selling weapons to Iraq, and this resulted in a document which everybody could understand, he claimed.

"Here we have a situation where Mr. Leopold Mills seems to be depicted as the guy to blame, someone who had mucked things up.

"But I don't think that's a true or correct analysis. The Commissioners seemed reluctant during the inquiry to ask questions unless you gave a statement to them.

"They made no effort to summon people to appear and carry out a complete role of a Commission of Inquiry, which does have judicial powers.

"I don't think the Commissioners pushed to any great degree to insist that answers could be given.

"I think the report would have been more complete if they had done so. What we have is a shallow report, which was based on available evidence.'' Dr. Saul, however, said he did not believe the Commissioner could have gone much further in depth.

"The outcome was what I expected. I had read all the facts and, hence, the result is exactly as I predicted.'' Dr. Saul said he would discuss the report with his Cabinet colleagues and consider the recommendations -- two of them being a new Referendum Act and amendments to the Parliamentary Election Act to provide for an "act of God''.

In addition, the report called for it to be made clear that future EMO recommendations for the public to stay home did not apply to emergency workers.

Sir John said the report proved he had acted in accordance with the Bermuda Constitution and the law while Premier at the time of the referendum controversy.

"I was there as Premier to do a job, as per the laws and the Constitution.

Nobody can accuse me of acting otherwise. I have always acted by strong principles and never had any intention to veer from them.''