Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness left no doubt how he will vote in a referendum planned for this summer, as an Independence debate began yesterday in the House of Assembly.

Mr. Edness said there would be no stopping the progress of an Independent Bermuda.

But the Opposition generally mocked Government Ministers for the United Bermuda Party's Independence dilemma. Depending on who was talking, the UBP opposed Independence, had no position, or was trying to sell the Country on something it once warned Bermudians away from, Progressive Labour Party spokesmen said.

A "take note'' debate on Government's Green Paper on Independence wrapped up at about 8 p.m. last night and is to resume on Monday morning. The debate could continue into Wednesday before MPs convene again on Friday to debate the contentious Independence Referendum Act 1995.

Only nine of 39 MPs were heard from yesterday.

The Green Paper is a Cabinet discussion paper to lay out the pros and cons of Independence. Prepared by a committee chaired by Deputy Premier the Hon.

Irving Pearman, it says Independence should cost between $800,000 and $2.3 million a year and cause no loss of confidence in the Island.

While Cabinet Ministers like Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess and Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul said the Green Paper debate was not the time to state their own views on the issue, Mr. Edness was clear on his stance.

He noted that Bermuda had made huge strides since it won its own Constitution and Cabinet Government in 1968. "Who can have any doubt of what we can do once we get rid of colonialism?'' he said.

"I think we're going to make progress by leaps and bounds for the people of this Country. We won't have to go hat in hand to Great Britain if we want to have any kind of treaty.'' As for the hope of the right to live and work in the United Kingdom and European Union once Hong Kong is returned to the Chinese in 1997, "forget about it,'' Mr. Edness said. "In a vernacular that everybody understands, it ain't going to happen.'' He also took strong exception to comments by former Premier the Hon. Sir David Gibbons, who said there was a fear that an Independent Government could end court appeals to the Privy Council.

To say that "all these funny things'' would happen once the influence of the British Government was removed was "an insult to Bermudians,'' Mr. Edness said.

Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade spelled out the PLP position on a number of constitutional issues. He said all holders of Bermuda status -- by birth or grant -- would be offered citizenship in an Independent Bermuda. And a PLP Government would allow dual or multi-citizenship, he said.

But in the Green Paper, Government described holders of dual citizenship as "a safety valve'' to be released at times of high unemployment, the Opposition charged.

Mr. Wade found himself arguing that Britain had left the door open to metropolitan status for Bermuda. That argument is usually put forward by Independence opponents, not proponents like Mr. Wade.

He said there was a contradiction between statements by Britain that there was no further constitutional change for Bermuda short of Independence, but that relations could be re-assessed once Hong Kong was returned to the Chinese in 1997.

"If that is a possibility, then those people who are being asked to vote and consider Independence should be told,'' Mr. Wade said. "It should be made clear to them right up front.'' But Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul said metropolitan status was a complete "red herring''.

Dr. Ewart Brown of the PLP said Government now found itself trying to sell Independence as a strategy to remain in power, when for years it had told Bermudians Independence was poison.

And in order to sell Independence, the UBP had also changed its position on the PLP, Dr. Brown said.

Government now wanted to show that Bermuda had "a strong two-party system,'' and would remain stable after a change of Government, Dr. Brown said.

"Where it's going to be a hard sell is you've told the people already that we on this side are unstable, so how could we possibly contribute to a stable Government?'' Debate -- Page 4