Bermuda looked set to begin its journey towards constitutional changes without a conference this morning after more than 18 hours debate in the House of Assembly.

When The Royal Gazette went to press shortly after 4.30 a.m. today MPs were still squabbling in Parliament over the pros and cons of a Constitutional Conference over Government's plans to re-draw the boundaries and reduce the number of seats.

Premier Jennifer Smith tabled the motion that Governor Thorold Masefield inform the British Government that Bermuda wanted to change its Constitution and form single-seat constituencies to be decided by a Boundaries Commission.

However, the Opposition tabled ten amendments to that motion requesting that the Governor ask the Foreign Office in London if it could convene a Constitutional Conference and then hold a referendum over how many MPs the Island should have.

When The Royal Gazette was printed neither had been voted on in the House.

But, as the PLP has the majority vote, the motion was expected to go through without the recommendation that a conference be held.

Premier Jennifer Smith opened the debate in the House yesterday morning and said the people of Bermuda could have a say on the future number of constituencies on the Island.

However, she said the public would not be allowed to vote on the issue, but instead be given an opportunity to give their input at a comprehensive series of meetings to be held after recommendations on the prospective number of MPs are made by a Boundaries Commission.

Ms Smith said forums would be held following the outcome of the Boundaries Commission report, and any subsequent modifications by the Premier. The changes would then go before the House of Assembly for debate.

Speaking as MPs debated the motion calling for the UK Government to allow a series of amendments to Bermuda's Constitution, Ms Smith said people would play a part.

"The people of this country will decide what number of constituencies we can have, they will decide that on the recommendations from the Boundaries Commission, which will be discussed when we have that document,'' she said.

Later, when asked whether people would be balloted on the proposed number of single member constituencies in the report, she said they would have the chance to express themselves at public meetings.

Although a vote will not be allowed, she said voters would be able to give feedback "to see whether or not there is a logical rationale or reasonableness''.

If it is moved by MPs this morning, the motion will then go before the Governor, who will forward it, with his recommendations to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London. The FCO will consider the legal implications and the likely impact of the changes, as well as ensuring that the consultation process it set out has been met.

Constitution debate Only when it's satisfied will it forward the motion to the Privy Council, which will make the final decision.

Only then will the Boundaries Commission, made up of two Government representatives, two people appointed by the Governor and two Opposition members, begin its work.

It will look at where the new boundaries should be drawn and recommend a number of single-member seats, not less than 20 but no more than 40. If the House agrees the proposed changes from the Boundaries Commission, then it is likely candidates will fight for the re-drawn electoral map at the next election.

Introducing the motion, Ms Smith criticised the lack of residents in the public gallery. She said she had expectations about the public attending, but saw "no lines outside''.

"It is a very, very important day for Bermuda,'' she said. "Despite the public meetings, I still expected people would want to be present in the House to witness these proceedings.'' She said the changes were a fulfilment of a 36-year-old election promise and would extend democracy.

"We are not motivated by how it will affect us, we are motivated by principle,'' she said.

"While we maybe affected, while some members may lose their seats, new seats will be competed for. We have no fear of going to the people of this country based on our record and competing for seats.'' Leading the Opposition response, Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister John Barritt said they were not against modernising or improving democracy, but he said it appeared that the Government was moving in to other areas.

And he said in the past when there had been change, it had been preceded by a constitutional conference. He added that there had been fewer public meetings on the issue than for the subject of long-term residency.

Deputy Premier Eugene Cox said he believed many white people were opposed to the changes because they feared they would be treated "like the blacks had been treated in the past'' -- with racism.

But he said: "Nothing could be further from the truth.'' However, Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons said Government had failed to explain why reducing the number of MPs would improve democracy.

He said he feared that fewer members would be less accessible to the people, could burden MPs with too much work and responsibility, and could take strength away from both the Government back bench and the opposition, which are used to keep Cabinet Ministers in check. He said a Boundaries Commission would not have a remit to look at the wider issues resulting from a reduction in MPs, but instead would only look at where suitable new boundaries could to drawn to ensure each constituency had a similar number of voters.

And he said he believed there was a fear of racism, but not in the same way as Mr. Cox believed.

He said: "White people, I feel, fear that if they criticise Government they will be labelled racist.

"And I believe black people feel if they criticise Government they will be called Uncle Toms.'' Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said there was no need for a constitutional conference because the Opposition agreed with Government on one member, one vote of equal value.

That was later refuted by the UBP. He said the PLP provided real representation for black people for the first time.

"When we talk about white fear, we are talking about white frustration. I don't call their mortgage. We don't have the infrastructure to cause fear,'' he said.