territories post-1997... However there may be opportunity for reassessment of UK/DT policy at that time.'' -- British Government position on the "Hong Kong question'' as stated in the 1995 Independence Green Paper.

Discussions about Bermuda's constitutional status -- shelved after the Independence Referendum finally took place in August -- have made a comeback.

The unlikely source of this renewed interest is Governor Lord Waddington, who stated in an unusually frank speech last week that the door was "not locked'' to Bermuda winning changes in its relationship with Britain after Hong Kong reverts to China in 1997.

The Governor's privately-held but publicly-expressed views on the "Hong Kong question'' were in line with what many opponents of Independence already believed: that after Hong Kong reverts to China, the British government may reconsider its immigration stance; or that there may be opportunities for a Channel Islands-type arrangement with Britain.

And the Governor's comments will also add weight to those who wonder whether those Cabinet Ministers who drew up the Green Paper and returned from talks in Britain saying there was no possibility of constitutional change after 1997 were reading the same document as the rest of us.

It could well be that Bermuda, having weighed up the pros and cons of whatever constitutional changes may arise, will choose not to pursue a closer relationship with Britain. But it cannot hurt for the Island to examine all the options and not to simply dismiss them as impossible.

Off base Finance Minister Grant Gibbons recently floated the suggestion that regulations for immigration and development might have to be eased or altered in some way in order to redevelop the Base lands.

Mr. Gibbons' thinking appears to be based on the fear that redevelopment of the Bases will be expensive and not without risk and that "excessive regulation'' will deter potential investors.

It may well be that there is insufficient capital available on the Island to successfully back new ventures on the Base lands. Indeed, the proposed golf course at the former US Naval Annex alone will require vast amounts of money.

Thus, it may be necessary to waive the 60:40 ownership rule for ventures on the Bases, just as many of the Island's major hotels are allowed to have greater foreign ownership than is normally allowed.

But these hotel owners continue to be governed by immigration and planning regulations which are aimed at protecting the livelihoods of Bermudians and the environment in which they live.

Should these regulations be eased on the Base lands, it will not take long for a perception to arise that the benefits of this "new frontier'' are being reserved for non-Bermudians and foreign owners alone while companies and individuals outside the Base's environs must labour under a more onerous set of regulations. Whether that were to become reality or not, it would be a dangerous road for Government to embark on.