does not want a Commission of Inquiry into Independence or a referendum on Independence. That seems to us to be an ill-advised resignation.

If she has very strong feelings on Independence, and we have no doubt that she does, then surely she would be better off staying inside Cabinet where she has some clout. On the United Bermuda Party's back bench, she is going to be little more than another "voice in the wilderness''. We doubt if Ann Cartwright will find that very comfortable, having been both a cabinet minister and Deputy Premier.

We think Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto may have embarked on a very dangerous course.

Presumably she wants her party to stay in power. Yet she may just have turned herself into a weapon to be used against the UBP. In the short term, the resignation has embarrassed the leader, Sir John Swan. In the long term, the resignation will be used against the UBP as an indication of a black-white split on the subject of Independence.

We have no doubt that Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto will be unhappy as a back bench outsider. She is already angry enough to quit the Cabinet and may be bruised by no longer being Deputy Premier and by having been given the portfolio of "delegated affairs'' which sounds good but is lacking in substance. She is now also going to be subject to the machinery which discredits those people who take contrary stands.

In the long run, there will be a severe temptation for Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto to embark on warfare against Independence by either joining forces with other not-too-happy occupants on the back benches or by giving "aid and comfort'' to the Concerned Bermudians. It would be unrealistic to expect her to be a quiet occupant of a back seat.

But none of this is part of the process. Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto may have great public support to oppose Independence. For some people right now she is something of a heroine. But the fact is that she was elected to be a part of the solution and not to be the cause of a problem. That is true of all MPs.

They are there to work for the public good and not to oppose the public will.

The Cabinet decided to approach a referendum on Independence. Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto opposed that position in Cabinet and she lost. She has every right to make her position known. But having lost a decision which is ultimately going to be decided by a public vote, she should not have resigned. All of us in a democratic society are subject to the will of the majority of voters. The voters are the ultimate authority. If this were an issue for Cabinet alone to decide, then Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto might well be right to resign, but all Cabinet was deciding was to let the people decide.

For many, many years those who favour Independence have not seen Bermuda go independent because it was clear that the majority of Bermudians were not in favour. It has now been suggested that we should poll the will of the people.

There is nothing wrong with the democratic process and there is nothing wrong with letting the people have their say.

Governments are elected to govern but there are some issues where direct public input is the correct way to go. As long as there is uncertainty over Independence, then it is best to let the will of the people prevail.