included four newcomers.

While Dr. Saul's Cabinet was unified, a crack remained in the United Bermuda Party caucus.

Absent from the noon swearing-in ceremony at Government House was the Hon.

C.V. (Jim) Woolridge -- the man Dr. Saul defeated for the UBP leadership in a 14-7 secret ballot vote. So were all the anti-Independence MPs who supported him.

Former Government Whip the Hon. John Barritt was the lone supporter of Mr.

Woolridge's leadership bid included in Dr. Saul's Cabinet. But he was on holiday in Canada and will not be sworn in until next week.

Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade charged that the Cabinet's make-up showed Dr. Saul had failed in his goal of unifying the party.

And Government backbencher the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto said the team lacked "balance''.

But Dr. Saul disagreed. "Here is a group that can unify the UBP,'' he said.

"We are going to come out with some deliverables.'' The team was "lean, youthful, and competent,'' and would "work with me in peace and tranquility'', he said.

With the Independence debate over, "we have put a very major but divisive chapter in our history behind us,'' said Dr. Saul, who had remained publicly neutral on the issue. "We must now work toward the betterment of this community for the common good.'' The Hon. Grant Gibbons is Finance Minister, while keeping responsibility for the Base takeovers. Cabinet newcomer and hotelier the Hon. David Dodwell succeeds Mr. Woolridge as Tourism Minister. And in the other top post, the Hon. Quinton Edness leaves Health and Social Services to become Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety. Mr. Edness will also be the first Government Leader in the House.

In other posts, the Hon. Jerome Dill adds Education to his Human Affairs portfolio, while losing responsibility for Information Services. The Hon.

Leonard Gibbons keeps Works & Engineering, adding responsibilty for Parks from the Environment Ministry, and Housing, which had been with the Minister of Health and Social Services.

The Hon. Harry Soares returns to Cabinet, succeeding Mr. Edness as

2`Woolridge camp' MPs rejected Ministries Minister of Health and Social Services. Newcomer the Hon. Tim Smith takes over Environment, Planning and Natural Resources, a post that had been held by Sen.

Gerald Simons.

The Hon. Wayne Furbert leaves Community and Cultural Affairs to succeed his Hamilton West running mate the Hon. Maxwell Burgess as Minister of Transport and Aviation Services.

Cabinet newcomer Mr. Barritt becomes Minister of Technology and Information, while the Hon. Pamela Gordon returns to a slightly renamed and refocused Ministry of Youth Development, Sports and Recreation.

The Hon. Lynda Milligan-Whyte, named Government Leader in the Senate, takes on Legislative Affairs and Women's Issues -- the latter part of her portfolio having been hived off from Human Affairs.

In addition to Mr. Barritt, Mr. Soares and Ms Gordon are off the Island and will not be sworn in until next week. With Governor Lord Waddington also abroad, acting Governor Mr. Peter Willis officiated yesterday.

One Cabinet Minister is still to be named. Dr. Saul said he hoped to make his remaining four Senate appointments early next week after consulting with his Cabinet colleagues, and one of them would be named Minister of Community Affairs.

Mr. Dill was understood to be the only nominee for Deputy Premier that party chairman Sen. Gary Pitman had received by 8 p.m. last night. He was not expecting any further nominations by last night's midnight deadline.

If Mr. Dill remains the only candidate, it is expected he will deliver a speech to the UBP caucus on Thursday and then be acclaimed Deputy Premier.

Plans for a secret ballot vote on Friday would be dropped.

Out of Cabinet, in addition to Mr. Woolridge, are former Premier Sir John Swan, former Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman, former Education Minister Dr. Clarence Terceira, and former Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess.

Sir John, Mr. Pearman, and Mr. Burgess had all vowed to retire to the back bench for the life of this Parliament if Bermudians said `no' to Independence.

Mr. Edness made the same vow, but said when Dr. Saul asked him to serve: "I didn't feel it was in the Country's best interest to ignore the challenge he was putting before me.'' While he had campaigned in favour of Independence, Mr. Edness said the people had spoken through the 74 percent `no' vote and "we are putting that behind us''.

Under the Constitution, Dr. Saul could still name one more Cabinet Minister in addition to the appointment he plans to make next week. He said he would wait and see but had no immediate plans to do so. Despite Dr. Saul's promise of a leaner Cabinet, his 12-member team is the same size as the Cabinet that was in place when Sir John resigned last week. Sir John's Cabinet had shrunk by one member when Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto resigned in 1994 and was not replaced.

As for the absence of Ministers from the Woolridge camp, Dr. Saul said it was not for lack of trying.

"I invited four members of that particular group, including, as you now know, Mr. Woolridge himself, to join,'' Dr. Saul said. With the exception of Mr.

Barritt, "they chose to decline''.

And Dr. Saul said he offered Mr. Woolridge what he considered the most important job of all -- the Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety portfolio that instead will be held by Mr. Edness.

With public safety the main issue of concern to Bermudians, Dr. Saul said he felt Mr. Woolridge could tackle it and "cap'' an outstanding Parliamentary career. But he declined, he said.

The Premier said the supporters of Mr. Woolridge were offered individual Cabinet seats, rather than a total of four. "When I make a choice for a Cabinet position, I make an approach to an individual to become a member of a team,'' he said. "There are no conditions attached to that, either by me, or by the recipient of the invitation.'' Mr. Wade, who could soon be announcing changes in his Shadow Cabinet, said Dr.

Saul had "failed the job of reconciliation. He hasn't brought into the Cabinet the people whose presence would demonstrate that reconciliation.'' He also criticised the Cabinet as "more right-wing'' than the previous one.

And with five black members and seven white members counting the Premier, it failed to reflect the racial make-up of Bermuda, Mr. Wade said.

Further, "he has a stronger backbench than his Cabinet,'' the Progressive Labour Party leader said of Dr. Saul. "As far as I'm concerned, that's fine, but it doesn't augur well for him.'' Mr. Wade said he would "wait and see,'' but it was up to the Governor to determine whether Dr. Saul commanded majority support in Parliament. "It could well be that he could find himself with an election on his hands,'' he said of the new Premier.

Government backbencher Mr. Trevor Moniz, a supporter of Mr. Woolridge said he wished Dr. Saul "the best of luck'' with his new Cabinet.

"Most of the clearly pro-Independence people are not in the Cabinet, and the anti-Independence people are not in the Cabinet, either,'' he said. Dr. Saul was left with "the mugwumps''.

"I'm not impressed with the balance,'' Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said. "In my view, there is little or no balance.''