generally favourable reviews on the streets of Hamilton yesterday.

And while most respondents in The Royal Gazette 's man-on-the-street interviews had a few particular beefs -- many railed against the raising of the $15 Airport departure tax to $20 -- few lambasted the Government outright for its annual balancing of the books.

"It's pretty fair,'' senior Bank of Bermuda credit analyst Mr. Olu Bademosi said of the document. "He (Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul) was probably trying to please as many people as possible. I think people expected it to be a lot worse than it was.'' Pembroke retiree Mr. Leopold Mills was equally praising of the Budget, saying Government had produced a creditable document under difficult circumstances.

"I think it gives the small man a break,'' he said. "The Government tries to do the best it can. It tries to make everybody happy.'' His companion, fellow retiree Mr. C.W. Sampson, agreed.

"If you want to have a luxury in your life, you should be willing to pay for it,'' Mr. Sampson said in reference to the "sin tax'' that will raise the price of cigarettes by 20 cents a pack. "Those who don't like it should just make a notch in their belt and tighten it. If I can't afford something I do without.'' Interestingly, few if any of the respondents objected to it, with some saying that the price of cigarettes hadn't been raised enough.

"What should have gone up higher is the price of cigarettes and alcohol,'' sales assistant Ms Sylvia D. Hart said. "That way the young people wouldn't get at them.'' Mixed in with the hurrahs, however, were more than a few reservations about the Budget.

One respondent, a Bank of Bermuda employee, approved of the document in principle, but worried about the implications it might have for the Island's real estate industry.

"I think it (the Budget) is somewhat reasonable, though I'm very concerned about the capital gains tax on the sale of property by foreigners,'' the banking executive said. "Such a tax will not attract the wealthy to Bermuda, and that'll have a dramatic impact on the real estate market.'' As outlined in the Budget, non-Bermudians who sell local property will have to pay a 10-percent tax on profits from their sale.

In a thinly veiled reference to such mammoth Government projects as the new secondary school at Prospect, another respondent, real estate consultant Mr.

Steel Butz, said that tax hikes of any kind could be avoided if those in power didn't overextend themselves.

"It is nice to see a more even spread of the new taxes as opposed to just targeting the same things,'' Mr. Butz said. "But I also firmly believe that it's time to stop building projects that the public does not want and that necessitate such drastic annual increases.'' Despite such sentiments, the area of the Budget that inspired the most hostility was the rise by $5 in the Airport departure fee.

"Twenty dollars to leave the Island?'' said corporate secretary Ms Michelle Bisson. "I think that's way off-base, ludicrous. That's going to hurt tourists and locals alike.'' Added merchant Mr. Mike Outerbridge: "I work in retail and visitors already complain about the $15 fee. It'll certainly affect tourism.'' Almost as unpopular as the hike in the Airport departure tax was the increase in MPs' salaries by 27.9 percent over the next two years.

"I think that's terrible,'' said laid-off hotel worker Ms Leonie Simmons.

"They should be looking out for us.'' Added Ms Marie Swan, a clerk: "It's ridiculous. They already get paid enough -- and they don't do anything.'' One of the few expressions of sympathy on the issue came from a fellow politician, Hamilton Mayor the Rt. Wor. William Boyle.

"I think the average person might think that it (the pay hike) is very high,'' he said. "But I think it seems that way because they let themselves go without a pay increase for too long.'' The last time Parliamentarians received a pay raise was in 1987.

Mr. Olu Bademosi Mr. Steel Butz Ms Leonie Simmons Mr. Leopold Mills