was told in the fourth day of the Throne Speech debate.

Shadow Delegated Affairs Minister Mrs. Lois Browne Evans said the Delegated Affairs portfolio held by the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto was an embarrassment, because it underscored the Island's lack of control over its own affairs.

She was making neither her maiden speech nor her swan song, but hoped that she would be around when "some day these matters will be handled initially not in a delegated fashion, they will be handled as of right and that we will be in control of our Police Force...our Regiment, and all other services that come under this portfolio.'' Delegated Affairs did not seem very important, receiving only "a line or two'' in the Throne Speech.

Mrs. Browne Evans said she was the Opposition spokesman for Police matters years ago, when it seemed Bermudians could not advance in the Force, and now there was a danger of that happening again.

If something did not change, "there is going to be a period when we will have no born Bermudian at the top, or near the top of the Police service,'' she said.

When it came to born Bermudians versus status Bermudians, "there is a perception in this community that people who have lived here for upwards of seven or eight years, or five, and have been granted Bermudian status, have a better opportunity than those born in Bermuda.'' Erasing that perception would be the "biggest job'' of Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill , and he should start in the Police and the Civil Service.

Police sub-stations were being talked about and were nothing new. Years ago, there was talk of one in Warwick that never came about, and now there was talk of one in north Hamilton, where "they only see Police once there is a disturbance, or once there is a fight, or there is trouble''.

There were too many Police cars and "huge motorcycles'' chasing speeders, and Police could free up resources by creating clearly-signed radar areas, she said.

Police would have more time for Parish work, she said, noting Parish Constables used to be Bermudians' friends. More Parish Constables "would go a long way toward giving Police a better image with our young people''.

Young people who did not dance went out and rode their cycles at high speeds, often killing themselves, she said. Other ways had to be found to channel these energies. Programmes like Outward Bound were fine for the well-behaved, but something was needed for "latchkey kids.'' Moving to the drug problem, Mrs. Browne Evans said too many cases that never should have come to court were being thrown out because of "specious'' evidence. It almost appeared there were quotas for arrests and cases brought to court.

Prosecuting cases that could not succeed was "a waste of our money.'' The drug scene used to be on Queen Street, but had been moved to the back of town, "the dumping ground for everything since''.

The Minister had promised "draconian'' laws and sentences, and suggested "we will prostitute the laws of evidence if necessary'', to take drugs off the street. But that was not justified, and it was better to look at education and the environment in which people grew up.

Social assistance, not more Police, could have addressed many of the present problems. "Make Bermuda a totally different society that people will not have to go and engage in that type of behaviour,'' she said.

On the subject of family support payments that were in arrears, the situation had been allowed to get out of control, and there were debts being chased that in private business would be written off. "Start afresh and have a concrete and solid system,'' she said.

A wage garnishee should be automatic with the support order, not imposed once huge arrears had built up.

But men should not be stripped of all their rights. "In spite of the women's movement, you can't say, well, let's massacre the men, and let's send them to prison.'' There were always two sides to the question, she said.

Mrs. Browne Evans concluded by noting that on May 10, 1991, Shadow Health and Social Services Minister Mr. Nelson Bascome asked the House to establish a joint select committee on the problems of single parents and their families.

The motion was supported by the Progressive Labour Party, but opposed by Government members, including Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto, she said.

"People are now trying to sound pious and concerned and converted,'' she said. "This is an issue they now think they are out in the forefront on. But our Shadow Minister for Health did something about it way back in May of 1991.'' Making his first House of Assembly speech, Mr. Trevor Moniz (UBP) said it was his understanding the PLP had said it would come to the House with a plan to address the problem of broken homes, but instead proposed the select committee.

"The Government was not in favour of that approach to dealing with this problem,'' Mr. Moniz said. "It doesn't mean they didn't conceive there was a problem, and weren't prepared to deal with it.'' The Opposition was in a very different position from Government because it talked about what it would have done had it been elected. "When one is in the land of what ifs, it is very easy to put all sorts of wonderful things forward,'' he said.

Government had to be conscious of time and money restraints.

Bermuda had been well-managed during the recession and weathered it well.

Tourism had survived without moving "significantly down market'', although the PLP had suggested Bermuda should try to compete for college students with cheaper destinations like Cancun.

Moving down market "ranks with having our own airline,'' Mr. Moniz said. "In other words, it is lunacy.'' Bermuda College had improved, and far more Bermudians were receiving post-secondary education, both on the Island and abroad.

But there were those who returned with qualifications and could not find suitable employment. There were two main reasons for that, and one was that students attended schools that were not highly regarded.

"Tell Trevor Woolridge,'' interjected the Hon. John Stubbs .

The other reason was that they were studying subjects that were not in great demand, Mr. Moniz said.

Family support arrears were a problem, but they were in many countries, like the United Kingdom, he said. Steps had been made, and continued to be made, to address the problem.

"These miscreants who are not paying their lawful maintenance for their children are always thinking of new ways to avoid those payments,'' he said.

"It is not correct to try to blame the system when an individual fails to live up to his responsibility.'' Smith's Parish, the only parish without a Government preschool, was about to receive one, and there would be enough private and Government spaces for any parents who wanted to send their four-year-olds.

Broken families or children who needed special assistance were reasons many were incarcerated, he said. "For those who have already fallen by the wayside, the Government has built the new prison.'' It could offer more rehabilitation and segregate violent and non-violent prisoners.

A new Ministry of Human Affairs was created, and there would be a task force to evaluate all impediments to opportunity. "The problems which we now face with respect to racism, in a phrase, is a legacy of the racist past which this country had,'' Mr. Moniz said.

The overt aspects had been dealt with, and "we now face a very subtle problem''.

Mr. Dill had a difficult job and "too many stones are being thrown'' at him.

The major problem was race relations, but fairness to women, Bermudians generally, and long-term residents also had to be addressed, Mr. Moniz said.

Mr. Ottiwell Simmons (PLP) said many issues were not raised in the Throne Speech which should have been. He planned to point out one or two.

It was a truism that "Bermuda is a wonderful place in which to live, especially if you are not a born Bermudian,'' Mr. Simmons said.

Tourism and international business, the two main pillars of the economy, were growing, "while at the same time the rest of the community is on a moral decline''.

Crime was increasing and employment prospects for locals were decreasing, he said.

Mr. Simmons said he recently visited both the vacated Canadian base at Daniel's Head and the US Naval Annex, and both were deteriorating so quickly that something had to be done.

"If we don't act responsibly on behalf of the people of Bermuda, when the Bases do come back, it's going to be an egg that is not suitable for the frying pan,'' he said.

The cruise ships that visited Bermuda should employ Bermudians, he said. "The Ocean Monarch and the Queen of Bermuda in the '50s and '60s, almost every neighbourhood had a crew member on those ships -- or a stowaway,'' Mr. Simmons said.

There was nothing in the Throne Speech about traffic congestion, which was "out of control,'' and could "spoil our tourist trade,'' he said.

A policy of allowing no more than 13,000 vehicles on the Island was gone due to "negligence'' and "vested interests,'' who sold the vehicles, Mr. Simmons said.

He complained he recently purchased a Suzuki cycle from a Government MP and it was soon stolen, like most of the cycles he purchased had been.

When a stolen bike was reported, Police said youngsters could not find parts and hunted them from others.

"I'm glad human organ procurement doesn't work in that way,'' Dr. Stubbs interjected.

Mr. Simmons was not arguing the stealing was justified, but said those who sold automobiles had to bring over the spare parts as well "and not have us feeding off each other''.

Roads were in their worst condition in decades and there was not a single road that had been completely resurfaced in the last ten years. Road trenching was creating more hazards.

Noting that a newspaper editorial had called on the PLP to co-operate with Mr.

Dill in his fight against racism, Mr. Simmons said he wanted to mention "some of the problems that are plaguing this society''.

Government should "diagnose the matter before you start prescribing the wrong medicine,'' he said.

Bermuda had gone backwards in training, Mr. Simmons said. Technicians had been produced at Dockyard and at the technical insitute, but now all that was left was an apprenticeship and training council.

Real apprenticeship and training programmes were hard to identify in the Island. Day release schemes needed to be restored.

There appeared to be a deliberate plan to keep born Bermudians back, particularly young people. Training had been cut back at the same time Immigration had opened the floodgates to "all kinds of people'' claiming to have the qualifications that, it was alleged, could not be found among Bermudians.

Restaurants were an example, he said. "Would you believe there are restaurants in Bermuda that don't have a majority of Bermudians in them? "Would you believe there are restaurants that have such a minority of Bermudians in them that you have to go crawling over the kitchen to find them somewhere near the saucepans and dishes? "In some restaurants you would not even find them in the kitchen.'' It was very difficult to find Bermudian butchers, and there were few Bermudian-owned restaurants in Hamilton. "Some Italians'' apparently known as The Family owned restaurants in the city.

"We are letting out our economy to everybody rather than taking care of ourselves.'' He had been to Chinese restaurants in Jamaica completely staffed by "native Jamaicans'' as opposed to "Chinese Jamaicans''.

Bermuda kept driving wedges between races and classes, he said.

"This Country is like a splintered glass, it has so many little parts to it.

If you are not careful it will be like a splintered glass because you will not be able to get it back together.'' It was a "miserable failure'' of the Bermuda College's hotel school not to have produced a born Bermudian hotel manager. The College's Stonington Beach HOtel there had to have Bermudian-born management, he said.

If such things could not be achieved, maybe Bermudians would have to pull out of the Island like the Americans, and leave it to those who were benefiting from it.

The youth were being neglected, said Mr. Simmons. Government had "abandoned'' the national stadium, preferring to build a new prison.

The prison had been given priority over schools re-organisation and "all other social needs''.

Youth centres were needed throughout the Country, he said. Bernard Park needed cleaning up, with flowers, benches and proper paths. He also wanted to see a skating rink there.

The Island should have as many rinks for youth as possible, he said.

Bermudians were frustrated about trying to get solutions, said Mr. Simmons, referring to the case of a young Bermudian working in a hotel dining room under a "foreigner'' -- someone not born here.

The young man was called a "short black ba*****'', said Mr. Simmons without using the word himself.

Labour Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman called out: "Nobody's been able to prove that allegation.'' Mr. Simmons replied that the case was similar to that of Mr. George Scott -- "you report these matters and you can't get anybody to believe you''.

The authorities believed the accused people instead, he said.

He recalled he had represented 24 people from Bermuda Broadcasting Corporation and a dental hygienist, without success.

He also recalled the case where Mr. Tony Brannon reported a "hotel management person'' saying he wanted to clear the dining room of Bermudian staff.

Government did not believe such allegations but was setting up a Ministry to deal with such discrimination.

If Government was going to smash the "glass ceiling'' it would have to stop pouring concrete on top of it.

He called on Government to remember there were Bermudians not in tourism or international business.

Mrs. Grace Bell (UBP) said some non-Bermudians were guilty of "dishonest practices'', but such things happened everywhere.

She knew of a non-Bermudian in a kitchen who had made life difficult for Bermudian and non-Bermudian workers, and had made racist comments. But the key person involved had not had the "guts'' to make a statement.

She wanted to encourage them, and had advised them to use a small tape-recorder to get evidence.

It was not Immigration that was in charge of getting people into the Country, she said, but hotel owners.

If enough information could be gathered against contract workers they should be deported.

Mrs. Bell stressed non-Bermudians were also victimised by employers, like a Filipino nanny sent back by her boss.

A Filipino newspaper had condemned Bermuda's record on human rights for foreign workers, she said.

Turning to other subjects, she said she hoped the Budget debate would be "more prudently managed'' than the current one, so all MPs could speak.

She praised the Premier's diplomacy on the Base issue, and pointed out that one benefit of US withdrawal was that local beaches would be accessible once more.

Some residents had never been compensated for losing their land to the Base, she charged.

She accused the Rev. Trevor Woolridge (PLP) of trivialising environmental issues.

On the PLP policy of reviewing the fish pot ban, she wondered who the fishermen were that were objecting to the ban.

All the ones she spoke to were in favour of it, she said. Was it only Mr.

Danny Farias making the issue a "political football''? One fisherman had told her he would have got more compensation for the ban if he had not "fiddled his figures''.

She praised Government handling of the recession, saying the ending of work permits had led to maybe 3,000 or 4,000 jobs for Bermudians.

In such a small Island it was "arrant nonsense'' for the PLP's Mr. Alex Scott to call for neighbourhood employment offices. This would waste money on more bureaucracy.

Instead, she said, Government could give money to firms for training, to get people off welfare.

She was suspicious of a PLP policy on "defining'' Bermuda's "unique'' culture. This sounded divisive when Bermuda was a melting pot, she said.

Mrs. Bell then turned to the PLP statement that the Minister in charge of tackling racism should be white.

If the Opposition were in power they would not be able to find a white Minister, she said.