Government is planning to snub the House Speaker and Senate President by not allowing them to host the Queen's dinner during the Royal Visit in March, Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade charged during the Motion to Adjourn on Friday.

Mr. Wade said the House had yet to receive any formal word about the visit, but he had heard "through the grapevine'' that Government planned to "break precedent and not have the Speaker's dinner as the venue when we entertain Royalty.'' Having observed three Royal Visits during his 25 years in the House, "in each case it has been the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate that has presided over that dinner,'' Mr. Wade said.

He had heard Government would have a huge dinner, and he imagined the Premier would preside at it.

While the Speaker selected was "not necessarily the Government's first choice,'' he had the interests and the dignity of the Country at heart.

It would likely be the last opportunity for the Speaker and Senate President to entertain Royalty, and they should be given "the honour they deserve.'' Mr. Wade also called on Government to put the detailed plans before the House.

Later during the Motion to Adjourn, Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman said details of the Royal Visit would be brought to the House as soon as they were firmed up.

PLP WANTS TO BE MADE `SENIOR PARTNERS' Mr. Wade also said the Opposition should be represented "at all levels on those matters dealing with the Base closure.'' The Progressive Labour Party wanted to sit on the negotiating and other committees, he said.

"I think we ought to be made senior partners in this venture, because I think the electorate would wish it to be that way.'' Mr. Wade also returned Christmas and New Year messages offered by Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan .

Speaking earlier in the Motion to Adjourn, Sir John sent Christmas wishes to the Speaker and his wife and all of Bermuda.

He hoped Bermudians would be generous in helping those less fortunate at Christmas.

The coming year would be a challenging one, and he hoped all of Bermuda could put aside differences to face the test.

While it often appeared to the public that MPs did not enjoy each other's company, that was an outcome of the political system. MPs from both sides drank coffee together, did business, and travelled together, Sir John said.

"We are true friends.'' Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. (Jim) Woolridge said he wanted to correct misleading statements made by Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen during the Throne Speech debate.

Mr. Allen said the Department of Tourism was not going after honeymoon business, but 27,000 couples came to Bermuda for honeymoons last year, he said.

The Department considered Modern Bride the leading publication for honeymooners, and its December issue had "a complete section devoted to Bermuda,'' Mr. Woolridge said.

Shadow Environment Minister Mr. Trevor Woolridge said he was concerned some Hamilton Parish residents would not have a happy Christmas, because of Government's approval for expansion of the Wilkinson Quarry.

Whether the land was zoned industrial or not, any such development in the Bailey's Bay area should have been advertised, because of the "significant impact on the area,'' Mr. Woolridge said.

It was not yet known who was the independent inspector who said the initial Development Applications Board decision to deny the expansion application should be overturned. That "leads us to suspect his credentials.'' The quarry expansion was at the "gateway to Bermuda'' for visitors, and flowers at the Bermuda Perfumery could be destroyed by salt and wind.

In a recent statement, Environment Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons had said "extensive wind damage was not anticipated,'' due to the expansion, Mr.

Woolridge said.

He wanted Mr. Simons to attend a Monday night public meeting where concerns about the expansion would be voiced.

Delegated Affairs Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto , Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Minister, said the inspector was Mr. Richard Gill from Barbados.

Mr. Simons had written Mr. Woolridge that same day, saying he was not sure what a public meeting at this time would achieve.

He first wanted to arrange a time to make a presentation to Mr. Woolridge about the quarry expansion. After that, Mr. Simons could better say whether a Ministry representative should attend the meeting on Monday.

Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess said that in a recent speech at a PLP banquet, Mr. Marc Telemaque was "very diplomatic'' in a message he gave the Opposition.

Mr. Telemaque spoke of parents and how some had difficulty realising their children had reached maturity, Mr. Burgess said. What he was saying was that they day might have come when PLP MPs who had spent 33 years in the House should make way for younger members.

Mr. Telemaque "may in the fullness of time come to the realisation that I did with the PLP,'' Mr. Burgess said. "He may be 23, 24 now, but if he hangs around until those honourable members are ready to step aside, he'll be 44.'' Shadow Education Minister Ms Jennifer Smith said she was concerned by the recent fire at Sandys Secondary School, and it was necessary to look at what was behind it.

"When one damages an institute of learning, I think that one is asking for help,'' she said.

School programmes were needed to help children who could not concentrate on learning because of family problems. "How can someone in this society be so turned off by education that they would deliberately set a fire in a school?'' Everyone had to accept responsibility. And when Government saw a child with nobody to provide guidance, it should "step in and offer that guidance.'' Mr. Leon (Jimmy) Williams said he did not like all the negative talk about young Bermudian males sitting on the walls.

As a sixth-generation born Bermudian, Mr. Williams knew "we all sat on the walls...chewing the fat.'' But, "members of this community have turned a positive into a negative.'' Young men who sat on the walls were now accused of being drug pushers and drunks.

Instead, it was part of Bermudian culture, he said. "I'd like to know of any Bermudian who has never sat on the wall around his area and chewed the fat.'' Dr. David Dyer (UBP) said a November 12 story in the Bermuda Times misrepresented his position on sanctions against South Africa.

SOARES -- `FAMILIES MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIER OFFSPRING' Dr. Dyer said he never opposed sanctions against South Africa, but felt that to be consistent, Bermuda should exercise sanctions against all other countries who denied human rights.

Mr. Harry Soares (UBP) said he heard Mr. Williams say Bermuda needed more Police, but it was not long ago that he heard cries that the Island was "a Police state.'' The PLP had "convictions of convenience'' and was making statements they felt the public wanted to hear, Mr. Soares said.

And Government did not have to take responsibility for wayward youth, as Ms Smith suggested, he said. "Families must take responsibility for their offspring.'' Dr. Ewart Brown (PLP) said he hoped MPs, especially those on the opposite benches, would return after Christmas with "an improved understanding of racism.

"Within a short period of time, it will come to light that all of these isolated, individual societal problems that we talk about here are going to be traced back to a source,'' Dr. Brown said. "That source has to do with the umbrella under which we live.'' The Premier recently said he was astonished to visit the prison and find so many black prisoners and so few white, Dr. Brown said. But why was he surprised. "Most people in Bermuda have accepted that as a fact of life.'' And the Premier's explanation was that "whites have gotten the message across to their children and that the black people have not,'' Dr. Brown said. "That is not only inaccurate and false, but deserving of retraction.

"That is in fact looting the hopes...of young people in this country.'' Superficial treatment of racism would aggravate the problem, and if that was how Government would treat it, "it would have been better to have left this subject alone,'' Dr. Brown said. "Government was more successful when it contended that the problem of racism did not exist.'' Having admitted it did exist, it was now incumbent on Government to do something about the global problem. "Come to the table high, or stay at home,'' he said.

Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill said he had to ask "am I on Candid Camera'' when he thought he heard Dr. Brown say Government would have been better to leave the subject of race alone.

Dr. Brown rose and said Mr. Dill misquoted him.

An honest and open discussion on race was needed, Mr. Dill said, and he recently was impressed to attend a forum where equal numbers of blacks and whites were discussing race and "going at it.'' Mr. Dill said he was also astonished to hear Mr. Williams say "there was something glamourous and traditional and cultural about these guys who are sitting on the wall.'' Mr. Dill said he used to be able to say young men on the walls were ones he went to school with, but "I can't say that now.

"The ones I went to school with were so strung out that they've died, they've moved on.

"The individuals who are out there on the walls now, the individuals who so desperately need each and every one of us to help them get off the walls, and not glamourise the fact that they are on there, are the younger brothers of the ones I went to school with.'' Mr. Dill criticised whoever leaked incorrect information to The Bermuda Times that led to "a grossly misleading'' article about the interim steering committee for the National Drug Commission.

Shadow Human Affairs Minister Ms Renee Webb said right after the Christmas wishes, the attacks came again.

Why was it that whenever one black person rose and made astute comments about racism in Bermuda, as Dr. Brown did, that "another black person seems to find it necessary to get up and make fun of those comments and question whether or not he is on Candid Camera?'' The Premier had also taken to attacking the PLP on racism, she said. But it was counterproductive to continuously blame the PLP for racism. "Unless we stop this black on black nonsense in this House, Mr. Speaker, we are not going to get anywhere.'' History was important, because children were socialised "under a system that is inherently racist.'' The PLP was blamed for racism, but had never been in Government. "If we had, I can guarantee you, there would be an action plan in motion right now to end racial discrimination,'' she said.

LISTER CLAIMS GOV'T HAS TURNED ITS BACK ON `INDIGENOUS PEOPLE' "The first thing I would do, Mr. Speaker, is make racism an offence under the law.'' Ms Webb noted the Hon. John Stubbs was bothered when he met a black woman who described herself as "Afro-Bermudian,'' but what was wrong with that? There were Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, and Portuguese Bermudians.

"It only perpetuates racism, this kind of narrow-minded thinking.'' Mr. Walter Lister (PLP) said 1994 was to be declared the International Year of the Family and Government should make funds available to raise community awareness.

Mr. Lister said Government had turned its back on the indigenous people of Bermuda.

It had ignored the very important contribution they had made to the Country.

"Who are the indigenous people?'' cried members of the UBP benches.

Retorted Mr. Lister: "It is foolish of the UBP to ask such idiotic questions.'' Mr. Lister said he was convinced the majority of the indigenous people voted for the Progressive Labour Party at the last election.

"I think the PLP can take great pride in this election, and having achieved so much.'' He accused the UBP of importing foreigners over the years and giving them the power to vote.

This had helped keep the UBP in power.

"If we had had a level playing field we would have had far more than 21 seats.'' Mr. Lister added the UBP had been very selective about the countries from which they imported voting foreigners.

They had not, for instance, chosen the Caribbean.

Mr. Lister ended by commenting on a UBP Senator's claims that racism had crept into the election campaign.

It was the UBP in Warwick West who were guilty of raising the issue of candidates' colours, he alleged.

Government Whip Mr. John Barritt wished everybody a happy Christmas.

He said he had some sympathy with Miss Renee Webb's concern about the conduct in the House of Assembly.

And he urged people to behave in the spirit of Christmas, and the season of goodwill.

"It has nothing to do with colour. It has everything to do with manners.'' MPs needed to uphold a decent level of decorum, he said.

He suggested members take time off during the holiday to reflect.

Dr. John Stubbs (UBP) said Bermuda had a multi-cultural society, and there was nothing wrong with that.

"We should be pulling together in an inclusive and collaborative way.'' It was wrong, he added, for black UBP members to be portrayed as puppets whose strings were pulled by the whites.

Dr. Stubbs said Bermuda had to keep in touch with the past to understand where it was today.

And, although many weaknesses remained, there were enough strengths to encourage hope.

Shadow Delegated & Legislative Affairs Minister Mrs. Lois Browne Evans said the UBP should have given a white man the task of tackling racism.

Racism flowed from white institutions.

It had to be tackled not only in the Rotary and Lions clubs, but in people's homes.

Mrs. Browne Evans stressed the Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan should have given the job to someone who believed racism a problem.

Such a person could have been Southampton West MP Mr. David Dodwell, who had a good labour relations track record in the hotel industry.

Mrs. Browne Evans said racism -- and the mention of colour -- used to be taboo in the House.

It was like income tax, she quipped.

And she urged Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman to train the rookie UBP MPs to speak openly on race.

"I know there are a lot of lightweights out there,'' she said, pointing to the UBP benches.

Mrs. Browne Evans also alleged black UBP members were used as "pitbulls'' to attack the Opposition.

She said Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess was exploited in this way, and she deplored it.

"Don't let anybody treat you as a buffoon,'' she pleaded.

Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman told how moved he had been by a speech by Mr. Chuck Colson, former White House aide to US President Richard Nixon.

Mr. Colson, who had been jailed for his part in the Watergate scandal, spoke about his conversion to Christianity.

Mr. Pearman said he had been stimulated by Mr. Colson's words.

And it had inspired him into trying to contribute more to Bermuda.

Mr. Pearman said most of today's debate in the House had been worthwhile, although the latter part had degenerated.

Emotion had clouded some MPs' judgements.

"I would hope we would all dedicate ourselves to a higher level,'' he urged.

Mr. Pearman reminded MPs it was a great privilege to serve in the House.

On the proposed Royal visit, Mr. Pearman said the Premier would keep the House informed.

Details of the visit would be relayed to MPs when they were finalised.

He ended: "I would like to take this opportunity to wish every Bermudian and everyone resident here a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.''