launch an internal investigation after it handed a top legal post to a non-Bermudian.

Mrs. Browne Evans, Bermuda's first woman leader of a political party, said she was "very disappointed'' that the new Solicitor General was not Bermudian.

She said: "Once again we have gone outside Bermuda to bring another non-Bermudian into the legal profession -- in a job that a number of Bermudians applied for.

"I'm very disappointed. I believe that many more non-Bermudians applied than Bermudians and I'm concerned that the word is getting around that it's open season for coming to Bermuda and getting into the legal profession.'' Canadian lawyer William Pearce QC will take over as the Island's solicitor general on January 19.

Mr. Pearce, 55, has been given a three-year contract for the $98,000-a-year post.

The Attorney General's chambers has been without a Solicitor General since March, when Barrie Meade retired.

Mrs. Browne Evans added: "The whole Attorney General's department seems to have a preponderance of Canadians in it and Bermudians never seem to stay there.

"Many have left in the fields of Parliamentary drafting and civil and criminal law.

"The Attorney General needs to start an investigation to find out why there are so few Bermudians on board.'' The Attorney General, Barbados-born Elliott Mottley, revealed nearly 80 applications were received for the post and 74 of them came from overseas.

Earlier this year, Mrs. Browne Evans backed calls for Charles-Etta Simmons to be appointed.

Former Magistrate Ms Simmons temporarily took the post between April 7 and May 31.

Shadow Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Alex Scott said: "This is something that Mrs. Browne Evans has felt particularly strongly about.

"I don't know the exact strengths of our top Bermudian lawyers. But we would always wish to see a post such as this filled by a Bermudian.

"We want top positions to be filled by capable Bermudians and able, qualified Bermudians.'' The Royal Gazette revealed in October that the Solicitor General's job had been offered to a Canadian but officials would not reveal his name.

Mr. Pearce leaves a position as Senior Counsel in the Ministry of the Attorney General in British Columbia.

He has held the position, in the Civil Litigation department, since 1979.

He was educated at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario and at the University of Western Ontario where he gained a BA in Philosophy and Psychology.

He studied law at Osgoode Hall, was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1968 and worked as a Magistrate in the Yukon Territories between 1976 and 1978.