Opposing sides in the party had failed to discuss the issue rationally, Sen.

Larry Scott told a public meeting on nationhood.

"I have seen our deliberation within the UBP as if it were a bar brawl.'' That was why Government had decided to put the Independence issue "into the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda'', he told an audience of around 70 at the Blue Water Anglers Club.

Sen. Scott said he supported Independence, as did others influenced by the 1960s.

He said that to avoid further "rancour'', the commission could be made up of experts from countries that had been through a similar process.

He suggested former Commonwealth secretary-general Sir Shridath Ramphal and former Jamaican prime minister Mr. Michael Manley.

Sen. Scott also called for pro-Independence members of the UBP to "hold hands'' with the PLP.

Shadow Finance Minister Mr. Eugene Cox told the meeting no moves should be made towards Independence until issues like Bermuda status, permanent residency, nationality and unfair constituency boundaries had been addressed.

The question of who should vote on Independence had to be decided.

Mr. Cox said economic experts were predicting a world of more small, independent countries linked by trade alliances.

Even if Independence cost as much as $4 million, he said, it would only mean $2.20 a week for each working person.

As a dependent colony, Bermuda was an embarrassment to Britain in the United Nations, he added.

Mr. Robert Clifford, from the anti-racist National Association for Reconciliation, said white Bermudians who feared Independence did so out of fear "rooted in the ignorance of racism''.

A number of black Bermudians felt "colonial status represents a lingering link to the most abhorrent features of historical racism''.

When Independence came it could stimulate black and white Bermudians to unite, he said.

Mr. Walton Brown, head of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda, said that since the leadership of the PLP and UBP were in favour of nationhood, the parties should form a joint body to examine the issue.

Government should show leadership, not wait for the lead of the people, he added.

Problems like those raised by Mr. Cox could be resolved after Independence, he said.

Mr. Graeme Outerbridge, of the NLP, said he had always felt Bermudian, not British, and also favoured Independence.

He forecast a "no'' vote in the referendum because of the way Government had dropped the issue on the Country "like gasoline onto a dying fire''.

Government should follow the people's wishes, he said.

It had already done its "homework'' on the subject, for example in the 1977 paper drawn up by the Sharpe government.

He predicted a constitutional monarchy for Bermuda, with access to the Privy Council in London as the highest court.