Government's Green Paper on Independence was denounced as a failure yesterday by United Bermuda Party backbencher Mr. Trevor Moniz .

Leading off the second day of debate on the Cabinet discussion paper, Mr.

Moniz said it was too biased in favour of Independence to educate Bermudians on the issue.

And the rebel backbencher charged that Independence was being "railroaded'' by Government, while not a priority for most Bermudians. Speaking for one hour, Mr. Moniz said he was "disappointed'' that Deputy Premier the Hon.

Irving Pearman and other MPs had apparently threatened to resign if the Independence Referendum Act 1995 was not passed on Friday.

He wanted to "extend the olive branch'' to Mr. Pearman to "speak to the principles of the matter.'' Mr. Moniz said he was concerned from the start that the Cabinet committee that wrote the Green Paper was slanted in favour of Independence. Of the five members, only the Hon. Clarence Terceira was known to oppose Independence, while Mr. Moniz was not sure where the Hon. David Saul stood.

The other committee members were "basically known to be or presumed to be very much in favour of Independence.'' Because of the biases of the committee members, what appeared fair to them would not in fact be fair.

A Green Paper was supposed to present a policy proposal for consideration, but Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan had announced plans for a referendum at the same time he announced the Green Paper.

"I'm not in agreement with following a course which seems to be pre-ordained,'' Mr. Moniz said.

And while Green Papers were usually "discussed in detail'' by a Government caucus, Mr. Moniz had not seen the document until it was tabled in the House of Assembly. He also understood the Press had received embargoed copies before Government backbenchers or Opposition MPs had seen the document.

"There seem to be more and more occasions when backbenchers are reading Government decisions on the front pages of The Royal Gazette , Mr. Moniz said.

An example was the decision to hire the Police Commissioner from abroad -- a decision he did not disagree with.

The opening statement of the Green Paper described it as a factual, objective position paper, but "in some respects it's not factual and it's not objective,'' Mr. Moniz said.

"I'm very disappointed by the Green Paper,'' he said. "It's not as substantial as it should be. It's not as fair as it should be, and quite frankly is inadequate for the job for which it's supposedly designed,'' which was education. "Bermudians deserve better than they have received in the Green Paper.'' The Green Paper quoted a 1979 White Paper out of context and incompletely. And while party polls showed education, crime, law and order, and the economy were concerns of Bermudians, "I was never informed prior to the last election that Independence was on anybody's list.

"Where it came out of the woodwork from, I simply don't know.'' A poll published by The Royal Gazette early in 1994 showed 59 percent of Bermudians opposed Independence and only 26 percent were in favour. Nobody had questioned the poll's accuracy, so why was Government going through such a costly exercise "when we already know what the people of this Island think.'' The Green Paper had been condemned not only by "so-called disgruntled backbenchers,'' but by a wide cross-section of the community.

Mr. Walton Brown of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda said it had "a very clear pro-Independence bias,'' and had not fulfilled its terms of reference to explore social effects.

When Independence was considered, Bermuda had to be mindful of "what do our customers think.'' There was at least the perception among international businesses that Independence could negatively affect Bermuda. Islands to the south had "very bad experiences'' after Independence. Based on history, international companies saw it as "a risk.'' People pointed to Singapore as a successful country after Independence, which it was, "if you don't mind being locked up for the rest of your life without trial.'' Former Premier the Hon. Sir David Gibbons was "very diplomatic'' in his public criticisms of the Green Paper, but in fact "he tore it to shreds.'' Mr. Moniz agreed with Sir David's criticisms, but differed with his conclusion, which he would deal with on Friday.

The Editor of The Royal Gazette had denounced the Green Paper as "a whitewash'' and "a sham'' that would be no help to Bermudians in reaching the most important decision they would ever make.

And the Chamber of Commerce had said the Green Paper "does not provide a fair and objective basis for debate.'' "They also said the big R should proceed,'' interpolated Mr. Pearman .

"We'll address that on Friday, sir, if you don't mind,'' replied Mr. Moniz.

And the Progressive Labour Party had rightly said the Government had failed to provide clear leadership on the issue.

The Green Paper committee was staying in place, despite the fact its duties under the terms of reference had been discharged.

Among the "gaps'' in the Green Paper were the effect Independence would have on Bermuda's membership in the OECD.

And there was a "hollow and unsubstantiated statement'' about prospects "by Bermudians for Bermudians'' that would result. "Perhaps that was just a bit of fluff, because I certainly don't see that substantiated in the Green Paper.'' Green Paper comes under fierce attack From Page 2 Public meetings on Independence were poorly attended, and those who did show up raised issues like education.

Independence was "a politician's issue,'' which provoked "rash statements'' like those from Mr. Pearman , but it was not important to the grassroots.

The cost estimates were too low, and Bermuda should have looked to other countries for comparative data.

The committee disregarded "in a cavalier fashion'' the UK Government's statement that there could be a change in Bermuda's constitutional status once Hong Kong was returned to the Chinese in 1997. "One of the choices is to wait,'' Mr. Moniz said.

The Green Paper also made the "completely unjustified claim'' that an Independence Constitution would resolve the question of who was a Bermudian "once and for all.'' Instead of setting out all the possibilities, the committee only dealt with "best case scenarios,'' Mr. Moniz said.

While the Premier had suggested black Bermudians might feel more at home in an Independent Bermuda, that was not a responsible statement. If Bermuda had problems like race which needed to be addressed, "let's get on and address them,'' he said.

"But let's not hold out to the people the false hope that if this country goes to Independence their problems will be solved, because experience shows that it ain't so.'' And the late Government MP the Hon. John Stubbs was right when he said the issue was being "railroaded.'' Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen noted that while Dr. Saul said Government intended the Green Paper to stimulate dialogue, Government was opposed to the PLP's idea of preparing one until the last referendum bill was defeated.

There should have been a "substantial pause'' between debate on the Green Paper and a vote on the referendum bill, but they might come within 48 hours of each other. "If that's not railroading, I don't know what is,'' Mr. Allen said.

The PLP wanted a broad, bipartisan approach, and like Mr. Moniz, had frequently complained about Government ruling by decree, rather than taking matters to the House of Assembly.

While talking positively about Independence was "a new experience'' for the UBP, the PLP had been doing it for 32 years, Mr. Allen said.

"We've been in the vanguard of forward thinking,'' he said. "Some elements of the UBP are following in our footsteps, albeit their steps are very shaky at this point in time.'' It appeared to be "political opportunism'' and an attempt to save Sir John . But the UBP's former opposition to Independence was coming back to haunt it.

The PLP's position was to educate the population about Independence and then fight an election on the issue before moving forward. But the last UBP Blueprint had made no mention of the issue. "Who is being underhanded?'' Mr.

Allen asked.

The UBP by "subterfuge...has sold the Country a bill of goods.'' It was wrong for the Premier to cite the departure of the Royal Navy Base as a reason for re-opening the issue, since that had been decided before the general election, he said.

When Bermuda pursued Independence, it had to be "for the right reasons,'' and not as a "quick fix'' for UBP misfortunes.

There were both tangible and intangible benefits to Independence, and the intangible ones were the most compelling, Mr. Allen said.

Bermuda had received slavery and exploitation through its colonial status, but also the Royal Naval Dockyard, with its many jobs and training programmes, Mr.

Allen said.

Britain had protected Bermuda through both world wars, but tangible benefits were "few and far between.'' Bermuda received no financial aid from Britain, even paying the salaries of the Deputy Governor's and Governor's offices. The last thing Bermuda received from the UK which could "qualify even loosely as aid'' was a copy of a survey of Bermuda's reefs, which cost 25,000 pounds in 1960.

Bermudians did receive free diplomatic representation overseas through the British, and would have to pay for it in future. But there would be "tangible'' benefits to Independence, in areas like aviation. Bermuda could represent itself directly in negotiating for air routes. Presently, Britain sometimes used Bermuda routes as "trade offs'' in talks with the Americans, Mr. Allen said. The greater flexibility would benefit tourism.

Independence would also help Bermuda's international Shipping Register, Mr.

Allen said. British manning requirements that were part of the Island's colonial status had undermined its growth.

And positive results like growth in the Shipping Register could help offset Independence costs.

An Independent Bermuda could also host international conferences sponsored by the United Nations, the Organisation of American States, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF did not hold its conferences in colonies because it would be seen as an insult to former colonies among its members.

Bermuda could even become the headquarters of a UN secretariat or small agency. The argument that Independence would hurt tourism was "a red herring,'' Mr. Allen said.

An Independent Bermuda would still have "pseudo-British trappings,'' and the Queen as the titular head of state. But it would seem even "more foreign,'' which was a selling point.

Mr. Allen said his own travel trade magazine had surveyed 100 North American travel agents in July of 1994 and found that 88 percent felt Independence would have no effect on Bermuda as a tourist destination. Six percent said it would hurt Bermuda, and six percent said it would enhance the Island as a destination.

In general, "the travel agents simply don't care.'' But Bermudians who were in charge of their own destiny and did not have the "hang-ups and frustrations'' of colonial status would have a better attitude toward visitors.

It was Bermudians, not the British colonial connection, that made the Island stable, Mr. Allen said. "Countries that were unstable as colonies were often just as unstable as Independent countries.'' But countries like Singapore and Barbados were calm both before and after.

Mr. Allen noted that Bank of Bermuda chairman Mr. Eldon Trimingham had voiced some of the strongest concerns about Independence, but his bank had just opened a new branch in the Independent republic of Mauritius. And that country had become Independent under a Labour government.

Islands like Singapore had flourished under Independence, and Malta had turned its former Royal Navy Base into "one of the busiest commercial seaports in the Med.'' The PLP had always advocated modest overseas representation for an Independent Bermuda, and tourism offices and honorary consuls could be used, Mr. Allen said.

At one time, Bermuda had "chutzpah,'' but now was suffering from a lack of self-confidence.

Mr. Allen resumed his speech in the afternoon, tackling race and voting issues for a good hour.

The history of Bermuda was filled with "suppression of indigenous Bermudians'', he said. And in considering independence and the "R'' word, the party had to be concerned about the rights of "indigenous Bermudians''.

"There is certainly a long history of undermining the wishes of indigenous Bermudians,'' he said. Giving examples, he referred to the "haphazard way'' of granting Bermudian status and "unequal'' voting constituencies.

The unequal north-south and east-west parish lines giving some districts double the voting population of others was "a total dilution of democracy''.

"In Devonshire, for example, the white population is heavily in the south while the black population is heavily in the north.'' This gave rise to stereotyping districts as "black'' and "white'' and a "UBP stronghold'' and a "PLP stronghold''.

The UBP had created for itself 14-16 safe seats this way -- and presented a major handicap to the PLP, he charged.

He added, "The overwhelming number of people granted status have been white.

The most illuminating statistic is that only 13 percent of the total population of Bermuda is Bermuda-born white, like myself, for example, and 18 percent is non-Bermudian (white). And of the total population, 55 percent are Bermuda-born black -- only five percent are foreign-born black.

"So clearly, the granting of status was given out in an uneven-handed way,'' he said.

Continued tomorrow