asked to say what was discussed at a Cabinet meeting on August 15 -- the day Bermuda's Independence referendum was supposed to be held.

"My instructions are, sir, that (the Cabinet has) not consented to this disclosure,'' Mr. Elliott Mottley told Mr. Telford Georges, who is chairing a Commission of Inquiry into the referendum's one-day postponement to August 16.

In response, Mr. Georges sent a message to Cabinet, formally requesting that Dr. Clarence Terceira be allowed to say what subjects were discussed at the 5.30 p.m. meeting.

The question needed to be answered "if this commission is to serve any useful purpose at all'' and if it is to have "credibility'', Mr. Georges said. The three-member commission was appointed by the Governor amid widespread suspicions that there was an attempt by politicians to put the referendum off until Christmas.

The chairman's decision to send the request to Cabinet followed an exchange in which Mr. Georges argued it would be alright for Dr. Terceira to tell what was discussed at Cabinet, while Mr. Mottley argued it would break the law.

Dr. Terceira, who was Education Minister at the time of the referendum and is now a United Bermuda Party backbencher, strongly opposed the Independence initiative led by former Premier Sir John Swan.

The brief he submitted to the commission asked a number of questions, including whether the commission could subpoena minutes of Cabinet meetings held August 14 and August 15, and whether Ministers could say "exactly what happened'' at those meetings.

"I felt if the commission couldn't answer ... in the affirmative, I wondered about the credibility of the report (it would write), in that it would not be complete,'' Dr. Terceira said.

Mr. Georges said the commission's position on Cabinet oaths of secrecy was clear. The agendas, or topics of discussion, would not be protected by Cabinet secrecy, and neither would any decisions taken by Cabinet, he said.

However, "if there was controversy in Cabinet, or discussion over the matter, we were not really interested in the discussion, because the discussion ended in a result, and it was the result which was the matter of moment,'' he said.

But Mr. Mottley argued yesterday that the policy of Mr. Georges -- a retired Court of Appeals judge -- conflicted with the law.

While there was an absolute ban on Ministers disclosing Cabinet discussions, the oath also said they could not disclose "the business'' of Cabinet "except with the authority of the Cabinet'', the AG said.

Mottley holds firm on Cabinet secrecy From Page 1 But Mr. Georges noted that the Commission of Inquiry had been set up with Cabinet's consent. "If the Cabinet decides that the events and circumstances leading up to a certain postponement must be investigated by this commission, then it would seem totally counter-productive that the minimum disclosures considered necessary ... were shut off.'' Mr. Mottley said Mr. Georges should look again at the commission's terms of reference. It was supposed to look at events which occurred on August 15 leading up to the one-day postponement in the referendum, he said. But returning officers were sent to open their polling stations early in the afternoon, at which stage the referendum to be held the next day had "commenced'', Mr. Mottley said.

The Cabinet meeting was not held until 5.30 p.m. that day. By then, "whatever happened ... can not be circumstances leading up to the postponement of the referendum,'' he said.

Mr. Georges noted that it was not until after the Cabinet meeting ended at about 7 p.m. that it was publicly announced that the referendum would proceed.

"There's no use opening the polls at ten o'clock the next morning unless Government tells the public,'' Mr. Georges said. "One of the reasons why there is a great deal of distrust and suspicion is that it was set out, apparently with some degree of official support, that an announcement would not be made until a Cabinet meeting was held.'' Mr. Mottley remained adamant that no request had been made to Cabinet to waive the secrecy rule, and it could not be implied that Cabinet had consented.

Mr. Georges' request was sent to Cabinet shortly after noon yesterday. Cabinet is scheduled to hold its regular Tuesday meeting this morning, and the commission is set to resume its public hearings at Wesley Methodist Church Hall at 2.30 p.m. today, when Cabinet Secretary Mr. Leopold Mills is to take the stand for the third time. Dr. Terceira is set to testify at 3 p.m.

In other testimony yesterday: Mr. John Barritt, who is now Minister of Technology and Information but was a Government backbencher at the time, said he spoke to then Finance Minister David Saul on the morning of the 15th and was "left with the impression that the referendum would not be going ahead and that would be the end of the matter.

"There would be no referendum.'' While Mr. Barritt was "surprised and upset'', Dr. Saul, who has since replaced Sir John as Premier, "didn't seem perturbed''.

Lawyer and former Government Senator Mr. Wendell Hollis said he spoke to several returning officers as they returned from opening and closing their polling stations on August 15. None knew the referendum would go ahead the next morning, he said.

"Whilst they had opened and closed the polls, they were not aware of when the polls would be re-opened,'' Mr. Hollis said.

Lawyer and Government backbencher Mr. Trevor Moniz testified that Sir John had become totally obsessed with Independence in the lead-up to the referendum.

"We began to see desperate acts of desperate men,'' he said.

Mr. Moniz said when Cabinet Secretary Mr. Leopold Mills went on radio at about 8 a.m. on August 15, he was absolutely certain Mr. Mills said the vote was both "cancelled'' and "postponed indefinitely''.

He would not make such an announcement without the consent of the Premier.

In sworn testimony, Mr. Mottley said it was his opinion throughout that the referendum could only be postponed through an act of Parliament.

Contrary to testimony by Government backbenchers who brought a court action against Parliamentary Registrar Mrs. Marlene Christopher that day, Mr. Mottley said he told the Supreme Court that ballot boxes had been sent out with returning officers. His statement was supported by the Chief Justice's notes from the proceedings.

As well as Mr. Georges, the commission is made up of former Permanent Secretary of Finance Dr. Walwyn Hughes and lawyer Ms Sonia Grant. It is expected to conclude its hearings today.