laid bare to Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan.

Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman and four other Government MPs have told him they would resign if the legislation fails.

And they also warned they would abstain if there was a "no confidence'' motion in Government.

They make their positions clear in a letter to Sir John, which has been given to The Royal Gazette by Mr. Pearman.

The Royal Gazette first revealed the resignation threat in Saturday's newspaper.

"If the Bill is defeated we will have lost confidence in the party, the system and our Parliamentary colleagues,'' the letter states.

"The Party, in our view, would have lost the capacity and the legitimate authority to govern. As a consequence we will resign our seats.'' Elsewhere, the letter says: "We should make it absolutely clear that at this point in time the issue is not whether or not Bermuda should be independent.

It is whether the voters should be given an opportunity to express themselves on the issue.

"If our Party cannot agree to the exercise in democracy by passing the Referendum Bill there is something fundamentally wrong with the Party.

"If our Parliamentary colleagues cannot ensure the passage of this Bill their approach to governing is fundamentally flawed and is something which we the undersigned are no longer prepared to accept.'' The Independence bill comes up for debate on Friday.

With only a 21-18 majority in the House of Assembly, the United Bermuda Party Government is not assured of passing the referendum bill.

Government MPs who do not support the legislation can expect to be disciplined.

Among UBP MPs who have not promised to support the bill are Mr. Trevor Moniz, the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto and Dr. David Dyer.

Last week, Mr. Moniz said a threat like the one made by Mr. Pearman would not affect his decision on how to vote.

"Threats are cheap. I'm really not interested in that game,'' he commented.

Yesterday Mr. Pearman would not reveal the identities of those who co-signed the letter to the Premier.

He said he had handed the letter to The Royal Gazette because of an earlier leak to the paper which had not given a proper account about his resignation threat.

For instance, the leaked story said the five MPs would resign unless the entire caucus supported the bill.

This was not true -- they would only quit if the legislation failed, Mr.

Pearman said.

"The others who wrote the letter don't know that I have gone to you. I suppose they will find out tomorrow should you decide to print the letter.'' Mr. Pearman said Government had decided some time ago how to approach the Independence issue -- following a consensus at Caucus.

This is spelled out in the letter.

"After much deliberation the Government's intention to produce a Green Paper on Independence and a Referendum Bill, to be introduced and debated in Parliament, was agreed by the Cabinet, the Party Caucus, included in the Speech from the Throne, and they are now scheduled for debate,'' the letter begins.

MPs declare they would abstain if no confidence vote was taken It continues: "The general consensus was that, regardless of how members felt about the issue of Independence, the voters should not be deprived of the right to express their view on this important matter.

"The original Bill which provided a decision to be made by a majority of those voting, was, with the concurrence of the Cabinet and Caucus, changed in the Bill before the House, to provide that a decision would not be valid unless 66 2 (two-thirds) of those in the electoral roll voted.

"In this case, the Referendum Bill attaches a deadline that the referendum be held not later than 31st December 1995.'' "The fundamental principle which makes the Government and the Party system work is that once a decision has been made by consensus in Caucus, the subsequent passage of that Bill through Parliament requires any member of a different view to subordinate his/her view to that of the majority; and vote for the Bill. This particularly applies to important legislation with far reaching consequences for the Government and the country. This is the essence of the Westminster model and provided for in the Constitution.'' The MPs warned the credibility of the Government was at stake as Parliament prepared to debate the Green Paper on Independence and the Referendum bill.

"I am concerned about comments I have heard made to the effect that a tiny minority of our members may not support this Bill, notwithstanding the consensus by Caucus that it should be introduced, debated and passed into law.'' The letter ends by telling Sir John: "We thought it only fair to put you on notice.'' Yesterday Mr. Pearman said he could not predict the result of the referendum bill.

"I honestly don't know what will happen. I thought, however, it only fair to advise the Premier beforehand what I wouldn't be prepared to live with.

"In being honest I could became a target for ridicule, but so be it.'' Sir John could not be reached for comment yesterday.