for the Bermudianisation of the Crown legal service on the Island.

The meeting was a follow-up to a petition signed by only 16 of the Island's host of lawyers.

A letter from the National Bar Association of Bermuda (NBA) asking that the UK Foreign Office declare its policy on Bermudianisation of the AG's Chambers was sent to Government House last week.

The move came in the wake of plans to sign up a Director of Public Prosecutions to handle criminal work after Progressive Labour Party veteran Lois Browne Evans became the Island's first political Attorney General in modern times.

The NBA letter said: "The petitioners are concerned that none of the statements included in the UK White Paper spoke to the issue of the "indigenisation'' of the Civil Service.

"The petitioners are particularly concerned that the Attorney General's Chambers in Bermuda have been organised in a manner that has not produced a clear line of indigenous candidates for the senior positions.'' NBA spokesman Corin Smith said: "His Excellency confirmed. .that Government House was pleased to receive positive input from the public arising from the UK White Paper on the Overseas Territories.'' Mr. Smith admitted the number of signatures on the petition was small -- but insisted "verbal endorsements'' had been obtained by from around 50 percent of the Bermuda Bar.

He said: "A number of attorneys sympathetic to its aims were not able to sign out of concern for client and personal interests.

"Other attorneys believed its length, some three legal-sized pages, and technical detail, might limit its impact.'' Mr. Smith admitted: "It was also believed that more signatures should have been obtained to ensure that it was taken seriously by the public.'' But he insisted the goal of the petition's backers had been to attract public attention.

Government House has already started interviewing on-Island candidates for the DPP's job.

It is understood the bulk of the applications -- thought to be around a dozen -- were from overseas lawyers.

But official policy was that the candidates currently in Bermuda, including Bermudians and expatriates, would be interviewed before anyone else was considered.

Deputy Governor Tim Gurney said last night: "We did meet with the representatives and we will forward their concerns to London.''