Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan told MPs yesterday.

He said boosting the Police Service by 500 or 1,000 men would not beat crime.

"We need to lift the spirit of the country,'' he declared.

In an impassioned speech, Sir John told how he was struck by the unhappiness around him.

Bermudians had to come out of denial, and wake up to reality, he said.

That reality included mainly black Bermudians filling up the Country's cells.

It included black businesses disappearing -- and Front Street being almost exclusively the preserve of whites.

It also included a Bermuda grounded in colonialism with the mentality "what is foreign is good''.

Sir John spoke during the House of Assembly debate on the Tumim report on Police community relations in Bermuda. (See Page 4 for full report.) It was a marathon speech which saw the Premier declare his compassion for the "have nots'' and the oppressed.

And it also drew heavy criticism from the Opposition benches.

Shadow Environment Minister the Rev. Trevor Woolridge said Sir John had been well positioned to tackle Bermuda's problems.

He added he found Sir John's speech "difficult to stomach.'' Another Progressive Labour Party MP, muttering under his breath, likened Sir John to a "wounded tiger.'' Speaking for well over an hour, Sir John said the guilt for Bermuda's problems should be shared.

Too much emphasis had been placed on materialism in the past.

There had been a mentality that if tourists were happy, then Bermuda's problems were taken care of.

"I bought into that,'' Sir John admitted.

But he added: "We must buy into our own people. We must make investments in our own people.''