probably a good deal more busy than most Bermudians realise. This is especially true on Tuesday's Harbour Night when there is a mixture of people, visitors, St. Georgians and people from all over Bermuda. The mixture is not always comfortable.

Passengers from the ships at Penno's Wharf walk back and forth to their ship along narrow Water Street. Yet there are a fair number of people who "hang around'' outside some Water Street bars who are often offensive to those walking by and whose language is obscene at best. They often make personal comments to visiting women and generally behave in a way which, we believe, causes cruise visitors to return to their ships.

Part of the problem is the small space in which to congregate, basically the Square and one street. This crowding takes place in an area where there are a number of bars which seem to fuel the problem. For some reason St. George's with all of its character and history and charm has not been careful about the character of some of its establishments. It is all very well to be concerned about the appearance of the town but the inside character matters as well.

As an example, one new bar on King's Square, housed in an historic building, must be one of the ugliest and most garish rooms in the Western World.

Everything about it is out of character with the town. Let us hasten to say that it is not the only one. Then too, some people have opened places which are major contributions to the Town but too often you have to "run the gauntlet'' to get to them.

A huge effort by all sorts of people is going into revitalising St. George's.

The work that can be seen is only the beginning. Mayor Henry Hayward, architect Stanley Kennedy, Corporation Secretary Larry Jacobs and the St.

George's Foundation's Louis Mowbray are spearheading a drive which should make St. George's one of the most desirable towns in the world.

But all that will amount to very little if people are driven out of the town by bad behaviour and vicious attacks. St. George's is a great little town full of some wonderful people and it must not be ruined by a few, many of them not from St. George's.

There are some solutions. The Liquor Licensing Authority should be very careful in granting licences. The time will have to come when the Corporation of St. George's concerns itself with whether or not businesses in the preservation area are appropriate to the nature of the Town. It already bans fast food franchises and it may have to take other steps. The Chamber of Commerce has a part to play in encouraging members to contribute to the Town's character.

Policing is essential to make visitors comfortable, especially on nights when the cruise ships are in port. If this is difficult for the Police Service then St. George's will have to move to its own town security services in the central area. It is folly to work only on bricks and mortar.