reprehensible,'' a Government spokesman said yesterday.

And Progressive Labour Party Leader Mr. Frederick Wade should either withdraw the charge or substantiate it, said Sen. Wendell Hollis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Wade was quoted in The Royal Gazette on Wednesday as saying that if the PLP won the next election, his party would inherit a "bankrupt country.'' Sen. Hollis, a United Bermuda Party candidate in Hamilton East, said "no right-thinking politician'' should make such a remark without being able to support it, "given ... the serious damage that such a remark can have on a country.'' He compared it to suggesting a person was bankrupt. In a country's case, it could affect the confidence of residents and international investors, he said.

"The balance book of this country compares favourably with that of any other country in the world,'' he said.

Bermuda ran a balanced budget, did not borrow money to pay current accounts, and held borrowing for capital projects to a minimum, he said. Mr. Wade was off the Island yesterday.

But at a PLP news conference, Shadow Finance Minister Mr. Eugene Cox maintained: "Mr. Wade was obviously correct.'' The debt that Government was reporting was not the total debt it was responsible for, he said.

Mr. Cox also cited "overspending'' at the Civil Air Terminal and the Tynes Bay incinerator.