the role of Parish Councils in Bermuda. We think Parish Councils have a very valid neighbourhood role to play if central Government could make itself comfortable with the fact and empower the Councils to do a job.

The old elected Parish Vestries were important in the affairs of Bermuda and in the life of the parishes. They had enormous influence in encouraging neighbourhood spirit. They were, we think, stripped of power and of duties by a Government anxious to have central control of Bermuda's affairs. That idea is not, of course, always the best one. The vestries served their parishes precisely because they were local to the parish. There was a second element in their demise. The parish vestries were elected and we think there was fear in the United Bermuda Party of having active Progressive Labour Party-controlled vestries in many of the parishes complaining about what Government was or was not doing for the parish.

As a result, we think Government decided years ago to control Parish Councils by making them appointive and thus thoroughly UBP. But there appears to have been a certain wariness of going too far and alarming the public. Thus Government opted for appointing Councils and later took away their functions.

Thus the UBP wound up appointing Parish Councils which were very similar to the UBP's constituency committees but which were empowered to do precious little. As a result they became toothless UBP groups and virtual nonentities.

Mr. Dill is now planning to meet with the leaders of the nine councils to ask them to recommend steps to improve the Council system. We would think the people involved should first look at what councils can do constructively in the parish to improve the parishes. We think they should move away from governing and become guardians of their areas.

It might be that councils could have a middle man role. They could have access to Government Ministers to whom they could report on things needed in their areas. Needy families could be pointed out to Social Services and bad roads reported to Public Works. The Councils could also act as a watchdog for such things as pack racing, dirty beaches, poor garbage collection and street lights that do not work.

They could be very helpful in recommending to the Liquor Licence Authority whether or not liquor licences are suitable in their areas and on the social impact of licences on the areas. They could act as drug abuse watchdogs in a similar way to neighbourhood watch groups.

We think there is a valid role for councils in identifying problems and alerting Government to problems and then insisting on solutions. This kind of facilitator position would take the cooperation of Ministers it could be of enormous assistance in getting things done in the parishes. From the United Bermuda Party's own point of view, it might stop them being accused of neglecting some areas.

We should make it clear that we are not suggesting that the Councils should govern, because Bermuda is already over-governed from Hamilton, but we do think Parish Councils have a place in Bermuda.

As the Shadow Social Services Minister, Mr. Nelson Bascome, suggested, Councils can act as ombudsmen between Government and the public in the parishes.