-- that the colonies are indeed revolting.

For -- despite a UK rearguard action to present the ground-breaking UK-Caribbean conference in the Bahamas as some sort of international lovefest -- it was clear that the British Government was a little taken aback by the way its Dependent Territories fought their corners.

And Premier Pamela Gordon -- no matter what the Opposition Progressive Labour Party chose to say when she was not on the Island to defend herself -- stole the show in the Bahamian capital of Nassau, as she did at the London Dependent Territories Association conference, and worked harder than anyone.

And she was ably backed up by the quieter -- but impeccably well-briefed -- style of Finance Minister Grant Gibbons and the legal expertise of Attorney General Elliott Mottley. Even UK Civil Servants, the front line defence between Ms Gordon and Britain's UK Labour Government representatives, expressed a reluctant admiration for her lethal combination of personality and a heavyweight punch when required. One high-ranking British Foreign Office man admitted that Ms Gordon hit the forum like a pint-sized Bermuda hurricane -- then alternated charm and the skills of a streetfighter to devastating effect.

He said: "She was even allocated her own personal protocol officer from the Bahamian Government -- which was rather unusual.

"Ms Gordon came in, made a fuss, got everybody's attention and capitalised on that throughout the forum.

"She was popping up and down all the time to get her points across. She even turned it into a bit of a joke. But she did make her points very effectively.'' Ms Gordon didn't even waste coffee breaks, introducing herself around delegates, Civil Servants and UK Labour politicians, pushing Bermuda's position relentlessly. It was ironic that Deputy Finance Minister Eugene Cox said the Premier should have been in the House on Friday to explain the significance of Britain's wishes for the international business community to the public "rather than cavorting all over the Caribbean at a conference where she cannot fully participate.'' That day the Premier was sitting in on an international session with delegates from all over Europe, the Commonwealth, as well as the Americas, called to discuss offshore industry and the rules under which it should be governed before jetting back to Bermuda in the afternoon.

And -- as an editorial in yesterday's Royal Gazette pointed out -- it would have been "a gross dereliction of her duty'' if she had missed such a debate.

But the PLP was strangely silent on the actual content of the conference, in particular the UK's apparently heavy-handed approach to enforcing regulation of offshore industries on Bermuda and its view that Bermuda's death penalty must go to satisfy UK treaty obligations -- some of them with these same European countries.

And it apparently failed to realise that the first day of the conference was for the Caribbean area, where Bermuda was allowed a full role in discussions.

The second day involved European and other countries and it was under Britain's rules, not Bermuda's, that the Island was relegated to observer status.

But the Premier's decision to draw attention to the anomaly apparently helped force a concession which allowed the Dependent Territories time to brief the UK Foreign Office staff who spoke for them during the second day.

Gordon shows her muscle to UK It is also ironic that the PLP -- pro-Independence and by inference anti-UK rule -- had stars in their eyes prior to attending the non-Governmental Dependent Territories Association conference and, according to a UK source, attempted to make much of the fact that their delegation was bigger than the Bermuda Government's.

And it was PLP leader Jennifer Smith who tried to make capital out of accusations that the Premier was not taking the DTA conference seriously enough -- which suggests some rather elaborate mental gymnastics, to say the least, given her Shadow Finance Minister's comments about cavorting.

The rather unedifying sight of the go-it-alone-minded PLP trying to cuddle up to a UK Government in London whose links with Bermuda they apparently resent contrasted rather sharply with Ms Gordon's refusal in Nassau to be overawed or lulled into a false sense of security by a bit of British waffle put about by a bunch of spin-doctors who formed an unbreakable cordon around Labour Ministers.

Ms Gordon's uncompromising approach to the UK's review of its relationships with the newly-dubbed Overseas Territories drew support from the Caribbean colonies -- even though much of Bermuda's worries over international business and its Constitution in relation to the death penalty did not directly concern them.

Hubert Hughes, Chief Minister of Anguilla, had the death penalty in his country abolished, along with the four other Caribbean colonies, by direct British intervention.

He said: "The people of Anguilla would rather have the death penalty -- we resent the Order in Council being passed to get rid of it. I support the Bermuda position wholeheartedly.'' Mr. Hughes also backed Bermuda's refusal to be dictated to over the regulation of international business.

He said: "I believe that the Territories have eked out a living by using what resources they have.'' Mr. Hughes added: "It's not a crime to be a tax haven. Bermuda is a tax haven and we see nothing wrong with that.

"And when you talk about money laundering, the City of London has laundered more money than you ever could in a place like Bermuda.'' Mr. Hughes said the Island had been "very cooperative'' in passing legislation to combat white collar crime.

But he backed the Premier and Finance Minister Grant Gibbons when he insisted there must be "a degree of confidentiality'' in business dealings.

He added that Anguilla was following Bermuda's lead and not going in for foreign banks and the murky financial waters that can lead to, but rather the registration of companies.

And Mr. Hughes said: "We have to protect our way of life -- our economy is dependent on that.'' Chief Minister David Brandt -- whose volcano-stricken Montserrat is struggling for survival -- said the Dependent Territories were at different constitutional levels and had diverse problems.

He said: "Ms Gordon put forward her views with conviction and she was very articulate.

"And I think the present leaders of the Dependent Territories are pleased that our voices will be heard in matters which concern our peoples.

"We put on record our concern that Britain might want to impose certain legislation on us so it can fulfill its international obligations.

"We, on the contrary, feel that it ought not to be done and they should take into consideration what the people of the colonies want. In the case of legalising homosexuality, we in Montserrat are against it.

And he insisted: "If it's going to be a partnership we cannot have one side insisting everything they do is right.

"We believe we have reached the stage where we are of age and our views ought to be taken into account by them and they should not, merely to satisfy their international obligations, pass laws for us which we are against.'' But Mr. Brandt still said he felt the UK rewrite of relations and Mr. Cook's attempts at a new relationship were "a start.'' He added: "There is a long way to go -- but they have taken the first step.'' British Virgin Islands Chief Minister Ralph O'Neal was also taking a cautious approach to easier access to the UK for his citizens until he knew exactly what Britain wanted in return.

But he said: "I think it's a fresh start -- to my knowledge this is the first time the Dependent Territories have been treated this way by the Foreign Office.''