Royal Gazette.

*** Dear Sir, I am writing to lend my support to the letter written by Mrs. Trerice expressing her call for a Constitutional Conference for the proposed changes to the voting system. No one would question "one man, one vote of equal value'', for this reason open dialogue must take place so that all parties who have an interest in this matter are heard.

I was very disappointed to read that you had written to Mrs. Trerice and chastised her for speaking out. Does this mean we have also lost our freedom of speech? You said on the Everest Da Costa show that you had not heard any public outcry regarding the planned changes to the voting system. It would appear that any form of opposition to your plans would not be welcomed. I had hoped Bermuda had matured with the election of your party to form the government and that intelligent dialogue could and would take place where and when the time came for matters of such importance.

I have reviewed your platform and can only find a small paragraph regarding single seat constituencies. There are by no means any details of any significance to warrant amendments as important as this to be rushed through the House of Assembly.

I would hope you would reconsider your decision to hold a constitutional conference on this matter and allow the people to have a say, surely nothing can be lost with openness.

SARAH BURROWS Sandys Take care with changes October 24, 2000 Dear Sir, Recent suggestions that the Bermuda Government may have approached the British Government to amend the Bermuda Constitution through an Order in Council underlines a major and dangerous shortcoming in our constitution.

The Bermuda Constitution is the key document protecting the fundamental rights and freedom of every person in Bermuda. As such, changes in our constitution should be undertaken with care and should meet a higher level of community acceptance than other forms of legislation. This higher level of requirement should prevent the government of the day from arbitrarily changing the constitution without substantive community support. In the United States, for example, constitutional change requires a two-thirds approval by both Houses of Congress and the subsequent ratification by at least three-quarters of the state legislatures. This higher requirement has made it difficult to change the US Constitution and has protected it from numerous arbitrary changes that would have undermined its strength and power.

Every Bermudian should be concerned that we do not have similar safeguards enshrined in our constitution. The fact that an acquiescent British Government could potentially change our constitution through an Order in Council is terrifying. Thankfully the British Government has acted responsibly on our requests for changes to our Constitution but that may not always be the case.

At this point we depend on the goodwill of the government of the day and the British Government to ensure that abuses do not occur. I for one am not too comfortable with such voluntary safeguards.

If there is any area of constitutional reform that is urgently required, it is in defining how our constitution may be changed and amended. The lack of clear guidance in this regard places the British Government in an impossible position. It must make a qualitative judgment as to whether requests for amendments to our constitution carry sufficient public support for them to follow through with the amending legislation. The recent difficulty of the British Government in defining what is acceptable consultation and support for the Bermuda Government's currently proposed amendments to our Constitution highlights this problem.

I believe that all reasonable people, regardless of political affiliation, would agree that it is in the interest of the people of Bermuda and the British Government for the British Government to convene a constitutional conference to deal with this matter at the earliest opportunity.

ALASTAIR MACDONALD My stay was terrible October 16, 2000 Dear Sir, My name is Sandra Spaights and I'm writing in regards to my recent visit to your country. First, let me say you have a beautiful island. Now when I came on a cruise in September, I thought I was going to have a wonderful time.

Instead, I had a ramp at St. George's that hurt my back, which forced me to stay in my cabin the entire stay at St. George's, then at Hamilton I could not get a wheelchair taxi. I rode my chair to the Botanical Gardens myself, in traffic which is dangerous.

Then the next afternoon I came ashore and browsed around, as there were no taxis again. The woman at the docking area showed me the telephone number for a wheelchair taxi. It was the same number that guest relations on ship had given me. I called and left a message where I could be reached.

I then stayed outside the docking area, to see if a taxi would return. When one did return it was about 6.00 p.m. As it was too late to go on a tour, I asked how much do they usually charge he told me $30 an hour. So, I went back on board and had my dinner and retired.

There was a message left in my room from the taxi I had called earlier. It said they would call me later. Around 11.30 a Mr. Simons (I hope that I'm spelling it right) called and set up for a tour the next morning. When I met Mr. Simons and asked him his price he told me $42 and hour. That's $12 extra an hour.

I told him no thank you, and went inside and told the woman at the desk inside the docking area. She called someone at Transport Control, they told her to have me put it in writing. The afternoon before while browsing on Front Street I saw a sign which read The Allan Vincent Smith Foundation. They were closed for the day and would reopen the next day. I had planned on visiting there just before we were to sail going home.

Since I didn't take the two hour tour, I went there sooner. The gentleman there a Mr. Michael Fox heard my dilemma and immediately offered me a small tour of the Island. That was really great and unselfish of him, I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am.

I had met someone else also whom I called and she said if she had known that I was having such a terrible time she would have tried to show me around. It seems neither one wanted me to leave unhappy.

This letter is just saying you need to get wheelchair accessible. You get plenty of tourists who are in wheelchairs. Your tours, buses, main attractions, sidewalks and taxis need to be upgraded for people in wheelchairs.

I'm just saying I had a very terrible time and I hope when I return to see the wonderful people I met, you will be as we say in the States wheelchair friendly.

SANDRA SPAIGHTS Newark, New Jersey Allen's out of touch October 18, 2000 Dear Sir, David Allen's comments in the Reuters interview on shopping in Bermuda (which appeared in your October 6 edition) would indicate that he has been so busy jet-setting around the world at taxpayers' expense that he is totally out of touch with what is going on at home.

One direct quote from him noted that Government over the years has reduced duty on natural fibre clothing. Would you ask him to have a chat with his Finance Ministry colleague, who in fact quadrupled the duty on natural fibres in the last Budget? The gradual reduction of duty was a policy of the UBP government...something Mr. Cox cannot uphold, because of the irresponsible squandering of the public's money by his current lot.

You might also suggest that Mr. Allen stay in Bermuda for some after Christmas shopping, when he will find very little resemblance between his idea of what goes on...and what actually does. English and Scottish woollens and crystal and Cashmere are not 50 to 75 percent off -- except in very rare instances.

TRULY WORRIED Paget Responsible smokers October 26, 2000 Dear Sir, Marijuana smokers are frequently inactive politically, discouraged and fearful of speaking out publicly. Following two decades of "just say no,'' "zero tolerance,'' mandatory penalties and ever-increasing numbers of marijuana arrests, it is understandable why they are intimidated. But we can't achieve the policy changes we seek without the active support of our core constituency -- the thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens who smoke marijuana responsibly. We must demonstrate that there is a significant constituency of voters who oppose current marijuana policy, and that politicians can no longer win elections by supporting the arrest and jailing of marijuana smokers.

We are calling on those individuals to send a message to their elected officials: Responsible marijuana use by adults is commonplace, safe and should be decriminalised.

Educating the non-smoking general public on this issue is certainly a massive task.

We are telling people that smoking marijuana is a normal and common behaviour.

We need to overcome some negative stereotypes and show the public that marijuana smokers are not limited to some "hippies'' in the park. We are also good, honest, hard-working citizens who choose to relax with a joint as opposed to a martini.

Our resources are meagre when compared to the $2 billion anti drug media campaign being waged by the Drug Czar's office. But we have truth on our side, and that's our ultimate advantage.

Get involved.

It is up to the smokers to make this happen. No-one is going to do it for us.

HERBALIST Paget