for granted, a defeated United Bermuda Party candidate charged yesterday.

And Mr. Phillip Smith said St. George's South would also fall to the Progressive Labour Party if Government did not start treating the parish fairly.

"The Premier needs to put (St. George's South MP) Grace Bell in the Cabinet so she can get some exposure,'' Mr. Smith said. "If that doesn't happen, she's in trouble.'' In an interview with The Royal Gazette , Mr. Smith also said: All four UBP candidates in St. George's signed a letter early in 1993 supporting Carnival Cruise Lines' bid to send a ship to the Old Town; Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan burst a bubble of excitement in St. George's four days before the election when he contradicted the Town Mayor and said Boston-Bermuda's Royal Majesty was not the only contender for the dedicated cruise ship; He was "embarrassed'' to speak at a UBP forum at the St. George Town Hall later that night, because of "confusion'' Government created on the cruise ship issue; Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. (Jim) Woolridge's attack on Carnival president Mr. Bob Dickinson was "ridiculous''; and There was "a definite disagreement'' between the Premier and Mr. Woolridge on the cruise ship issue, and the pair appeared headed for "a collision''.

Mr. Smith, who represented St. George's since 1985, saw his running mate Mr.

Gladwin Doc Hall defeated by the PLP in 1989 before losing his own seat in the latest election.

"For some reason unknown to me, the party appears to have taken the people of St. George's for granted, and they were tired of it,'' he said.

On the cruise ship issue, Government created confusion and "got too caught up in the politics and forgot to put the best interests of Bermuda first''.

Sir John said Carnival's Tropicale cruise ship was being considered for the Old Town, while Mr. Woolridge had publicly rejected the ship. And Mr.

Woolridge publicly admitted he had not spoken to Carnival, or Mr. Dickinson, its president.

"I really don't know who to believe, or who's in charge,'' Mr. Smith said.

"Obviously, there is a definite disagreement. It looks as if the Premier and Minister basically are heading into a collision somewhere along the way.

"How could you reject a cruise ship when you haven't even talked to its representatives?'' he asked. "Being a St. Georgian, that would make me very angry.'' He particularly could not understand why Mr. Woolridge had not talked to Carnival when he, his running mate Mr. E. Michael Jones, Mrs. Bell, and her running mate Mr. Rick Spurling had signed a letter to Government supporting that company's bid more than six months ago.

At the time of that letter, Boston-Bermuda Cruising Ltd. was not yet in the picture with proposals to serve St. George's with the Sally Albatross and later the Royal Majesty , Mr. Smith said.

When Town Mayor the Wor. Henry Hayward called a news conference on September 30 to say Royal Majesty would be the regular caller to the East End, "the people believed him'', Mr. Smith said. "They felt good and they were excited, and I felt the same way.'' But a day later, when the Premier said Carnival was also in the running, "the same kind of belief wasn't there'', he said.

That night, Mr. Smith had to speak at a UBP forum at which Sir John also appeared and felt "embarrassed'' to face the crowd.

Ex-MP embarrassed "If I could have avoided having to speak, I would have done so,'' he said.

"I was tempted to voice my opinion then, but I realised at that particular time it would not have done any good.'' In his speech, Mr. Smith toed the party line and echoed Sir John's remarks that two cruise ships to choose from was better than one. But inside, he said he was seething.

The Premier and Tourism Minister should have "made positive statements at least two to three years ago'' about St. George's getting a cruise ship once other contracts expired in 1994, he said. But, "we never got that type of a clear message''.

"That's where leadership comes in. You commit yourself to the people, and then you are obligated to maintain that commitment,'' he said.

But Mr. Smith said he was not criticising Sir John's leadership. "He has his own leadership style,'' Mr. Smith said. "I would have preferred someone who would just take the lead and make a positive commitment to the residents.'' Mr. Woolridge's criticisms of Carnival president Mr. Dickinson as ignorant and opportunistic were "ridiculous,'' because the Minister had not even talked with him, Mr. Smith said. "St. George's wants a cruise ship. I don't want that to get lost in all the bickering that's going on.'' Mr. Smith said he still believed the UBP could win St. George's North back, but he did not know if he would be a candidate again.

However, he still attended caucus meetings and planned to fight to assure promises made to St. George's during the campaign were kept.

That included the dedicated cruise ship, needed improvements to Ordnance Island to accommodate the ship, a new $200,000 firetruck, and a $100,000 reduction in the town's debt, he said.