Once again I feel compelled to thank Senator Col. Burch for enlightening the Country to the inner workings of the current Government.

We have now been emphatically told that the 46 percent of voters who did not vote for the PLP have no say in the running of the country and that the PLP is not interested in their view.

Shades of Hitler, the Gestapo and suppression abound for all to see. Maybe we should erect a bronze statue of Col. Burch at the gates of Hamilton tearing up the Constitution whilst waving to the unemployed pouring out of the city.

PHIL CRACKNELL St. George's It belongs to me, too November 6, 2000 The following was sent to Baroness Scotland of Asthal at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and copied to The Royal Gazette .

Dear Baroness Scotland, I would like to make my fears and reservations known to you regarding the PLP's intentions to change the Constitution of Bermuda.

I do not object to the party wishing to make some changes, some of which are necessary; what I do object to is the method they propose to use.

They wish to rush it through without letting the people have full knowledge as to how, why, and what, they want to change. Where is a slogan circulating in Bermuda that says: "We don't know, you don't know, and they won't pay''.

Surely that says it all -- what are they afraid of that we cannot have full discussions with several open meetings and if necessary a referendum? The Constitution belongs to me. To the people. It is a sacred document that upholds our democracy. If my Constitution is going to be changed, I want to know why and how and be given the respect to have a say in the Government's plans.

I beg you Baroness to advise Britain to withhold their blessing, until we the people have been thoroughly informed of every aspect of the changes the PLP now wishes to make.

DIANA E. WILLIAMS Pembroke Premier sidelines people November 6, 2000 The following was sent to Baroness Scotland of Asthal at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office London and copied to The Royal Gazette .

Dear Baroness Scotland, I am a registered voter and citizen of Bermuda. I am writing to you in regards to the recent number of controversial actions taken by the Premier, Ms Jennifer Smith.

Let me first make perfectly clear, my comments are based on the fact that I do not care who is in power, as long as Government is working for and with the people of Bermuda.

This is my concern. Ms Smith, as Premier, has the power to become a dictator or at least to dictate to the people what will be done in our country.

She can overthrow or implement any law or act she wishes without coming to the people. She has suggested she wishes to change our Constitution and redraw the boundaries on our constituencies.

As it appears, she's going to do this of her own accord without the people's approval. She has also stated that we do not need to be informed of all this.

This distresses me greatly. I cannot stress that point enough.

I have grown up in this country for all 24 years of my life, under the impression that we, the people, used our votes as our voice to the politicians and that they were here to do our will.

I'm firmly for instituting change in Bermuda to better everyone's life.

However, I do not live in a communist or dictatorship country! I value my right to have my say in the workings of the Government and exercise them everytime that there is an opportunity. I would expect that if the Government in power is not respecting my rights as a citizen and voter that a higher authority steps in and makes sure that no one is abusing their position and power.

I would hope that as a Commonwealth country, Britain and the British Government would be interested in the wishes of the people of this country and not just the Premier's.

She was elected as our voice, but when she is not doing the job that she was hired for, where do we, the people go? I request that you look into these matters and make sure that the people's interests are being served, and not simply those of Jennifer Smith.

MICHELLE DE SIO-ALBUOY Paget How it's going to be November 8, 2000 Dear Sir, I write to express my concern at the direction our present Government has decided to take in making some major changes to Bermuda's Constitution.

This Constitution is the single most important document which protects the fundamental rights and freedom of every person in Bermuda. The PLP has decided it needs changing and has expressed the view that as the Government they have every right to make changes as they see fit without reference to the Bermuda Public.

No public discussion, no referendum, no constitutional conference. This is how it is going to be.

We've been told that single-seat constituencies are to be the order of the day, the number of seats in the house are to be reduced possibly halved and that present Parish boundaries will be scrapped.

It is unfortunate that our Constitution does not include a provision outlining the procedure for amending it. An earlier writer outlined the safeguards required in the United States -- i.e. two thirds approval by both houses of Congress and then subsequent ratification by 3/4 of the states legislature.

So to start with, we should add a section to our Constitution which details that any constitutional change must be voted on in a referendum and receive two thirds voter approval to be adopted.

Constitutional changes should only be undertaken after careful study and then the rationale for change should be presented in such a manner that all Bermudians understand what is proposed -- and why -- to enable an informed discussion.

Only at that point are we ready to consider such matters as proportional representation versus first-past-the-post ways of retaining our historic Parish boundaries, full-time politicians, more or less members of Parliament, who may or may not be eligible to be an MP.

Eight years ago I was proud to be a "Concerned Bermudian'' -- a small group who successfully put a stop to the then-Premier's obsession with Independence.

Hopefully there will be a groundswell of public opinion concerning our present situation which will prevail and we will remain a constitutional democracy.

COLIN SELLEY Paget No meaningful debate November 9, 2000 The following was sent to Baroness Scotland of Asthal at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London and copied to The Royal Gazette .

Dear Baroness, I am writing to you from Bermuda where the Government is proposing to make changes to our Constitution.

Many people here are in favour of the reasons for changing the most valuable document on our Island home, including myself. You have been well briefed, I understand, on what those changes are: redressing imbalances in the relative weights of votes by re-drawing districts, changing the numbers of elected Members of Parliament, etc.

The trouble is the Government refuses to tell us exactly how they are going to change our Constitution. This means there can be no meaningful public debate.

Worse yet, since they have a majority in the House, and strong party discipline, it should be easy for them to see their changes, whatever they may be, swiftly passed into law.

This is totally unfair, undemocratic, and very frightening, for these are probably only the first of many such changes.

Despite repeated expressions of voter concern, an independent poll showing that the majority of voters are not in concert with Government on this issue, numerous letters to the papers, etc., Government still refuses to provide any information or allow for any meaningful, popular debate.

They simply repeat the mantra that they are the party of change and change there will be; presumably, even if they have to ram if down our throats.

To reassure us, they have said there will be an independent commission to recommend what changes should be made. But why should a commission make these changes and not the people? In addition, under this proposal, the Premier can then review and change anything and everything the Commission puts down before placing the new Constitution before Parliament.

Given the above, it is perhaps not surprising that what little information we do have indicates the Government would like to reduce the number of elected representatives, possibly by 50 percent. Thus power will be highly concentrated. An ironic goal for this party, the PLP, which has always called itself the "Party of the People''.

I have spent ten years of my life working for CNN in the United States. The only governments that I have ever seen do this sort of thing were either communist or dictatorships. Yet the United Kingdom offers the average Bermudian no support.

As I understand it, the UK feels that since the Government was popularly elected, and there has been no apparent evidence of public concern (whatever that may mean), then it is perfectly fine for the Bermuda Government to go ahead.

Please remember, the ruling party, the PLP, gained power with just over half the popular vote. Is this a mandate for changing the Constitution two years after that election? If you desert us, please remember you are also deserting democracy.

Granted, on the global scale, Bermuda is nothing more than a tiny, inconsequential island in the middle of nowhere.

But we Bermudians are human beings. We have been working to build our democracy for many years now and we were doing well and in many ways the last election proved it.

But now things have gone off the rails and we need help to get back on track.

Democracy is not always perfect. Remember, Adolf Hitler was also popularly elected.

With the greatest sincerity and respect.

ROBERT S. ZUILL Pembroke Let them do their job November 10, 2000 Dear Sir, Congratulations to the PLP on their two years of running our Government. I say to them keep steady.

The meeting held last week at Centennial Hall went off well except for the stupidity of two people from the floor.

The first tried to take control by ignoring the moderator who was telling him that his time for speaking had run out and the other, in my opinion due to the moderator being remiss, had the audience raise their hands in favour or not in favour of a referendum.

I can just imagine someone like the Letter to the Editor writer, Mr. Raymond Russell, trying that at the meeting held recently at Astwood Hall.

After more meetings on the subject of what the Government is proposing there will still be the scare tactics vociferously promoted. This uproar has come about since the PLP proved the myths to be just that, myths.

Week after week the capability of Government is evidenced causing unhappiness to those behind the myths.

I say emphatically no need for a referendum. Proceed to govern.

ROSS TUZO Warwick P.S. I would like to know what public good Mr. Moniz performed in the announcement of the 15-year-old giving birth? CedarBridge not the issue November 9, 2000 Dear Sir, As students of CedarBridge Academy, we are sick and tired of the negative publicity contained in The Royal Gazette about our school.

We don't understand and would like an explanation why the positive contributions made by our school are reported in the back of paper, while the negatives remain on the front page.

On Tuesday, November 7, in The Royal Gazette we were appalled by the front-page coverage of an incorrect story involving a CedarBridge Academy student.

If teenage pregnancy is a wider societal issue, what is the relevance of naming the school the young lady attends? Other than the opportunity to once again show CedarBridge Academy in poor light.

Teenage pregnancy has been an issue for generations in Bermuda. It certainly did not arrive on the heels of CedarBridge Academy when the majority of students are attempting to make positive choices in their personal and academic lives.

We are also continuously making contributions to the community, such as on November 3. The entire school participated in a community service day, which benefited the whole community of Bermuda. We also made a sizable contribution to last month's Breast Cancer Denim Day (November 7, Royal Gazette Page 25).

We are merely young adults attempting to better ourselves. We strive toward becoming students of excellence, a task that would be much easier if we were not constantly bombarded by negative comments and being forced to defend ourselves to the newspaper, Members of Parliament and the community at large.

This whole situation brings to mind an old adage which remains applicable today, "If you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all.'' Fortunately for us, we the students all know the truth about CedarBridge Academy and what goes on here. Unequivocally we are students of excellence, second to none.

MRS. PENNY'S ADVISORY S2 CedarBridge Academy Joe Bloggs paid his fine November 6, 2000 Dear Sir, I am a retired senior citizen and my ability to read small print without glasses is poor.

I recently parked my car on Queen Street for a period of ten minutes returning to find a parking ticket on my windscreen.

It appears I had scratched a wrong section by mistake. I went at once to the Police station and politely explained my error. I was told they could do nothing and I was then duly fined for my offence.

On Easter Sunday morning 1999, Police set up a radar trap for traffic entering East Broadway catching people going into church.

I had merely passed from one lane into another at 32 m.p.h. for a short distance then back to normal speed.

I explained this to the Police and that I was quite sorry for my haste. I was told you can tell that to the magistrate if you so wish.

I got fined.

I have had only two speeding tickets in 42 years on the road and for speeds under 35 mph. I lost my licence for three months and was also fined.

I have experienced parking tickets being given to some while others get off and I feel sure many, many others have also.

I have seen cars double parked outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Queen Street almost everyday.

With the tragic loss of life by young Bermudians, especially males and tourists, due in most cases to driving at uncontrollable speeds, I would have thought we would be much more serious about stopping the madness.

Now we have our (political) leaders speeding at 71 kilometres per hour -- on one of most difficult, narrow roads in all Bermuda -- and the Police do nothing about it.

What will the Police do if they kill or main someone. Lets get real here! JOE BLOGGS Paget