British heritage is shared by all Bermudians, says historian Mrs. Joyce Hall.

Speaking this week to the Hamilton Lions Club, Mrs. Hall said Bermuda has benefited from its colonial status, for which Britain "asks of us nothing other than loyalty to the Sovereign and that we live together in peace and harmony''.

She would "never understand those among us who would end this happy association'' for Independence, which would "lead us nowhere and gain us nothing, while giving up the substance that has enriched our lives and after two world wars against tyrants has left us free''.

The speech from Mrs. Hall -- who has been active in the National Trust and other organisations -- comes in the lead-up to a referendum on Independence which Government plans for this summer.

Meanwhile, author and educator Dr. Eva Hodgson told a news conference this week that she would outline where she agrees and where she differs with Mrs.

Hall at a lecture on Tuesday sponsored by the Progressive Labour Party.

Mrs. Hall said she prepared a history paper on Bermuda's British heritage because "today there seems to be so much misunderstanding about what our relationship with Britain has been''.

While there were "people with varying roots'' in Bermuda, those who called the Island home "all have a common heritage'' through a nearly 400-year history as a British colony, Mrs. Hall said.

Mrs. Hall traced the Island's history from the time it was first spotted by the Spanish in about 1505, through the wreck of the Sea Venture carrying English seafarers on the uninhabited island in 1609, the development of the Bermuda Company, and Bermuda's election to come under the Crown in 1684.

"Bermuda is Britain's oldest colony,'' Mrs. Hall said. "When I was growing up, this was something of which all Bermudians were very proud.'' Examples of Bermuda's heritage cited by Mrs. Hall included: early British forts around the Island; early maps of Bermuda based on a 1617 survey; the State House in St. George's and the annual Peppercorn Ceremony; British common law and appeal to the Privy Council; a Constitution, postal system, and sterling coins all inherited from Britain; and the Royal Navy's legacy in Bermuda, which included the sports of cricket, football, and sailing.

"Whenever Bermuda has asked for assistance from Britain, it has received every encouragement, by way of regimental reviews, Royal Commissions and in other ways to liberalise its institutions and its understanding of democracy,'' Mrs. Hall said.

"Sadly, it has to be recalled that England, like all other mercantile nations in Europe, participated in the slave trade,'' she said.

However, Bermuda was not directly involved in the slave trade, perhaps because it was too small, she said. Slaves in Bermuda came in the first instance from the West Indies. "The lack of plantations did mean that for the most part, the conditions experienced by the slaves in Bermuda were very different from those in the West Indian islands and the colonies of the American mainland.'' While one had to be "unhappy'' about slavery, "it is well to recall that it was through the liberalising efforts of young Englishmen, such as Thomas Clarkson and his friends ... that the slave trade was outlawed by the British Parliament,'' Mrs. Hall said.