by The Royal Gazette on the streets of Hamilton this week.

Several men and women stopped on the streets of Hamilton this week were not sure they would even vote in a referendum on Independence planned for this summer.

Last week, the House of Assembly approved the Independence Referendum Act 1995, which provides for the vote. The bill must still be approved by the Senate, on April 5.

Only one man interviewed voiced strong support for Independence.

"I think Bermuda should be independent, come hell or high water,'' said Mr.

Al Smith, 35. "I will vote in a referendum, but I won't vote (in an election) in a gerrymandered system like they have here now.'' Mr. Michael Clamens, who turns 18 this July, said he did not think Independence would help youth.

"It's anybody's decision to make, whether they want to be independent or not,'' Mr. Clamens said. "I think it would be the wrong idea. In the future, when I get older, everything has to be stable.'' If Bermuda was independent, "I think it will be much harder for the youth to get on their feet, to get into college, or whatever.

"All of the people who are poor now will stay poor or get even more poor, while the people who are rich will get richer.'' Mr. Clifford Wellington Hodgson, 51, of Hamilton Parish, said the uncertainty surrounding Independence worried him. "It's nice now -- that's the main thing,'' he said.

"I will vote no -- that's for sure.'' Ms Dianne Daniels, 45, of Warwick, said it was her duty to vote and she would certainly cast a ballot in the referendum.

"I think it's time that Government made a decision on Independence, with, of course, the community advice,'' she said. However, "there definitely isn't enough information on Independence.'' Mr. Dennis Irving Pearson Lamb, 69, of St. David's, said he knew nothing about Independence or politics, but "I don't want it''.

"I'm a Bermudian -- a good Bermudian,'' Mr. Lamb said. "There are too many bloody foreigners in here now. Bermudians aren't getting a chance to do anything. They don't want Independence.'' Mr. Abel Madeiros, 83, said he was "a UBP man'', and if the party did not support Independence, he did not think he would, either.

"Once I'm independent, I want to know what we're going to go independent on in Bermuda,'' Mr. Madeiros said. "That's the way I see it.

"Practically everything is brought into Bermuda,'' he said. "The tourists are number one.'' Ms Kate Paton, 25, of Paget, a guest worker on the Island, said she had not taken much interest in the issue, but did not think Independence was a good idea.

"I think it's going to become quite corrupt here, if we're not careful,'' she said. "It's going to become like Jamaica.'' Ms Paton said she had been in Bermuda for five years and had noticed a change.

"What's bothered me more is the violence,'' she said.

Several Bermudians who did not wish to be identified or photographed expressed a lack of interest in Independence and the referendum.

Ms Dianne Daniels Mr. Clifford Hodgson Mr. Dennis Lamb Mr. Abel Madeiros Ms Kate Paton Mr. Al Smith