Progressive Labour Party veteran Lois Browne Evans yesterday said the controversial decision to call for a boycott of the Island's referendum on Independence was the right course to take.

Mrs. Browne Evans said: "I think it was the best thing still -- I know there are some people who don't.'' And she took a swipe at British Government policy for dealing with its colonies.

Mrs. Browne Evans said the UK "did not listen to reason'' in its dealings with its overseas territories.

She added: "When the Foreign Office deals with its colonies, it's got one kind of method -- it listens to the Government.'' But she said: "Now we're the Government.'' Minister for Legislative Affairs Mrs. Browne Evans delivered the keynote address to the PLP's annual Founder's Day Luncheon at the Hamilton Princess.

She said the PLP decided to call for voters to abstain from voting in the 1995 Referendum because the party also wanted single-seat constituencies and more equal electoral areas.

Mrs. Browne Evans -- a former leader of the party -- was invited to give the main address to the lunch, organised on the theme of "Building a New Bermuda on a Solid Foundation.'' The ex-leader is the longest-serving Member of Parliament -- she was also the first black woman MP in Bermuda when she won her seat in 1968.

She also became the first woman to be picked as leader by the Opposition in the British Commonwealth.

Earlier, Mrs. Browne Evans took guests at the lunch on a trip from the PLP's beginnings in 1963 up to 1980.

And she described the party's up and downs from its beginnings through PLP splits which saw them reduced to only a handful of seats at one stage.

Mrs. Browne Evans said: "These were some days -- some good days, some bad days and some electrifying days.

"The only thing we didn't call in was the Policeman -- that wouldn't have looked good in the next day's papers.

And she added: "The fact that we're still here sometimes astounds me -- I know what we went through. I know what perseverance really means.

But she admitted: "I thought we would march onward and up. I didn't realise there were so many valleys.'' Mrs. Browne Evans recalled the 60s, when the party fragmented, with five MPs quitting to sit as Independents, leaving her as the sole PLP representative in the House.

And she remembered ground-breaking moments in labour history like industrial action at the King Edward Hospital over a decision to ban Dr. Barbara Ball from the premises after she played a major part in the campaign for universal adult suffrage.

And she told the party faithful she had received a bullet in her mail and a warning to stop speaking at public meetings in support of Dr. Ball, now with the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Mrs. Browne Evans also told of the split in the party which led to only seven MPs being returned in 1980 after their seats had peaked at 18 in the 70s.

She said: "It hasn't been easy -- there were times it took a toll on my family.'' But she paid tribute to Trinidad-born husband John, who she said backed her political life.

Mrs. Browne Evans said: "But for the fact I married a foreigner, an expatriate, at a time when the PLP was condemning all expatriates -- he encouraged me to stay on.''