Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan opened the Throne Speech debate on Friday by calling the recent opening of Parliament "a historic and momentous occasion''.

Offspring of two former MPs who "struggled for rights'' had entered the House of Assembly for the first time, he said.

Youth and Sport Minister the Hon. Pamela Gordon was the daughter of Dr. E.F.

Gordon, "who fought very hard for the cause, particularly of blacks in our community''.

Dr. Gordon lived in a different time, when there was "a struggle for the rights which we today, Mr. Speaker, take for granted''.

Today's Bermuda was different, represented by a biracial Government representing its diversity and "the struggles of her father,' Sir John said in reference to Ms Gordon.

The mother of the Progressive Labour Party's Dr. Ewart Brown , Mrs. Helene Brown, was a UBP MP representing Hamilton East "in helping to bring about the new Bermuda -- the Bermuda of today.'' Bermudians tended to take what they had for granted and "be their own best critics,'' the Premier told the House in a 75-minute speech. Many parts of the world had not seen the progress Bermuda had.

The world had changed and the East-West confrontation that contributed to much of the Island's prosperity had "vanished''.

Now, "we run the risk of major nations no longer having a focus on Bermuda from the point of view of us being important to them. What we have to do is make us important to them.'' Bermuda could not live in isolation, but relied on "the goodwill and the need by others to be provided with the services that Bermuda offers. Without that, we become just like many other small Islands, with no resources and no ability to meet our commitments.'' What was promised in the UBP, as well as the PLP, election manifestos, "can only be achieved with a sound economic base'', and it was because of the infrastructure Government built on past prosperity that "we are more optimistic about the future, even with the formidable challenges that we have''.

In order to take advantage of opportunities, young people had to have positive attitudes. If those attitudes were not instilled by parents and others, "we then end up having committed our young people to an imprisonment; to a form of slavery''.

The Blueprint which the Throne Speech was partly drawn from would be carried out over five years. The ability to do that was built on the twin foundation of international business and tourism.

The "glass ceiling'' would be broken not by Government, but by all Bermudians, and the new Ministry of Human Affairs was only a facilitator. The closure of the US Naval Air Station was "going to cost us a great deal of money,'' both in Airport operations and maintenance of Base buildings.'' In the coming term, there would be more emphasis than ever on the young, Sir John said.

In tourism, Bermuda would have to change as well, as people were more interested in healthy lifestyles and did not want to sit in the sun as long.

Places like the Bermuda Biological Station would become more important as tourist attractions, and the proposed Underwater Institute was "essential for Bermuda''.

The future had to be emphasised with the young, not the past.

"We can beat up on Front Street; we can beat up on international business; we can beat up on the many institutions in our society, but at the end of the day, their job is to do business,'' Sir John said.

The Premier thanked the public for giving an eighth consecutive mandate to the UBP, while "Governments have been falling all around us''. The UBP had brought change through a new young group of candidates, he said.

"We haven't produced a utopia,'' Sir John said. "It hasn't worked for everybody as well as it has worked for some,'' yet Bermudians were returning to the Island from around the world because they recognised the Country as a safe and prosperous one.

Sir John complimented the PLP for the introduction to its campaign manifesto in which it talked of a Bermuda of equal opportunities. The UBP believed in the same thing, he said.

While Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade said on television that he expected an election within 18 months, he "has a five-year wait'', Sir John said.

"The honourable member having lost two elections, if I was his party I would be assessing who the next guy is going to be.'' Sir John said he was tired of the pettiness he heard from the other side of the House.

"Don't tell me you want to sit back and hope that sufficient black people will vote for you to put you in power,'' he said to the PLP.

Bermudians did not want to see a Country with potholes in the streets and derelict and burnt-out buildings, he said. "They want to see Mr. Speaker a vital Bermuda. It's given to them by the United Bermuda Party.'' Even if young people did not wish to support the UBP, they should feel positive about the opportunities available to them.

The UBP believed in what Dr. Gordon, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X stood for, he said. In response to Oposition heckles, he said the UBP believed in what "(Sir Henry) Jack Tucker'' stood for, too.

Mr. Wade rose and said he would make his formal reply to the Throne Speech after lunch. Until Sir John became Premier, the Government allowed the Governor to deliver the Throne Speech, and did not "spend an hour and a quarter rewriting'' it in the House.

Mr. Wade said he found it offensive that Sir John continued to "encumber'' Ms Gordon with her father's legacy, particularly when Dr. Gordon and Sir Henry Tucker were political enemies. Also, "she doesn't need her father's legacy to make her mark''.

When he cited Dr. King and Malcolm X, Sir John "distorts his own place in world events,'' and "diminishes the achievements'' of the civil rights leaders, Mr. Wade said.

"I don't want the Premier going around...trying to take on trappings he doesn't have,'' he said. "You make a fool of yourself and Bermuda.'' Mr. Wade said that in his speech Sir John also implied that blacks could only govern if they were in a white party.

"The honourable member is trying to rewrite my speech,'' Sir John said. Mr.

Wade said that Bermudians felt both parties were capable of running the country.

The full text of Mr. Wade's prepared Reply to the Throne Speech was reprinted in full in Saturday's newspaper.

Mr. Wade departed several times from the prepared text of his reply to the Throne speech (printed on page four) to attack and ridicule the Government. He said his party might put forward a motion demanding a debate on a review of the tax system.

He said the PLP had been forced during the election campaign to defend itself from the Premier's charges of incompetence.

The party's meetings with international business heads had also been mocked.

But in many of the meetings, the party had learned there were firms that had someone employed full-time to deal with Immigration.

Such employees had to tackle "all the many problems'' resulting from Government policies on Bermudianisation and employing non-Bermudians.

The Premier had said the recession was over. "We contend that the recession never started for some people in Bermuda and it certainly is not over for too many people.

"The court's calendar is crowded with people who can't pay their debts and are in serious trouble.'' Bermudians were still unemployed, underemployed or doing casual work, he said.

Returning to the election campaign, he slammed the Premier for making "derogatory remarks'' about the black caucus of US Congressmen.

To strong denials from the Premier, Mr. Wade accused him of reportedly calling the caucus "one big party''.

In reality, the caucus was courted as one of the largest voting blocs in Congress.

Key members of Congress had not been told by the Premier, the British embassy or Bermuda lobbyists that the US Navy ran the Airport.

This was "amateurish'' of the Government, Mr. Wade said.

Mr. Wade was rebuked by the Speaker after he accused the Premier of "trickery'' in setting up a photograph of himself meeting Congressman Ron Dellums on the Base issue.

Mr. Dellums had been in a meeting, and after persistent efforts on behalf of the Premier, he had "reluctantly'' agreed to come out and meet him.

On coming out, Mr. Dellums had been met by the Premier and Sir John Sharpe with a camera.

Mr. Wade said condemned the "audacity'' of the UBP in using the resulting picture in an election broadcast.

It was also "contrary to common decency'' and protocol for the UBP to have used a picture of the Premier with President Clinton in election material.

On the subject of race, Mr. Wade said the PLP was only interested in seeing fairness.

He told the Speaker, Mr. Ernest DeCouto: "Your election to the chair of the House is a testimony to people's desire to have fair play.'' The Opposition did not want the Government's "tokenism''.

The Premier's concept of a "glass ceiling'', preventing black people advancing, was "nonsense''.

"Dr. Brown got it right when he said it was a steel or concrete ceiling we're dealing with, if we're going to get Bermudians into the mainstream of life in Bermuda.'' He asked the House to imagine a white Fairylands resident whose lawyers were Conyers, Dill and Pearman. When that resident bought a $3 million home in Tuckers Town, how would Government persuade him to give the conveyancing business to a black law firm? "This so-called glass ceiling is about money, it's about doing business, it's about sharing the wealth.'' Big contractors were constructing buildings and then getting five-year maintenance contracts for them. Small firms were therefore unable to get a share of the business.

On the legal system, he criticised Government plans for a family court as "piecemeal''. Such a court should deal with a whole range of family problems and be headed by a "high court judge'', he said.

Government had still only one official in charge of community service sentences, he said. This person did not have a vehicle, and was trying to handle about 50 clients.

Criminals sentenced to community service were laughing on their way out of court. "They know nothing is going to happen to them.'' COX HITS BACK AT INCOMPTENCE CLAIMS Responding to Mr. Wade, Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul said: "How a party that has lost an election can behave as if they are the Government is beyond me.'' Mr. Wade's address had been a "shadow speech, with everything moving about and no substance''. He mocked the section on expenditure control as "gibberish''.

Dr. Saul said Bermuda had a conservative Government, slightly more left than most, but centrist.

Bearing Canada in mind, one might have expected the Government -- after a long recession -- to have lost the election.

But the UBP was back with another mandate and 10 percent more seats than the PLP.

"We have won a majority of the same magnitude that we had last time,'' he said.

This was despite PLP "high jinks'' in the campaign. An example was the "possibly illegal and unethical behaviour from the paid custodian of the civil service, threatening the senior people in the civil service''.

"High jinks'' also included the sticking up of political posters in Warwick West and the use of postal workers to deliver leaflets for nothing.

The UBP had also won the election despite the lowering of the voting age, he said.

The population trusted the UBP, which was the party of "social conscience and prudent financial management''. Government believed in economic and social stability.

Dr. Saul pointed out that the Government had continued to provide social assistance during the worst recession the Western world has known since the Second World War.

He said: "We handled the finances of this country so well that we were able to give $10 million in extra assistance.'' He praised Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. Jim Woolridge who, he said: "In the teeth of a recession he was able to get more cruise passengers here than in a decade.'' The Finance Minister moved onto Bermuda's other biggest revenue earner, international business. He said with the 7,300 registered companies the Government was striving for quality not quantity.

The increased revenue had helped inflation figures and Dr. Saul said the economic situation was strong and attacked the Opposition's talk about "glass ceilings''. He said: "We have a concrete floor.'' Dr. Saul ridiculed the PLP's pre-election promise that they could raise money from mining manganese nodules from 12,000 feet, on the ocean bottom.

He said: "This is wild dreams and utter nonsense. People who have tried to mine manganese nodules from 3,000 feet have lost their shirts. They do not even exist at 12,000 feet.'' The Minister continued to list areas where Government had seen successes including the falling crime rate and the Bermuda College.

Dr. Saul said his budget will be balanced and put forward provisions for capital borrowing in the future.

Shadow Finance Minister Mr. Eugene Cox started his speech by holding up a copy of the Bottom Line magazine which features a picture of Dr. Saul in a suit jacket and running shorts on the beach.

Mr. Cox said: "Dr. Saul seems to be making an effort to change his image.

This more intellectual and sober approach is better than his usual arrogance.

"However, the picture of him in the Bottom Line suggests he has just mugged a tourist and is trying to get away with the haul. The whole of Bermuda is looking at it.'' Mr. Cox called for training of teachers at Bermuda College instead of having to send them over to Canada to train.

Replying to criticism about the Opposition promise to create full employment and zero inflation, Mr. Cox said: "That is our goal. That is what we want to achieve.'' He blasted Government ministers for saying that international business would leave Bermuda if a PLP government came to power. He said: "They to tried to infer that new international business entering Bermuda was put on hold because of the impending election.

"But the Minister of Finance said the most successful was the third quarter.

When he had an abundance of international business coming on board. It makes a lie a lie of that statement that people were holding off.'' Making his maiden speech in the House, Minister of Human Affairs the Hon.

Jerome Dill opened by stating that difficult times brought out the best and worst in people.

Part of his portfolio will be race relations and Mr. Dill called for all parties to unite to stamp out the racism.

He said: "The new ministry is trying to get a handle on discrimination but at the end of the day it will all come to nought unless we get the support of our colleagues in the Opposition.'' Mr. Dill was concerned that the PLP had expressed fears over the race relations division of his ministry eventually becoming part of the Human Rights Commission. He said that it would not be such a bad thing.

The Minister added that he was looking forward to working with Dr. Eva Hodgson and other people who may have "viciously criticised'' the Government in the past.

He added that co-operation was also needed in the Country's fight against drugs.

Mr.

Dill said Government was committed to upgrading the skills and qualifications of anti-drug professionals.

He said they would have the chance to improve themselves through scholarships.

"Research is being undertaken to examine the feasibility of professionals being attached to treatment facilities in other locations to gain experience of treatment in other countries.'' Mr. Dill underlined the St. David's pilot drug prevention programme.

He said Goverment had promised it would consider extending the pilot scheme to the rest of Bermuda -- if it proved successful in St. David's.

Opposition MPs demanded why St. David's had been chosen. Why not Somerset? Mr. Dill replied: "We took it to St. David's because the people of St.

David's are as deserving of the scheme as any other place.

"Its roots, beginning and its genesis are in St. David's, but if successful there is no reason why it cannot be extended to include the entire island.'' Mr. Dill said he would be meeting people in St. David's next week to discuss the fight against drugs.

He would discuss with them the data that had been gathered.

Turning to parish councils, Mr. Dill said Government was determined to find ways they can better serve Bermuda.

It was wrong to disparage councils by saying they did nothing at present.

A number of them were responsible, for instance, for running nursing homes, and carrying out routine -- and not so routine -- maintenance of sites.

Mr. Dill said he had met presidents of parish councils recently. They were keen to contribute to the discussion on how they should proceed.

"They were extremely excited at the prospect of networking.'' Mr. Dill explained this meant St. George's parish council could liaise with the one in Somerset, for instance.

The two councils could compare and contrast how they go about things, and perhaps find a "commonality''.

Synthesis was vitally important in the community, he stressed.

Mr. Dill spoke of the "door principle'' -- a New York outreach programme to help young people.

Government was committed to bringing it to Bermuda, he said.

It would help cure anti-social habits, offering health care, sex counselling, and other social services.

Legal and vocational counselling, as well as anti-drug and alcohol prevention programmes, would also be offered.

Mr. Dill switched to the race relations division in his Ministry.

He said the division could collaborate with the Human Rights Commission in tackling the problem of race.

Mr. Dill added he was also keen that the division had more than merely an "inspectorial'' role.

Mr. Dill said institutionalised racism had been defined as the disadvantaging of groups of individuals by policies and guidelines within institutions.

His Ministry could play the role of "facilitator'' in helping combat institutionalised racism.

Often the solution to a problem was staring people in the face but it required a "facilitator'' to bring the solution to the fore.

Mr. Dill said his Ministry could give advice and guidance on how to tackle such racism.

Mr. Dill said there was a link between the drugs and race problems afflicting Bermuda.

Government was determined to find the solution -- and he hoped the Opposition was likewise.

The Sir Hon. John Swan Mr. Eugene Cox The Hon. David Saul The Hon. Jerome Dill