Assembly this morning, a party spokesman said last night.

And while there had been some "give and take'' in a full day of United Bermuda Party caucus meetings, Government did not plan to amend the referendum bill, Sen. Lawrence Scott told The Royal Gazette last night.

"The bill will go ahead tomorrow,'' said Sen. Scott, who as party deputy chairman chaired the second caucus meeting, which stretched from 5 p.m. well into the evening.

"That has to indicate to you that there has been some position change in regard to the matter.'' Sen. Scott said "full and frank discussion'' had led to the decision to go forward.

While he could not state that all Government MPs would support the bill, "I expect that everybody will be there,'' with the exception of Deputy Speaker Mr. Tim Smith, he said.

Already faced with a paper-thin majority and rebellion from its back bench, Government's problems were compounded on Tuesday when Mr. Smith was hit by a car and suffered a badly-broken leg.

He was scheduled to have surgery today and will not be able to attend the House to vote. But Government decided against delaying the vote until Mr.

Smith could return.

The House is scheduled to rise for Easter today and not return until May 12.

While the Easter Break could be delayed, many MPs are booked to fly to the Caribbean next week for the Australia/West Indies cricket Test series.

And Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira is scheduled to fly off the Island on business on Saturday.

But Sen. Scott said travel plans were "not a factor'' in Government's decision to move ahead.

"The matter has created a certain amount of anticipation in the community,'' he said.

"We thought it was responsible that we should deal with the matter now, as opposed to later.'' The business community has been pressing for a quick end to the prolonged Independence debate.

In The Royal Gazette yesterday, the senior partners of Bermuda's two largest law firms called on Government MPs to support the bill and get on with the referendum, planned for this summer.

Without Mr. Smith, Government has a 20-18 majority which will be further cut to 19-18 when the House goes into committee and a Government MP must take the chair.

Two Government MPs, the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto and Mr. Trevor Moniz, abstained on a similar referendum bill that was defeated last year.

Until yesterday, neither had shown signs of a change of heart.

While the nature of any compromise was not clear last night, at least one of the dissenters appeared to have softened his position.

"There's been a lot of give and take,'' said Mr. Moniz. "I'm optimistic.'' He would not comment further. But with one only Government abstention, the bill could still pass today.

Earlier yesterday afternoon, the bill's sponsor, Deputy Premier the Hon.

Irving Pearman also said the plan was to go forward.

Asked about the prospect of losing the vote, Mr. Pearman said he was not worried. "You don't take things to the House to sit down and expect to lose,'' he said.

Community and Culture Minister the Hon. Wayne Furbert also expressed confidence. "If we take it to the House tomorrow, I think we'll win the day,'' he said.

Despite differences, "I believe at the end of the day that the members of the UBP have always been able to pull through.''