handover with the same spirit of friendship which has always prevailed.

However negotiators now seem to be sharply at odds over major aspects of the handover.

Bermuda must be one of a very few countries in the world which has remained a close friend of the United States but has never asked the United States for money or for aid. Bermuda is also one of the few countries where there has never been a major problem between extensive United States bases and a civilian population. Indeed, from earliest days Bermudians have made Base personnel welcome.

So what has happened? Money has reared its ugly head.

We do not think that any Bermudian wants a row with our good friend the United States over the bases but nor does any Bermudian want to feel that we are being badly treated after centuries of good relations. The US is clearly closing the bases because having them in Bermuda was no longer politically acceptable in the United States when bases at home were being closed. We think the United States will readily recognise that the Bermudian Government has political considerations too and that Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan's Government is bound to try to get the best deal it can for the people of Bermuda.

The Bermudian Minister responsible, the Hon. Grant Gibbons, was quoted yesterday talking tough about US responsibilities. We do not think he has much option. Dr. Gibbons is honour bound to do the best he can for Bermuda and Bermudians. Bermuda is already faced with loss of revenue generated by the bases plus huge and unexpected Airport costs at a difficult time.

Bermuda must also be free to make its own decisions about the future of the Base lands. That seems to us to require that the Bases agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom should be terminated entirely and the land given back to Bermuda. We cannot be placed in the uncertain position where Bermuda gets control of the land but the Bases agreement stays in effect.

Bermudians are well versed in the way landlord agreements work and everyone knows that if you lease someone's property and improve that property, the improvements return to the property owner along with the property. That may well be why Bermudians in general reject the idea that they should pay $140 million for "improvements'' made to the bases. First of all, many Bermudians do not see what was done at the bases as an improvement at all. They also know that construction was for military purposes and much of it is of no real value or application to Bermuda's civilian usage.

The United States, and just about every other country today, lives with great and growing concern for the environment. In the United States itself there has been very close scrutiny of lands once occupied by the military. Bermuda cannot do less without local authorities being accused of not caring about the Island. If Bermuda took back damaged land and then attempted to solve the problems at the expense of Bermudians there would be a political row of major proportions. The US military has had the land for its use and in its care since the early days of the Second World War. It has a moral responsibility for the condition of that land.

Some of what Bermuda is seeing in the talks are simply negotiating stances. We do not think the US can be serious about a payment of $140 million to get our own land back. We know Bermuda does not want to break off talks because the scenario from hell is closed bases which are not returned to Bermuda.