make up their own minds, according to a former Bermuda director of education.

Mr. D.J. Williams was speaking at an Independence Forum at the Pembroke Hamilton Club on Thursday night.

As well as Mr. Williams, Minister for Health and Social Services the Hon.

Quinton Edness was there as was PLP MP Dr. Ewart Brown.

Mr. Williams said: "We are in grave danger of losing sight of what the referendum is meant to do. I hope people vote in the referendum as they individually want to vote and are not influenced by any pressure from any groups, political or otherwise.'' He added: "The ministers of state should have remained neutral and it should have been left to the people of Bermuda to say yes or no.

"The machinery has got out of hand. A referendum should be based on an individual's right to say yes or no to a straight-forward question.

"It has all got out of hand. Where the UBP is going I don't know. Where the PLP is going I know even less.'' A member of the audience also asked the two politicians to name three benefits of Independence and three drawbacks.

In response, Mr. Edness said: "I do not believe there are any tangible material benefits. What we will get, which will be the most positive, will be a Bermuda where we are one people.

"You cannot translate that into dollars and cents, but there are some things that are more valuable than money.'' He also said it would bring "tremendous maturity'' to the country, which would have more freedom to build its own relationships with other countries.

Dr. Brown said in reply to the question said a "PLP kind of Independence'' would bring a peaceful society, "peaceful in terms of crime an drugs''.

He said there would be a democracy, a fair environment and a Bermuda that "educates, trains and employs Bermudians''.

On the downside, Dr. Brown said Independence would cost money and would mean Bermudians working much harder "to improve the quality of our schools, to clear things up and to get Bermudians into jobs''.