was yesterday repealed in the House of Assembly after a lively verbal exchange between United Bermuda Party and Progressive Labour Party benches.

The Summary Offences Amendment Act -- introduced by Home Affairs Minister Quinton Edness -- abolishes "wandering abroad'' as a criminal offence.

"It is an outmoded concept in today's world, a legacy from the days of slavery when it was an offence to be caught wandering,'' he said. "There has always been a negative element to this with our black population.'' Speaking in the House, the Minister added that homelessness was a social problem and should be resolved by means other than the courts; services such as the Salvation Army were already in place to help.

The law was also in contravention of international conventions governing human rights, as well as the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he said.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Alex Scott, however, while supporting the amendment, took Mr. Edness to task for providing nothing more "than a marginal walk down memory lane'' during the debate.

"I believe part of the motivation is not in these laudatory commitments to the freedom of the individual. The Minister in doing the arithmetic is trying to cut down on the number of people committed to incarceration,'' he charged.

"The law should never have been on the books in the first place.'' What, asked Mr. Scott, will come of those people now wandering abroad. There were problems with people pandering on the streets and reports that some were getting increasingly violent. There were also problems with the homeless who suffered from mental illness.

Meanwhile Government -- through its policies -- has turned social workers into bankers whose only job is to dole out money, he added, calling for Government to hire at least one full-time street worker.

Mr. Scott then brought Mr. Edness to his feet in protest with words to the effect the Minister was an uncaring person.

House repeals `wandering abroad' law "It's amazing to me in 1997 that Bermuda still has a law on its books that was used to control slaves,'' said Progressive Labour Party MP Renee Webb.

"The Country should be absolutely amazed that we are only now removing this law that was used to keep slaves from wandering away from their masters.'' The Opposition MP also took Mr. Edness to task, saying the Minister had a past history of playing to emotions when it comes to the broad policy of punishment: "This is the same Minister who called for a return of the birch, when we all know whipping is a violation of international laws.'' PLP MP Paula Cox said the law was a long time coming. Recalling her days as a reporter with The Royal Gazette , she described how one day in court an unnamed Senior Magistrate faced with a man charged with wandering abroad became frustrated having to deal with what is essentially a social problem.

Despite the repeal, she added, the problem won't go away. Government still needs to address the issue, she added.

Rising to respond, Mr. Edness gave a backhanded slap to Mr. Scott: "I'm really grateful for the last two speakers'' he told the House, "for elevating the debate to a higher intellectual level.'' He also slammed the PLP for their failure over the years to introduce any such legislation.

"The PLP was formed long before our party,'' he said. "They claim to be the great guardians of social progress; they could have brought a bill before the House at any time. Talk is cheap.'' Meanwhile Government had clearly recognised homelessness as a social problem and had allocated funds to agencies such as the Salvation Army.

Looking across the floor to his PLP counterpart, Mr. Edness fired a parting shot: "I'm getting tired of those people who go wandering abroad with their comments.'' Quinton Edness