Mid-Ocean News last Friday, there is not a great deal left for a departing Editor to say about his tenure. However, isn't there always an however, I want to thank you, the readers, for your involvement with this newspaper over many years. The circulation has climbed enormously while I have been Editor but there has been corresponding criticism.

The Royal Gazette seems to be the newspaper you love or the newspaper you love to hate. In many ways that indicates that The Gazette does its job "without fear or favour''. It is impossible in a small Country to please all of the people. Sir John Sharpe during his long period of United Bermuda Party prominence in Bermuda said, "The Opposition complains about The Gazette just as much as we do so I guess you must be doing something right'. UBP MP Harry Viera responded, "Everybody complains because they're not doing anything right.'' Despite PLP complaints, one of the things of which I am most proud is an award given to me personally by the Progressive Labour Party, signed by then leader Lois Browne Evans, who gave me a big kiss when she presented the award, for fairness of coverage of the PLP during an election.

You, the readers, have given The Royal Gazette the highest penetration of its market of any newspaper in the English speaking world. Here on Par-la-Ville Road we are proud of that. We are also proud when we hear people say, "It's true, I saw it in the paper.'' We also very much appreciate those people who call in to say, "I don't like that in my newspaper,'' or "What are you doing to my newspaper now.'' Reader habit causes readers to resent changes in "their newspaper''.

Very often Bermudians and other residents come back to Bermuda from visits abroad and tell us that they are glad to get back to "their Gazette'' because the papers they were reading abroad "don't have much news''.

We like to think that the last comment is due to the careful policy to make The Royal Gazette into three things. First a national newspaper for Bermuda covering politics and the courts and the daily events in this Country, good and bad, warts and all. Secondly we try to be a local paper in a small Country hence the charities, the presentation pictures, the graduations, the promotions and even the birthdays. Thirdly we try to serve those Bermudians and residents who are interested in international news by providing a wide spread of news from abroad as well as a wide spread of business news and sports. We think our sports results coverage and wide reporting of intenational sporting events represents the wide interest readers who have lived abroad or been educated abroad.

For all of that you can thank the directors of The Royal Gazette Ltd. who have been willing to spend large amounts of money on the news product. The Gazette , as the only daily game in town, would probably attract just as much advertising and make a good deal more money if the international news and picture services and the local newsroom were reduced. But the philosophy has been and hopefully will continue to be to produce a good general newspaper.

That I think we do. Many people "in the know'' consider The Royal Gazette one of the finest small newspapers in the world.

Complaints? Yes we get them from you, often because we are one of the few organisations which are required to make their mistakes in public without the ability to cover them up. Mistakes? Of course, no organisation is perfect.

Regrets after all these years? Yes, I would not be human if I did not have some.