yesterday, saying they had "no input'' into the document that was laid before them in the House of Assembly on Friday morning.

And the leader of a committee that is campaigning for an Independent Bermuda said the paper's bias in favour of cutting ties with the United Kingdom was one of its greatest weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade said he had not yet read the Green Paper, but he congratulated Government for following his advice and producing one. Initially, Government planned to hold a Commission of Inquiry instead.

Mr. Wade called on Government to now produce a White Paper stating its position for or against Independence. It would be wrong to take the Country to a referendum without one, he said.

Government backbencher the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto, who opposes Independence and early last year resigned from Cabinet over the issue, said she had not yet read the discussion paper and could not comment on it.

But she was angry over the handling of the Green Paper, especially when she learned members of the news media received an embargoed copy of the report more than 18 hours before she did.

"The only thing I can say with certainty is that this whole thing has been approached in the wrong way,'' she said. "There was absolutely no input from the caucus,'' and "it's written in stone''.

"It's absolutely unheard of in my Parliamentary experience, and I have been in the House for around 15 years.'' Two other Government backbenchers who oppose Government's Independence initiative, Mr. Trevor Moniz and Dr. David Dyer, also expressed unhappiness that they did not see the 64-page report until it was tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday morning.

The Green Paper was reportedly presented to the United Bermuda Party caucus at a meeting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, but members who attended were not able to take copies of the report with them.

"The Premier was on TV (Thursday) night saying they've tried to persuade everybody to come on board,'' Mr. Moniz said. But "the precise opposite is true''.

Mr. Moniz said the Green Paper was biased in favour of Independence and the cost estimates were a "fantasy''.

He noted that there was no car allowance for the Bermudian ambassadors to missions in London or New York. "Maybe they think they can drive around London in a Velo Solex, instead of a BMW,'' he said. "I don't think it's a document of much substance.'' Mr. Walton Brown, chairman of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda, criticised the Green Paper for a lack of detail.

And he said the Cabinet committee that wrote it had not fulfilled its terms of reference. It failed to explore the effects of Bermuda remaining a dependent territory, or the social implications of either Constitutional option.

The information on costs was "useful'', but the Green Paper should have said how the increased costs would be paid for, Mr. Brown said.

"I think if I was someone who was against Independence, I would be concerned about it, because it has a very clear pro-Independence bias,'' he said.

It should have dealt in detail with "unfounded fears'' like a flight of capital after Independence. "It's flimsy,'' Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Brown also said it would be "entirely irresponsible'' for Government to hold a referendum on Independence without stating its own position.

Mr. Pearman said the committee could not deal with questions like people's fears, as well as social implications, without getting into areas that were subjective. As the debate proceeds, "a lot of it will come out of the discussions,'' he said.

Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira, the only openly anti-Independence Cabinet Minister on the committee, also rejected the charge that the Green Paper was biased.

"I think it is as objective as it could possibly be,'' he said.

During deliberations, "we had our little set-tos'', Dr. Terceira said. "I was very much the watch dog.'' His concern was that the costs of Independence could start low and increase steadily. "I still say it gives us nothing,'' he said. "It is ridiculous, to me, for us to even be going in that direction.'' Mr. Walton Brown Mr. Trevor Moniz