fulfilled and the rest either in progress or scheduled, Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan said yesterday he was "looking forward'' to facing the Opposition when Parliament re-opens next month.

"Morale is very good,'' he said of the mood of his Cabinet and fellow party members. "We are all looking forward to the opening of Parliament, when we will give our Throne Speech and outline our programme for the next year.'' Sir John said everyone in Cabinet was currently working "very hard'' on those tasks.

The source of the Premier's high spirits is a so-called UBP "report card'' that judges the Government's first year in office on how well it adhered to last October's "Blueprint'' commitments.

The report, which will be distributed to the public in today's edition of The Royal Gazette , crows that "18 important commitments have already been filled'' and prompted former schoolteacher and current Finance Minister, the Hon. David Saul, to last week bestow on his Cabinet colleagues an A- for their performance.

"It's more than satisfactory progress,'' he said.

The release of the progress report also coincides with a special UBP canvassing of its constituents across the Island.

The survey, which began on the weekend and continues through October, will be conducted by UBP MPs, senators and supporters to take "information contained in the progress report directly to the doorsteps of the people''.

Premier Swan in an upbeat mood Added UBP chairman Senator Gary Pitman: "The United Bermuda Party believes that Government has made significant progress in addressing important issues such as racism, equal opportunity, the fight against drugs and managing the bases transition.

"This canvass is also our opportunity to get valuable feedback from constituents which will guide us in the next Parliamentary session.'' That session, meanwhile, will see the debate of an issue that was not brought up in last year's general election.

"Recognising that more than three quarters of Bermudians would like to have more information about the issue of Independence,'' Sir John writes in the progress report, "Government in June indicated its intention to produce a Green Paper which will identify the issues and examine the pros and cons of Independence for Bermuda.

"It will debated in the House, widely discussed and debated in a series of public meetings.'' Sir John said a referendum on Independence would be planned either before the end of the next Parliamentary year or during the 1995 summer recess.