paper on constitutional changes went into a fair amount of detail on changes to constituencies, the elevation of the Auditor to Auditor General and changes in terms in the document.

The discussion paper contained one other change which was not noted when she spoke in the House.

She proposed to repeal section 30 (1) (a) of the Constitution, which reads: "No person shall be qualified to be appointed as a Senator or elected as a Member of the House of Assembly who -- (a) is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.'' This is the "Ewart Brown amendment'' promised by the PLP in its platform which would allow born Bermudians who have become citizens of other countries to sit in Parliament.

The section caused an uproar after the 1993 Election when Dr. Brown was elected in Warwick West and it later emerged that he was a US citizen.

After a considerable debate over the meaning of the section, Dr. Brown abandoned his US citizenship and was duly returned to the House in the 1998 Election.

Now Government aims to make the issue moot by eliminating the entire section.

The Government says there is a basic unfairness that born-Bermudians can be barred from sitting in the House of Assembly if they have been granted citizenship in another country, especially if people born elsewhere who later gain Bermuda status are allowed to sit in Parliament.

The opposite argument is that a person who chooses to become a Bermudian could be expected to be loyal to Bermuda because of that choice; the loyalty of a born-Bermudian who subsequently chooses to swear an oath to another country may be in doubt.

In the discussion paper, Ms Smith makes the point that dual citizenship is becoming increasingly common, in part because more and more countries allow it.

But there is a difference between a person, who perhaps by virtue of his parentage, has two passports, and a person who chooses to take up another country's citizenship.

Still, the mere fact that a person has citizenship in another country may not prevent him or her from carrying out their duties as a Parliamentarian in Bermuda successfully.

The greater test is whether the person through other acts has sworn a greater loyalty to another country, such as by joining their civil service or military.

Here, Government's decision to abolish the entire section is short-sighted.

The section states that "any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence'' to foreign power or state shall disqualify a member.

The definition of the section is considerably broader than simply taking up citizenship in another country and is designed in such a way to prevent split loyalties. By eliminating the section entirely, the way would be clear for people with divided loyalties to make decisions on behalf of all Bermudians.

The House must decide if that is what it wants.