from a Government Senator during the Motion to Adjourn.

Senator David Burch, the former commanding officer at the Bermuda Regiment, noted that the Upper House had met a number of times to debate the Progressive Labour Party's first Budget.

However, the Lieutenant Colonel pointed out the Opposition had failed to replace Patricia Gordon Pamplin who is running for a vacant Parliamentary seat in Paget West.

It was a crucial time in the Senate, he continued, and while the two remaining Opposition Senators, Maxwell Burgess and Kim Swan, had not done too bad in the Budget debates, there should be a third Opposition representative.

He said the lack of a replacement for Ms Gordon Pamplin, as allowed under the Island's Constitution, should raise grave concerns about the Opposition's attempts to hedge their bets in the Paget West by-election.

While he had not seen polls of the area's voters himself, he continued, maybe they were indicating that the former Government was about to lose another Parliamentary seat which meant the Opposition had adopted a wait-and-see approach in case they were forced to return Ms Gordon Pamplin to the Upper House.

Sen. Burgess, the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House said he and his colleague Sen. Swan were having no difficulties in taking on the Government's five Upper House representatives during the Budget debate.

When Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon was ready to nominate a third Senator then she would do so, added Sen. Swan, but until then they would continue to represent their party's and their follower's interests as well as they could.

Senators will today discuss Government's bid to stake a place in the sun for Bermuda's tourism industry. More than three hours of the last Senate meeting of the session will be devoted to the Budget statement on Bermuda's second-biggest earner after international business.

But first, Senators will finish off the debate on the Development, Opportunity and Government Services section of last month's Budget statement.