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[printed: Le Castel Blanc, 14 Rue Turgot, St.Germain-en-Laye.]
12 March 1947
Dear Sir,
I have taken the trouble to look for the exchange of correspondence between the Consul of Malta, the Consular Agent at Larnaka, and myself, concerning the credit granted to the Archaeological Mission directed by me, by the Commission of Excavations for the research at Enkomi in 1946 and 1947.
It emerges from the copy of letter A that, in my capacity as Secretary General of the Commission of Excavations and, referring to the telegram opening the credit on the part of the Directorate General of Cultural Relations, I had requested by letter dated 21 May 1946 the Consul General of Malta to hold the grant at my disposal through the intermediary of the consular agent at Larnaka, on my arrival in Cyprus in the month of August 1946. This letter was countersigned by Mr F.Neumann, head of the Financial Service. It is perfectly in order that the Secretary of Excavations indicate to the Consul, after the regular opening of a credit by the Directorate General of Cultural Relations in favour of an archaeological mission, how the payment to the Head of the archaeological mission is to be made.
It emerges from the copy of letter B written from Arslan Tepe, Malatya, Anatolia, dated 16 August 1946, that the Director of the Archaeological Mission informs the Consular Agent at Larnaka of his arrival by air at Nicosia, which took place on a Saturday after the closing of the banks. In this letter it was requested of the Consular Agent at Larnaka to send a portion of the credit to Nicosia to be handed over to the Head of Mission on his arrival from Turkey. The restrictions relating to currency meant that he would find himself without Cypriot money on landing on the island.
The Head of Mission added in his letter to the Agent Consular at Larnaka: "I will then come to see you at Larnaka to settle the balance, unless you prefer to transfer the whole sum to Nicosia." In reply to this letter, the Head of the archaeological mission found on his arrival at Nicosia a letter from the Consular Agent at Larnaka dated 24 August (copy C), informing him that the whole of the credit had been transferred to Barclay's Bank at Nicosia, "to avoid making multiple receipts and journeys to and from Nicosia to Larnaka and back."
The reproach that in his report the Consul of Malta made to the Director of the Mission for not having paid a visit to the Consular Agent at Larnaka, is therefore unfounded. The Director of the Archaeological Mission knows the Consular Agent Mr Lapierre
P.T.O.
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