Letter from the French Consul in Cyprus to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the mission's creditsConsul de France à Chypre

Stamp: CONSULATE of FRANCE / IN THE ISLANDS of MALTA / AND CYPRUS

J.L.McA./J.R.A. 28 - II - 47

A.S. 302 PL/CO/RC

The Consul of France in the Islands of Malta and Cyprus,

to HIS EXCELLENCY THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

Excavations of the archaeologist Claude Schaeffer at Enkomi (Cyprus) Grant.

Enclosed with a letter of 20 November 47 (No. 204 from Cyprus) received today, Mr Jules Lapierre, French consular agent at Larnaca, sends me the receipts in triplicate, signed by the person concerned on 17-II-47, for the sum granted as subsidies to the French professor Mr Claude Schaeffer archaeologist (£1889:17s/2d less £2:7s/2d bank charges ).

Pending being able to receive the sums in question, the archaeologist had used since the end of October the deposit of the first grantin-aid granted at the beginning of 1947.

However, to bridge the gap for a few days (my cash box had not been replenished by Paris, and the telegram from Paris granting credit of about one million had taken three weeks to travel by ordinary diplomatic bag, whereas it was a matter of immediate payment) he was obliged to appeal to the kindness and goodness of Mr Jules Lapierre, the French consular agent at Larnaca, who advanced him, not without this certainly inconveniencing him, from his personal funds five hundred pounds sterling. Mr C. Schaeffer, who had not been to see our consular agent last year [handwritten: s] therefore was obliged this year to go and find him.

I wish to mention this incident to Lapierre's credit, and add that I have had nothing but praise on every occasion for the constant devotion without any reservation of our agent, who serves France with selflessness for thirty years, in conditions sometimes very thankless, and without having, to my knowledge, from the Paris authorities the slightest encouragement or the slightest letter of congratulation. Mr Schaeffer thus made contact this year with a humble and modest agent whom he had been unable to contact during his entire stay in Cyprus last year. Mr Lapierre was able to go himself to the area of the excavations and observe the immense work which does honour to French science and to our great scholar.

Very recently Mr Schaeffer received a visit from Mr Du Chayla, Minister of France in Lebanon. Mr Jules Lapierre did not fail to greet the Minister of France in Greater Lebanon on his passage through Larnaca.

I have the honour to inform Your Excellency of this for all useful purposes.

Handwritten: signature: J.L. McAnn