883.927/122
The Minister in Egypt (Howell) to
the Secretary of State
Cairo, May 26,
1926.
[Received June 10.]
No. 830
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my telegram
No. 21 of today, May 26, 1926, 5 p.m.,28 and apropos of same to herewith enclose a copy of
the full text of the Note from the Foreign Office to which the telegram
refers, and at the same time a copy of my Note to the Foreign Office of
May 17, 1926, with the clarifying statement which I made as a counter
proposal to the one submitted by the Legal Adviser of the Foreign
Office, which is also enclosed.
The winning of this contest by us has not been, by any means, an easy
matter. I think the Metropolitan Museum of Art is to be congratulated on
securing this addition to the regulation permits.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure 1]
The American Minister (Howell) to the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs
(Ziwer
Pasha)
Cairo, May 17,
1926.
No. 348
Excellency: I have the honor to refer to my
Aide Memoire of April 17, 1926, on the
question of the promulgation of the new Antiquities regulation
permits of M. Lacau as they pertain to Article 10.
The Aide Memoire clearly sets forth the
intentions of M. Lacau as they apply to Article 10; in other words,
it sets forth not only the letter but the spirit with which, or by
which, M. Lacau proposes Article 10 shall be interpreted as the said
Article applies to objects found by concessionaires, and all we have
asked is that the salient points of these expressions be embodied in
the Excavation Permit following Article 10.
In this prayer we are fully supported both by the British and French
Governments.
There may be some redundancy of words which we have asked in the said
Aide Memoire be put into the clarifying
statement of the
[Page 74]
Regulation
Permit, but now, to eliminate such, insofar as possible, and yet
make the declaration of principles as short as is consistent to
therein, at the same time, express the full meaning and intent of M.
Lacau’s statements to the various archaeological expeditions, I have
the honor to submit the following, to be made a part of the
Excavation Permit of the Egyptian Government.
I profit [etc.]
[Subenclosure]
Proposed Clarifying Statement to Article
10
To render more clear the intentions of the Egyptian Antiquities
Service with respect to Article 10 of the regulation governing the
issuance of Excavation Permits put into effect in the fall of 1924,
by the said Service, the Egyptian Government declares:
That scientific principles clearly require that the Service des
Antiquités shall reserve freely for itself all material which it
does not already possess. But this same scientific interest requires
equally that it shall give largely in the case of all material which
it already possesses. It proposes only to retain such objects as
should definitely form a part of the Egyptian Public Domain.
It does not propose to keep duplicates or equivalents already well
represented in the national collections for purposes of sale, or to
form reserves which shall serve to reimburse one excavator with the
duplicates found by another.
Under these conditions the Egyptian Government proposes to give to
excavators even objects of first importance if it already has the
equivalent in its collections, whether or not in excess of the half
of objects found.
[Enclosure 2—Translation30]
The Egyptian Ministry for
Foreign Affairs to the American
Legation
Cairo, May 26,
1926.
No. 53.7/1(1317)
Aide-Mémoire
Referring to the aide-mémoire dated April 17,
1926, and note No. 348 dated May 17, 1926, from the American
Legation,31 the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs has the honor to inform the American
Legation that the Egyptian Government, desirous of giving assurances
of the liberal treatment which it intends to apply to excavators,
has no objection to adding to Article 10 of the Excavation Permit,
signed annually by excavators, the following note:
[Page 75]
“Scientific principles require that the Service des
Antiquités should reserve freely all objects which it
considers it requires for its collections. These same
principles require equally that it give largely objects even
of first importance which it does not need for its
collections. Inspired by those principles the Service does
not wish either to sell objects found by excavators or to
form reserves of them to give to other excavators. On the
contrary, the Service is disposed to give to the beneficiary
of the Permit all objects which it does not require for the
State collections in Cairo as well as in other towns,
whatever may be the importance of said objects. It is
expressly understood, however, that the Service will form
the said collections with entire freedom and that it will
decide in its sovereign capacity what it will give as well
as the choice of objects which will be given to the holder
of the Permit.”
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs believes it should point out to the
Legation that the formula proposed in the Legation’s note dated May
17th contains some expressions incompatible with the freedom which
the Egyptian Government has the right to reserve to itself in this
matter and which might become sources of difficulty. Thus the
Egyptian Government is pleased to hope that the note above
reproduced, which is based in the largest measure possible upon the
formula contained in the said aide-mémoire,
will reassure the scientific institutions which were alarmed over
the new form of Permit (in fact, the Museum of New York32
is the only one which has not undertaken excavations under the new
regime) and, consequently, will give full satisfaction to the
Legation.
[Enclosure 3—Translation33]
Clarifying Statement to Article 10 Proposed by
the Egyptian Government
“Not wishing either to sell the objects thus found or to form
reserves of them for the purpose of rewarding other excavators, the
Service des Antiquités is disposed to give the beneficiary of the
Permit all objects which it does not require for the national and
local collections, whatever may be the importance of the said
objects. It is expressly understood that the Service shall have full
liberty to form the said collections and that it will decide finally
as regards the grant as well as the choice of objects which shall be
given to the beneficiary of the Permit.”
