25 JUNE 1954, Page 14

SIR, -The counter-blast which Mr. J. Oliver attempted to produce,

against Sir Compton Mackenzie's inspiring advocacy of Enosis (Union of Cyprus with Greece) has demon- strably failed. The arguinent that the demand for union is confined to a minority of Cypriots is disproved by the fact that in the , plebiscite of January 15th, 1950, over 96 per cent. of the Greek Cypriots, i.e. 79 per cent. of all the people, affixed their signatures to the demand for the union of their island- home with Greece. The Cypriot people ,are, of course, willing for any plebiscite to.. be carried out either by the Government or by UNO to determine irrevocably their wishes in this matter—wishes which, incidentally, have been openly and consistently expressed during the last seventy-odd years. With regard to the alleged 100,000 Turkish votes which may be cast against Enosis, the only thing that can be said is that (a) the entire Turkish popula- thin of Cyprus is only 85,000 and (b) it is by no means certain that all the Turks will vote against Enosis. To return the Elgin Marbles to Greece in lieu of Cyprus as suggested by Mr. Oliyer Savours a bit of oriental bar- gaining but can hardly affect the question. Return of the Elgin Marbles will be a friendly, indeed a high-minded gesture, but to allow Cyprus, Greek in heart, language and history, to be Greek will be a great act of political wisdom and an acceptance of what is just and right in politics.--Yours faithfully,