In his letter ‘A French gap: the banks’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, November 23), John Consiglio refers to the French occupation of 1798-1800 and asks: “But the whole debate still leaves me with a level of disappointment in terms of an issue I have been grappling with for many years, namely what were the banking or financial arrangements existing in Malta at the time?”

The answer was given during the launch of my late father Frans Sammut’s book Ġrajjet it-Tagħlim f’Malta. Prof. Raymond Mangion spoke of the massa frumentaria as being the savings bank of the period referred to by Consiglio. The most important investors in this bank were the clergy, noblemen and landowners.

Since I am mentioning Mangion, it seems to me the polite thing to do is to thank all those all attended the launch, including Chief Justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici, former magistrate and parliamentary secretary Joseph Cassar and poet Achille Mizzi and others, as well as the panel who, apart from Mangion, was composed of President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, Prof. Joseph Brincat and Charles Xuereb.

MEP Alfred Sant could not attend, but sent a speech which was read out. Soprano Joan Mangion, accompanied by Romina Morrow, gave a beautiful interpretation of an aria written by my father and Mro Ray Sciberras.